Vatnik (russian: ватник) is a political

pejorative A pejorative or slur is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or a disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is also used to express criticism, hostility, or disregard. Sometimes, a ...

used in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

and other

post-Soviet states The post-Soviet states, also known as the former Soviet Union (FSU), the former Soviet Republics and in Russia as the near abroad (russian: links=no, ближнее зарубежье, blizhneye zarubezhye), are the 15 sovereign states that wer ...

for steadfast

jingoistic Jingoism is nationalism in the form of aggressive and proactive foreign policy, such as a country's advocacy for the use of threats or actual force, as opposed to peaceful relations, in efforts to safeguard what it perceives as its national inter ...

followers of

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

from the

Russian government The Government of Russia exercises executive power in the Russian Federation. The members of the government are the prime minister, the deputy prime ministers, and the federal ministers. It has its legal basis in the Constitution of the Russia ...

. The use of the word originates from an

Internet meme An Internet meme, commonly known simply as a meme ( ), is an idea, behavior, style, or image that is spread via the Internet, often through social media platforms. What is considered a meme may vary across different communities on the Internet ...

first spread by Anton Chadskiy on

VKontakte VK (short for its original name ''VKontakte''; russian: ВКонтакте, meaning ''InContact'') is a Russian online social media and social networking service based in Saint Petersburg. VK is available in multiple languages but it is predomin ...

in 2011, and later used in Russia, Ukraine, then in other post-Soviet states. Its meaning refers to the original cartoon, which depicts a character made from the material of a padded cotton wool jacket and bearing a

black eye A periorbital hematoma, commonly called a black eye or a shiner (associated with boxing or stick sports such as hockey), is bruising around the eye commonly due to an injury to the face rather than to the eye. The name refers to the dark-color ...

, which is used to disparage someone as a blindly patriotic and unintelligent jingoist who pushes the conventional views presented in Russian government media as well as those of

Russian web brigades Russian web brigades (also called Russian trolls, Russian bots, Kremlin Bots, Kremlins or Rustapar) are state-sponsored anonymous Internet political commentators and trolls linked to the Government of Russia. Participants report that they are o ...

. The name "Vatnik" derives from the cotton wool jacket (

Telogreika The telogreika (russian: телогре́йка, lit=body warmer, ) or vatnik ( rus, ватник, p=ˈvatnʲɪk) is a variety of Russian warm cotton wool-padded jacket. It was also a part of the winter uniform first issued by the Red Army duri ...

) that Chadskiy's cartoon character in the meme is made from.

Origin

The meme was created by the Russian artist Anton Chadskiy under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

Jedem das Seine "'" () is the literal German translation of the Latin phrase ''suum cuique'', meaning "to each his own" or "to each what he deserves". During World War II the phrase was cynically used by the Nazis as a motto displayed over the entrance of Buche ...

''. His associated picture of an anthropomorphic square-shaped quilted jacket similar to the title character of ''

SpongeBob SquarePants ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' (or simply ''SpongeBob'') is an American animated comedy television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It chronicles the adventures of the title character a ...

'' was posted on VK for the first time on September 9, 2011. In 2012, the meme became widely popular on the Internet.10 слів і фраз, що увійшли до вжитку вінничан 2014-го року
. vlasno.info. 10.01.2015 Chadskiy created the group for the character on VK called ''RASHKA - THE SQUARE VATNIK''. ''Rashka'' is a derogatory nickname for Russia, derived from the English pronunciation of the country's name with the Russian -k diminutive suffix attached.АНТОН ЧАДСКИЙ BARHOT ИНТЕРВЬЮ
, video; .

Road Control Road Control ( uk, Дорожній Контроль, ДК, Dorozhniy Kontrol, DK, russian: Дорожный Контроль, ДК, Dorozhnyy Kontrol', DK) is a non-governmental organization in Ukraine advocating for road safety, transparency of ...

