Nashi

I’ve been meaning to post a link to this Blog de Connard post which reflects on the use of the world ‘nashi’ in Russian for ages, but never seemed to get around to it.  So, what better time than now…

In a column on the rise of nationalism around the globe [David Ignatius] wrote the following:

The Orange Revolution in
Ukraine was driven in part by young street protesters from a group
called Pora, or "It’s Time." In response, Russian leader Vladimir Putin
has encouraged a new movement called Nashi, or "Ours," that’s designed
to appeal to the nationalism of young Russians. Brzezinski fears it
could degenerate into a dangerous, right-wing "Nashi-ism."

This got me thinking about the (over)use of the word "Nashi" over
here. You see it everywhere in advertisements. Products are constantly
labeled as being "our" whatever. The picture is for a local beer, Obolon, whose slogan is apparently "Our Beer," and you see it for other things too. "Our Airline" is Ukraine International,
there’s a tire company whose name escapes me that calls their tires
"our tires." A commercial in Ukraine once had a Japanese guy killing
himself when he learned that his Japanese produced television wasn’t as
good as a television that was "ours." […]

Taking all this into account, would it surprise me that there was a
Russian nationalist organization that was called "Nashi?" Not at all.
Would it surprise me if this movement actually resonated with people
and attracted followers based on its name and the connotations that go
with it? Even less so.

Great stuff.

Tagged as: Culture