Everyone Understands What's Going On

Continuing our discussion of Специaльный воeнный рýсский язык (Special Military Russian Language), it should be noted that speaking Russian in this time of war is as much about the words you cannot say as those you can.[1]

Of course, this primarily has to do with censorship and the threat of criminal liability for antiwar statements. But even Russians who support the government must weigh their words to stay out of trouble. Talking about the war and expressing personal opinions about it is tricky for everyone, and people avoid the subject in public spaces. You can talk about the news with close friends, but it’s better to avoid the topic of current events with neighbors or at school parent meetings. It’s also dangerous to discuss the war over the telephone: everyone knows that the FSB could be listening in.

But when you have a conversation with someone, it is important to understand where they are coming from, and people have developed the ability to drop and pick up on subtle hints. Here we will look at a few common phrases that Russians use in reference to the current reality that signal their position through a thin, but necessary, veil of ambiguity.

“Я вне политики” /  “I’m apolitical”

The Russian intelligentsia, including during its Soviet incarnation, has traditionally felt an aversion toward politics, regarding it as an unsavory business full of falsity and nonsense. In the early 2000s, a lack of interest in politics was considered proper and respectable. More recently, Russia’s foreign aggression and increasing domestic repression have made it harder to remain “above politics” and the phrase “I’m apolitical” has started to be used for a completely new purpose and by a completely different set of people. Now, the statement “Я вне политики” (literally, “I’m outside of politics”) signals passive support for the government: “I’m staying out of it, I’m not going to get in the way,” since, after all, “those in charge aren’t dummies” (“наверху не дураки сидят”). “They’ll sort things out without the likes of us” (“без нас разберутся”).

People who claim to be apolitical may sincerely believe that the government knows best. But at the same time they’re probably trying to create a conversational safe zone, free of linguistic landmines like the word “war.” And if you hear someone layering an ironic intonation on top of the “apolitical” label when referring to someone in the third person, you can be sure they’re not a fan of Putin or the war.

“ВсЁ не так однозначно” / “Things aren’t as simple they seem”

The ability to see nuance and try to understand different sides of a conflict is a positive attribute in peacetime, but in times of war, alas, it’s a liability. The phrase “it’s not so simple” (“всё неоднозначно,” which could also be translated as “everything is ambiguous” or “complicated”) is so popular among those who justify Russia’s aggression that it’s utterly impossible to imagine it being used by anyone who opposes the government. When people say that everything is complicated and ambiguous in the context of the military and political situation, they are implying that Putin had his reasons for invading Ukraine.

The underlying meaning is something like: “I, of course, don’t like the fact that people are dying and it’s simply awful, but in general, Ukraine itself is at fault.” However, it’s best not to jump to conclusions when you hear this phrase. Although there’s always the chance that people using this sort of wording are diehard supporters of the regime, it is also used by nice, perfectly harmless people who would be sympathetic toward your own position. Saying the situation is “not so simple” is often a convenient device allowing people to avoid thinking too deeply about what is happening, or having to draw conclusions, or changing how they are living their lives.

“Все вс¨е понимают” /  “Everyone understands what’s going on”

This popular phrase is emblazoned on the merchandise of one of the most popular anti-Putin YouTube channels, Редакция. The founder and main anchor of this channel, Alexei Pivovarov, who summarizes the latest news every Sunday, poses in t-shirts featuring this phrase. The titles of the channel’s news broadcasts are consistently numbered – “87 неделя”, “88 неделя” (The 87th Week, The 88th Week…), and “everyone understands” what the weeks are counting up from.

Despite the antiwar subtext, socks, shopping bags, and hoodies with this phrase are openly sold on major Russian marketplaces. After all, everyone truly does have their own understanding of what’s going on. If you see someone brandishing this phrase, chances are this represents a veiled protest statement, but in and of itself the phrase is rather ambiguous. It can’t be assumed that people using the phrase “everyone understands what’s going on” see things the same way – people have their own understandings of “what’s going on.” The main point is that “everyone understands” the potential consequences of expressing certain views and the importance of using Aesopian language.

“Насколько это сейчас возможно” / “To the extent that’s possible now”

This is a phrase that was often encountered in both oral and written communications during the first months of the war. Before people had adapted to the new reality, they touched base with friends and acquaintances frequently to see how they were doing. But the usual expressions of concern in such situations – “I hope you’re doing okay,” or standard phrases like “have a good day!” – sounded inappropriate in the context of the unfolding tragedy. “It’s hard to imagine a good day given the circumstances, but still, wishing you a good day to the extent that’s possible now” is approximately how the anchors of independent-media morning shows were greeting their viewers. “I wish you luck, to the extent that’s possible now,” was the sort of thing people were writing to friends if they were unsure of the security of their communication platform and didn’t want to say outright “to the extent anyone could feel ‘lucky’ in time of war.” Such formulations soon became timeworn and fell out of fashion or were tagged with an ironic “as everyone’s saying these days.” Although you can’t be totally sure what people using this phrase think about the reasons for the war, you at least know they are not pretending it’s business as usual.

“Демшиза была права” / “Those crazy democrats were right”

The term демшиза arose during debates in the perestroika era. The abbreviation stands for “демократическая шиза” (democratic shiza, short for schizophrenia), a derogatory term for what was seen as an extreme wing of the Russian liberal opposition. Back in the 1990s, such “radicals” were demanding that those guilty of Soviet-era abuses be held to account and purged from power, and in the aughts they were alarmed that a former KGB colonel had come to power. Their predictions for Russia’s future were dire.

Their intransigence and pessimism looked stilted and unconstructive at the time, so the word демшиза was used not only by inveterate “patriots,” who rejected any criticism of the government, but even by the liberal-democratic opposition, whose members drew a line between themselves and their implacable comrades.

But beginning in 2022, the radicals’ gloomy predictions began to look mild, to say the least. Those who today believe that Russia has embroiled itself in a horrific catastrophe admit that the демшиза were right and not guilty, in retrospect, of blowing things out of proportion.

This succinct little phrase communicates an attitude not only toward the current situation, but also the preceding 30 years of Russian history. In addition to signaling an antiwar position, it bespeaks a sense of remorse for underestimating the significance of certain past events, in particular the hollowing out of democratic rights and freedoms. It is part of the vocabulary of a dark humor that has become quite common and identifies those who use it as not just anti-Putin but as consumers of a very specific kind of news. It is a safe assumption that they watch the aforementioned Редакция, the Дождь (TVRain) television channel (now in exile), and the YouTube content of the former hosts of the liberal Echo of Moscow radio station, among others.

With the crushing of free speech in our country, Russians continue to develop sophisticated linguistic tools to signal their stance on the issues. The most subtle of nuances – the choice of preposition or the substitution of one letter for another – can say a lot. But that phenomenon deserves a column of its own. Stay tuned.