Where did the world leaders' nicknames come from and what do they mean: Uncle Joe, Mommy and others

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Nicknames and nicknames exist to show the "reverse side of the medal", those qualities of a person that he tries not to advertise. Funny or offensive, truthful or derisive, they stick not only to ordinary people. Emperors, tsars, presidents, leaders and party leaders are no exception. They treated some nicknames favorably, others annoyed them. What did the world leaders wear and why did they get them?

Uncle Joe, Eastern Despot, aka Koba

In his country, Joseph Vissarionovich did not have nicknames. For obvious reasons, Soviet citizens did not risk making fun of the leader of all nations. But his “colleagues” were clearly not shy in expressions. For example, Hitler called Stalin an oriental despot, and Churchill was nothing more than a cunning Byzantine. For both of them as Europeans, these nicknames were offensive. The East and Byzantium for them were the personification of cunning, resourcefulness and slyness.

It cannot be said that Stalin was particularly offended by such comparisons. In the end, his revolutionary nickname Koba, chosen by him with his own hand, goes back to the Persian ruler Kavada the First. Which was exactly the same oriental despot.

He became a koboi after he escaped from exile; in the novel of Alexander Kazbegi, for example, a robber bore such a name. A kind of lyrical hero, acting on the principle of Robin Hood. However, after all, "Stalin" is also a fictitious pseudonym, a nickname. It appeared in connection with Joseph in 1912.

However, a more interesting story is connected with Stalin's nicknames. During the war, Americans began calling the Soviet leader Uncle Joe. It would seem nothing offensive. Joseph in the American manner sounds like Joseph, and Americans are very fond of abbreviating names. That's Uncle Joe.

This nickname became so popular that it was even used in government telegrams. For example, in his letters to Churchill, Roosevelt called the Soviet leader this way. At the Yalta Conference, Roosevelt announced this at a common table during breakfast. It was a good joke, but it was impossible to predict the reaction of the Soviet leader. Stalin got nervous and asked when he could leave the table. A conflict was brewing.

However, James Byrnes, the future US Secretary of State, began to explain that there is nothing offensive in this nickname. Say, the Americans call him "Uncle Sam" as a sign of special affection and affection. This is more a sign of respect than familiarity. Even if Stalin did not like this nickname, he made sure that the Union is perceived as a partner.

Whether a rat or a bulldog

Winston Churchill knows very well what nicknames are. In addition, unlike Stalin, his nicknames were neither respectful nor deeply meaningful. When he was an aspiring politician, he unexpectedly leaves the Conservative Party. And he immediately joins the Liberal Party. Undoubtedly, such a step is perceived by yesterday's party members as a betrayal.

They begin to call him a rat, and a clarification of the place of birth - the Blenham Rat - is added to the nickname. The nickname sticks to Churchill for a long time until he finds himself in an even more ridiculous situation. A certain Teresa, known as a suffragette, unexpectedly attacked Churchill. She accompanied her blows with a whip with exclamations: "Here, beastly bulldog, in the name of all the humiliated women of England!" Since there were enough witnesses, and the situation was truly out of the ordinary, soon enough Churchill got another nickname "Her Majesty's Bulldog."

Subtle English humor went further. After Churchill began to occupy high posts, offensive nicknames began to fade into the background. But I remembered the childhood nickname of the Prime Minister Vinnie. Despite Churchill's resemblance to a teddy bear, this nickname is simply an abbreviation for Winston. The more authoritative Churchill became, the more often Bulldogs in England began to be called Vinnie. Well, why not?

When the nickname crashed against authority

The same friends who called Stalin Uncle Joe decided that an aunt should be attached to the uncle. For Americans, the most prominent figure after Stalin was the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Vyacheslav Molotov. So Molotov began to be called Aunt Molly.

If Stalin was offended by his uncle, then he should definitely be offended by his aunt. In addition, Molly has several meanings in English. One of them is a girl of easy virtue, the other is a whiner, a rag. But this phrase did not fit with the imperturbable and even merciless Molotov so much that it would be foolish to take offense at this nickname.

Churchill said that Molotov was a cold-blooded and imperturbable person who could not be penetrated by anything. The nickname about Aunt Molly, which British journalists artificially tried to "let the people in", did not take root. Pretty soon, Molotov began to be called Mister No, certainly not for pliability and pliability.

Peter, aka Pierrot

The world community would never have known about this case if the former classmates of Petro Poroshenko had not tried. They probably found it amusing that the former leader of Ukraine had cute childhood weaknesses.

It is likely that this was some kind of revenge on the part of classmates with whom the politician does not want to keep in touch at all. Than only emphasized the presence of children's grievances and experiences. But one of his former classmates said that after the play, in which Poroshenko played a fan of Malvina, they began to call him only Pierrot.

The nickname was so firmly stuck to Poroshenko that even teachers addressed him like that. On top of that, Peter was fond of studying French, so they began to call him Pierre in the same manner.

Small, and already a general

In the North Korean Kim dynasty, it was not customary to give nicknames, and even more so offensive ones. In common use were exclusively laudatory titles and uplifting comparisons. But with Kim Jong Un it turned out a little differently.

From childhood, he was extremely cocky and even aggressive. He tried to prove to everyone that he should be reckoned with as an adult and fiercely defended his rights. To do this, he had to constantly argue, swear, resent and even fight. The attempts of a nine-year-old boy to arrange a dictatorship at home amused the family.

It was then that the older sister began to call him a little general, hinting at his irrepressible ambitions and authoritarianism. It would seem nothing offensive, but given the condescending and dismissive sound and the Kim family, it becomes clear that the nickname is something out of the ordinary.

I am not Dimon

Or is it Dimon? The situation around Dmitry Medvedev, for whom his press secretary stood up, outraged by the fact that the network is called politics only as Dimon, was at one time widely known. It so happened that Medvedev's assistant criticized the Internet community for such a personal appeal to a high-ranking official. Meanwhile, Medvedev himself was not at all offended, noticing that his entire childhood was called Dimon and he does not see anything abnormal in this.

Indeed, "Dimon" is such nonsense, compared to what nicknames are given to his colleagues in the same online space. And Medvedev himself has much more poignant nicknames. Moreover, "Medved" and "iPhone" (for the love of gadgets of a well-known brand) are also very harmless.

It is unlikely that the nickname "Merry Dwarf" would have stuck to Medvedev, if not for the ambiguous situation in one of the Russian cities where he was going to visit. The local administration decided to urgently remove the posters for a children's play called "We are waiting for you, funny gnome." Of course, this circumstance could not go unnoticed by the townspeople, who shared their observations on the network. So Medvedev also became a Merry Dwarf.

He is also called Twittry Anatolyevich for his love of social networks, Luntik for some harmlessness bordering on naivety, Vizier for his position under the "Sultan".

Caring mommy

Angela Merkel at the dawn of her political career was called by those around the girl Kolya (her patron was Helmut Kolya). Later they began to call her Mom, with some love, they say, with the Angel in the country it is comfortable as with a mother.

However, over time, it became clear that her maternal nickname became defining in her political career. He became too fiercely to demonstrate care, a desire to protect everyone and warm. Having decided to become a mommy not only for Germans, but also for migrants. Apparently for the simple reason that "there are no other people's children."