A protester holds a sign with the phrase after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Putler (Russian: Путлер), sometimes extended to Vladolf Putler[1] (Владольф Путлер[2][3]), is a derogatory neologism and portmanteau formed by merging the names of Vladimir Putin and Adolf Hitler.[4][5][6] Often used in the slogan "Putler Kaput!" (German: Putler kaputt!; Russian: Путлер Капут!, literally, "Putler broken! [sic]") by people opposed to Putin,[7][8] the term has a negative connotation.[7]

Origin of the word

Look up Putler in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

According to Russian linguist Boris Sharifullin [ru], the word 'Putler' was coined in Russia.[9] According to French historian Marlène Laruelle, the word was coined by the Ukrainian press.[10]

Use of the word

Putin-Hitler signage in London, 2014
Putin-Hitler signage in London, 2014

The word "Putler" became common among the opposition in Russia and Ukraine.[11] The use of the German-sounding slogan Putler Kaputt by Russians represents a change of language as a special play position, thus creating the effect that these words are being used by a foreign observer, while still using words that are understandable for Russians.[12]

Domestic Russian protest movement

The slogan attracted fame—and legal problems in Russia in 2009. A participant at a rally organized by the Communist Party of the Russian Federation on 31 January 2009 in Vladivostok carried a placard reading "Putler kaput!" The rally was directed against new customs duties on the import of used cars. The Vladivostok prosecutor's office [Wikidata] issued a warning to the regional committee of the party regarding this placard.[13][14] The regional committee reacted by publishing the following text on its website:[7][15]

The author of this slogan had in mind a specific person engaged in the auto business by the name of Putler, who came to an end due to the increase in duties on foreign cars: due to this circumstance, he lost his job, and hence the income with which he supported his large family. He, like thousands of other residents of the region, intends to leave Primorye, where it is simply impossible to live and work.

In April 2009, the slogan was officially banned.[16] According to the Primorsky Laboratory of Forensic Expertise of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation, the slogan has "a pronounced emotional assessment of the personality or activities of Putin V.V. as a representative of state power and is offensive in nature."[15]

The slogan "Putler Kaput" was also used during protests at opposition rallies in Moscow in connection with the 4 December 2011 State Duma elections and the 2012 presidential elections.[17]

After 2014

2014 election poster of political party Ukrainian Platform "Sobor" in Kyiv. The caption says: "The tire was on fire and Vova Putler la-la-la".
2014 election poster of political party Ukrainian Platform "Sobor" in Kyiv.[18] The caption says: "The tire was on fire and Vova Putler la-la-la".

The popularity of this pejorative increased in 2014. It was nominated for the "Word of the Year 2014" competition[19] after the annexation of Crimea by Russia, which some politicians, publicists and journalists compared with the Anschluss of Austria in 1938, after which Nazi Germany unleashed the Second World War.[4][14][20] The Washington Post cited a number of such statements and published photographs of Ukrainian protesters holding posters with the text "Putler — hands off Ukraine" and "Putler Kaput!" and caricatured drawings connecting the recognizable facial features of Vladimir Putin and Adolf Hitler.[20] Several Russian linguists regarded this publication as deliberately shaping a negative image of Putin among readers.[4][21][a]

Courthouse News Service notes that the nickname “Putler” is part of Ukrainian propaganda.[22]

According to journalist Rodger Jones, the "Putler" reference was "prominent" during the protests in 2014 in front of the Russian embassy in Washington.[23]

In July 2014, after the appearance of photos from the FIFA World Cup, where Vladimir Putin and German сhancellor Angela Merkel were sitting next to each other, watching its final match, comments appeared on this photo on social networks, which read "Thank you, Mrs. Putler" (German: Danke, Frau Putler). According to The Guardian, the authors of these comments were Ukrainians who were dissatisfied with the position taken by the сhancellor regarding the Russo-Ukrainian War.[24]

The word "Putler" has frequently been used in academic and journalistic works when comparing insulting language used against Russians and Ukrainians. The word is generally used in combination with negative verbs, such as "attack" and "shits".[25]

References to "Putler" have been a common sight at international demonstrations against the actions of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.[26]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The phrase that forms the attitude towards Putin was, in particular, the saying "They call it 'Putler'. And yes, it looks a little creepy", in which the word "creepy" is intended to increase the reader's emotional response

