Translation question

[Tony Anemone]

Aleksei Balabanov's new film, presently in production, is called  
GRUZ-200 (Official English translation is CARGO 200).   This is  
apparently a bureaucratic phrase describing the shipment home of  
military coffins of soldiers killed in action.   The movie is set  
during the late "zastoi" and concerns a soldier killed in  
Afghanistan.  I'm hoping that someone on the list will be able to  
tell me more about this term:  is it a reference to the weight of the  
coffin and body? 200 kg seems heavy, but Balabanov speaks of "zinc"  
coffins in an on-line interview. . .  Does (did?) the Russian army  
commonly use zinc in coffins? is the term used and understood today?

Thanks in advance,

Tony




Tony Anemone
Visiting Associate Professor of Humanities and Russian
University Humanities Program
The New School
anemonea at newschool.edu
757-870-8083




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