The Giant Cockroach or The Roach (as translated by Miriam Morton, 1958) or Cock-The-Roach (as translated by Tom Botting, 1981), also popularly known by its Russian name Tarakanishche (), is a popular Russian children's fairy tale poem written by poet

Korney Chukovsky Korney Ivanovich Chukovsky ( rus, Корне́й Ива́нович Чуко́вский, p=kɐrˈnʲej ɪˈvanəvʲɪtɕ tɕʊˈkofskʲɪj, a=Kornyey Ivanovich Chukovskiy.ru.vorb.oga; 31 March NS 1882 – 28 October 1969) was one of the most p ...

in 1921. The poem was later published by

Raduga Publishers Raduga Publishers (, English: "rainbow") was a Soviet publishing house of innovative children's books, which has been described as "one of the most important book publishers of its type" during the early twentieth century.Andrea Immel"Cotsen Chil ...

in 1923 and is regarded as a cultural poetic heritage among Russophones. It tells the story of an overgrown

cockroach Cockroaches (or roaches) are insects belonging to the Order (biology), order Blattodea (Blattaria). About 30 cockroach species out of 4,600 are associated with human habitats. Some species are well-known Pest (organism), pests. Modern cockro ...

who assumed power over mankind and animals by bullying and threatening them, only to fall prey to a sparrow in the end.

In popular culture

It is a common misconception that The Roach who scared everybody was Chukovsky's hint at

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

. In fact, the poem was written way before Stalin came to power. This misconception was exacerbated by the famous "

Stalin Epigram The "Stalin Epigram", also known as "The Kremlin Highlander" () is a satirical poem by the Russian poet Osip Mandelstam, written in November 1933. The poem describes the climate of fear in the Soviet Union. Mandelstam read the poem only to a few ...

" by

Osip Mandelstam Osip Emilyevich Mandelstam (, ; – 27 December 1938) was a Russian and Soviet poet. He was one of the foremost members of the Acmeist school. Osip Mandelstam was arrested during the repressions of the 1930s and sent into internal exile wi ...

, in which "giant moustaches of a cockroach are smiling" are given in Stalin's portrait, and some commenters think it was an intentional reference to Chukovsky's "Tarakanishche", given the widespread knowledge of Chukovsky's poem. In the only found facsimile of the epigram Mandelstam used the similarly rhyming image "giant eyes of the cockroach are smiling" ("Тараканьи смеются глазища" rather than "Тараканьи смеются усища"). Although contemporaries recall "moustaches", a plausible guess is that Mandelstam feared to put this word in writing: since Chukovsky's poem ends in the execution of The Roach, the epigram would mean death sentence to the author. The poem was referenced during the

2020–2021 Belarusian protests The 2020–2021 Belarusian protests were a series of mass Demonstration (political), political demonstrations and protests against the Government of Belarus, Belarusian government and President Alexander Lukashenko. The largest anti-government ...

, where protesters referred to incumbent president

Alexander Lukashenko Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko (also transliterated as Alyaksandr Ryhoravich Lukashenka; born 30 August 1954) is a Belarusian politician who has been the first and only president of Belarus since the office's establishment in 1994, making hi ...

due to his moustache as the titular insect, chanting "Stop the Cockroach". Protests in Belarus broke out before and after the disputed

2020 Belarusian presidential election Presidential elections were held in Belarus on Sunday, 9 August 2020. Early voting began on 4 August and ran until 8 August. Incumbent Alexander Lukashenko was announced by the Central Election Commission of Belarus, Central Election Commissi ...

, and the moment calling for the so-called the ''Anti-Cockroach Revolution'' or the ''Slipper Revolution'' (the latter name is based on a popular cliche advice to whack a cockroach with a slipper), was initiated by businessman and blogger

Sergei Tikhanovsky Sergei Leonidovich Tikhanovsky (born 18 August 1978) is a Belarusian YouTuber, Vlog, video blogger, Belarusian opposition, opposition leader and Democracy promotion, pro-democracy activist. He is primarily known for his activism against the gov ...

, referring to Lukashenko's derogatory nickname "moustachy cockroach" hinting at the poem.Лукашенко заявил, что знает про "Сашу 3%" и "усатого таракана"
''

Radio Liberty Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Headquartered in Prague since 1995, RFE/RL ...

'', June 23, 2020

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Giant Cockroach Fictional cockroaches Russian poems 1921 poems Works by Korney Chukovsky Russian literary fairy tales