One can find representatives of all the subcultures known in the world in Russia. But I always had a feeling that Russian hippies or Russian punks are not real hippies and punks, but very specific groups of West oriented Russian youth, copying looks of West originals, but not their motivations and mentality.
‘Gopniks’ is a specifically Russian subculture, which is lately very often coming to attention of Russian media.
According to Wikipedia: “Gopnik is a pejorative term and a social slur used in Russia, post-Soviet countries, and Israel to refer to aggressive young lower-class suburban male dwellers (usually under 30 years of age) coming from families of poor education and income, somewhat similar to British ‘chavs’ or ‘neds’ subcultures.
“The term ‘gopnik’ was probably derived from slang term gop-stop, meaning street mugging. Another theory is that ‘gopnik’ derives from the acronym GOP, probably a reference to Gorodskoye Obshchestvo Prizreniya (the municipal agency for care of destitutes), the numerous almshouses organized by the government after the October Revolution.”
Most Russians use the word gopnik in the cases when Americans would use hoodlum, mob or thug. But the detail analysis proves that gopniks is a very specific phenomenon pertained only to Russia.
Here is the main characteristics of gopniks given by Michele A. Berdy
in her article for The Moscow Times :
“Gopniks tend to be found in urban settings. They hang out in courtyards. They like to squat… They eat sunflower seeds. They smoke and practice the martial arts. They are nationalistic. They call all educated people “pediks”, “pidors” (all highly insulting terms for homosexuals), not necessarily because they think they are gay, but because they are sure that a gay is bad. Critical thinking and impulse control are not their forte…”
All that sound as characteristics of a completely anti-social group of people, and gopniks are anti–social. But at the same time they can be aggressively pro–government, as long as the government supports nationalistic and anti-liberal values.
Michele A. Berdy writes: “In the 21st century, gopniks got the permanent epithet “jubilant”. First this meant the cheering pro-Kremlin (“Us” movement) crowds. Then it began to be used to describe any mass of West-hating, uneducated thugs. The typical context: ‘The hall was filled with cheering gopniks who greeted every curse of Ukraine and Georgia with exultant whistles, clapping, and waving of Russian flags’. In Ukraine, the term gopniks often refers to a pro-Russian crowd: ‘Who put up the Russian flags in Lugansk? Russian gopniks’. Gopniks is a mob to be avoided.”
Gopniks have several web sites. Here is an excerpt from one of them : (“I’m gopnik”):
“Who is Gopnik? Gopnik is daring and bold, brave and desperate, ready to go to the end! Gopniks represent not a thin layer of the population. They had always been, they are and they will be. It does not matter whether they are liked by others or not, Gopnik will not disappear…
“Gopnik has a special appearance: color cap-tablet or baseball cap, short haircut or the lack of it at all; leather short jacket; sports trousers; pointed shoes or sneakers. In his hand there is a bottle of beer, in the other there are sunflower seeds. There’s a shiner under his eye. Gopniks are accompanied by their women, broads, dames, sluts. Homosexuality is unacceptable deviation for a Gopnik. It is to be persecuted and destroyed. The topic of sex is one of the favorite topics of dudes’ conversations, after drinking and showdowns between groups. We prefer beautiful, curvy and passionate broads. A girlfriend should please the eye and to be matched to a dude with the same cocky disposition.”
“Typically, street fights never happen without Gopniks, because a real Gopnik is always ready to fight, especially when nearby there are others who want the same. “Gopniks’ occupation is often theft and robbery. Gopniks are often engaged in extortion of greens from passersby, suckers and all other cattle, to punish them for what they are. Gopniks are most of their time in the streets, searching for a suitable victim, speaking to the victim in Gopniks’ own language, and if they get a rude response, the sucker will be sorry!”
It is not a secret, that President Putin very often uses slang and expressions typical for gopniks. This use of the crude street language is one of the reasons for Putin’s extreme popularity in Russia.
“Mr. Putin’s speech has been famous ever since he talked about “wiping out [terrorists] in the outhouse”, a phrase that now has its own Wikipedia page in Russian, and his suggestion to a French reporter who questioned him about Chechnya to come to Moscow and get himself circumcised ‘so that nothing grows back.’ The result is that now, every time he lapses into a slightly earthier register, the press picks it up as further evidence of his thuggish authoritarianism. “
Does this linguistic affinity of the Russian President and gopniks partly explain unexpected support of Putin’s political actions by gopniks?
History is full of disaffected youth who lack education and opportunity and are drawn to strongman nationalist leaders, and who exhibit the same criminal, thuggish behavior. It could happen here.