The nickname of the enemy in the war cannot be neutral. Propaganda and rumors always form the image of the enemy. And if it seems that the word is quite innocent, the background can be unpleasant.
bad kind
Receiving the influence of propaganda with the help of ethnophilisms on the army has been known since ancient times. Ethnophilism - "bad, worthless kind" - an offensive nickname, with a negative evaluative, emotional or stylistic connotation. Ethnophilism can be compound, derived from the name, some natural characteristics of a person and from the name of an animal or other creature.
So, during the Northern War of 1700-1721. Swedish propaganda brought down a flood of publications and bulletins about the horrific actions of the Russians. The enemy always took the form of a monster (Tsar Peter), who was assisted by Cossacks and soldiers. "Russian", "enemy" and "devil" have actually become synonymous.
Describing the situation of the inhabitants of Finland, propagandists associated them with the biblical story about the suffering of the people of Israel in Egyptian slavery, while the Russians were called "Assyrians", their king was "the bastard of the Babylonian ruler Nebuchadnezzar."
The Patriotic War with Napoleon in 1812 enriched both languages - both Russian and French - with such terms as "trash" - from the chevalier, "chantrap" - chantra pas ("can't sing, can't"), "sharomyzhnik" - cher ami ("Dear friend"). In French, the word "bistro" from the Russian "quickly" has taken root. Until now, in France you can hear “berezina”, which in Russian means “everything is very bad” (“full arctic fox” - jarg.).
As for the fighters of the Russian army directly, according to the memoirs of the Napoleonic General de Marbo, the Bashkir soldiers made a great impression on the French. For their mastery of bows, the French called them "cupids".
In the Crimean War of 1853-1856. between the Russian Empire and the coalition of the British, French, Ottoman empires and the Kingdom of Sardinia, the French were not so delicate. Here is what Leo Tolstoy writes in Sevastopol Tales about a captured soldier: “They are not beautiful, these Russian cattle,” says one Zouave from a crowd of Frenchmen. However, the Russian officers themselves, according to Tolstoy, “semi-contemptuously, semi-affectionately call the soldier “Moscow” or else “oath”.
bestial nicknames
Bestial nicknames also form the image of the enemy. As a rule, these are compound ethnophilisms. So, in English they appear: chinese pig - "Chinese pig", russian pig - "Russian pig", varying with the words dog - "dog", dirty - "dirty", filthy - "vile", etc.
In the Great Patriotic War, soldiers of different armies were given short nicknames - Ivan, Tommy, Hans - most fully reflecting their inner essence, at the same time being an identifier of the expectations of their behavior. Such a neutral nickname was explained by the peculiar recognition of the enemy by a strong warrior.
But on the civilian population, the Nazis recouped to the fullest: Schwein - “pig” - they didn’t call Russians otherwise.
From the memoirs of Tamara Grigoryeva, whom her stepmother handed over to work in Germany in 1942: “There were 40 of us in the forest, they gave slippers and picks to chop stones. I didn’t put on slippers, didn’t take a pick in my hands and said loudly to everyone: “Ours will come - they will give them.” The policeman grabbed me by the scythes and threw me into the pit, where my arms and leg were immediately broken. The whole night there was blood in the barracks. And in the morning they took me to the doctor. I would recognize his face even now. He looked, blood was coming, I was all bloodied, my hands were in blood, he said: Vek, schwein (Go away, pig).
Oriental passions
"Blue-eyed" - what's wrong with this nickname? But it scared a native of Central Asia. In 1914, Türkiye entered the First World War on the side of Germany. Turkish subjects were obliged to fight against Russia, but the Assyrians refused to participate in hostilities. Christian Assyrians helped Russia and its allies England and France. Türkiye in response immediately launched a war of extermination against the Assyrian civilian population. A small part survived the massacre and pogroms. About 60 thousand Assyrians left for Russia along with the retreating Russian soldiers. They said: we will go after the "blue-eyed" - that's what they called Russians in Turkey.
