Ryssä

Compound words reppuryssä and laukkuryssä refer to East Karelian bag peddlers who traded in Finland until the early 20th century.

The Finnic word for the "rowing people" still survives in the Finnish and Estonian names for the country of Sweden, Ruotsi and Rootsi respectively.

[3] According to modern understanding, the derogatory use of the term in Finland started in the early times of Finnish independence.

The translation used at the time for the speech emperor Alexander I of Russia gave at the Diet of Porvoo in 1809 in French starts: "ME ALEXANDER I. Jumalan Armosta, Keisari ja Itsevaltias yli koko Ryssänmaan"[4] ("WE ALEXANDER I, by the Grace of God, Emperor and Autocrat over the entire country of Russia") The term is also used in other well-known Finnish expressions considered derogatory towards Russians such as the wartime slogan Yksi suomalainen vastaa kymmentä ryssää ("One Finn equals ten Russians") and Ryssä on ryssä vaikka voissa paistais[i] ("A Russian is a Russian even if fried in butter").

[5] As well as Russians themselves, the term "ryssä" is occasionally used for other nationalities having a historical connection to Russia or the Soviet Union.

Finnish translation of Alexander I's speech. The title reads "WE ALEXANDER I, by the Grace of God, Emperor and Autocrat over the entire country of Russia".
"Ryssä" used as a derogatory term in graffiti in Vantaa, Finland. The text reads "Russians, move away from here while you still can".