Orc (slang)

Orc (Cyrillic: орк, romanised: ork), plural orcs (Russian and Ukrainian: орки), is a pejorative commonly used by many Ukrainians^[1] to refer to a Russian soldier^[2][3] participating in the Russian-Ukrainian War and Russian citizens who support the aggression of Russia against Ukraine. The pejorative serves to symbolize inhuman wickedness and brutality of the invaders. It comes from the name of orc, the fictional humanoid monsters from J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings.^[4]

Usage

Comparisons of Vladimir Putin's Russian regime and its security services to the evil necromancer Sauron, his domain of Mordor, and orcs were made at least as early as 2009 by a Russian-American blogger and 2012 by Russian journalist Leonid Bershidsky.^[5]

Since the beginning of the Russo-Ukrainian War in 2014, Ukrainians have used the term to as a pejorative for Russian forces.^[5][6] During the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Ukrainians began to massively use the term "orcs" in relation to Russian military personnel and their war crimes.^[7] Al Jazeera English and Politico included the term as an example of the "new language of war in Ukraine".^[8][9]

The term is used by Ukrainian senior officials, the military and the media.^[10][11] For example, in early March 2022, in the Russian-occupied city of Melitopol, demonstrators protested against "orc looting". On April 8, the chairman of the Sumy Regional State Administration, Dmytro Zhyvytskyi, announced that his region was now "free of orcs". The Mayor of Makariv Vadym Tokar [uk] followed him the next day, he stated that the bodies of 132 civilians were found and that they were "killed by Russian orcs".^[12]

Analysis

Calling Russian soldiers "orcs" has been described as an example of dehumanization.^{[13][14][15][16][17]}

The Spectator compared the "brutality and chaos" of the Russian troops to Tolkien's orcs and noted that the use of this term may not be just an accidental insult, but the result of drawing an analogy between the Middle-earth conflict and the real world.^[18]

See also

• The Great War and Middle-earth
• The Last Ringbearer
• Moskal
• Stereotypes of Russians
• Vatnik (slang)

References

1. "Что такое Украина? Репортаж писателя Джонатана Литтелла. Он съездил в Бучу и другие города под Киевом — и своими глазами увидел последствия российской оккупации". Meduza (in Russian). Retrieved 2023-06-21.
2. Starr, Michael (29 March 2022). "In 'Ukrainian military Oscars,' Ukraine promotes army and mocks Russia". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
3. Dettmer, Jamie (2022-03-21). "Life Under Russian Occupation: Hunger, Fear and Abductions". VOA. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
4. Davies, Pascale (2022-04-22). "Ukrainian man tracks 'looted' AirPods to follow Russian troops". euronews. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
5. "Orknash: Supporting the Home Team (Russia's Alien Nations)". NYU Jordan Center. 2019-09-30. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
6. Borenstein 2023.
7. Cohen, Eliot A. (2022-10-22). "The Words About Ukraine That Americans Need to Hear". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
8. Mirovalev, Mansur. "'Orcs' and 'Rashists': Ukraine's new language of war". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
9. Sheftalovich, Zoya (2022-06-21). "The Rashists from Mordor vs. the Tractor Troops: Ukraine's new language of war". POLITICO. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
10. Macias, Amanda; Ellyatt, Holly (16 August 2022). "Zelenskyy speaks to Macron as fears over nuclear plant mount; explosions hit Russian ammo depot in Crimea". CNBC. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
11. Burdeau, Cain (26 April 2022). "Russia warns of World War III, West boosts arms to Ukraine". Courthouse News Service. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
12. Leloup, Damien (2022-04-23). "Ukrainian and Russian Tolkien fans battle over the legacy of 'The Lord of the Rings'". Le Monde.fr. Archived from the original on 13 September 2023. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
13. Ryan, Mick (2022-09-26). "While the war in Ukraine rages these three issues must be addressed now". ABC News. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
14. "Мобики". Meduza (in Russian). Retrieved 2023-06-21.
15. "Не можете больше видеть все эти ужасные новости? Или, наоборот, не можете перестать читать? Инструкция "Медузы" — как сохранить себя". Meduza (in Russian). Retrieved 2023-06-21.
16. "Многие украинские журналисты после 24 февраля говорят, что участвуют в "информационной войне", помогая своей стране победить Россию. Как это изменило их профессию?". Meduza (in Russian). Retrieved 2023-06-21.
17. Zverko, Natalija (2022-10-29). "'I will not call Russians rushists or orcs – that's dehumanising' – interview". lrt.lt. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
18. MacLachlan, Christopher (2022-04-10). "Why are Ukrainians calling Russian invaders 'orcs'?". The Spectator. Retrieved 2023-06-21.

Further reading

• Borenstein, Eliot (2023). "Russian Orc: The Evil Empire Strikes Back". Soviet self-hatred: the secret identities of postsocialism in contemporary Russia. Ithaca London: Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-1-5017-6987-0.

External links

• Anthem of Doomed ("Let's Go Orcs!")—An anti-war song and video about Russian invasion of Ukraine by Nogu Svelo! and Oleg Kuvaev