References

  1. ^ Katarzyna Jamróz (7 March 2022). "[WIDEO] Vladolf Putler? Austriacy kpią z prezydenta Rosji". głos24 (in Polish). Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  2. ^ "Российский бизнесмен о Путине: гэбэшное чмо с пустыми рыбьими глазами". Главред (in Russian). Ukraine. 10 November 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  3. ^ "Слава Рабинович: Как и когда совершат в Кремле "дворцовый переворот"?". Главное (in Russian). Ukraine. 13 October 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  4. ^ a b c Kabanova, Irina (2016). Zhigalev, Boris (ed.). "Интертекстуальный Статус Аллюзивных Включений в Медийном Дискурсе" [Intertextual Status of Allusion in Mass Media Discourse] (PDF). Vestnik of Nizhny Novgorod Linguistics University (in Russian). N. A. Dobrolyubova State Linguistic University of Nizhny Novgorod (33): 31–39.
  5. ^ Gorban', V (9 July 2015) [2014]. "Креативний Потенціал Антропонімів у Політичному Дискурсі (Мінливість vs Стійкість)" [Creative Potential of Anthroponyms in Political Discourse (Variability vs Stability)]. Слов'янський збірник (in Russian). Odessa University (18): 20–28.
  6. ^ Ratajczyk, Krystyna (2013). "Семантика контаминированных образований в языке российских и польских СМИ" [The semantics of contaminated structures in the language of Russian and Polish media]. Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Linguistica Rossica (in Russian). University of Łódź. 09. ISSN 2353-9623 – via The Central European Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities.
  7. ^ a b c Steksova, Tatyana (2012). "Словотворчество как проявление политических пристрастий" [Word formation as a manifestation of political passions]. Сибирский филологический журнал (in Russian) (4): 204. ISSN 1813-7083 – via CyberLeninka.
  8. ^ Tempest, Richard (2 July 2016). "The Charismatic Body Politics of President Putin". Journal of Political Marketing. 15 (2–3): 101–119. doi:10.1080/15377857.2016.1151105. ISSN 1537-7857. S2CID 151773571.
  9. ^ Sharifullin, Boris (2016). "Ономастические Игры в Российских Информационно Психологических Войнах" [Onomastig Games in Russian Information Warfare]. Ecology of Language and Communicative Practice (in Russian). Krasnoyarsk: Siberian Federal University. 1: 4. ISSN 2311-3499 – via CyberLeninka.
  10. ^ Laruelle, Marlene (22 March 2021). "Introduction: Russia and the Symbolic Landscape of Fascism". Is Russia Fascist?. Cornell University Press. pp. 1–9. doi:10.1515/9781501754159-002. ISBN 978-1-5017-5415-9. S2CID 243064016.
  11. ^ Gaufman, Elizaveta (2018) [2017]. "The Post-Trauma of the Great Patriotic War in Russia" (PDF). Studies in Russian, Eurasian and Central European New Media (18): 36.
  12. ^ Fedorova, Ludmila (2 April 2014). "Языковой ландшафт: город и толпа" [Linguistic Landscape: City and Crowd] (in Russian). Russian State University for the Humanities. p. 78. Retrieved 29 March 2021 – via CyberLeninka.
  13. ^ "Путлер вне закона" [Putler is outlawed]. Expert (in Russian). 3 April 2009. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  14. ^ a b Potsar, Anna (21 December 2014). "Главные слова и фразы жителей России в 2014 году" [The main words and phrases of the inhabitants of Russia in 2014]. Delovoy Peterburg (in Russian). Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  15. ^ a b Chernyshev, Alexey (3 April 2009). "Фамилия Путлер признана экстремистской" [Surname Putler recognized as extremist]. Kommersant (in Russian). Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  16. ^ "Vladivostok Officials Ban 'Putler Kaput' Slogan". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 6 April 2009. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  17. ^ Mikhalkova, Elena (2012). "Дискурсивные особенности текстов плакатов на митингах оппозиции в Москве, проведенных в связи с выборами в Государственную думу РФ 4 декабря 2011 г. И выборами Президента РФ 4 марта 2012 г" [Aspects of Discourse, Found in the Texts of Posters at Meetings Held in Moscow Over the Elections to State Duma (4 December 2012) and Presidential Elections (4 March 2012)]. Политическая лингвистика. Tyumen. 2 (40): 129. ISSN 1999-2629 – via CyberLeninka.
  18. ^ ""Креативная" агитация перед выборами: Дарт Вейдер, Богиня, "пЫжиты по-новому" и "ла-ла-ла"" ["Creative" campaigning before the elections: Darth Vader, the Goddess, "new ways" and "la-la-la"]. tsn.ua (in Russian). 1+1 Media Group. 27 May 2014. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  19. ^ Shmeleva, Elena (2015). "Интернет-коммуникация: новые тенденции в русском словообразовании" [Internet Communication: New Trends in Russian Word Formation]. Верхневолжский филологический вестник (in Russian) (2): 46–52. ISSN 2499-9679 – via CyberLeninka.
  20. ^ a b McCoy, Terrence (23 April 2014). "Here's 'Putler:' The mash-up image of Putin and Hitler sweeping Ukraine". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  21. ^ Morozova, Oksana (2014). "Формирование образа России в условиях политической напряженности (на материале американской прессы)" [Creating the Image of Russia in Political Tension Conditions (Based on American Press)]. Известия Саратовского университета. Новая серия. Серия Филология. Журналистика (in Russian). Saratov State University. 14 (4): 113. ISSN 1817-7115 – via CyberLeninka.
  22. ^ Burdeau, Cain (26 April 2022). "Russia warns of World War III, West boosts arms to Ukraine". Courthouse News Service.
  23. ^ Jones, Rodger (3 March 2014). "Putin is 'Putler' to parts of Eastern Europe". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  24. ^ Tsagolova, V. (2016). Chudinov, Anatoly (ed.). Прецедентные трансформы (на материале образа А. Меркель в СМИ) [Precedent Transforms (based on the image of Angela Merkel in mass media)] (PDF) (in Russian). Yekaterinburg. p. 208. ISBN 978-5-7186-0796-3. Retrieved 29 March 2021. ((cite book)): |website= ignored (help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  25. ^ Knoblock, Natalia; Beliaeva, Natalia (2020). "Blended names in the discussions of the Ukrainian crisis". Language of conflict : discourses of the Ukrainian crisis. London, UK: Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 84. ISBN 978-1-350-09863-3. OCLC 1141994486.
  26. ^ Rodrigues, Charlene (24 February 2022). "In Pictures: Protesters worldwide rally against Russia's invasion of Ukraine". The Independent. Archived from the original on 24 February 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
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