Soviet phraseology
Encyclopedia
Soviet phraseology, or Sovietisms, i.e., the neologisms and cliche
s in Russian language
of the epoch of the Soviet Union
, has a number of distinct traits that reflect the Soviet way of life and Soviet culture and politics. Most of these distinctions are ultimately traced (directly or indirectly, as a cause-effect chain) to the utopic goal of creating a new society, the ways of the implementation of this goal and what was actually implemented.
Clearly the topic of this article is not limited to the Russian language, since this phraseology permeated all national languages in the Soviet Union. Nevertheless, Russian was the language of "inter-nationality communication" in the Soviet Union (although it was declared official language
of the state only in 1990.), therefore it was the major source of Soviet phraseology.
. The declared goal of Bolshevik
was "to abolish the capitalist state with all its means of oppression". At the same time, the instruments of the state were objectively, necessary, and they did exist, only under new names. The most notable example is People's Commissar/People's Commissariat which corresponded to minister
/ministry
(and in fact the latter terms were restored in 1946).
was a humour-producing machine. Its economic theories and system of repression created inherently funny situations. There were jokes under fascism
and the Nazis too, but those systems did not create an absurd, laugh-a-minute reality like communism."
Soviet people coined irreverent definitions for their leaders. "Mineralny sekretar" was a nickname for President Mikhail Gorbachev
. "Kukuruznik
" referred to Nikita Khrushchev
.
Cliché
A cliché or cliche is an expression, idea, or element of an artistic work which has been overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, especially when at some earlier time it was considered meaningful or novel. In phraseology, the term has taken on a more technical meaning,...
s in Russian language
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
of the epoch of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, has a number of distinct traits that reflect the Soviet way of life and Soviet culture and politics. Most of these distinctions are ultimately traced (directly or indirectly, as a cause-effect chain) to the utopic goal of creating a new society, the ways of the implementation of this goal and what was actually implemented.
Clearly the topic of this article is not limited to the Russian language, since this phraseology permeated all national languages in the Soviet Union. Nevertheless, Russian was the language of "inter-nationality communication" in the Soviet Union (although it was declared official language
Official language
An official language is a language that is given a special legal status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction. Typically a nation's official language will be the one used in that nation's courts, parliament and administration. However, official status can also be used to give a...
of the state only in 1990.), therefore it was the major source of Soviet phraseology.
Taxonomy
The following main types of Sovietism coinage may be recognized:- Semantic shift: for example, "to throw out" acquired the colloquial meaning of "to put goods for sale". In the circumstances of total consumer goods shortageConsumer goods in the Soviet UnionThe industry of the Soviet Union was usually divided into two major categories. Group A was "heavy industry," which included all goods that serve as an input required for the production of some other, final good...
, putting some goods on shelves had a character of certain suddenness, captured in the expression. "Ivan, grab your avoskaAvoskaAvoska or perhaps-bag is a vernacular for a particular type of shopping bag widespread in the former Soviet Union, a netted sack . It was a major cultural phenomenon of the everyday Soviet life. It was manufactured of various kind of strings...
, oranges have been thrown out down on the corner!" — it was not that someone jettisoned oranges; rather a makeshift stallMarket stallA market stall is a typically immobile, temporary structure erected by merchants to display and shelter their merchandise in a street market or other setting. Stalls are easily erected, taken down or simply moved on wheels...
was set up in the street to sell oranges. - Intentional word coinage for new elements arisen Soviet/Socialist world, often as abbreviationAbbreviationAn abbreviation is a shortened form of a word or phrase. Usually, but not always, it consists of a letter or group of letters taken from the word or phrase...
s and acronyms: GosplanGosplanGosplan or State Planning Committee was the committee responsible for economic planning in the Soviet Union. The word "Gosplan" is an abbreviation for Gosudarstvenniy Komitet po Planirovaniyu...
