Translation question

[Tony Anemone]

Thanks to Helene, Philippe and Inessa for the information about zinc  
coffins and code words for coffin transport.  What an amazing  
resource this list can be!

Tony



De: Slavic & East European Languages and Literature list de la part  
de Tony Anemone
Date: lun. 15/01/2007 18:22
À: SEELANGS at LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU
Objet : [SEELANGS] Translation question



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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