You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Ukrainian. (May 2021)Click [show] for important translation instructions.
|
"Putin – khuylo!" or "Putin – khuilo!" [a] [1] is a slogan deriding Russian President Vladimir Putin, commonly translated as "Putin [is a] dickhead!"
It originated in Ukraine in 2014, having grown from a football chant first performed by FC Metalist Kharkiv and FC Shakhtar Donetsk ultras in March 2014 at the onset of the Russo-Ukrainian War. The phrase has become a protest song and is widely spread in Ukraine amongst supporters of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as those opposing Vladimir Putin in both Russia and Ukraine.
The obscene term ( mat ) хуйло́ is variously transliterated as huilo, huylo, khuilo, khuylo, or chujlo. Also there are dialect variants хуи́ла (huila), хуи́бла (huibla). Its core is хуй ( huy ), literally "penis", in both Russian and Ukrainian. Combined with the suffix -lo, it is a personal insult. It can be translated as "dickhead", but its connotation is far more pejorative in those languages than in English. [2]
In May 2014, media outlets reported that the Russian profanity huilo had been added to the Urban Dictionary as a synonym for Vladimir Putin. [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]
The chant has its origins in "Surkis Khuylo!", a football chant initiated by the ultras of FC Metalist Kharkiv some time in 2010, during the height of a feud between two Ukrainian oligarchs, Oleksandr Yaroslavsky, then owner of "Metalist", and Hryhoriy Surkis, then president of the Football Federation of Ukraine who had strong historic and family ties with FC Dynamo Kyiv. [8]
The first recorded public performance of the "Putin khuylo!" chant and the song that grew from it took place in March 2014 in Kharkiv, when the local fans chanted it during their street march. [9] The recording was soon posted to YouTube. Various groups of Ukrainian ultras of major Ukrainian clubs with the exception of FC Sevastopol have historically held strong pro-Ukrainian political views. These football fans sided with Ukraine at the onset of the Russian annexation of Crimea and military intervention, as well as during the pro-Russian unrest in the east and south of Ukraine, when the city of Kharkiv was in turmoil. [10] [11]
Soon, the song that vulgarly derided Putin gained wider popularity, spreading amongst other clubs, such as the fans of Shakhtar Donetsk (Donetsk) and Dynamo Kyiv (Kyiv), who were formerly feuding but sang the song together. [10] [12] During the beginning of the Russo-Ukrainian War in 2014, in which Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine and used proxy forces to occupy parts of the eastern Donbas region, the ultras of various Ukrainian clubs set aside their rivalries and chanted the song in joint street marches. [8] The chant became "a nationwide cultural meme" according to The Guardian . [13]
Artemy Troitsky identified the melody of the chant [14] as coming from the song "Speedy Gonzales", popularised by American singer Pat Boone in 1962.
In June 2015, the Russian Federal Security Service started a criminal prosecution and investigation of activist Daria Poludova for using the song on VK. [15] The case was dropped after Poludova's lawyer demanded a confrontation with the victim, Putin, as required by law. [16]
When Russian television channel TNT aired one episode of the Ukrainian sitcom Servant of the People in December 2019, [9] a scene containing a joke that referenced the song, in which the fictional president played by Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked "Putin khublo?" («Путин — хубло?») when told that Putin wore a Hublot watch, was cut out of the episode. [17] The omission occurred only within central Russia and the Moscow region, but not in the eastern regions of Russia. [18]
Several Ukrainian mainstream rock music bands included or adapted the chant into their music. A metal remix, released in April 2014 by AstrogentA, added instrumentation and reworked the video of the March 30 protest chant to depict its spread throughout Ukrainian football clubs. [19]
In May 2014, the Ukrainian band Teleri (band) released a song and a video titled "Putin Hello!" Their song uses a double entendre, substituting the objectionable word "khuylo" with the English word "Hello!" Alluding to the "Putin huylo!" chant, the video features band players wearing Ukrainian football club colors and posing as ultras marching and chanting "Putin Hello" as the refrain of the song. The band members asserted, tongue-in-cheek, that the linking of their song to an offensive anti-Putin chant was a misunderstanding and insisted that the only people who found the chant objectionable were Russians unfamiliar with English. [20]
Hromadske.TV aired a live performance of the song by Lemonchiki Project in May 2014. [21] The rock band Druha Rika performed the song at their concert in June 2014. [22] Other rock adaptations were made by Mad Heads [23] [24] and Haydamaky. [25] The Kyiv Post reviewed nine video versions of the song and two other related songs. [26]
