Why do they call Germany Fatherland and Russia Motherland?

Fatherland is the nation of one's fathers or forefathers. It can be viewed as a nationalist concept, insofar as it relates to nations. Groups that refer to their native country as a fatherland associate it primarily with paternal concepts. Motherland is a term that may refer to a mother country, the origin of a colonial power or an ethnic group or immigrant. Motherland is otherwise a synonym for fatherland, though perhaps carrying different psychological associations. It especially has the connotation of one's country of birth and growing up, with the country being respectfully viewed as a benign mother nurturing its citizens as her children.