Sovok () is a pejorative term related to the Soviet Union: the state itself, the mindset and way of life of average Soviet people, and vestiges of the Soviet Union in the psychology of people in modern Russia.[ ][Eliot Borenstein, A Sovok is a Person, Place, or Thing (Russia's Alien Nations)]
Etymology
Eliot Borenstein explains the catchiness of the term because it phonetically resembles the concept it is applied to. "Soviet", and it is a repurposed existing term "
dustpan".
[Eliot Borenstein, 2. The Rise and Fall of Sovok from Soviet Self-Hatred] Several people are commonly credited with the introduction of the term.
[Михаил Эпштейн, К ИСТОРИИ И ЗНАЧЕНИЮ СЛОВА "СОВОК"][ Lyudmila Kasyanova writes that the direct lowly meaning of the term predefines the negative evaluation of the topic and enhances the pejorative perception of the subject it is referring to.][
]
There are a number of derived words: adjective: "sovkovy" (совковый), "pertaining to 'sovok'"; noun: совковость ('sovkovost', "sovokness") the totality of the traits of a sovok, and the adverb in .[Толковый словарь языка Совдепии.- СПб.: Фолио-Пресс. Мокиенко В.М., Никитина Т.Г.. 1998.]
Soviet Union
In its generic meaning the term implies something dysfunctional, commenting on why things are run poorly or why a person behaves badly. Borenstein writes: "When the Soviet Union is called 'sovok', everyone knows what this means: economic deprivation, administrative incompetence, defective consumer technology, an intrusive public culture, bombastic rhetoric that is easily ignored, and widespread hypocrisy."[
]
Soviet people
Borenstein concisely defines a "sovok" person as "Soviet yokel"[Eliot Borenstein, Soviet Self-Hatred, book summary] and the first two chapters of his book Soviet Self-Hatred are devoted to the analysis of this category of people.[ In the opinion of Alexander Genis, among the features of a sovok are "a violent thirst for equality, a deaf hatred for anyone else's success, and an indolence that blazes energy".][ ]
Modern Russia
Many people think that in modern Russia, despite its transition away from Communism, the negative sovok traits are preserved.[ Совок-2012. Что такое «совок» и кто такие «совки» в нашей нынешней жизни? COLTA.RU отвечают поэты, писатели, художники, режиссер и музыкант, October 15, 2012][ «Совок»: живее всех живых?, editorial, Levada Center, September 11, 2012]
See also
