{{Short description|Russian term for a juvenile delinquent}} {{About||people with this surname|Gopnik (surname)}} <!--Seek consensus before changing.-->A '''gopnik''',{{Efn|{{langx|ru|гопник|gopnik}}, {{IPA|ru|ˈɡopnʲɪk|pron}}; {{langx|uk|гопник|hopnyk}}; {{langx|be|гопнік|hopnik}}; Russian plural гопники (''gopniki''), also гопота (''gopota''), and гопари (''gopari'')}} (feminine: '''gopnitsa''') is a member of a juvenile delinquent urban subculture in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and some other former Soviet republics.<ref name=moscowtimes>{{cite news|url= https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2014/04/10/thugs-rednecks-nationalists-understanding-russias-gopnik-culture-a33852|title= Thugs, Rednecks, Nationalists: Understanding Russia's Gopnik Culture|author= Michele A. Berdy|date= 2014-04-10|publisher= Moscow Times}}<br>{{cite news|url= https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2014/07/30/an-ode-to-russias-ugly-mean-suburbs-a37840|title= An Ode to Russia's Ugly, Mean Suburbs|author= Anastasiya Fedorova|date= 2014-07-30|publisher= Moscow Times}}</ref> In the 21st century the image of "gopnik" is mostly preserved as an imitation of the stereotype, e.g., as an artistic image in Russian pop-culture and some other countries.
The collective noun is '''gopota''' ({{langx|ru|гопота}}). Another Russian collective term for hoodlums is '''shpana''' (шпана).{{efn|e.g., Soviet film {{ill|Farewell, Zamoskvoretskaya punks...|ru|Прощай, шпана замоскворецкая…|italics=on}}. American film ''Adulthood'' was translated as ''Шпана 2''.}} The subculture of gopota has its roots in working-class communities in the late Russian Empire and gradually emerged underground during the later half of the 20th century in many cities in the Soviet Union.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://weirdrussia.com/2014/04/24/slav-squat-russian-disturbing-street-trend/|title= Slav Squat – Russian Disturbing Street Trend|access-date= 2018-11-05|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180828023429/https://weirdrussia.com/2014/04/24/slav-squat-russian-disturbing-street-trend/|archive-date= 2018-08-28|url-status= usurped}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= http://exiledonline.com/russias-original-gangstas-meet-the-gopniki/|title= Russia's original gangstas: meet the gopniki|date= 22 July 2011|access-date= 5 November 2018|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181111034203/http://exiledonline.com/russias-original-gangstas-meet-the-gopniki/|archive-date= 11 November 2018|url-status= dead}}</ref> Even before their heyday in the 1990s following the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the associated rise in poverty, there was a "gopnik" culture in the Soviet Union. Young men from working class areas rebelled against ''neformaly'' (non-conformists) and harassed the lovers of Western music, which had become popular in the Soviet Union in the 1980s.<ref>{{Cite web |last=RIR |first=specially for |date=2016-03-30 |title=Who are Russia's 'gopniks'? |url=https://www.rbth.com/society/2016/03/30/who-are-russias-gopniks_580301 |access-date=2022-08-10 |website=Russia Beyond |language=en-US}}</ref>
==Etymology== Folk etymology connects the word to the ''GOP'', the acronym for {{lang|ru| городское общество призора}} ''Gorodskoye Obshchestvo Prizora'' (municipal welfare society), an organization to provide shelter for the destitute. An alternative origin is the onomatopoeic гоп ''(gop)'', 'jump', 'leap', cf. the slang terms ''{{lang|ru|го́пать}}'', 'gopat', or ''{{lang|ru|гоп-стоп}}'', 'gop-stop', which mean mugging or robbing.<ref name=moscowtimes/>
==Stereotypical appearance and behaviour== Gopniks are often seen wearing Adidas tracksuits, which were popularized by the 1980 Moscow Olympics Soviet team.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://weirdrussia.com/2015/01/04/why-is-adidas-so-popular-among-russians/|title=Why is Adidas so Popular Among Russians?|date=4 January 2015|access-date=18 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170506122902/http://weirdrussia.com/2015/01/04/why-is-adidas-so-popular-among-russians/|archive-date=6 May 2017|url-status=usurped}}</ref><ref name="rbth">{{Cite web|url=https://www.rbth.com/lifestyle/331106-how-to-look-like-russian-gopniks|title = Russian Gopniks: How to look like you belong|date = 9 October 2019}}</ref> While sunflower seeds (colloquially {{Transliteration|ru|semki}} [семки] or {{Transliteration|ru|semechki}} [семечки]) are a common snack in Ukraine and Russia, chewing ("cracking") them in public and spitting out the shells on the ground is characteristic of gopniks.<ref name="rbth"/>
