Mysterious "Ushats": what does this meme word, which can be found in Soviet films, mean?

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

The modern generation hardly knows what the word "Ushats" means, but Soviet TV viewers knew. Well, if you didn't know, then at least they noticed him in a variety of films and even in cartoons. The familiar four letters could usually be seen scrawled on the wall in the frame. Now this word would be called a meme, but then, in the second half of the last century, it was, rather, a code for initiates. At least those who left the walls of the Moscow Architectural Institute (MARHI) understood exactly what it was about. And directors and actors too …

There are several legends about the origin of this meme, but they all boil down to one real fact and a real person. Usac is the surname of the famous architect, artist and screenwriter (unfortunately, nine years ago, passed away). A funny meme was born during his studies at the Moscow Architectural Institute.

According to one of the versions, Mikhail Ushats himself introduced the practice of signing different subjects with his last name during his student years. Once he "marked" his chair in the audience (according to another version - an easel), and then other students of the university took up this idea for fun. The inscriptions "Ushats" or "Ushats" began to appear on the walls, on propaganda posters, on dishes.

But according to the recollections of one of the classmates Mikhail Lazarevich, the first to scribble the name "Ushats" was his student friend Vladimir Bykov. On an aluminum spoon in the university canteen. Thus, the guy decided to check if this spoon will ever return to him. Of course she came back. However, it is not known whether it was that spoon, because gradually there were more and more spoons marked with the word "Ushac" in the dining room.

And after a while, the students saw an announcement in the dining room: “Entrance in outer clothing is prohibited”, at the bottom of which some joker added “and Ushac” to the signature “Administration”.

Gradually, the funny student meme went to the people - of course, not without the help of artists. An attentive viewer will make out the familiar four letters in the film Don't Cry, Athos, the cartoon Dunno on the Moon, and in a number of other famous works. This mysterious word for the uninitiated could sometimes be found even on the walls of houses and in transport, and not only in our country, but also abroad. For example, tourists found the inscription "Ushats" even on the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the Eiffel Tower, as well as on the wall of the Louvre. This is such "art hooliganism".

However, the person who gave this funny meme to the world is not just the owner of a funny surname, but an outstanding personality in himself, with a great sense of humor. Mikhail Ushats worked as an artist in the pop studio of Moscow State University, where he came up with an original style of budget decorations (money was tight): the actors read the text against the background of colorful patches flying into the air. In addition, he showed himself as a talented artist in various theaters in our country, having designed a total of 120 performances. By the way, in 1965 Ushats was the production designer for the New Year's performance at the Kremlin Palace of Congresses.

And Ushats also drew wonderful cartoons for the legendary humorous magazine "Krokodil" and wrote scripts for the cult Soviet newsreel "Fitil".

But that's not all. Mikhail Ushats was among the restorers of portraits of the family tree of ceremonial families of the State Historical Museum. He is the author of twelve canvases that are almost indistinguishable from the originals. Such a talented and versatile person was. So his name is immortalized in the cinema, deservedly so.

Perhaps, finding the inscriptions "Ushats" in Soviet films is a kind of quest. And how fun it was to do it in those days when only a few TV channels worked on TV and showing your favorite feature film was a whole event! However, the exit of loved ones also pleased the whole family. TV shows that made childhood in the USSR more fun.