**The German word used to describe Putin sympathizers now has its own English Wikipedia page. But what does “Putinversteher” mean and who does it refer to?**
If an entry in Wikipedia is considered some marker of acknowledgement in the present day, then the world should be on the lookout for the new English-language page dedicated to the German word “Putinversteher,” which translates literally to “one who understands Putin.”
The term combines the name of Russia’s president Vladimir Putin with the German noun “Versteher,” which means “understander.”
With its own English-language Wikipedia page, the word joins other German terms that have come into use in the English language over recent years.
One prominent example is “Lügenpresse,” a slur popular in the Nazi era that translates roughly to “lying press,” used to discredit media reports that do not align with the user’s ideology. In recent years, the term made a comeback under the far-right Alternative for Germany party and by Donald Trump supporters in the US.
When “Versteher” is added to the end of a word in German, it’s typically done to indicate a mix of irony and flattery, as a recent Economist article points out. For example, a “Frauenversteher” (Women understander) typically describes a man who boasts excessively about his relations with women.
Likewise, a “Putinversteher” is often used to describe someone who expresses empathy for Russian president Putin.
The term, which was already in use following Russia’s annexation of Crimea, typically has a negative connotation — and particularly since the invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
When Russia launched its attack on Ukraine, people who could be described as “Putinversteher” — including prominent German politicians and talk show pundits — would for example point out that NATO’s eastward expansion should be understood as a real threat to Russia, or would compare the invasion of Ukraine to the United States’ 2003 invasion of Iraq, which was another illegal war.
Same with “Russlandversteher”, Germany was full of them, it indicates academics and politicians who proclaimed themselves as understanders of Russia, its “soul” and political goals
Russians thank German people for being loyal in these difficult times.
Ihr alle seid Putinversteher! Спасибо!
No.
the correct translation is “the one who bend over”
There’s a Wikipedia page in English about it, that’s all. Doesn’t mean it has “come into use in the English language” like the article makes you believe. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I highly doubt the average English speaker knows what Putinversteher or Lügenpresse is? It’s literally just the German words for Putin sympathiser and fake news, nothing more. I normally have high respect for DW, but this article is weird.
There is already “Vatnik”: *”Put simply, the vatnik is representative of a certain archetypical Russian who … supports the regime out of fear, hatred of others, or most often a combination of both.”*
Finally Finland is not the only country who brings to fame words describing a questionable relationship with Russia (Finlandization).
I heard that many new German words are just mashups of existing words.
Like: “Whaddya mean make up a new word? We got enough words for this language, let’s just smush them together until we get something that describes this new thing”.
> German terms that have come into use in the English language over recent years.
I must have been living in a parallel universe over recent years, since no one used German terms while speaking English.
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**The German word used to describe Putin sympathizers now has its own English Wikipedia page. But what does “Putinversteher” mean and who does it refer to?**
If an entry in Wikipedia is considered some marker of acknowledgement in the present day, then the world should be on the lookout for the new English-language page dedicated to the German word “Putinversteher,” which translates literally to “one who understands Putin.”
The term combines the name of Russia’s president Vladimir Putin with the German noun “Versteher,” which means “understander.”
With its own English-language Wikipedia page, the word joins other German terms that have come into use in the English language over recent years.
One prominent example is “Lügenpresse,” a slur popular in the Nazi era that translates roughly to “lying press,” used to discredit media reports that do not align with the user’s ideology. In recent years, the term made a comeback under the far-right Alternative for Germany party and by Donald Trump supporters in the US.
When “Versteher” is added to the end of a word in German, it’s typically done to indicate a mix of irony and flattery, as a recent Economist article points out. For example, a “Frauenversteher” (Women understander) typically describes a man who boasts excessively about his relations with women.
Likewise, a “Putinversteher” is often used to describe someone who expresses empathy for Russian president Putin.
The term, which was already in use following Russia’s annexation of Crimea, typically has a negative connotation — and particularly since the invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
When Russia launched its attack on Ukraine, people who could be described as “Putinversteher” — including prominent German politicians and talk show pundits — would for example point out that NATO’s eastward expansion should be understood as a real threat to Russia, or would compare the invasion of Ukraine to the United States’ 2003 invasion of Iraq, which was another illegal war.
Same with “Russlandversteher”, Germany was full of them, it indicates academics and politicians who proclaimed themselves as understanders of Russia, its “soul” and political goals
Russians thank German people for being loyal in these difficult times.
Ihr alle seid Putinversteher! Спасибо!
No.
the correct translation is “the one who bend over”
There’s a Wikipedia page in English about it, that’s all. Doesn’t mean it has “come into use in the English language” like the article makes you believe. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I highly doubt the average English speaker knows what Putinversteher or Lügenpresse is? It’s literally just the German words for Putin sympathiser and fake news, nothing more. I normally have high respect for DW, but this article is weird.
There is already “Vatnik”: *”Put simply, the vatnik is representative of a certain archetypical Russian who … supports the regime out of fear, hatred of others, or most often a combination of both.”*
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vatnik_(slang)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vatnik_(slang))
Finally Finland is not the only country who brings to fame words describing a questionable relationship with Russia (Finlandization).
I heard that many new German words are just mashups of existing words.
Like: “Whaddya mean make up a new word? We got enough words for this language, let’s just smush them together until we get something that describes this new thing”.
> German terms that have come into use in the English language over recent years.
I must have been living in a parallel universe over recent years, since no one used German terms while speaking English.