It must be understood that “blue-eyed” is not at all a neutral concept. According to the beliefs of the Eastern peoples, genies often took on a human form, and they could be distinguished from people by the color of their eyes - blue - and their hair - blond. “We will leave with the demons,” is what the Assyrians had in mind when they left inhospitable Turkey.
Decades have passed, and now, in civilian life, the Turks call Russian girls a nickname that looks like a name. "Natasha" is a compound nickname.
In the war in Afghanistan (1979-1989), Russian soldiers were called "shuravi", from the Arabic "council". This word takes its origin from the Afghan name for Soviet specialists - military advisers - and has a neutral connotation. But for a Russian special forces soldier, “dushman” has an exclusively negative connotation and means “enemy” in translation.
A negative connotation carries the nickname of Russians "ak-kulak", "ash-kuloh" - "white ears" - a common nickname for Russians in Central Asia. The fact is that according to the customs of these peoples, all women should wear headscarves, and girls should wear hats. Therefore, Russian girls, shamelessly putting their ears on public display, deserve, from their point of view, condemnation.
As the Russians were also contemptuously called:
In Central Asia - "burla" (burlak), as well as "shoshka" (pig eater);
In Estonia - "tibla";
In the USA - "Rasky";
In Finland - "ryussya":
“Laomaozi” (“maozi”), “hairy” is a vernacular designation by the Chinese of Russians.
In the army community, as in any social structure, there is a certain hazing hierarchy. It implies a clear delineation of military personnel serving in military service into groups, according to the length of service. Due to the fact that the term of service was reduced to 1 year, hazing ranks were modified, but not abolished. The only difference is that now the entire cycle of passage from the "spirit" to the "grandfather" takes place in the express version. Let's take a closer look at how this happens.
Smell
After the soldier has been selected at the distribution point, he is sent either to the training unit or to the military unit, but to a separate company for quarantine, where he undergoes training.
Arriving at the place, yesterday's conscript becomes a "smell". This title will be assigned to him until the oath is taken.
Quarantine ends no later than two months of military service. What does this title mean? The explanation is very simple, yesterday's conscripts are not yet soldiers, they are just the smells of soldiers. At this time, "smells" and "demobilization" are similar. These army ranks are with one foot on the civilian. While in the unit, many mistakenly think that they automatically become "spirits", but this is not so, this rank still needs to be reached.
Spirit
After taking the oath, when the private already has the right to bear arms and other statutory duties are assigned to him, he is awarded the title "spirit". In this honorary title, he will serve up to 100 days of service. During this period, he learns all the delights of army service. Every other day outfits, cleaning and PCBs, this is what the service of a private in this rank consists of.
Cleaning is a separate army ritual. The spirits learn the art of putting things in order in the barracks with special care, but on the other hand, such a necessary skill for life is acquired, how to keep clean in the room in which you live.
Servicemen in this rank have absolutely no rights, and the requirements for them are increased. Especially when it comes to personal hygiene. If the unit is in position, and not at the field exit, then the soldier must be shaved, his shoes must shine, his head must be neatly trimmed. This is very strictly monitored, and those who do not comply with these requirements are treated with special disdain.
At this time, special attention is paid to memorizing the charter. The soldier must know this set of rules by heart. Therefore, teaching the charter for "spirits" is a habitual occupation. At this time, it is better for young soldiers to stick together, then it will be easier to survive it.
Elephant
After passing 100 days of service, a new period begins in the life of a soldier. From the category of incorporeal "spirits", he passes into the title of "elephant". The title of elephant in the army gives the right to load the soldier with all sorts of assignments.
Household work in the army is the basis of service. Most of the time he is doing some very important work:
- cleans snow on the territory of the unit;
- sweeps the territory in the warm season;
- dripping holes.
Elephants are hardy animals, so the title "elephant" suggests that you will have to carry a lot. There is a certain ritual in which the "demobilization" hits the future elephant on the soft spot with a soldier's belt 3 times, symbolizing 3 months of service.