In October 2014, Belarusians joined visiting Ukrainians in a performance of the chant by "nearly the entire stadium" at a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying match in Barysaw, Belarus, resulting in more than 100 Ukrainian and 30 Belarusian football fans being detained and interrogated, reportedly on suspicion of using "obscene language". [27] Seven, all Ukrainian, were sentenced to five days in jail for obscene language, whilst one was given a 10-day sentence for allegedly wearing a swastika. [28]
In December 2022, a statue giving a visual interpretation of "Putin khuylo" was erected in the English town of Rowley Regis, [29] but by 5 February 2023 it had been removed. [30]
Oleh Lyashko, a former [39] Ukrainian MP and leader of the country's Radical Party, performed the song in May 2014 at a public rally during his 2014 presidential campaign. [40]
Hromadske.TV aired a footage showing Andrii Deshchytsia, a then Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, [1] [41] [42] uttering the word "khuylo" in reference to the Russian President Putin during his plea with protesters in front of the Russian Embassy in Kyiv on the evening of June 14, 2014, following the shoot-down of a Ukrainian Air Force Ilyushin Il-76 by Russian-armed rebels. Deshchytsya pleaded the protesters to refrain from violence directed at the Embassy that would cause a bigger diplomatic scandal. Deshchytsia stated: "He (Putin) is a khuylo, but — disperse, please!". [43]
Shortly afterward, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko nominated a different diplomat to lead the Foreign Affairs ministry. [44] According to the Ukrainian media, the presidential plan to replace the minister was known prior to the incident, [45] being proposed as part of a bigger reshuffle in the Ukrainian government. Soon after, Poroshenko praised the work of Deshchytsia, who was then leaving his ministerial position, and the parliament gave the outgoing minister a standing ovation. [46]
Deshchytsia's use of the wording caused widespread discontent amongst the Russian leadership. [1] However, Geoffrey Pyatt, the US ambassador to Ukraine, wrote on Twitter that minister Deshchytsia's use of the chant had been "seeking to defuse a dangerous situation", calling Deshchytsia "a skilled diplomat and credit to Ukraine." [1]
In July 2014, Arsen Avakov who was the Ukrainian Minister of Internal Affairs, one of the country's major security agencies, published a Facebook post with a photo he took that showed a bus stop near Sloviansk covered by a "Putin Khuilo!" graffiti. [47] The minister's post included his comment with the picture saying: "A private opinion some place near Sloviansk. Aligning myself." [48]
The phrase became popular again during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian brewer Yuri Zastavny began preparing glass bottles to be used for anti-Russian Molotov cocktails with the English-lettered label "Putin Huylo". [49] [50]
Ukrainian hackers disabled electric vehicle charging stations in Russia so that instead of providing a charge, the stations display a scrolling message that includes the phrase. [51] [52]
Petro Oleksiiovych Poroshenko is a Ukrainian businessman and politician who served as the fifth president of Ukraine from 2014 to 2019.
Khuy Voyne! is a phrase developed by former t.A.T.u. producer Ivan Shapovalov during the duo's promotional tour in the United States in early 2003.
Oleksandr Valentynovych Turchynov is a Ukrainian politician, screenwriter, Baptist minister and economist. He is the former Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine.
The Agreement between Ukraine and Russia on the Black Sea Fleet in Ukraine, widely referred to as the Kharkiv Pact or Kharkov Accords, was a treaty between Ukraine and Russia whereby the Russian lease on naval facilities in Crimea was extended beyond 2017 until 2042, with an additional five-year renewal option in exchange for a multiyear discounted contract to provide Ukraine with Russian natural gas.
Snap presidential elections were held in Ukraine on 25 May 2014 and resulted in Petro Poroshenko being elected President of Ukraine. Originally scheduled to take place on 29 March 2015, the date was brought forward following the 2014 Ukrainian revolution. Poroshenko won the elections with 55% of the vote, enough to win in a single round. His closest competitor, Yulia Tymoshenko, received 13% of the vote. The Central Election Commission reported voter turnout over 60%, excluding the regions not under government control. Since Poroshenko obtained an absolute majority in the first round, a run-off second ballot was unnecessary.
Andriy Volodymyrovych Parubiy is a Ukrainian politician who served as the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian parliament, from 14 April 2016 to 29 August 2019. He previously served as Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine, appointed after the Euromaidan protests in the 2014 Ukrainian revolution, until his resignation on August 7, 2014.
Arsen Borysovych Avakov is a Ukrainian statesman and politician of Armenian origin. Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine in 2014–2021. Member of Parliament of Ukraine (2012–2014), Chairman of the Kharkiv Regional State Administration (2005–2010), Member of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Member of Euro 2012 Organizing Committee (2007). Member of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine. Honored Economist of Ukraine (2007).
