Crisis Russian

It will be some time before historians begin writing the history of Russia’s 1998 -economic crisis. Responsible academics will wait for the dust to settle (пока уляжется пыль), take a look back and give an appraisal of the tumultous events which led to the “pink” (розовая) revolution and helped Russia’s communists secure their long-awaited political revenge (взять политический реванш).

Linguists, however, needn’t wait so long. The essential elements of our Survival Russian linguisitic crisis kit are already clear, even though some might argue over which terms are most important.

For instance, we now know that, in times of crisis, shoppers fall prey to ажиотажный спрос (hyped demand) and panic-buying (паника в магазинах), desperate to dump their rubles (сбросить рубли) because hyperinflation (гиперинфляция) is eating up their ruble savings (съедает рублёвые сбережения). As a result, the overwhelming majority of Russians find themselves below the poverty line (за чертой бедности).

What is more, the crisis has only hardened the local wisdom that the most reliable investment is kept under the mattress (под матрацем) or in a stocking (в чулке).

Linguists with a lighter bent will want to file in their kit this telling new folk saying:  Лучше рубль в руке, чем два в банке (A ruble in the hand is better than two in a bank).

When the historians do get around to writing their textbooks, they will most likely note that this crisis marked the end of the era of the младореформаторы (“young reformers” – a poetic name coined by Russian journalists, perhaps alluding to Lenin’s derogatory term младогегельянцы – “young Hegelians”) and seriously shook the foundations of Russia’s oligarchical capitalism (олигархический капитализм).

One can only wonder why Sergei Kiriyenko, the young premier who replaced тяжеловес (heavyweight) Viktor Chernomyrdin, resorted to a government дефолт (default) on loans. International news agencies quickly spread the terrifying news: “The ruble fell!” (“Рубль упал!”). Perhaps members of the аппарат found themselves muttering the folk saying: молодо – зелено (the young are green).

In any event, because of the actions of the young reformers and the Central Bank of Russia, both private bank customers and foreign investors felt fooled. Or, to use a now popular bit of slang, they felt as if they were dumped (их кинули, from the verb кинуть – “to fool, to dump someone”). Of course, it was the government who played the role of кидала (cheater).

Another popular neologism is the now widespread abuse of the verb уйти to mean “fired.” The correct он ушёл (he departed) is turned in on itself to create the incorrect его ушли (literally “he was departed”). Kiriyenko was “departed” once; his predecesssor/successor Viktor Chernomyrdin enjoyed this privilege twice during the crisis.

Interestingly, the departure of the младореформаторы somehow contradicts the old Russian saying, born in communist times: молодым везде у нас дорога, старикам везде у нас почёт (We always give way to the young, and respect the aged). Well, partially contradicts it anyway. For, if the young reformers ran into a roadblock, then our aged politicians now enjoy more than simple “respect.” Observers correctly note that most of Premier Yevgeny Primakov’s team are over 60 – ncluding Primakov himself, as well as new/old Central Bank Chairman Viktor Gerashchenko, who has been dubbed here Hercules (Геракл), because of his last name and his political weight. Indeed, the new team may mark the comeback of gerontocracy (геронтократии) to power in Russia.

In the final analysis, ill-conceived actions causing panic among investors and the public justify the proverb молодо – зелено. The question is whether our aged politicians with their Soviet pedigrees can bring anything to the table but “good” old recipes, like encouraging domestic producers with a “controlled emission” (контролируемая эмиссия).

Unfortunately, the situation in post-crisis Russia is perfectly summed up by another piece of local folk wisdom: Если бы молодость знала, если бы старость могла (If youth but knew, if age but could). The difference being that the aged do not seem to know what to do either.

But, if the “green youth” still has a say in Russia, there is one branch of domestic industry which needs urgent injections of freshly-printed rubles: production of mattresses and stockings. It seems that these consumer goods will enjoy ажиотажный спрос in Mother Russia.