This title is held by a soldier from 100 to 160 days. Depending on the time of the call, there comes a moment when all the old-timers leave. At this time, the private of the "elephants" is transferred to another rank. For him, the period of "grandfather" begins. This title can be obtained after six months of service.
Grandfather
"Grandfathers" in the army are soldiers who came from the previous call. They become the oldest and remain in this rank until the issuance of an order for dismissal to the reserve for the entire draft. Transfer to this rank is made at the request of a soldier. Usually it comes down to beating a stool on the same soft spots.
At this time, the former "elephant" shows everything that he has accumulated during his service. If a lot of negativity has been accumulated, then the young soldiers get everything that the newly-made "grandfather" is capable of, but if he managed to maintain his decency and adequate condition, then the service goes smoothly.
Some soldiers by this term of service have military ranks and responsibility for personnel. It is his sacred duty to follow the passage of the squad, there is nothing left for him to do but to observe the work of young soldiers and count the days until the order.
The order usually comes 100 days before the end of the service life and happens twice a year. Although not as obvious as it was in other years, but in terms of service life, it still survived.
Demobilization
This extra-statutory rank is the highest in the army at the moment. This period starts from the moment of the order of the Ministry of Defense for the entire conscription. It continues until the military ID is handed over to the old-timer by the battalion commander.
In some military units there is a tradition to start a personal "spirit" before the end of the service. Smoking "demobilization" invented a kind of calendar. Every day the "spirit" brings him a cigarette, which says how much he still has to serve.
The transfer to this title is peculiar, it differs from previous periods in its loyalty. Instead of a belt and a stool, the former "grandfather" receives cuffs with a thread through a layer of mattresses. He, of course, pretends to be in immense pain, but this custom is not in all parts.
The main task of military personnel in this rank is to adequately serve until the end of their service. He may be offered to make a “demobilization chord”, something useful for the company or the entire unit in which he served for a whole year. Another important thing for him is the preparation of the form. Of course, you can go home in civilian clothes, but it’s better to come in a beautiful uniform, with all the insignia. So they spend the rest of their time on this issue. The main task of a soldier who has one foot on a civilian is to serve this time with dignity and calmly leave for demobilization.
The above scheme operates in the army community at the present time. Until 2008, there was a slightly modified hierarchy of army ranks. Between the "elephant" and "grandfather" was the title of "skull" or "scoop". This difference is due to the type of slang used in certain military units. This title was awarded for a period of 1.5 years, but since the term of service has now been reduced, the need for it has disappeared, and it has been abolished. But the order of steps in the army service remained.
Now the transition from one rank to another takes place in a short period of time, so it is not particularly noticeable. In some military units, they do not betray the importance of army traditions at all and army jargon is not used. There are times when in one platoon there are soldiers of the same call, which are led only by sergeants who are on contract. Therefore, traditions gradually become a thing of the past and become only nominal.
Or here's another technician, a big man and an athlete, it was called "Oculist" behind his back, since not a single booze in which he took part ended without him knocking out someone's eye. Behind the eyes, it means the object of influence, and not talking behind your back.
He served in the same regiment as a senior lieutenant. He looked to be about sixty years old, although in fact he was not even forty-five. And he had a nickname - "Colonel". And that's why they named it that.
It is known that in the identity card of an officer, which was issued one and for the entire period of service there is a column: military rank.
It provides places for recording military ranks from lieutenant to major general. So he had all these places filled: lieutenant - senior lieutenant - lieutenant - senior lieutenant - lieutenant ... and so on until the penultimate line. Careerist, however.
One navigator with a simple surname Golovnya was called the noble surname Balkonsky. Once on a day off, having taken a hefty dose, he smoked on the balcony of the second floor, from where he successfully rolled over and lay without the slightest sign of consciousness, until he, accompanied by a frightened regiment commander, a lieutenant colonel, was taken to the infirmary. There, having regained consciousness, he saw his native commander and, focusing on two stars on the chase, said understandingly:
-I saw this lieutenant somewhere.
