''Oseledets'' (, ) or ''chub'' ( ) is a traditional Ukrainian

hairstyle A hairstyle, hairdo, haircut, or coiffure refers to the styling of hair, usually on the human head but sometimes on the face or body. The fashioning of hair can be considered an aspect of personal grooming, fashion, and cosmetics, although ...

that features a long lock of hair sprouting from the top or the front of an otherwise closely shaven head (similar to a modern

Mohawk Mohawk may refer to: Related to Native Americans *Mohawk people (Kanien’kehá:ka), an indigenous people of North America (Canada and New York) *Mohawk language (Kanien’kéha), the language spoken by the Mohawk people *Mohawk hairstyle, from a ...

). Most commonly it is associated with the

Zaporozhian Cossacks The Zaporozhian Cossacks (in Latin ''Cossacorum Zaporoviensis''), also known as the Zaporozhian Cossack Army or the Zaporozhian Host (), were Cossacks who lived beyond (that is, downstream from) the Dnieper Rapids. Along with Registered Cossa ...

History

The earliest description of a possible oseledet comes from a description of Sviatoslav, prince of the Kievan Rus'. Sviatoslav's appearance has been described very clearly by

Leo the Deacon Leo the Deacon (; born ) was a Byzantine Greek historian and chronicler. He was born around 950 at Kaloe in Asia Minor, and was educated in Constantinople, where he became a deacon in the imperial palace. While in Constantinople he wrote a histor ...

, who himself attended the meeting of Sviatoslav with

John I Tzimiskes John I Tzimiskes (; 925 – 10 January 976) was the senior Byzantine emperor from 969 to 976. An intuitive and successful general who married into the influential Skleros family, he strengthened and expanded the Byzantine Empire to inclu ...

. Following Deacon's memories, Sviatoslav had a bald head and a wispy beard and wore a bushy mustache and a sidelock as a sign of his nobility. A closely related haircut, ''

czupryna The czupryna (), also known as the Polish halfshaven head, is a traditional Polish noble haircut, associated mainly with Sarmatism, but worn by Poles in the Middle Ages too. It is marked by shaving hair above the ears and on the neck at the sam ...

'', was worn by the

Wends Wends is a historical name for Slavs who inhabited present-day northeast Germany. It refers not to a homogeneous people, but to various people, tribes or groups depending on where and when it was used. In the modern day, communities identifying ...

of early

medieval Poland This article covers the history of Poland in the Middle Ages. This time covers roughly a millennium, from the 5th century to the 16th century. It is commonly dated from the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, and contrasted with a later Early Modern ...

, and later by the

Szlachta The ''szlachta'' (; ; ) were the nobility, noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Depending on the definition, they were either a warrior "caste" or a social ...

from the 12th until the 18th century. During the 16th and 17th century, the

Cossack The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borders of Ukraine and Rus ...

s of Ukraine shaved their heads, leaving a long central strip which was often braided or tied in a

topknot Topknot may refer to: * A hairstyle or haircut, historically prevalent in Asia: **''Chonmage'', a traditional Japanese haircut worn by men **'' Sangtu'' (), a Korean topknot ** ''Touji'' (頭髻), a traditional Chinese hairstyle which involves tyi ...

. The oseledets underwent a revival among

romantics Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. The purpose of the movement was to advocate for the importance of subjec ...

and

nationalists Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, Id ...

during the early 20th century. Romantic painters associated Leo the Deacon's description of Sviatoslav's appearance and equestrian lifestyle with the cossacks and depicted him as such. After independence, the oseledets made a comeback among modern Ukrainians. It was seen during the Euromaidan protests of 2014. The Ukrainian name for this type of haircut is ''oseledets'' (, literally "

herring Herring are various species of forage fish, belonging to the Order (biology), order Clupeiformes. Herring often move in large Shoaling and schooling, schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate wate ...

") or ''chub'' (, meaning "crest"). There are several Ukrainian surnames derived from this word. The ''oseledets''/''khokhol'' is a standard feature in the

stereotypical In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalization, generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can ...

image of a Ukrainian Cossack. This haircut is depicted in various motion pictures such as ''The Lost Letter'' that is based on works of

Nikolai Gogol Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol; ; (; () was a Russian novelist, short story writer, and playwright of Ukrainian origin. Gogol used the Grotesque#In literature, grotesque in his writings, for example, in his works "The Nose (Gogol short story), ...

