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I Will Tear You Up! (For Putin)

I Will Tear You Up! (For Putin)

The mediasphere is abuzz with talk of a pro-Putin video starring young-sexy-busty Russian women (isn’t that what all women in Russia are like anyway?) I was struck by déjà vu. The video brings past mammaries I mean memories to the fore. Remember the “happy birthday Mr. President” calendar from the scantily clad students of Moscow State University?

This particular video entitled “I’ll tear it off for Putin” went viral last week in Russia and caused quite a splash in the Western Blogosphere as well. Articles with mocking titles such as Putin’s Army Wants What Is Breast For Russia and New Weapon in Putin’s ‘Army’: Flashed Boobs and of course puns like “I’ll rip it for Putin” and Putin’s “child soldiers,” like the weapons of mass destruction during the Cold War, proliferated.

You can watch the original video below. Here’s my own translation since it’s completely in Russian:

“Hi, my name is Diana. I’m a student. I’m crazy about a man who changed the course of our country. He’s a worthy politician and a remarkable man. He is Vladimir Putin. Millions adore him, people believe him. But there’s a clique of people who smear him, perhaps because they are scared, perhaps because of their own weakness – because they will never in be in his place. Young, smart and beautiful girls banded together into the Army of Putin, an army that will tear (off) for him.We are announcing a contest. The rules are very simple. You make a video in which you tear something (off) or somebody (up) for Putin and post it on the group’s page on “Vkontakte.” Whoever has the most original video will become the owner of an iPad 2. What are YOU prepared to do for your president?”

Vkontakte is the Russian version of Facebook more or less. You can clearly see the plagiarized format.

There are a few things to keep in mind about this video. The Russian word “to tear” can mean a few things. For one, just like in English, is an act of ripping or splitting something, but it also means to violently attack or assault somebody. Here’s a quote from The New Yorker that I think describes it best.

The basic definition of the verb “porvat’” is “to tear,” but in Russian slang it means to retaliate, to be extremely, violently defensive of someone or something. As in, “If you hurt Putin, I’ll tear you to shreds.” But, like so many turns of phrase associated with High Putinism, porvat’ ultimately traces its roots back to fenya, the argot of the Russian prison system. In prison, porvat’ would sound more like a threat: I’ll tear you a new one.

The odd mixture of violence slash sex sells message of this pro-Putin video clip is confusing and a turn off. To a Russian speaker there is no ambiguity as to whether or not violence is invoked as Diana says “tear something or somebody for Putin.”

 

Author

Christya Riedel

Christya Riedel graduated cum laude from UCLA with degrees in Political Science (Comparative Politics concentration) and International Development Studies and is currently a graduate student at the University of Texas at Austin focusing on Central Asia and Russia. She has traveled, lived and worked in Ukraine, Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Central Asia. She speaks fluent Ukrainian and Russian as well as intermediate-high Turkish.