Fartsovka (

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

: фарцовка) is a slang term for the illegal purchase/resale of hard-to-find or inaccessible to the average Soviet inhabitant of scarce imported goods banned in the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

. Clothing and accessories were the overwhelming majority of supply and demand for fartsovki . Also popular were sound carriers (vinyl records, audio cassettes, reels), cosmetics, household items , books, etc. Fartsovka items, or the phenomenon itself was generally called "fartsa." The traders were mainly young people (students), as well as persons who, by the nature of their activities, have the opportunity to closely communicate with foreigners: guides, translators, taxi drivers, prostitutes , etc. The vast majority of buyers in the market for the sale of goods mined by black marketers (in the 1950s and 1960s ) were the so-called " Stilyagi." Later, in the 1970s and 1980s, everyone who had money and wanted to dress in an original way, purchase imported consumer goods or equipment, books or imported musical records, resorted to the services of black marketeers. During these years, the sources of fartsovka also changed, and the concept itself acquired a broader meaning. Now the main occupation of most of those who were called black marketers was buying through acquaintances who had connections or the opportunity to travel abroad, scarce goods and foodstuffs.

Etymology

"Fartsovka"'s exact origin is uncertain, but one account suggests that it was derived from an archaic word from the

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrat ...

dialect of Russian, "forets" (форец). A "forets" was a man who bought cheap items and sold them in dishonestly expensive prices. Another origin for the term was the English phrase "for sale", distorted into "forser", referring to the fartsovkas' approach towards foreign, English-speaking tourists.

Description

Fartsovki were mainly young people, as well as people who had the opportunity to closely communicate with foreigners: guides, translators, taxi drivers, prostitutes, etc. The majority of buyers on the market for the goods in the 1950s - 1960s were hipsters. Later, in the 1970s - 1980s years all those who had the money and wanted a different clothes, cosmetics, equipment, books or music, had to use services of black marketeers. During these years, the sources of fartsovy also changed, and the concept itself acquired a broader meaning. Now, the main occupation of most of those who were called black-marketeers was buying through acquaintances who had connections or the ability to travel abroad.

Links

* ''Pavel Romanov, Elena Yarskaya-Smirnova''
Fartsa: The underground of the Soviet consumer society
* ''P. Romanov, M. Suvorova'' "Pure Fartsa" * ''Mikhail Weller''
The legend about the founder of Fartsovka Fima Blyaishits
- the history, essence, mechanism of fartsovka are presented artistically. *
How the blacksmiths of the 80s died out"

Baikov V.D. Leningrad Chronicles: from the post-war 50s to the "dashing 90s"
M. Karamzin, 2017 .-- 486 p., Ill. - {{ISBN, 978-5-00071-516-1 category:Second economy of the Soviet Union Russian slang

Etymology

Description

See also

Links