Absurdistan is a term sometimes used to satire describe a country in which absurdity is the norm due to the ubiquity and incompetence of its bureaucracy. The expression was originally used by Eastern bloc dissidents to refer to parts (or all) of the Soviet Union and its Soviet satellite states, but has remained common in post-communism discourse as well.
Origins
The first known printed use of the word "Absurdistan" appeared in 1971 in the
Germany monthly Politische Studien
[Monatshefte der Hochschule für politische Wissenschaften, München, veröffentlicht vom Isar-Verlag. (1971)] "... erkennen wir, dass wir uns hier in
Absurdistan bewegen".
[ Political Studies: Monthly of the University for political Studies, Munich, published by Isar-Verlag (1971) (free translation): ... we recognize, that we are here venturing on Absurdistan territory.] Later, in
Czech language, the term Absurdistán was used by dissident and later president Václav Havel. This seems to indicate that use of the term began during
perestroika. The first recorded printed use of the term in
English language was in
The Spectator in an article on August 26, 1989, about
Czechoslovakia (
Czechoslovaks have taken to calling their country "Absurdistan" because everyday life there has long resembled the "Theatre of the Absurd".) On September 18, 1989, an article in
The Nation was called
Prague Summer of '89: Journey to Absurdistan. On August 30, 1990,
The New York Times used it in an article about the Soviet Union,
["Sununu Tutors the Kremlin's Staff" by Francis X. Clines.] and a January 18, 1990,
Village Voice interview with Havel by Bonnie Sue Stein and Vit Horejs was headlined "The New King of Absurdistan".
Other uses
After its original reference to countries like
Afghanistan,
Kazakhstan and others ending in
-stan in ironical use for the collapsing
Eastern bloc, the term was extended to other countries. The term has been used in several titles of movies, books, and articles:
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The German comic book Abenteuer in Absurdistan mit Micky Maus (Germany 1993, volume 189 of the comic series "Walt Disneys ").
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Welcome to Absurdistan: Ukraine, the Soviet Disunion and the West by Lubomyr Luciuk, 1994 ().
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Hazám, Abszurdisztán (Absurdistan, my Home) is a book by Lajos Grendel, Bratislava, 1998 ().
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, 1999 Austrian movie.
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The album Absurdistan by Romanian artist Ada Milea (2002)
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Absurdistan
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Absurdistan, a 2006 satirical novel by Gary Shteyngart set in a fictional former Soviet republic.
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Absurdistan, a 2008 film directed by Veit Helmer.
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Apsurdistan is the name of the 2013 music album of the Bosnian band Dubioza kolektiv.
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Absurdistán is the title of the Czech language release of the movie Idiocracy, as distributed by the Bontonfilm company.
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Abszurdisztán is the name of a song from the album "Pont" (2015) by the Hungarians Punk rock band, HétköznaPICSAlódások
See also