A stereotypical image of a gopnik is one of being conservative, aggressive, homophobic, nationalist and racist,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2014/may/28/russia-suburbs-creative-hotspots-photography-art-fashion|title=Russia's suburbs lack charm ... which may be why they're creative hotspots|author=Anastasiia Fedorova|date=2014-05-28|publisher=Guardian|access-date=2019-11-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200115055721/https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2014/may/28/russia-suburbs-creative-hotspots-photography-art-fashion|archive-date=2020-01-15|url-status=live}}</ref> as well as holding strong anti-Western views.<ref name=moscowtimes /> Gopniks are also stereotyped as being prone to substance and alcohol abuse, crime and hooliganism.<ref name="gop">Ханипов Р. «Гопники» – значение понятия, и элементы репрезентации субкультуры «гопников» в России // "Social Identities in Transforming Societies"</ref>
It is claimed that the originators of the hardbass style of music initially intended it as a parody on the behavior of gopniks.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Yegorov|first=Oleg|date=2017-12-22|title=Russian hard bass: How a musical monstrosity went viral|url=https://www.rbth.com/arts/327108-russian-hard-bass-how-it-went-viral|access-date=2020-10-22|website=www.rbth.com|language=en-US}}</ref>
===Squatting=== A stereotype of gopniks is resting squatting (Russian slang terms for the position are "на кортах", ''na kortakh'', a truncation of "на корточках", ''na kortochkakh'', Russian for "squatting") or "doing the crab" ("на крабе", ''na krabe'')).<ref name="rbth"/><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ta4EAQAAIAAJ&q=gopnik+-adam+-alison+russia|title=Trans-national issues, local concerns and meanings of post-socialism: insights from Russia, Central Eastern Europe, and beyond|first1=Moya|last1=Flynn|first2=Rebecca|last2=Kay|first3=Jonathan D.|last3=Oldfield|date=1 June 2008|publisher=University Press of America|isbn=978-0761840558|via=Google Books|access-date=11 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171212033143/https://books.google.ie/books?id=ta4EAQAAIAAJ&q=gopnik+-adam+-alison+russia&dq=gopnik+-adam+-alison+russia&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjQzZHGw4LYAhWMBcAKHSbaCUo4ChDoAQguMAE|archive-date=12 December 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="gop"/> It is described as a learned behavior, attributed to Russian and Soviet prison culture, which avoids sitting on the cold ground.<ref name="rbth"/> This habit of squatting, known as {{Lang|pl|słowiański przykuc}} ("Slavic squat") is a new stereotype of Russians in Poland, gaining popularity in 2019, along with being drunk and speaking in ''mat''.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Szczerek |first=Ziemowit |date=2019-09-14 |title=W świecie kucających Słowian |url=https://www.polityka.pl/tygodnikpolityka/swiat/1923696,1,w-swiecie-kucajacych-slowian.read |work=Polityka |language=pl}}</ref> The "Slavic squat" or "Slav squat" was also popularized in the West in the early 2010s.<ref>[https://thestrand.ca/the-slavic-squat-phenomenon/ The Slavic Squat Phenomenon]</ref><ref>Kiril Tsanov, [https://www.mirasafety.com/blogs/news/the-history-of-the-slav-squat?srsltid=AfmBOooM-PQvV_G-jaKsjCmO0rs-9kAMbEHzv9LvNxFgnjZWQKfeTaGK The history of the Slav squat]</ref><ref>[https://www.economist.com/1843/2019/09/10/how-the-slav-squat-became-an-internet-sensation How the “Slav squat” became an internet sensation], ''The Economist'', September 10, 2019</ref>
==In popular culture== The image of a gopnik had undercome a gradual transformation: from petty hooligans to Adidas tracksuit wearing "real lads" ({{langx|ru|"реальные пацаны"}}), to a stereotypical image in popular music. Eventually the "squatting Slav" has become an international meme. The popularity of the latter peaked in 2017. By 2020s it went out of fashion, but its notable presence is still preserved.<ref>[https://habr.com/ru/companies/ruvds/articles/593359/ Чики-брики и хардбасс: как гопники стали частью мировой мем-культуры]</ref> A number of notable Russian and other post-Soviet pop musicians capitalize on the image of "gopnik". Examples include Estonian rapper Tommy Cash,<ref name="Delfi_Noorte_Hääl">{{cite news |last1=Selg |first1=Mikko Leo |last2=Kubpart |first2=Kaisa |date=2 March 2016 |title=Intervjuu: Kes on TOMM¥ €A$H ja milline on tema maailm? |trans-title=Interview: Who is TOMM¥ €A$H and what is his world like? |url=https://kroonika.delfi.ee/artikkel/73824569/intervjuu-kes-on-tommy-eua-h-ja-milline-on-tema-maailm |access-date=19 March 2025 |work=Kroonika Delfi Mitmesugust |publisher=Delfi |language=et}}</ref> Russian rapper Husky.<ref>[https://nashgorod.ru/news/2025-05-05/reinkarnatsiya-esenina-v-gopnike-reper-haski-vystupit-v-tyumeni-5384037 «Реинкарнация Есенина в гопнике»: рэпер Хаски выступит в Тюмени]</ref>
The Russian music and dance subgenre hardbass ironically uses the gopnik style.<ref>[https://cavedwellermusic.net/albums-reviews/d/dj-blyatman-and-the-world-of-russian-hardbass/ DJ Blyatman and the World of Russian Hardbass]</ref>
== Notes == {{Notelist}}
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links == * {{Commons category-inline|Gopnik}}
Category:Class-related slurs Category:Criminal subcultures Category:Culture of Russia Category:Social class in Russia Category:Culture of the Soviet Union Category:Socioeconomic stereotypes Category:Counterculture of the 1980s Category:Russian counterculture of the 1990s Category:Counterculture of the 2000s Category:Social class subcultures