Gruz-200 i eshche Gruz-300 i mozhet byt' i Gruz-400

[Timothy D. Sergay]

There is a great deal of confirmation on the Russian web that "gruz 200" is 
military code or jargon for transport of KIAs (killed in action), but also 
that "gruz 300" refers to transport of wounded. So I don't see a very clear 
correlation between the numbers (200, 300) and either centimeters or 
kilograms. At least one site mentions "gruz 400" but without a 
"translation."

References to zinc are not limited to particular books or works: it's 
understood that KIAs from the Afghan war returned in zinc coffins. E.g., the 
song "Afganistan" by Katia Yarovaia about new recruits to that war: "Idut 
obratno v tsinkovykh grobakh."

Best to all,

Tim Sergay

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "FRISON Philippe" <Philippe.FRISON at COE.INT>
To: <SEELANGS at LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU>
Sent: Monday, January 15, 2007 12:51 PM
Subject: [SEELANGS] RE : [SEELANGS] Gruz-200


During the oviet-Afghan war, Gruz-200 was the code name for coffins supposed 
to contain 200 cm corpses...

As for zinc people, it is an allusion to Bielorussian writer Svetlana 
Alexievitch's "ZInkovye mal'chiki" book on returnees from Afghanistan.

Best regards

Philippe Frison
(Strasbourg - France)

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