vatnik

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search

English[edit]

vatnik (1)

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from Russian ва́тник (vátnik, literally “quilted jacket”). The sense of "unintelligent Russian patriot" was derived from the jackets worn by Soviet citizens and an online cartoon about a sentient jacket known by the same name.

The term was popularized in Russia in 2011 and re-popularized at large in 2022 during the Russian invasion of Ukraine to refer to supporters of the invasion, especially online users, even if they are not from Russia.[1]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

vatnik (plural vatniks or vatniki)

  1. A Russian style of quilted jacket.
    • 1959, Men's Wear:
      Two models each for men and women are featured at prices ranging from 100 to 140 rubles, more than the cost of a 'vatnik.' (The ruble is nominally valued at four to $1.)
  2. (derogatory, neologism) An unintelligent Russian patriot.
    Synonyms: sovok, portyanka
    • 2017, Erin Coyne, Igor Fisun, What They Didn't Teach You in Russian Class: Slang Phrases for the Cafe, Club, Bar, Bedroom, Ball Game and More, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN:
      A vatnik basically refers to a Russian who is not too bright and who loves him some Putin.
    • 2017, Lena Jonson, Andrei Erofeev, Russia - Art Resistance and the Conservative-Authoritarian Zeitgeist, Routledge, →ISBN:
      To mock the audience and depict the Russian man as a vatnik [uneducated hurray patriot] or a gopnik [in English: chav] seems totally inappropriate to me.
    • 2017, Anna Matveeva, Through Times of Trouble: Conflict in Southeastern Ukraine Explained from Within, Lexington Books, →ISBN, page 198:
      At first, vatniks were pro-Russian citizens, in the view of some, Sovietized lumpenproletariat, who supported the separation of Crimea and close ties with [Russia].
    • 2020, Natalia Knoblock, Language of Conflict: Discourses of the Ukrainian Crisis, Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN, page 109:
      […] many pro-Maidan FB-users whose posts I analysed saw themselves as nothing less than the standard-bearers of civilization: 'The work on vatniks requires huge efforts, but this is what distinguishes civilization from barbarism' (FB-user 15, Kyiv).
  3. (derogatory, Internet slang, neologism, by extension) A supporter of Vladimir Putin, Russian nationalism, or the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine; a Putinist.
    Synonym: Putinist
  4. (derogatory, Internet slang, neologism, by extension) a soldier in the Russian armed forces involved in the invasion of Ukraine.
    Synonym: orc

Usage notes[edit]

For sense 3, "vatnik" is also applied to anyone who is not from Russia or an ethnic Russian if they are a supporter of the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Translations[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Liberman, Mark (2023-05-28), “"Vatnik" — ethnic or political slur?”, in Language Log‎[1], University of Pennyslvania, retrieved 2023-05-28

Swedish[edit]

Noun[edit]

vatnik c

  1. (derogatory, Internet slang, neologism) a vatnik (dogmatic supporter of Vladimir Putin, Russian nationalism, or the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine)
    Forumtråden var full med vatniks
    The forum thread was full of vatniks

Declension[edit]

Declension of vatnik 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative vatnik vatniken vatniks vatniksarna
Genitive vatniks vatnikens vatnikss vatniksarnas
Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=vatnik&oldid=75983831"