Washington Obkom
Encyclopedia
The Washington Obkom literally the Washington Province Party Committee, is a pejorative
term used in Russia
n media and speech to imply that many crucial decisions by political elites of Russia and some other post-Soviet states
have been and are agreed with and/or taken in the United States
. The term incorporates two incompatible
symbols of power
: "Washington D.C." as the symbol of the US administration, and "obkom" symbolizing the power of the Communist Party. According to Russian political analyst Oleg Maslov Washington Obkom is one of the key hybrid political symbols in the 21st century Russia. The term is mostly used by various types of Russian nationalists but occasionally is used by the figures of democratic opposition, e.g. by Garry Kasparov
. The political term became popular after the 1998 Russian financial crisis that triggered a wave of Anti-Americanism
in the post-Soviet Russia and had its peak of Internet usage in January 2006 after the Russia–Ukraine gas dispute of 2005–2006
Pejorative
Pejoratives , including name slurs, are words or grammatical forms that connote negativity and express contempt or distaste. A term can be regarded as pejorative in some social groups but not in others, e.g., hacker is a term used for computer criminals as well as quick and clever computer experts...
term used in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n media and speech to imply that many crucial decisions by political elites of Russia and some other post-Soviet states
Post-Soviet states
The post-Soviet states, also commonly known as the Former Soviet Union or former Soviet republics, are the 15 independent states that split off from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in its dissolution in December 1991...
have been and are agreed with and/or taken in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The term incorporates two incompatible
Oxymoron
An oxymoron is a figure of speech that combines contradictory terms...
symbols of power
Political power
Political power is a type of power held by a group in a society which allows administration of some or all of public resources, including labour, and wealth. There are many ways to obtain possession of such power. At the nation-state level political legitimacy for political power is held by the...
: "Washington D.C." as the symbol of the US administration, and "obkom" symbolizing the power of the Communist Party. According to Russian political analyst Oleg Maslov Washington Obkom is one of the key hybrid political symbols in the 21st century Russia. The term is mostly used by various types of Russian nationalists but occasionally is used by the figures of democratic opposition, e.g. by Garry Kasparov
Garry Kasparov
Garry Kimovich Kasparov is a Russian chess grandmaster, a former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist, and one of the greatest chess players of all time....
. The political term became popular after the 1998 Russian financial crisis that triggered a wave of Anti-Americanism
Anti-Americanism
The term Anti-Americanism, or Anti-American Sentiment, refers to broad opposition or hostility to the people, policies, culture or government of the United States...
in the post-Soviet Russia and had its peak of Internet usage in January 2006 after the Russia–Ukraine gas dispute of 2005–2006
Russia–Ukraine gas dispute of 2005–2006
The Russia–Ukraine gas disputes of 2005–2006 was between Ukrainian state-controlled oil and gas company Naftogaz Ukrainy and Russian national gas supplier Gazprom. The disagreements concerned natural gas supplies, prices and debts...