A Country of Poets

the role of poets in this country has always stretched beyond the realm of literature. A poet here is a visionary, a paragon of moral – and often political – mores. Hence the popular maxim (attributed to Yevgeny Yevtushenko) — поэт в России больше, чем поэт — a poet in Russia is more than a poet. Sometimes he can also be a president, oops, a prime minister.

Vladimir Putin clearly demonstrated his poetic chops last November when meeting in Yalta with his Ukrainian counterpart, Yulia Timoshenko. When asked to comment on a parallel meeting in Kiev between Russia’s two arch-enemies – Viktor Yushchenko and Mikhail Saakashvili, Putin surmised that “two presidents always have something to talk about” (“двум президентам всегда есть о чем поговорить”)… Then he offered a poetic paraphrase of Pushkin, suggesting what he thought that “something” might be: “Бойцы вспоминали минувшие дни и битвы, что вместе продули они” (“The warriors recalled their days bygone, and all the battles they never won”). It was a clear reference to the Ossetian war that Saakashvili lost despite Yushchenko’s enthusiastic moral and military support.*

Putin’s poetic feat earned him kudos with the Russian press and public. In Ukraine, not so much.

Why kudos? Because Russians love rhymes, especially ones that demonstrate a knowledge of cultural touchstones. We garnish our day-to-day speech with what we call присловья or прибаутки – facetiously rhymed catch-phrases and expressions that spice up the language. These прибаутки often serve as perfect ice-breakers. For instance:

When a Russian unexpectedly meets a friend in a restaurant and wants to invite him to his table, he might say, “Милости прошу к нашему шалашу” (“I kindly invite you to our lean-to”).

When a host matter-of-factly dumps another generous helping onto your plate, asking innocently, “Еще кусочек?” (“Another piece?”), you can jokingly reply – “c коровий носочек” (“just a piece as big as a cow’s toe”).

When a colleague at work is dating someone without serious intent, you can sarcastically joke that “он крутит шуры-муры” (муры derives from the French amour). Or, when asked about the nature of their relationship, you can respond, “Ну, любовь — морковь” (“love is a carrot”) implying it is a superfluous, short-lived affair.

The use of these popular rhymes won’t earn you the laurels of Pushkin, but you can count on kudos from your Russian friends. But wait, there’s more!

When you meet a good friend, you can rhyme: “Какие люди в Голливуде!”  (literally, “What people you meet in Hollywood”), which means “Well I never,” or “Long time no see!”

When someone asks you “Ну?” (“So?”), you can blurt – “Баранки гну!” (literally, “I bend baranki” – bagel-shaped rolls). When you knock on a friend’s door and he asks: “Кто?” you can reply, “Дед Пихто!” or “Конь в пальто!” (“Grampa Pikhto!” or “A horse in a coat!”).

When you don’t want to reply to someone’s prying remark about what comes next: “А потом?” (“And then what?”), just offer the classic присловье, “Суп с котом!” (“A cat soup!”) To an annoying “Где?” (“Where?”) you can reply, “В Караганде” (“In Karaganda”).

Many присловья come from the army or navy. For example, after a briefing of his матросы (sailors), a commander might ask, “Вопросы?” To which the marines jokingly respond “У матросов нет вопросов”  (“Sailors have no questions”). When a sailor dumps a date from the shore after a bit of шуры-муры, it is said he поматросил и бросил (played with her and dumped her).

Both rhymes have moved into mainstream usage and even apply to politics. To return to the Ukrainian theme, Yushchenko tried to крутить шуры-муры with George Bush, Jr., NATO and the West. Ну?

Баранки гну! Bush is gone, and NATO поматросил и бросил Ukraine (and Georgia), telling them they will have to wait a bit for membership. Meanwhile, the любовь-морковь period between Yushchenko and Ukrainians has passed. After receiving just five percent of votes in Ukraine’s presidential election, Yushchenko was sent packing, which, of course, will give him plenty more time to hang out with Saakashvili and reminisce about battles gone by.

* The actual line is from Alexander Pushkin’s Song of Oleg the Wise (Песнь о вещем Олеге): 

бойцы вспоминают минувшие дни и битвы, где вместе рубились они 

(the warriors recall their bygone days and the battles they fought together).