Then, taking advantage of the momentary lack of attention to his person, he fled. And they found him sitting with a glass and a cigarette on the same balcony from which he fell so safely half an hour ago.
Each pilot who broke more than two wheels on landing was given the honorary nickname Pokryshkin until the end of his service in this regiment. Any parachutist who landed unsuccessfully was given a title reflecting the place of landing. If he landed on a summer cottage - a summer resident, a garden - a gardener, in a forest - a arborist, in the thick of a herd - a shepherd or cattle breeder.
I had a second navigator, whose name was Kazachok or the Headless Horseman. Before serving in naval aviation, he was a jockey in Rostov-on-Don, hence Kazachok, and the Headless Horseman well characterizes his behavior and career growth.
In one auto platoon, there was a fighter, known under the pseudonym - Trolleybus. Somehow they lost electricity in the barracks in the basement. This soldier was sent there to find and fix the problem. The fighter, having estimated with his brains what was the price, decided to follow the path of least resistance - he grabbed the wire on the ceiling with both hands (the ceiling in the basement is low) and began to move in small steps in the dark, feeling for the place of the cliff.
Finally found. Well, at least it didn’t kill him to death, and so they pumped him out.
Nicknames had regiments, divisions and, in rare cases, squadrons. So, one regiment was called Romanian only because during a football match between the regiments of the division, someone, cheering up his own, shouted out a phrase from the movie: “Forward, dead Romanians!” And got accustomed.
For some reason, the second regiment was called Zyabrovsky, although the squadron transferred from Zyabrovka was part of the Romanian regiment.
The third, separate regiment of this garrison was called Khunhuz or Chinese for two reasons. First, it originated near the Chinese border. And secondly because of the large number of personnel. The crew of one aircraft could include from 9 to 14 people. And he was served by a whole bunch of technicians.
And the divisions were usually named after the nearest settlement. Ours was initially located in the Sov Gavansky district, and then, as a result of the territorial demarcation, ended up in the Vaninsky district. This gave the commander of the fleet aviation an opportunity to show his wit and joke about our divisional commander:
- You used to be a sovgovnyanin, and now you're just a stinker.
An insulting allusion to the similarity of our unit with excrement, in terms of its fighting qualities, from the point of view of the commander.
In the army in general and in aviation in particular, almost everyone has nicknames: people, units, units, combat vehicles and inanimate objects. Interesting stories of their origin.
Here, for example, one fleet aviation commander was called “Photographer” behind his back. He had nothing to do with the high art of photographing, but when he denounced the official activities of an officer, he always ended it with the word "I'm shooting." This did not apply to the appearance of a photograph of the accused, but meant his removal from his post.
Or here's another technician, a big man and an athlete, it was called "Oculist" behind his back, since not a single booze in which he took part ended without him knocking out someone's eye. Behind the eyes, it means the object of influence, and not talking behind your back.
He served in the same regiment as a senior lieutenant. He looked to be about sixty years old, although in fact he was not even forty-five. And he had a nickname - "Colonel". And that's why they named it that.
It is known that in the identity card of an officer, which was issued one and for the entire period of service there is a column: military rank. It provides places for recording military ranks from lieutenant to major general. So he had all these places filled: lieutenant - senior lieutenant - lieutenant - senior lieutenant - lieutenant ... and so on until the penultimate line. Careerist, however.
One navigator with a simple surname Golovnya was called the noble surname Balkonsky. Once on a day off, having taken a hefty dose, he smoked on the balcony of the second floor, from where he successfully rolled over and lay without the slightest sign of consciousness, until he, accompanied by a frightened regiment commander, a lieutenant colonel, was taken to the infirmary. There, having regained consciousness, he saw his native commander and, focusing on two stars on the chase, said understandingly:
-I saw this lieutenant somewhere.
Then, taking advantage of the momentary lack of attention to his person, he fled. And they found him sitting with a glass and a cigarette on the same balcony from which he fell so safely half an hour ago.
