I looked into some ethnic backgrounds of some soviet/Russian elite.
After coming across various Russians and officials in the USSR I get the feeling that outright ethnic hatred was not OK in either. There were and are laws against inciting racial/ethnic/religious hatred. Some of this is from commie propaganda that we are a family of nations or ethnic groups. It is benign propaganda and better than the racial sort. There were recognition of different ethnic groups. The Ukrainians were romanticized a pure rural folk which is not far from the truth.
Karl Marx’s ethnic background was primarily Ashkenazi Jewish, with both his paternal and maternal lines originating from Jewish communities in the Rhineland and possibly Eastern Europe. Through his parents’ conversion to Christianity and their integration into Prussian society, he was also ethnically and culturally German, with minor Dutch Jewish influences via his mother’s family.
Lenin’s ethnic background was a mix of Russian (Slavic), Kalmyk (Mongolic), Jewish, German, and possibly Chuvash (Turkic) heritage. This diversity was not uncommon in the Russian Empire, where intermarriage among ethnic groups occurred frequently, especially among the educated classes like Lenin’s family. Lenin himself identified with Russian culture and the Russian revolutionary movement, and his ethnic background was not a prominent aspect of his public identity.
Joseph Stalin’s ethnic background was Georgian, with both parents being ethnic Georgians from the Caucasus region.
Nikita Khrushchev’s ethnic background was Russian (Slavic), with both parents being ethnic Russians from the Kursk region. His Russian identity was reflected in his language, culture, and early life as a peasant and later industrial worker. His ethnicity was not a significant factor in his political career, as he operated within the multiethnic Soviet framework, emphasizing Soviet unity over regional or ethnic distinctions.... Moved to Ukraine as a Young Man: At age 14 (around 1908), Khrushchev moved with his family to Yuzovka (now Donetsk, Ukraine), a mining and industrial town in the Donbas region, then part of the Russian Empire. ... Leadership Roles in Soviet Ukraine: Khrushchev rose through the Communist Party ranks in Ukraine during the 1920s and 1930s. He held significant positions, including:
Fluid National Identities: At the time of Khrushchev’s birth, the Russian Empire did not have rigid national boundaries between Russians and Ukrainians in the way modern nation-states do. The Kursk region and eastern Ukraine were part of a broader East Slavic cultural continuum. Ukrainians and Russians were often categorized under the imperial “Russian” identity, which included “Great Russians” (ethnic Russians), “Little Russians” (Ukrainians), and “White Russians” (Belarusians).
Soviet Nationality Policy: The Soviet Union recognized Ukrainians and Russians as distinct nationalities, but the Party emphasized a unified “Soviet” identity. Khrushchev’s long tenure in Ukraine and his role in integrating Ukraine into the Soviet system may have led some to assume he was Ukrainian, especially since Soviet leaders were often associated with the republics they governed.
Mikhail Gorbachev’s ethnic background was Russian (Slavic), with both parents being ethnic Russians from Stavropol Krai.
Leonid Brezhnev’s ethnic background was Russian (Slavic), with both parents being ethnic Russians from Kamenskoye, in what is now Ukraine but was then part of the Russian Empire. The misconception that he was Ukrainian arises from his birthplace in a region with a mixed Russian-Ukrainian population and its later inclusion in Soviet Ukraine, but Brezhnev was unequivocally Russian in ethnicity and identity.
Putins wife/partner
Lyudmila Shkrebneva: Ethnic Russian, born in Kaliningrad to Russian parents, with no confirmed non-Russian ancestry despite minor speculation about her father’s patronym.
Alina Kabaeva: Mixed Tatar (paternal) and Russian (maternal), born in Tashkent, reflecting the multiethnic composition of the Soviet Union.