The public image of Vladimir Putin concerns the image of Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, among residents of Russia and worldwide. According to the Russian non-governmental organization Levada Center, about 85% of the Russian population approved of Putin in the beginning of 2023, the highest in nearly 8 years.
Euromaidan, or the Maidan Uprising, was a wave of demonstrations and civil unrest in Ukraine, which began on 21 November 2013 with large protests in Maidan Nezalezhnosti in Kyiv. The protests were sparked by President Viktor Yanukovych's sudden decision not to sign the European Union–Ukraine Association Agreement, instead choosing closer ties to Russia and the Eurasian Economic Union. Ukraine's parliament had overwhelmingly approved of finalizing the Agreement with the EU, but Russia had put pressure on Ukraine to reject it. The scope of the protests widened, with calls for the resignation of Yanukovych and the Azarov government. Protesters opposed what they saw as widespread government corruption, abuse of power, human rights violations, and the influence of oligarchs. Transparency International named Yanukovych as the top example of corruption in the world. The violent dispersal of protesters on 30 November caused further anger. Euromaidan was the largest democratic mass movement in Europe since 1989 and led to the 2014 Revolution of Dignity.
Revival is a political party in Ukraine, established in its current form in June 2015. Its predecessor had been founded by Heorhiy Kirpa in 2004.
Andrii Bohdanovych Deshchytsia is a Ukrainian diplomat and politician.
From the end of February 2014, in the aftermath of the Euromaidan and the Revolution of Dignity, which resulted in the ousting of Russian-leaning Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, demonstrations by Russian-backed, pro-Russian, and anti-government groups took place in Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv and Odesa. The unrest, which was supported by the Russian military and intelligence services, belongs to the early stages of the Russo-Ukrainian War.
Aleksey Konstantinovich Pushkov is a Russian politician who has been Senator from Perm Krai since 29 September 2016. He is also a former Deputy of the State Duma and former head of the Committee on International Affairs of the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian Parliament. As a member of the United Russia political party in the federation council, he is the chairman of the Commission on Information Policy.
"Glory to Ukraine!" is a Ukrainian national salute, known as a symbol of Ukrainian sovereignty and resistance to foreign aggression. It is the battle cry of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It is often accompanied by the response "To the heroes — glory!".
This is a timeline of the 2014 pro-Russian unrest that has erupted in Ukraine, in the aftermath of the Ukrainian revolution and the Euromaidan movement.
Novorossiya or New Russia, also referred to as the Union of People's Republics, was a project for a confederation between the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) in Eastern Ukraine, both of which were under the control of pro-Russian separatists.
Ihor Myronovych Baluta is a Ukrainian pediatrician, businessman, Ukrainian politician and Governor of Kharkiv Oblast from March 2014 to February 2015.
The Opposition Bloc was a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine that was founded in 2014 by the merger of six parties that did not endorse Euromaidan. Legally, the party was created by renaming the lesser-known party "Leading Force". The party was perceived as the successor of the disbanded Party of Regions.
The Agreement on the Settlement of the Political Crisis in Ukraine was an agreement signed on 21 February 2014 by then-President of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, and the leaders of Ukraine's parliamentary opposition, with mediation from the European Union and Russia. The agreement aimed to reduce bloodshed at the Euromaidan demonstrations in Kyiv, which had become significantly more violent during the Revolution of Dignity and resulted in the deaths of over 100 people. It also sought to end the political crisis caused by Euromaidan, which had begun in November 2013 in response to Ukrainian authorities' decision to suspend the signing of the European Union–Ukraine Association Agreement.
The demolition of Vladimir Lenin monuments in Ukraine began during the collapse of the Soviet Union and continued on a smaller scale throughout the 1990s, primarily in some western Ukrainian towns. However, by 2013, most Lenin statues across Ukraine were still intact. During the 2013–2014 Euromaidan protests, the destruction of Lenin statues became widespread, a phenomenon that came to be popularly known as Leninopad, or "Leninfall" in English—a pun likening the suffix "-пад" to English words like "waterfall" or "snowfall."
AutoEnterprise's Facebook page re-posted a video taken by an Instagram user from the M11 motorway showing the disabled chargers. The chargers show an error message reading in English "CALL SERVICE NO PLUGS AVAILABLE" before new screens show additional messages in Russian: 'GLORY TO UKRAINE / GLORY TO THE HEROES / PUTIN IS A DICKHEAD / DEATH TO THE ENEMY.'
Instead of recharging vehicles, the stations displayed a message that said, among other things: 'GLORY TO UKRAINE / GLORY TO THE HEROES / PUTIN IS A DICKHEAD / DEATH TO THE ENEMY.'
Media related to Putin khuilo! at Wikimedia Commons