dedovshchina means hazing, the informal system of subjection and physical or sexual abuse of new junior conscripts, formerly in the Soviet Armed Forces and contemporarily in the Russian, Ukrainian, etc. armed forces. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
dedovshchina is pronounced /dɪdəvˈʃːinə/.
Why “dedovshchina” is a great word
DEDOVSHCHINA — [Noun] A formalized, institutionalized system of brutal hazing, forced labor, and psychological subjugation inflicted by senior conscripts upon their juniors within the Soviet and post-Soviet military hierarchy. From Russian дедовщи́на (dedovščína), from дед (ded, "grandfather" or, in military slang, "old-timer") + the suffix -овщина (-ovščina, denoting a practice, system, or reign). Literally "reign of the grandfathers/old-timers." Unlike generic "hazing," which suggests transitory initiation, or "bullying," a diffuse abuse of power, dedovshchina is a calcified, generational ritual where yesterday's victim becomes today's tyrant within a closed institution. It is the confiscated food parcel, the nocturnal beating for a poorly polished boot, and the cold transfer of cruelty from one class of conscripts to the next—a perfect, self-perpetuating engine of violence where victimhood is merely an apprenticeship for tyranny.
noun
- Hazing, the informal system of subjection and physical or sexual abuse of new junior conscripts, formerly in the Soviet Armed Forces and contemporarily in the Russian, Ukrainian, etc. armed forces.