Names of Soviet origin

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Vilen "Willi" Tokarev was "octobered" with the name Vilen after V.I. Lenin Tokarev Villi.jpg
Vilen "Willi" Tokarev was "octobered" with the name Vilen after V.I. Lenin

Given names of Soviet origin appeared in the early history of the Soviet Union, [2] coinciding with the period of intensive word formation, both being part of the so-called "revolutionary transformation of the society" with the corresponding fashion of neologisms and acronyms, [3] which Richard Stites characterized as a utopian vision of creating a new reality by means of verbal imagery. [2] They constituted a notable part of the new Soviet phraseology.

Contents

Such names may be primarily found in Russian persons, [4] and sometimes in Belarusians and Ukrainians, [5] as well as in other minorities of the former USSR (e.g. Tatar [6] ).

History

The proliferation of the new names was enhanced by the propagation of a short-lived "new Soviet rite" of Octobering, in replacement of the religious tradition of child baptism in the state with the official dogma of Marxist–Leninist atheism. [2] [7]

In defiance of the old tradition of taking names from menology, according to the feast days, [2] many names were taken from nature having patriotic, revolutionary, or progressive connotation: Beryoza (Берёза, "birch tree", a proverbial Russian tree), Gvozdika (Гвоздика, "carnation", a revolutionary flower), Granit (Гранит, "granite", a symbol of power), Radiy (Радий, "radium", a symbol of scientific progress). [3] A peculiarity of the new naming was neologisms based on the revolutionary phraseology of the day, such as Oktyabrin/Oktyabrina, to commemorate the October Revolution, Vladlen for Vladimir Lenin. [2]

Richard Stites classifies the Soviet "revolutionary" names into the following categories: [2] [8]

Most of these names were short-lived linguistic curiosities, but some of them fit well into the framework of the language, proliferated and survived for a long time. [4]

Common new names

The following names were quite common and may be found in various antroponymic dictionaries.

Name (Cyrillic)TransliterationOriginComments
Вил, Вилен, Владлен, ВладленаVil, Vilen, Vladlen (m) / Vladlena (f), Vladilen Владимир Ильич Ленин (Vladimir Ilyich Lenin) [3] [4] "Vilen" or "Vilén" is also a traditional Finnish and Swedish surname.
МэлMelМаркс, Энгельс и Ленин (Marx, Engels and Lenin) [3] [4]
Мэлс Mels Маркс, Энгельс, Ленин и Сталин (Marx, Engels, Lenin and Stalin)
Баррикад, БаррикадаBarrikad (m) / Barrikada (f) Barricade [3] [4] Refers to the revolutionary activity
Ревмир, РевмираRevmir (m) / Revmira (f)Революция мира (Revolyutsiya mira)Means "The revolution of the World" [3] [4]
ГертрудаGertruda Gertrude reinterpreted as Герой труда (Geroy truda)Means "The Hero of Labour" [3] [4]
МарленMarlen (m) Marlene reinterpreted as Маркс и Ленин (Marx and Lenin) [3] [4]
СтэнSten, Stan Stan reinterpreted as Сталин и Энгельс (Stalin and Engels) [3] [4]
Те́льманTelman Telman is a tribute to German Communist Ernst Thälmann
КимKim Kim reinterpreted as Коммунистический интернационал молодёжи (Kommunistichesky Internatsional Molodyozhi) [3] [4] Young Communist International

People with Soviet names

Marx/Engels/Lenin

See also

References

  1. ↑ Aleksandr Kazakevich (2 September 2009). "Вилли ТОКАРЕВ: "Когда тебя подгоняют, надо говорить "О'кей", и делать по-своему…"". Archived from the original on 4 July 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Richard Stites, Revolutionary Dreams: Utopian Vision and Experimental Life in the Russian Revolution, p. 111
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Valeri Mokiyenko, Tatyana Nikitina  [ ru ] "Толковый словарь языка Совдепии" ("Explanatory Dictionary of Sovdepiya"), St.Petersburg, Фолио-Пресс, 1998, ISBN   5-7627-0103-4.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Петровский, Н. А. "Словарь русских личных имён", Moscow, АСТ, 2000, ISBN   5-17-002940-3.
  5. ↑ Скрипник, Л.Г., Дзятківська, Н.П. Власні імена людей. — Kyiv, Naukova Dumka , 2005, ISBN   9660005504
  6. ↑ Gumar Sattarov, "What Tatar Names Tell Us About?" (Гомђр Саттар-Мулилле. "Татар исемнђре ни сљйли?" - Kazan: "Rannur" Publishers, 1998, 488 pp.)
  7. ↑ Daniel Peris, Storming the Heavens: The Soviet League of the Militant Godless, p. 92
  8. ↑ Елена Душечкина, Мессианские тенденции в советской антропонимической практике 1920-х - 1930-х годов, Toronto Slavic Quarterly, no. 62, Fall 2017
  9. ↑ Мельников Виталий Вячеславович, Жизнь. Кино., 2011, ISBN   5977506694, p. 138
  10. ↑ Елена Душечкина, "Мессианские тенденции в советской антропонимической практике 1920-х - 1930-х годов" ("Messianic Tendencies in Soviet Anthroponymic Practice of the 1920s-1930s"), Toronto Slavic Quarterly (retrieved August 8, 2015)
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