, KGBKGBThe KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
, gulagGulagThe Gulag was the government agency that administered the main Soviet forced labor camp systems. While the camps housed a wide range of convicts, from petty criminals to political prisoners, large numbers were convicted by simplified procedures, such as NKVD troikas and other instruments of...
, kombed, agitpropAgitpropAgitprop is derived from agitation and propaganda, and describes stage plays, pamphlets, motion pictures and other art forms with an explicitly political message....
, etc. - Colloquial word coinage: khrushchovkaKhrushchovkaKhrushchovka is a type of low-cost, cement-paneled or brick three- to five-storied apartment building which was developed in the USSR during the early 1960s, during the time its namesake Nikita Khrushchev directed the Soviet government.-History:...
, psikhushkaPsikhushkaIn the Soviet Union, systematic political abuse of psychiatry took place. Soviet psychiatric hospitals were used by the authorities as prisons in order to isolate hundreds or thousands of political prisoners from the rest of society, discredit their ideas, and break them physically and mentally... - Stylistic cliches: "forever alive" (about Vladimir LeninVladimir LeninVladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a...
), "laboring intelligentsiaIntelligentsiaThe intelligentsia is a social class of people engaged in complex, mental and creative labor directed to the development and dissemination of culture, encompassing intellectuals and social groups close to them...
", to distinguish "good" intelligentsia from "bad" intelligentsia of the past, etc. - Political and ideological slogans Soviet people saw everyday everywhere. Often they were exploited in Russian political jokes. For example the formula "The Party is Intellect, Honor, and Conscience of our Epoch" was mathematically transformed into "Intellect is party minus honor minus conscience of our epoch."
- Quite a few pejorative terms were standardized for numerous enemies of the people and other anti-Soviet subjects: "sharks of imperialism", "rootless cosmopolitanRootless cosmopolitanRootless cosmopolitan was a Soviet euphemism widely used during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1948–1953, which culminated in the "exposure" of the alleged Doctors' plot...
s". "The whore of capitalism" was an epithetEpithetAn epithet or byname is a descriptive term accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, divinities, objects, and binomial nomenclature. It is also a descriptive title...
for geneticsGeneticsGenetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
.
Beginnings
An initial surge of intentional word coinage appeared immediately after the October RevolutionOctober Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
. The declared goal of Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
was "to abolish the capitalist state with all its means of oppression". At the same time, the instruments of the state were objectively, necessary, and they did exist, only under new names. The most notable example is People's Commissar/People's Commissariat which corresponded to minister
Minister (government)
A minister is a politician who holds significant public office in a national or regional government. Senior ministers are members of the cabinet....
/ministry
Ministry (government department)
A ministry is a specialised organisation responsible for a sector of government public administration, sometimes led by a minister or a senior public servant, that can have responsibility for one or more departments, agencies, bureaus, commissions or other smaller executive, advisory, managerial or...
(and in fact the latter terms were restored in 1946).
Soviet political humor
Ben Lewis wrote in his essay, and book , "CommunismCommunism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
was a humour-producing machine. Its economic theories and system of repression created inherently funny situations. There were jokes under fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
and the Nazis too, but those systems did not create an absurd, laugh-a-minute reality like communism."
Soviet people coined irreverent definitions for their leaders. "Mineralny sekretar" was a nickname for President Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...
. "Kukuruznik
Kukuruznik
Kukuruznik is a Russian word derived from the word "kukuruza", maize. It was used as a nickname for the following.*Polikarpov Po-2, a utility aircraft used extensively in agriculture.*Antonov An-2, a purpose-built agricultural aircraft....
" referred to Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
.
See also
- LTI – Lingua Tertii Imperii, a book that studies the way that Nazi propaganda altered the German language
Further reading
- "Soviet Language", BBC Russian ServiceBBC Russian ServiceThe BBC Russian Service was part of the BBC World Service's foreign language output, one of 33 languages it provided.-History:The BBC Russian Service began broadcasting on 26 March 1946....
, October 11, 2005