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Glossary entry

Russian term or phrase:

казаки

English translation:

Cossack vigilantes

Added to glossary by David Knowles
Mar 4, 2013 12:34
11 yrs ago
1 viewer *
Russian term

казаки

Russian to English Other Government / Politics BBC news article about play about Pussy Riots trial
http://www.bbc.co.uk/russian/russia/2013/03/130303_pussy_rio...

Спустя примерно час спектакль возобновился, однако вскоре вновь был прерван, после того, как в зрительный зал вошел отряд **казаков**.

По словам очевидцев, **казаки** буквально прорвались на спектакль с помощью ОМОНа

There are other references as well. You could obviously translate it as "heavies", but is there a more specific term? "Cossacks" wouldn't mean anything in English.
Proposed translations (English)
3 +2 Cossack patrol / patrolmen
4 +9 cossacks
4 irate Cossacks - people who claim to be descended from a once-feared Tsarist-era paramilitary group
3 the so-called "Cossacks"

Discussion

Oleg Lozinskiy Mar 5, 2013:
OK, now we have... ...any kind of 'vigilantes', inclluding 'beefeater vigilantes', etc.
Kiwiland Bear Mar 4, 2013:
I don't think you should or even could use any Brit or American equivalent in the sense of irregular paramilitary formation. Aftet all, the article is about Russia and its realities. It would sound more than a bit odd if you were to say that the show was interrupted by a group of the... Minutemen for instance.
Kiwiland Bear Mar 4, 2013:
Cossacks Having checked the article and, especially, the photo - yep, I too would go with the "Cossaks". That's a fairly typical representation of them. Note that they were not always on horseback. While it may have been the most typical picture, they were also often involved in on-foot patrols and other law & order functions... or what they thought of as such.
Oleg Lozinskiy Mar 4, 2013:
Cossacks in the past and nowadays... In the past - http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Казаки

Nowadays - http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Возрождённое_казачество
rns Mar 4, 2013:
Rather than the army or police, the today's Russia's Cossacks, as they appear in the media, are a brotherhood, they wear uniforms and sabres/daggers and serve mostly as an embodiement of the so-called partiotic values and a certain lifestyle.

In the context there are some guys equipped and dressed like Cossacks, so perhaps you can call them such. Are they true Cossacks and what makes a true Cossack, who knows.

But their appearance is just as you described sans the horses and drinks. :)
Oleg Lozinskiy Mar 4, 2013:
Cossacks They try to get official status - ref. to Mikhail Kropotov's link. And, as a matter of fact, they are becoming supported by authorities (up to now at primarily municipal level) to HELP law enforcement agencies in preserving 'peace and order'. They also associate their revival with the Russian Orthodox Church rather heavily.
David Knowles (asker) Mar 4, 2013:
Cossacks Cossacks are seen in England as men in fur hats riding at full pelt across the steppe, relaxing by drinking a lot and performing extraordinary dances on bent knees! They are not seen as threatening - in fact I would not say any official forces are seen as threatening in the UK (and probably not in the US).
In France, the Civil Guard might be seen as threatening, but I doubt if these "cossacks" have the same official status.
David Knowles (asker) Mar 4, 2013:
Do they have any official status? Are they variants of Alfa, Omon, Spetsnaz, or are they semi-official heavies like the Shabiha in Syria?
Is the term being revived in modern Russia, or has it always been there?
The Misha Mar 4, 2013:
Yeoman warders? Really? Oy-vey, the Brits, the Brits are coming!
Anton Konashenok Mar 4, 2013:
Not the Beefeaters, mind you... The closest equivalent of cossacks in the English language would be militia / militiamen or irregular army.
Oleg Lozinskiy Mar 4, 2013:
It is also possible to call 'cossacks'... ...Beefeaters or yeoman warders, if it makes more sense in English :-))

Proposed translations

+2
17 mins
Selected

Cossack patrol / patrolmen

It wasn't just Cossack people raiding the theatre. See http://www.mk.ru/moscow/article/2012/11/27/779598-kazachi-pa... and other recent news.

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Note added at 23 hrs (2013-03-05 12:00:37 GMT)
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Cossack vigilantes sounds pretty cool. That's what they really are, even though they call themselves a 'patrol force.'
Note from asker:
This is the nearest and I'll select it when I can! The word I was searching for was "vigilante" and "Cossack vigilante" fits well. The MKRU article is also very helpful.
Peer comment(s):
agree MariyaN (X)
2 days 16 hrs
agree cyhul
9 days
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thanks for this - the key was making Cossack an adjective."
6 mins

the so-called "Cossacks"

I believe this should fit the context moreover as the article is accompanied by their photo ;)
Note from asker:
Thanks Alexander - I was inclined to use this, if only as part of an explanatory phrase, but reading further, they may have real Cossack connections.
Peer comment(s):
agree Yuri Dubrov
42 mins
Большое спасибо!
agree The Misha
44 mins
Большое спасибо!
disagree Katerina O. : No, this 'so-called' adds some connotations that are absent in the source. Compare: 'so-called gipsies'.
9 hrs
disagree olgaesq01 : they are "real" cossacks, not "so-called" :-)
12 hrs
Something went wrong...
+9
4 mins

cossacks

It's them - resurrected from oblivion in nowadays Russia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cossacks

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 9 мин (2013-03-04 12:43:17 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

David, These are not heavies, nor goons, imho. Just have a look:

http://englishrussia.com/2012/11/27/we-are-cossacks/
Note from asker:
Thanks Oleg - despite all the agreements, I'm not going to use Cossacks on its own, because it simply doesn't have any meaning in the UK. Maybe things will change, and the new Cossacks will be recognised.
Peer comment(s):
agree Maria Popova : I agree with Oleg, though seems meaningless in English, this is a cultural and historical reality. How will you translate борщ into English? Transliteration plus explication. Same thing here.
4 mins
Спасибо, Мария!
agree Alla_K
11 mins
Спасибо, Алла!
agree Anton Konashenok
39 mins
Спасибо, Антон!
agree Katerina O.
9 hrs
Спасибо, Катерина!
agree Kiwiland Bear
10 hrs
Thank you!
agree Iryna Crany : It is official term, there is no reason to use anything else
10 hrs
Спасибо, Ирина!
agree Yakov Tomara
11 hrs
Спасибо, Яков!
agree olgaesq01 : this is how they have been translated and used in the official English-language documents, newspapers, etc.
12 hrs
Спасибо, Ольга!
agree MariyaN (X)
2 days 16 hrs
Спасибо, Мария!
Something went wrong...
20 hrs

irate Cossacks - people who claim to be descended from a once-feared Tsarist-era paramilitary group

i.e. Cossacks + explanation, e.g.

a group of irate Cossacks - people who claim to be descended from a once-feared Tsarist-era paramilitary group -
— http://www.lbc.co.uk/pussy-riot-play-raided-by-russian-offic...

or

Protesters wearing Cossack uniforms
— http://news.sky.com/story/1059862/pussy-riot-play-raided-by-...


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 20 hrs (2013-03-05 09:20:23 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Well, sure, but the approach—Cossacks + some explanation of who they are—looks sensible as you can't get away with Cossacks entirely and can't leave them alone. Great artists steal (by paraphrasing)!
Note from asker:
Thanks for these links, which are helpful in showing how other UK news outlets treated this. In the context of the BBC story, which repeats казаки, I'm not sure they quite fit (and I couldn't plagiarise other news organisations)!
Something went wrong...
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