''Tibla'' (''tiblad'' in plural) is an
insult in the
Estonian language
Estonian ( ) is a Finnic language, written in the Latin script. It is the official language of Estonia and one of the official languages of the European Union, spoken natively by about 1.1 million people; 922,000 people in Estonia and 160, ...
, which typically refers to a
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
-speaking
citizen of the former Soviet Union (
USSR
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
) who is hostile towards other cultures and countries. "Tibla" was a
censored
Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...
word during the 1944–1991
Soviet occupation of Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
.
Origin
There are several hypotheses about the origin of the word.
Estonian journalist Voldemar Kures in the 1962 "Väliseestlase kalender" ("Calendar for Estonians Abroad", "An Expat Estonian's Calendar") suggests, that the word comes from the name of the
Vitebsk Governorate
Vitebsk Governorate (russian: Витебская губерния, ) was an administrative unit ( guberniya) of the Russian Empire, with the seat of governorship in Vitebsk. It was established in 1802 by splitting the Byelorussia Governorate an ...
, in reference to Russian construction workers during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, who mostly came to Estonia from
Vitebsk
Vitebsk or Viciebsk (russian: Витебск, ; be, Ві́цебск, ; , ''Vitebsk'', lt, Vitebskas, pl, Witebsk), is a city in Belarus. The capital of the Vitebsk Region, it has 366,299 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth-largest c ...
and were considered rather
dumb. They were called "''tipski''" (a corruption of ''Vitebski'' – "one of Vitebsk"; ''tipskid'' in plural), which later became "tibla". A similar version is the corruption of ''viteblyane''/''vitiblyane'' (витебляне) – "people of Vitebsk" or "people from Vitebsk". The 1937 ''Eesti Entsüklopeedia'' (Estonian Encyclopedia) is also believed to have such a reference.
"Tibla" was already in widespread use during the
Estonian War of Independence
The Estonian War of Independence ( et, Vabadussõda, literally "Freedom War"), also known as the Estonian Liberation War, was a defensive campaign of the Estonian Army and its allies, most notably the United Kingdom, against the Bolshevik westw ...
(1918–1920), as documented by then-current war correspondence between officers and higher-ups. At the time, the word was used to denote non-local Russians (more specifically males and low-ranking soldiers), independent of their affiliation during the concurrent
Russian Civil War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Russian Civil War
, partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I
, image =
, caption = Clockwise from top left:
{{flatlist,
*Soldiers ...
.
The 1936–1937 war memories journal ''Vabadussõja lood'' ("Stories of the War of Independence") featured the word more widely both in soldiers' recollections, war songs and anecdotes. Of the soldier's songs, two used the titular word in their lyrics: "Vabariigi pealinnas" (''Eng.'' "In the Capital City of the Republic", alternately titled "Linda"; the former title was used in print, and the latter appeared in
folklore
Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...
), which indicated the worry of Estonian soldiers that young women would choose to bide their time with men of other nationalities during the absence of Estonian men themselves; and "Tibla seltsimees" (''Eng. lit.'' "The Comrade of a Tibla", or "The Tibla Comrade").
Another hypothesis is that the word comes from the
Russian profane addressing "ty, blyad", "''ты, блядь''" ("you bitch", and the like) or, truncated, "ty, blya", "''ты, бля''".
Modern definition
The
Estonian Press Council offers an opinion that the term ''tibla'' is mostly applied to a ''
Homo Sovieticus
''Homo Sovieticus'' ( Dog Latin for "Soviet Man") is a pejorative for an average conformist person in the Soviet Union and other countries of the Eastern Bloc. The term was popularized by Soviet writer and sociologist Aleksandr Zinovyev, who ...
'' kind of person: lacking culture, uneducated, with imperialist worldview; one who does not respect the host country's language, culture, and its native inhabitants.
["Sixth Periodic Report"]
on the Implementation of the Submitted by the Republic of Estonia under Article 9 of the Convention", 2004
The word began to be actively used in Estonian media since the 1990s by "
Ivan Orav", a fictional character created by
Andrus Kivirähk. According to "Orav", the word "tibla" has nothing to do with Russians, but that "tiblas" are instead small pink creatures that first appeared in Estonia in
June 1940.
The 2006
European Network Against Racism
The European Network Against Racism (ENAR) is an EU-wide network of anti-racist NGOs. ENAR aims to end structural racism and discrimination and advocates for equality and solidarity for all in Europe. It connects local and national anti-racist ...
report mentions the recent use of the word ''tibla'' in Estonian-language media as an example of inappropriate language.
Controversies
In 2002, the Estonian Press Council settled the case when the newspaper ''
Eesti Päevaleht
''Eesti Päevaleht'' ''("Estonia Daily")'' is a major daily Estonian newspaper, from the same publishers as the weekly ''Eesti Ekspress''. It has a daily circulation of around 36,000.
History and profile
''Eesti Päevaleht'' was founded on 5 Jun ...
'' printed an advertisement: "Don't you read the Päevaleht? You must be a tibla then. Be a true Estonian and become the reader."
[
In 2008 the usage of the word in media caused a controversy, when Estonian TV aired the film '']Airheads
''Airheads'' is a 1994 American comedy film written by Rich Wilkes, directed by Michael Lehmann, and starring Brendan Fraser, Steve Buscemi, Adam Sandler, Chris Farley, Ernie Hudson, Michael McKean, Judd Nelson, Michael Richards, Amy Locane and ...
'', in which the slur " retards" was translated as "tibla" (a completely different meaning). When confronted, the translator, a well-known linguist, apologised, saying that she was careless.[Shmelev, M. Strange accent of the local translation." Daily ''Vesti'', 16.09.2008; the reference taken fro]
"Racism in Estonia"
ENAR Shadow Report 2008
Notes
References
{{Ethnic slurs
Anti-communist terminology
Anti-Russian sentiment
Estonian words and phrases
Pejorative terms for European people