. 18.01.2015 Chadskiy's original drawing has been reproduced and modified many times. Features that are consistently included are gray color, a red nose from drinking vodka, and a black eye, presumably from a fistfight with another vatnik. The meme became much more widespread in society after the Russian military's invasion of Ukraine started in 2014. In early 2015, Anton Chadskiy reported that he was forced to leave Russia in November 2014 because he feared political persecution by the government. He was living in

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

and planning to move to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

at the time.

Linguistics

The word also exists in

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

as (), in Belarusian as (), and in Latvian as . Its plural in English is "vatniks", or less commonly, "vata", via a direct transliteration of the Russian collective .

Examples of use

* Orest Liutyi wrote a song about vatniks, as a remake of the famous Russian song "Landyshy" (russian: Ландыши). In this song, he named

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

as a khuylo. * ''We will not let the Russian vata into our homes'' – the name of the Ukrainian "

Boycott Russian Films Boycott Russian Films ( uk, Бойкот російського кіно, ''Boykot rosiys'koho kino'') is a Ukraine, Ukrainian civic campaign that supports a boycott of Cinema of Russia, Russian films and television series. It is a part of a br ...

" campaign; * ''

Inter Inter may refer to: Association football clubs * Inter Milan, an Italian club * SC Internacional, a Brazilian club * Inter Miami CF, an American club * FC Inter Sibiu, a Romanian club * FC Inter Turku, a Finnish club * FK Inter Bratislava, a forme ...

'' is a "vata" channel of Firtash the "kremlyad" (a portmanteau meaning "

Kremlin The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty, Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of th ...

whore Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penet ...

") – a critical comment in

social networks A social network is a social structure made up of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), sets of dyadic ties, and other social interactions between actors. The social network perspective provides a set of methods for an ...

; * ''The proud name "vatnik"'' – one of the topics at essays and scientific works competition in the

Altai State Pedagogical University Altai State Pedagogical Academy (russian: Алтайский государственный педагогический университет) is a federal state budget institution of higher education in Barnaul, Russia Russia (, , ), ...

, that was dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the

Soviet Union 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 national ...

victory in the

German-Soviet War The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of conflict between the European Axis powers against the Soviet Union (USSR), Poland and other Allies, which encompassed Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Northeast Europe (Baltics), and Sout ...

(

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

).Алтайський університет оголосив конкурс творів: "Горде ім'я — «ватник»
.

Ukrayinska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' ( uk, Українська правда, lit=Ukrainian Truth) is a Ukrainian online newspaper founded by Georgiy Gongadze on 16 April 2000 (the day of the Ukrainian constitutional referendum). Published mainly in Ukraini ...

. 14.01.2015 * During the end of 2014, the comedy television show ''VATA TV'' (original: ''ВАТА TV'') was shown in Ukraine. It was devoted to the "vata" phenomenon. It was hosted by the popular 5 Kanal host Viktor Lytovchenko. He had mainly spoken

Surzhyk Surzhyk (, ) refers to a range of mixed sociolects of Ukrainian and Russian languages used in certain regions of Ukraine and the neighboring regions of Russia and Moldova. There is no unifying set of characteristics; the term is, according to so ...

during programs. * During New Year 2015 celebration, the author of the meme Anton Chadskiy held a humorous action – "Vatnik of the year" award. This action was controversial on the Russian Internet. * The North Atlantic Fella Organization used the Vatnik slang and Anton Chadskiy's meme in many tweets and memes to ridicule Russian

disinformation Disinformation is false information deliberately spread to deceive people. It is sometimes confused with misinformation, which is false information but is not deliberate. The English word ''disinformation'' comes from the application of the L ...

References

External links

Vatnik
on Lurkmore {{in lang, ru
Brief history of "vatnik" term
(video) Anti-Russian sentiment Internet memes Russian Internet slang Russian nationalism War in Donbas 2011 neologisms Internet memes introduced from Russia

Origin

Linguistics

Examples of use

See also

References

External links