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Questions & Answers about Эти туристы — россияне.
Why does the plural of россиянин end in -яне instead of the usual -ы or -и?
Nouns ending in -анин or -янин (which often denote nationalities or social classes) have a special plural form. You drop the -ин suffix and add -е. Therefore, россиянин (a male Russian citizen) becomes россияне (Russian citizens).
Why use россияне here instead of русские to mean "Russians"?
Россияне specifically means "citizens of Russia," regardless of their ethnic background. Русские refers to ethnic Russians. When talking about tourists, their legal citizenship is usually what matters, making россияне the most accurate choice.
What is the purpose of the dash (—) between туристы and россияне?
In Russian, the present tense of the verb "to be" (are) is usually omitted. When you link a subject (туристы) to a noun that describes what they are (россияне), and both words are in the nominative case, a dash is used to replace the missing verb.