Gopnik

File:Гопник.jpg

A Russian gopnik sits in a stairwell in a khrushchyovka building (2016)

A gopnikTemplate:Efn is a member of a delinquent subculture in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and in other former Soviet republics—a young man (or a woman, a gopnitsa) of urban working-class background.

The collective noun is gopota (Template:Langx). The subculture of gopota has its roots in working-class communities in the late Russian Empire and gradually emerged underground during the later half of the 20th century in many cities in the Soviet Union. Even before their heyday in the 1990s following the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the associated rise in poverty, there was a "gopnik" culture in the Soviet Union. Young men from working class areas rebelled against neformaly (non-conformists) and harassed the lovers of Western music, which had become popular in the Soviet Union in the 1980s.

Etymology

Folk etymology connects the word to the GOP, the acronym for Gorodskoye Obshchestvo Prizora (municipal welfare society), an organization to provide shelter for the destitute. An alternative origin is the onomatopoeic гоп (gop), 'jump', 'leap', cf. the slang terms , 'gopat', or , 'gop-stop' which means mugging or robbing.

Stereotypical appearance and behaviour

Gopniks are often seen wearing Adidas tracksuits, which were popularized by the 1980 Moscow Olympics Soviet team. While sunflower seeds (colloquially [семки] or [семечки]) are a common snack in Ukraine and Russia, chewing ("cracking") them in public and spitting out the shells on the ground is characteristic of gopniks.

A stereotypical image of a gopnik is one of being conservative, aggressive, homophobic, nationalist and racist, as well as holding strong anti-Western views. Gopniks are also stereotyped as being prone to substance and alcohol abuse, crime and hooliganism.

It is claimed that the originators of the hardbass style of music initially intended it as a parody on the behavior of gopniks.

Squatting

File:Slav Bewley.jpg

"Slavic squat"

Gopniks are often seen squatting (Russian slang terms for the position are "на кортах", na kortakh, a truncation of "na kortochkakh", Russian for "squatting") or "doing the crab" ("на крабе", na krabe)). It is described as a learned behavior, attributed to Russian and Soviet prison culture, which avoids sitting on the cold ground. This habit of squatting, known as "słowiański przykuc" is a new stereotype of Russians in Poland, gaining popularity in 2019, along with being drunk and speaking in mat. The "Slavic squat" or "Slav squat" was also popularized in the West in early 2010s.

External links

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