pakhanate

English

Etymology

Blending of Russian пахан (paxan, “don, mob boss, kingpin, capo di tutti capi”) and khanate(каганат (kaganat)).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pəˈkɑːneɪt/
• IPA^(key): /pɐxɐˈnat/

Noun

pakhanate (plural pakhanates)

1. Another term for mafia state.
   • 2014, Cathy Young, Putin's New Old Russia, Reason:

     In a similar vein, political scientist Andrei Piontkovsky argues that the Putin regime is a "pakhanate"—a coinage derived from pakhan, Russian underworld slang for a gang boss—intent on surrounding itself with a protective ring of copacetic "godfather states" to protect itself against change.

Translations

mafia state — see mafia state

See also

• khanate