"putin(ov)shchina" exists.

[Paul B. Gallagher]

Alina Israeli wrote:

>> In this context, one such form, Yezhovshchina, might be considered 
>> as a borrowing from Russian into English (565 Google entires in 
>> transliteration, only 687 in Cyrillic).
> 
> -shchina has a very negative connotation. Some time in early 70's or maybe
> late 60's Solzhenitsyn coined the word "obrazovanshchina". Voenshchina (as
> in "amerikanskaja voenshchina") was a staple of Soviet political speeches.
> 
> So not anyone (including Mr. Spooner) could expect to produce a -shchina
> named after him, only if we sufficiently desprise him and whatever he has
> produced. Yezhovshchina certainly fits. ...

Point taken. And -ism/-ist in English can have a derogatory sense as 
well, if used with count nouns: if I speak of "a Bushism," it sounds 
like I mean a stupid idea like one Bush might come up with, or an 
illiterate phrasing like one Bush might invent. It sounds like I'm 
revealing my politics, but the same could be said of "a Clintonism" -- 
the right wing was very fond of attacking anything that remotely 
resembled something Clinton might say as "a Clintonism" or "Clintonist."

> ...
> -ism and -ist came into Russian in the early 20th century, I believe.
> 
> Lenin and Stalin did change their names for "poetic" reasons, no doubt (
> creating their own -ism's probably was not among their reasons), not
> everyone is lucky to have a beautifully sounding name like Napoleon (three
> sonorants out four consonants, for Russian, not for French) for
> overthrowing the world.

I can understand someone wanting to be associated with steel, but 
laziness?? I'd've stuck with "Ulyanov," myself.

-- 
War doesn't determine who's right, just who's left.
--
Paul B. Gallagher
pbg translations, inc.
"Russian Translations That Read Like Originals"
http://pbg-translations.com

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