vatnik
English edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from Russian ва́тник (vátnik, literally “quilted jacket”). The sense of "unintelligent Russian patriot" was derived from the jackets worn by Soviet citizens and an online cartoon about a sentient jacket known by the same name.
The term was popularized in Russia in 2011 and re-popularized at large in 2022 during the Russian invasion of Ukraine to refer to supporters of the invasion, especially online users, even if they are not from Russia.[1]
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
vatnik (plural vatniks or vatniki)
- A Russian style of quilted jacket.
- 1959, Men's Wear:
- Two models each for men and women are featured at prices ranging from 100 to 140 rubles, more than the cost of a 'vatnik.' (The ruble is nominally valued at four to $1.)
- (derogatory) An unintelligent Russian patriot.
- 2015 January 5, Oksana Grytsenko, “Ukrainian wartime glossary: Ukrop, Vatnik and more”, in Kyiv Post (news), →ISBN:
- Vatnik, originally a name of a warm cotton-padded Russian jacket that is still used sometimes in rural areas, has a broad meaning of all people with imperial Russian ideology.
- 2017, Erin Coyne, Igor Fisun, What They Didn't Teach You in Russian Class: Slang Phrases for the Cafe, Club, Bar, Bedroom, Ball Game and More, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN:
- A vatnik basically refers to a Russian who is not too bright and who loves him some Putin.
- 2017, Lena Jonson, Andrei Erofeev, Russia - Art Resistance and the Conservative-Authoritarian Zeitgeist, Routledge, →ISBN:
- To mock the audience and depict the Russian man as a vatnik [uneducated hurray patriot] or a gopnik [in English: chav] seems totally inappropriate to me.
- 2017, Anna Matveeva, Through Times of Trouble: Conflict in Southeastern Ukraine Explained from Within, Lexington Books, →ISBN, page 198:
- At first, vatniks were pro-Russian citizens, in the view of some, Sovietized lumpenproletariat, who supported the separation of Crimea and close ties with [Russia].
- 2020, Natalia Knoblock, Language of Conflict: Discourses of the Ukrainian Crisis, Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN, page 109:
- […] many pro-Maidan FB-users whose posts I analysed saw themselves as nothing less than the standard-bearers of civilization: 'The work on vatniks requires huge efforts, but this is what distinguishes civilization from barbarism' (FB-user 15, Kyiv).
- (derogatory, Internet slang, neologism, by extension) A supporter of Vladimir Putin, Russian nationalism, or the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine; a Putinist.
- (derogatory, Internet slang, neologism, by extension) a soldier in the Russian armed forces involved in the invasion of Ukraine.
- Synonym: orc
Usage notes edit
For sense 3, "vatnik" is also applied to anyone who is not from Russia or an ethnic Russian if they are a supporter of the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Translations edit
a Russian style of quilted jacket
unintelligent Russian patriot, supporter of Russian aggressive policies (derogatory)
|
See also edit
References edit
- ^ Liberman, Mark (2023 May 28) “"Vatnik" — ethnic or political slur?”, in Language Log[1], University of Pennyslvania, retrieved 2023-05-28
Estonian edit
Etymology edit
From Russian ва́тник (vátnik).
Sense 2 originates from an Internet meme from 2011, spread mainly in Russia and Ukraine, but also in other post-Soviet countries.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
vatnik (genitive vatniku, partitive vatnikut)
- vatnik (Russian quilted jacket)
- (derogatory, Internet slang, neologism) vatnik (an uneducated pro-Kremlin Russian or other national who believes Russian propaganda and advocates aggressive imperialism)
- 2022 March 27, Aleksander Tomas Vassiljev, “Aleksander Tomas Vassiljev: V nagu vatnik ehk vene marurahvusluse eripärad [Aleksander Tomas Vassiliev: V for Vatnik, or, the nature of Russian ultranationalism]”, in Eesti Ekspress [Estonian Express][2], published 2022 May 2:
- Vatniku tunneb kohe ja intuitiivselt ära iga vene kultuuriruumiga tuttav inimene. Vene keelt mitte valdav inimene ning eriti noorema põlvkonna esindaja pole aga selle kultuurilise fenomeniga sageli kursis. See üldhariduslik artikkel aitab loodetavasti vatnikut tuvastada ja vahest ka mõista.
- A vatnik can instantly and intuitively be recognised by anyone familiar with the Russian cultural space. However, people who do not speak Russian, and especially the younger generation, are often unfamiliar with this cultural phenomenon. This general educational article will hopefully help to identify and perhaps understand the vatnik.
Declension edit
| Declension of vatnik (ÕS type 2/õpik, no gradation) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| singular | plural | ||
| nominative | vatnik | vatnikud | |
| accusative | nom. | ||
| gen. | vatniku | ||
| genitive | vatnikute | ||
| partitive | vatnikut | vatnikuid | |
| illative | vatnikusse | vatnikutesse vatnikuisse | |
| inessive | vatnikus | vatnikutes vatnikuis | |
| elative | vatnikust | vatnikutest vatnikuist | |
| allative | vatnikule | vatnikutele vatnikuile | |
| adessive | vatnikul | vatnikutel vatnikuil | |
| ablative | vatnikult | vatnikutelt vatnikuilt | |
| translative | vatnikuks | vatnikuteks vatnikuiks | |
| terminative | vatnikuni | vatnikuteni | |
| essive | vatnikuna | vatnikutena | |
| abessive | vatnikuta | vatnikuteta | |
| comitative | vatnikuga | vatnikutega | |
References edit
French edit
Etymology edit
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
vatnik m (plural vatniks)
- vatnik (jacket)
- 2022 February 2, “Vatnik: cette veste ultra-populaire en URSS dont le nom est devenu une insulte [Vatnik: the ultra-popular jacket in the USSR whose name has become an insult]”, in Russia Beyond[3]:
- Chaude, coupe-vent et, surtout, pas chère. Tel était le vatnik classique - une veste rembourrée avec de la ouate. En Union soviétique, tout le pays le portait [...]
- Warm, wind-resistant, and most importantly, inexpensive. This was the classic vatnik - the wadded jacket. In the Soviet Union, everyone in the country wore it [...]
Noun edit
vatnik m or f by sense (plural vatniks)
- (derogatory, Internet slang) vatnik (Putinist)
- 2018 August 27, Le Figaro[4], sourced from « En Russie, des blagues sur internet peuvent mener devant les tribunaux:
- L’autre publication est un dessin représentant un "vatnik", terme qui désigne à l’origine un vêtement porté lors de la période soviétique et qui est utilisé comme insulte envers des personnes considérées comme soutenant aveuglément les autorités.
- The other publication is a drawing depicting a "vatnik", a term originally used to describe a garment worn during the Soviet period and used as an insult to people considered to be blindly supporting the authorities.
Swedish edit
Noun edit
vatnik c
- (derogatory, Internet slang, neologism) a vatnik (Putinist)
- Forumtråden var full med vatniks
- The forum thread was full of vatniks
Declension edit
| Declension of vatnik | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | |||
| Indefinite | Definite | Indefinite | Definite | |
| Nominative | vatnik | vatniken | vatniks | vatniksarna |
| Genitive | vatniks | vatnikens | vatnikss | vatniksarnas |