Each pilot who broke more than two wheels on landing was given the honorary nickname Pokryshkin until the end of his service in this regiment. Any parachutist who landed unsuccessfully was given a title reflecting the place of landing. If he landed on a summer cottage - a summer resident, a garden - a gardener, in a forest - a arborist, in the thick of a herd - a shepherd or cattle breeder.
I had a second navigator, whose name was Kazachok or the Headless Horseman. Before serving in naval aviation, he was a jockey in Rostov-on-Don, hence Kazachok, and the Headless Horseman well characterizes his behavior and career growth.
In one auto platoon, there was a fighter, known under the pseudonym - Trolleybus. Somehow they lost electricity in the barracks in the basement. This soldier was sent there to find and fix the problem. The fighter, having estimated with his brains what was the price, decided to follow the path of least resistance - he grabbed the wire on the ceiling with both hands (the ceiling in the basement is low) and began to move in small steps in the dark, feeling for the place of the cliff.
Finally found. Well, at least it didn’t kill him to death, and so they pumped him out.
Nicknames had regiments, divisions and, in rare cases, squadrons. So, one regiment was called Romanian only because during a football match between the regiments of the division, someone, cheering up his own, shouted out a phrase from the movie: “Forward, dead Romanians!” And got accustomed.
For some reason, the second regiment was called Zyabrovsky, although the squadron transferred from Zyabrovka was part of the Romanian regiment.
The third, separate regiment of this garrison was called Khunhuz or Chinese for two reasons. First, it originated near the Chinese border. And secondly because of the large number of personnel. The crew of one aircraft could include from 9 to 14 people. And he was served by a whole bunch of technicians.
And the divisions were usually named after the nearest settlement. Ours was initially located in the Sov Gavansky district, and then, as a result of the territorial demarcation, ended up in the Vaninsky district. This gave the commander of the fleet aviation an opportunity to show his wit and joke about our divisional commander:
- You used to be a sovgovnyanin, and now you're just a stinker.
An insulting allusion to the similarity of our unit with excrement, in terms of its fighting qualities, from the point of view of the commander.
By the way, not only inanimate objects become prototypes for the formation of people's nicknames, but people can also become the source of the names of objects. So, for example, our glorious division commander could not stand green and yellow. He especially hated dandelions. That is why every single day someone's caring hand put a bouquet of dandelions in his mailbox, which even more aroused his dislike for this innocent flower ....
It got to the point that someone placed on the steps of the divisional headquarters, just in time for his arrival, a piece of paper and one dandelion. On the sheet it was written:
Don't touch me Shushpanchik,
After all, I'm the last dandelion.
The general's surname was Shushpanov, and dandelions in this division were called nothing more than "shushpanchiki".
Nowhere have I seen such a craving for the distribution of nicknames as in aviation, and the apotheosis of this phenomenon can be considered the name of the monument in front of the House of Officers in Monino.
There they carved a strong fellow with an artificial satellite in his hand in a swift dash forward. The jerk turned out to be so swift that the symbolic clothes slipped back, and this gave reason to call the monument - “I’ll lower everything, but I’ll launch it!”
© Alexander Shipitsyn
In the army in general and in aviation in particular, almost everyone has nicknames: people, units, units, combat vehicles and inanimate objects. Interesting stories of their origin.
Here, for example, one fleet aviation commander was called "Photographer" behind his back. He had nothing to do with the high art of photographing, but when he denounced the official activities of an officer, he always ended it with the word "I'm shooting." This did not apply to the appearance of a photograph of the accused, but meant his removal from his post.
Or here's another technician, a big man and an athlete, it was called "Oculist" behind his back, since not a single booze in which he took part ended without him knocking out someone's eye. Behind the eyes, it means the object of influence, and not talking behind your back.
He served in the same regiment as a senior lieutenant. He looked to be about sixty years old, although in fact he was not even forty-five. And he had a nickname - "Colonel". And that's why they named it that.
