Where did the victorious "hurray" come from, and Why did foreigners adopt the battle cry of the brave Russians?

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

For centuries Russian soldiers defended their borders and attacked the enemy with a battle cry "Hurray!" This powerful fearsome call was heard in the Alpine mountains, on the hills of Manchuria, near Moscow and in Stalingrad. Victorious "Hurray!" often put the enemy to flight in inexplicable panic. And despite the fact that this cry has analogues in many modern languages, one of the most recognizable in the world is precisely the Russian version.

Major versions of origin

Traditionally, the very word "hurray" has become entrenched in our minds with specific calls for action, determination and victory. With him, they rose to attack even the many times superior enemy forces. And in many cases successfully. The inspiring power of the Russian "hurray" is not disputed by anyone. Discussions arise only about the origin of the word. Historians with linguists consider several versions of the birth of a battle cry.

According to the first widespread hypothesis, "hurray", like a weighty row of other words, was borrowed from the Turkic language. This etymological version sees the word as a modification of the foreign word "jur", which means "animated" or "mobile". By the way, the word “Jura” with Turkic roots is found in modern Bulgarian and is translated as “I attack”.

According to the second version, the cry was again borrowed from the Turks, but this time from “urman”, which means “to beat”. In today's Azerbaijani the word "vur" - "beat" is found. Proponents of this transformation option insist on the "Vura!" - "Hooray!". The next hypothesis is based on the Bulgarian word "urge", which translates as "up" or "up".

There is a possibility that initially with "Hurray!" the movement to the mountain top, accompanied by a call-out, was associated. There is also a hypothesis about the adopted military call from the Mongol-Tatars, who used the cry "Urak (g) sha!" - derived from "urakh" ("forward"). The Lithuanian call for a fearless attack "virai" is considered along the same lines. The Slavic version says that the word originated in the tribes of the same name, transforming from “uraz” (blow) or “near paradise”, which after the baptism of Rus meant “to paradise”.

Attempts of Peter I to replace the traditional "hurray" with "vivat"

The Russian army was forbidden to shout "Hurray!" For several decades. In 1706, the corresponding decree was issued by the reformer Peter the Great. A detailed instruction was attached to the document regulating the combat traditions of the infantry and cavalry. If someone in a combat unit shouts “Hurray!”, Then the officer of this company or regiment will be punished with all severity, up to “… hang without any mercy…”. A soldier who ignored the tsar's command was allowed to be immediately stabbed by a superior officer's hand.

It is curious that such a ban did not affect the fleet, and the Russian sailors were not supposed to be punished for "hurray". Undesirable battle cry Peter I, with a light hand, replaced the alien to the Russian "Vivat!". But already towards the equator of the 18th century, "vivat" is gradually giving up its positions, and a good army "hurray" returns to the fighting brotherhood. In the battles of the Seven Years War during the reign of Peter's daughter Elizabeth, Russian soldiers already boldly used their favorite cry. And during a field marshal's detour of troops in 1757, it rumbled: "… to the merciful mother Elizaveta Petrovna for many years: hurray, hurray, hurray!" Since that historical period, the word "Hurray!" and began to acquire the very meaning that is invested in it today.

Even the holders of the highest ranks during hot battles did not hesitate to shout the military Russian "Hurray!", Leading the regiments. It so happened that the silent attack of the Russian army does not fit at all with the national mentality of the people. By itself, the cry "Hurray!" acts as a powerful emotional springboard that takes enemy hatred and operational capabilities to a whole new level.

What other peoples shouted in battle and "Hurray" taken over by foreigners

Celts and Germans, calling on their comrades-in-arms to battle, sang battle songs in one voice. Roman legionnaires shouted: "Long live death!" Medieval representatives of the English and French troops traditionally used the phrase: "Dieu et mon droit" (translated as "God and my right"). Napoleon's wards invariably entered the battle with the cry "For the emperor!", And the Germans shouted "Forward!" In their own way. Moreover, the latter distinguished themselves later by borrowing the Russian "Hurray!"

In the 19th century, in the charter of the German army was introduced consonant with the Russian cry "Hurra!" (interpreted similarly to the Russian counterpart). Historians believe that the reason lies in the victorious Prussian campaigns of the Russian army a century earlier. Allegedly, the Germans, along with the adopted cry, hoped to repeat the military glory of the Russian Empire. An interesting story is connected with the French perception of our "hurray". At first, the French heard in this word their distorted "o ra", which was translated as "To the rat!" Offended by such comparisons on the part of a combat opponent, they did not come up with anything else how to answer the Russians "O sha" ("To the cat"). At some point, the Turks shouted "hurray". Previously, they used "Allah" in attacks (translated as "Allah"). If we assume that the origin of the word is still Türkic, then it turns out that it returned to the Turks after passing through Europe. After victories over Napoleonic army men the Russian cry "Hurray!" migrated to the English army.

However, there are also known peoples who rejected any borrowing and invariably used exclusively national expressions. For example, the Ossetians pronounce the fighting "Marga!" Which means "kill". The Israeli attackers shout “Hedad!”, Which is a kind of echo homophone. The Japanese are known all over the world for their notorious "Banzai!", Which is interpreted as "ten thousand years." With their cry, they wished the emperor to live that much. It is not entirely appropriate to pronounce the full phrase in battle, therefore only the end of the phrase is voiced.

But foreigners borrowed not only the cry, but also Russian songs. So, the Soviet song "Katyusha" became the main melody of the Italian Resistance Movement.