As we watch hoodlums ascending the social ladder one stolen purse and broken nose at a time,Slovo Patsana(translated from the Russian title:Boy’s Word: Blood on the Asphalt) vividly reenacts what happens as one kind of empire replaces another. The tagline “The boys don’t apologize” says it all. As seen in this subtitled trailer, the Russian series takes a frank look at the brutal life of blue-collar kids in the Tatarstan Republic in the last years of the USSR.
The Perestroika period in theSoviet Unionmarked a time of pain, loyalty oaths, and machismo for many in the city of Kazan. If you’ve seen a gang drama before, you’ll instantly understand the premise of a kid joining for protection and respect. The only way to enter is a fistfight to prove your worth, and there is no way out – blood in, blood out. In that aspect, it’s not particularly inventive. The themes of brotherhood and coming of age are common but irresistible, which explains why they have taken hold of much of Eastern Europe. The only thing limiting its popularity in other countries is the lack of subtitles and streaming options.
That, and the censors. As the Ukraine-Russia conflict drags on, which has already seenvarious projectscentered on it, the show finds itself in the awkward and surreal status of being labeled propaganda by both sides. Highlighting the less-than-attentive care of parents and state,Slovo Patsanahas emerged as a Rorschach test, with every viewer seeing something remarkably distinct. This gritty Russian series goes to show that sometimes, the enemy of your enemy can also be your enemy. And that sometimes a police state isn’t so good at real police work.
In a curious case of intersecting politics, nostalgia, teen angst,Godfatherfandom, and repressed history, the crime saga has seized the imagination of much of the Russian-speaking world. Don’t worry if you deferred that Slavic Studies degree; we’ll connect the dots.
Stalin’s Simps
Russia has taken a very hard line against any embarrassing or demeaning images of the nation, even extending protection to defend Joseph Stalin. The comedyThe Death of Stalinwasbanned from theaterson the grounds that the movie was “humiliating” Russians. Within the show’s plot, we see the gangs engaging in shakedowns, intimidation, thefts, assaults, and everything else that comes with street life, as the creator, Zhora Kryzhovnikov, is never shying away from reality. The depiction of the city of Kazan has prompted one local politician to decry it as a foreign conspiracy to slander the name of the region.
In interviews, the show’s true mastermind, author Robert Garayev, cites the stories as personal, gathered from years of interacting with former members of Kazan street gangs. Garayev came clean; he, too, was briefly caught up in the lifestyle in his younger years. He’s not surprised it hit a nerve with many of his generation, reminiscing about thestreet gangs' training regimen to harden up members, honing their skills to do battle to defend their turf, all while instructed to abstain from narcotics or alcohol. Some of these elements can be found transplanted directly into the fictionalized series, albeit exaggerated for proper dramatic effect.
In a curious twist, the UK-basedThe Economistreported that the composers of the show’s music gouncredited for their anti-war stances, an unpopular opinion. According to a Russian-oriented outlet, writerAndrey Zolotarev was baffledby what particular laws the show was violating to earn so much scorn.
After a murder was committed, blame quickly fell upon the show for instigating copycat criminal acts among minors. Zolotarev flatly denies that his show promotes anti-social behavior. A Ministry of Internal Affairs investigation into the murder agreed, concluding that there was nothing to this attention-grabbing allegation. However, by then, the show had become a target for anyone looking to blame society’s problems on entertainment.
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Based on research by writer Garayev in his bookThe Boy’s Word: Criminal Tatarstan 1970—2010s, the television adaptation exposes the gnarly details of life behind the Iron Curtain. The loosening of laws was intended to bring more freedom of expression but also brought with it an uptick in violent gangs vying for control as the Soviet state lost control of law and order.
Ironically, in Ukraine, the show is banned completely, deemed pro-Russian propaganda. In an odd response, via the Ukrainian websiteObozrevatel(The Observer), the Ukrainian State Film Agency issued a statement that points to a statute barring any piece of media that “creates a positive image of the employees of the aggressor state.” In this case, the Russian state is in the form of the defunct USSR.Boy’s Word’s banning should be interpreted as much as a consequence of bureaucracy as any hatred toward the Russians involved in the project. Laws bar anything made in Russia that was filmed or first shown after the year 2014, the year of the annexation of Crimea, the beginning of hostilities between the two nations. This patriotic message was lost on those pirating the show.
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Straight Outta Kazan
How didBoy’s Wordbecome such a viral piece of TV viewing so quickly? There are a few reasons. As explained, the show takes advantage of a particular nostalgia for the USSR, commonly called “ostalgie.” In an interview with a Russian channel, media analyst Katerina Yakovlenko explained, “Curiosity and fascination with the criminality of the 1980s and 1990s in literature and cinema is a classic component of ostalgie.”
A second explanation is simply the quality of the show’s writing and willingness to show an ignored aspect of life. In many ways, it’s an analog toMenace II SocietyorBoyz n the Hood,which was also animportant film for Black cinema, both gaining notoriety in the early nineties for exploring Los Angeles' crime epidemic, sparing no violence. One could even see it as a companion piece toGangs of New YorkorEastern Promises. Depending on how you look at “Gopnik,” a slang term for “good for nothing” or gangster, the phrase is used much like Westerners use the word “punk,” “thug life,” or “OG.” It’s an identity, a fashion choice, and a lifestyle. The kids in this show might be listening to Kino, not Public Enemy, but the swagger is the same. Crime and rebellion are cool.
As the neighborhood muggers bumped heads with their archenemies, the drug trafficking and extortion turned to assassination. A soaring crime rate in the city of Kazan led to what was called the “Kazan Phenomenon.” The ringleader of one such gang tastefully selected Don Corleone, the mafia boss fromThe Godfather, one of thebest mafia movies ever made, as his main inspiration. Despite the ban on Western media, enough crime flicks filtered in to brainwash the youth into becoming criminals, or so modern Russia would like to portray the situation. However, as much Russia desires to blame Hollywood movies,Boy’s Worddelves into much deeper social problems than kids trying to do Marlon Brando impersonations.
More expansive information can be found on the series, cast, crew, and episodes atwww.themoviedb.org. But beware, due to the quirks in the nature of translation, one version of the show might vary from another, with some local references or lines of dialogue not quite making the leap across cultures, and the subtitles are spotty at best. Sadly, this explains why it has probably remained so niche outside the nations still haunted by their memories of breadlines and Brezhnev’s eyebrows.