''Khokhol''

Historically, Ukrainians used the term ''khokhol'' amongst themselves as a form of ethnic self-identification to visibly separate themselves from Russians. A

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

name for the ''oseledets'' hairstyle, ''khokhol'' (, ) is commonly used as an

ethnic slur The following is a list of ethnic slurs, ethnophaulisms, or ethnic epithets that are, or have been, used as insinuations or allegations about members of a given ethnic, national, or racial group or to refer to them in a derogatory, pej ...

for a Ukrainian male (feminine form: ), as it was a common haircut of

Ukrainian Cossacks The Zaporozhian Cossacks (in Latin ''Cossacorum Zaporoviensis''), also known as the Zaporozhian Cossack Army or the Zaporozhian Host (), were Cossacks who lived beyond (that is, downstream from) the Dnieper Rapids. Along with Registered Cossa ...

. The term is usually derogatory or condescending. The word comes from

Proto-Slavic Proto-Slavic (abbreviated PSl., PS.; also called Common Slavic or Common Slavonic) is the unattested, reconstructed proto-language of all Slavic languages. It represents Slavic speech approximately from the 2nd millennium BC through the 6th ...

xoxolъ < *koxolъ, . Accordingly, ''Khokhliandiya'' (Russian: ) and ''Khokhlostan'' (Russian: ) are derogatory references to Ukraine.

Gallery

File:Ilja Jefimowitsch Repin - Zaporozhian Cossacks (image detail) 2.jpg, A fragment from '' Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks'' (1880-91); painted by

Ilya Repin Ilya Yefimovich Repin ( – 29 September 1930) was a Russian painter, born in what is today Ukraine. He became one of the most renowned artists in Russian Empire, Russia in the 19th century. His major works include ''Barge Haulers on the Volga' ...

File:Берінчик Денис Юрійович 3 (Кременчук, 4.10.2012).jpg, Boxer

Denys Berinchyk Denys Berinchyk (, ; born 5 May 1988) is a Ukrainian professional boxer. He held the WBO lightweight title from May 2024 to February 2025. As an amateur, he won silver medals in the light-welterweight division at the 2011 World Championships ...

, 2012

References

Bibliography

Хохол
// Словник української мови : в 11 т. — К. :

Наукова думка Naukova Dumka ( — literally "scientific thought") is a publishing house in Kyiv, Ukraine. It was established by the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine in 1922, largely owing to the efforts of Ahatanhel Krymsky, a prominent Ukrainian lingu ...

, 1970–1980. * (рос
Андрей Моченов, Сергей Никулин. ''«Хохлы», «пиндосы», «чухонцы» и прочие «бусурмане» в Рунете и российской прессе''. 28 июня 2006. MCK
*(рос
Заява національно-культурної автономії українців Новосибірську

// Украдене ім'я: Чому русини стали українцями / Є. П. Наконечний; Передмова Я. Дашкевича. — 3-є, доп. і випр. вид. — Львів, 2001. — 400 с. — * (рос
Етимологічний словник Фасмера стор.796
* Ставицька Леся
Українська лексика в російському та польському жаргонно-сленговому вокабулярі
/ Александр Бирих (нім. ''Alexander Bierich'') // Субстандартные варианты славянских языков. — Київ : Peter Lang. Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften, 2008. — № 17 (Серпень). — С. 198. — ISSN 0930-7281. —
Хохо́л
// Етимологічний словник української мови : у 7 т. : т. 6 / редкол.: О. С. Мельничук (гол. ред.) та ін. — К. : Наукова думка, 2012. — Т. 6 : У — Я. — С. 205–206. —
Хохол
//

Українська мала енциклопедія Ukrainian (, ) is an East Slavic language, spoken primarily in Ukraine. It is the first (native) language of a large majority of Ukrainians. Written Ukrainian uses the Ukrainian alphabet, a variant of the Cyrillic script. The standard langu ...

: 16 кн. : у 8 т. / проф. Є. Онацький. — Накладом Адміністратури УАПЦ в Аргентині. — Буенос-Айрес, 1967. — Т. 8, кн. XVI : Літери Уш — Я. — С. 2017. — 1000 екз.
Б. Н. Флоря. О значении термина «Хохол» и производных от него в русских источниках первой половины XVII в. (эпизод из истории русско-польско-украинских контактов) // STUDIA POLONICA. К 60-летию Виктора Александровича Хорева. М.: Институт славяноведения и балканистики РАН, 1992.(рос.)
{{Ethnic slurs Anti-Ukrainian sentiment Cossack culture Pejorative terms for European people Hairstyles Shaving Pejorative demonyms

History

''Khokhol''

Gallery

See also

References

Bibliography