6 Nicknames that Russians received
Today, science is the national nickname. The neutral national nickname is called the scientific exonym, and the offensive nickname, with a negative connotation, is called ethnopolism. Knowing the origin of national nicknames, one can understand a lot — both about oneself, and about a neighbor, and about a neighbor’s neighbor. We discuss some more in detail about Russians names, meanings and origins, in our article Russian Surnames.
1 Katsap
The Russians got this humorous nickname from their brothers — “Ukrainians.” Scientists are still arguing why. Some say “katsap” — means “like a tsap” (goat). For a shaved Ukrainian, a bearded Russian resembled a goat. Others see Turkic roots here, and the word “kasap” is translated as “carver, robber.” There are also various derivatives of the word katsap: Russia is called Katsapiya, Katsapetovka, Katsapuria, Katsapland or Katsapstan. In literature and folklore, you can often find the word “katsap”. Here is an example — “God took a tsap (goat), and damn katsap” (Ukrainian proverb)
2 Moskal
Russian, most often — comes from Moscow, which, even without being the capital, had a huge impact on Russian lands and on state affairs of neighboring countries. The nickname did not immediately get a negative connotation. During the campaigns, Russian troops did not live in barracks and camps, but in the huts of the indigenous people who fed them. A soldier (Muscovite) will be fed or hungry depended on his ability to “agree” with the owners of the house about the grub. In addition, Russian soldiers were not indifferent to local girls.
However, the relationship lasted only while Muscovites were guests of the village. And when a duty called a soldier to other lands, relations with local girls were forgotten. Then the verb “moskalit” appeared — to cheat, cheat.
3 Ivan
Since the days of the Second World War, in Germany and the USA, Russians have been called “Ivanes.” In response, the Russians called the Germans “Fritz”, and, in addition, the Caucasians — “Khachiks”, “Khachs.” “Khach” in Armenian means “cross”, and this is one of the most common names in Armenia. By the way, it was the Muslims — Azerbaijanis and Turks — who were the first to call the Armenians “Khachiks.”
4 Mauje
The nickname of Russians is Soviet Koreans. This word is the Chinese word “Maozi” (or “Mouzi”) spoken in the Korean manner, which means “bearded man,” as the Chinese called them.
5 Tibla, tibla
This ethnopolism was inherited by the Russians from their neighbors — the “Balts,” or rather, the Estonians. The “tbl” came from the conversion “you bl.” So originally in Estonia they called the soldiers of the Red Army in 1918–1920, 1940–1941 and 1944. The relatively small Russian minority in pre-war independent Estonia did not initially address this appeal. During the Soviet era, this expression began to be used only among the indigenous population. After gaining freedom of speech and independence in 1991, it firmly entered the vocabulary as a contemptuous and insulting nickname for Russian-speaking residents of the country, especially those who do not speak the local language. The Media Council believes that the expression “tibla” is primarily used as a designation for Homo soveticus (Soviet man).
6 Shuravi
Initially, the designation of Soviet soldiers in Afghanistan (the Russian equivalent of the word showravi is? Ourav ?: Soviet). At the moment, the neutral, even respectfully, designation of all Russians in the Arab countries
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