It is known that in the identity card of an officer, which was issued one and for the entire period of service there is a column: military rank. It provides places for recording military ranks from lieutenant to major general. So he had all these places filled: lieutenant - senior lieutenant - lieutenant - senior lieutenant - lieutenant ... and so on until the penultimate line. Careerist, however.
One navigator with a simple surname Golovnya was called the noble surname Balkonsky. Once on a day off, having taken a hefty dose, he smoked on the balcony of the second floor, from where he successfully rolled over and lay without the slightest sign of consciousness, until he, accompanied by a frightened regiment commander, a lieutenant colonel, was taken to the infirmary. There, having regained consciousness, he saw his native commander and, focusing on two stars on the chase, said understandingly:
-I saw this lieutenant somewhere.
Then, taking advantage of the momentary lack of attention to his person, he fled. And they found him sitting with a glass and a cigarette on the same balcony from which he fell so safely half an hour ago.
Each pilot who broke more than two wheels on landing was given the honorary nickname Pokryshkin until the end of his service in this regiment. Any parachutist who landed unsuccessfully was given a title reflecting the place of landing. If he landed on a summer cottage - a summer resident, a vegetable garden - a gardener, in a forest - a arborist, in the thick of a herd - a shepherd or cattle breeder.
I had a second navigator, whose name was Kazachok or the Headless Horseman. Before serving in naval aviation, he was a jockey in Rostov-on-Don, hence Kazachok, and the Headless Horseman well characterizes his behavior and career growth.
In one auto platoon, there was a fighter, known under the pseudonym - Trolleybus. Somehow they lost electricity in the barracks in the basement. This soldier was sent there to find and fix the problem. The fighter, having figured out with his brains how much, decided to follow the path of least resistance - he grabbed the wire on the ceiling with both hands (the ceiling in the basement is low) and began to move in small steps in the dark, feeling for the place of the cliff.
Finally found. Well, at least it didn’t kill him to death, and so they pumped him out.
Nicknames had regiments, divisions and, in rare cases, squadrons. So, one regiment was called Romanian only because during a football match between the regiments of the division, someone, cheering up his own, shouted out a phrase from the movie: "Forward, dead Romanians!" And got accustomed.
For some reason, the second regiment was called Zyabrovsky, although the squadron transferred from Zyabrovka was part of the Romanian regiment.
The third, separate regiment of this garrison was called Khunhuz or Chinese for two reasons. First, it originated near the Chinese border. And secondly because of the large number of personnel. The crew of one aircraft could include from 9 to 14 people. And he was served by a whole bunch of technicians.
And the divisions were usually named after the nearest settlement. Ours was initially located in the Sov Gavansky district, and then, as a result of the territorial demarcation, ended up in the Vaninsky district. This gave the commander of the fleet aviation an opportunity to show his wit and joke about our divisional commander:
- You used to be a sovgovnyanin, and now you're just a stinker.
An insulting allusion to the similarity of our unit with excrement, in terms of its fighting qualities, from the point of view of the commander.
By the way, not only inanimate objects become prototypes for the formation of people's nicknames, but people can also become the source of the names of objects. So, for example, our glorious division commander could not stand green and yellow. He especially hated dandelions. That is why every single day someone's caring hand put a bunch of dandelions in his mailbox, which made him even more hostile to this innocent flower....
It got to the point that someone placed on the steps of the divisional headquarters, just in time for his arrival, a piece of paper and one dandelion. On the sheet it was written:
Don't touch me Shushpanchik,
After all, I'm the last dandelion.
The general's surname was Shushpanov, and dandelions in this division were called nothing more than "shushpanchiki".
Nowhere have I seen such a craving for the distribution of nicknames as in aviation, and the apotheosis of this phenomenon can be considered the name of the monument in front of the House of Officers in Monino.
There they carved a strong fellow with an artificial satellite in his hand in a swift dash forward. The jerk turned out to be so swift that the symbolic clothes slipped back, and this gave reason to call the monument - "I will lower everything, but I will launch it!"
© Alexander Shipitsyn
