''Tibla'' (''tiblad'' in plural) is an
insult
An insult is an expression, statement, or behavior that is often deliberately disrespectful, offensive, scornful, or derogatory towards an individual or a group.
Insults can be intentional or unintentional, and they often aim to belittle, of ...
in the
Estonian language
Estonian ( ) is a Finnic language and the official language of Estonia. It is written in the Latin script and is the first language of the majority of the country's population; it is also an official language of the European Union. Estonian is sp ...
, which typically refers to a
Russian-speaking
citizen of the former Soviet Union (
USSR
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
) who is hostile towards other cultures and countries. ''Tibla'' was a
censored word during the 1944–1991
Soviet occupation of Estonia
Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...
.
Origin
There are several hypotheses about the origin of the word.
Estonian journalist Voldemar Kures in the 1962 ''Väliseestlase kalender'' ("Calendar for Estonians Abroad", "An Expat Estonian's Calendar") suggests, that the word comes from the name of the
Vitebsk Governorate
Vitebsk Governorate (, ) was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, with the seat of governorship in Vitebsk. It was established in 1802 by splitting Belarusian Governorate and existed until 1924. Today most ...
, in reference to Russian construction workers during
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, who mostly came to Estonia from
Vitebsk
Vitebsk or Vitsyebsk (, ; , ; ) is a city in northern Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Vitebsk Region and Vitebsk District, though it is administratively separated from the district. As of 2025, it has 358,927 inhabitants, m ...
and were considered rather
dumb. They were called ''tipski'' (a corruption of ''Vitebski'' – "one of Vitebsk"; ''tipskid'' in plural), which later became ''tibla''. A similar version is the corruption of ''viteblyane''/''vitiblyane'' (витебляне) – "people of Vitebsk" or "people from Vitebsk". The 1937 ''Eesti Entsüklopeedia'' (Estonian Encyclopedia) is also believed to have such a reference.
''Tibla'' was already in widespread use during the
Estonian War of Independence
The Estonian War of Independence, also known as the War of Freedom in Estonia, was a defensive campaign of the Estonian Army and its allies, most notably the United Kingdom, against the Soviet Russian westward offensive of 1918–1919 and the ...
(1918–1920), as documented by then-current war correspondence between officers and higher-ups. At the time, the word was used to denote non-local Russians (more specifically males and low-ranking soldiers), independent of their affiliation during the concurrent
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...
.
The 1936–1937 war memories journal ''Vabadussõja lood'' ("Stories of the War of Independence") featured the word more widely both in soldiers' recollections, war songs and anecdotes. Of the soldier's songs, two used the titular word in their lyrics: ''Vabariigi pealinnas'' ("In the Capital City of the Republic", alternately titled "Linda"; the former title was used in print, and the latter appeared in
folklore
Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...
), which indicated the worry of Estonian soldiers that young women would choose to bide their time with men of other nationalities during the absence of Estonian men themselves; and ''Tibla seltsimees'' ("The Comrade of a Tibla", or "The Tibla Comrade").
Another hypothesis is that the word comes from the
Russian profane addressing ''ty, blyad'', ''ты, блядь'' ("you bitch", and the like) or, truncated, ''ty, blya'', ''ты, бля''.
Modern definition
The
Estonian Press Council offers an opinion that the term ''tibla'' is mostly applied to a ''
Homo Sovieticus'' kind of person: lacking culture, uneducated, with imperialist worldview; one who does not respect the host country's language, culture, and its native inhabitants.
["Sixth Periodic Report"]
on the Implementation of the Submitted by the Republic of Estonia under Article 9 of the Convention", 2004
The word began to be actively used in Estonian media since the 1990s by "
Ivan Orav", a fictional character created by
Andrus Kivirähk
Andrus Kivirähk (born 17 August 1970) is an Estonian writer, a playwright, topical satirist, and screenwriter. As of 2004, 25,000 copies of his novel ''Rehepapp ehk November'' (''Old Barny or November'') had been sold, making him the most popul ...
. According to "Orav", the word ''tibla'' has nothing to do with Russians, but that ''tiblad'' are instead small pink creatures that first appeared in Estonia in
June 1940.
The 2006
European Network Against Racism
The European Network Against Racism (ENAR) is an EU-wide network of anti-racist Non-governmental organization, NGOs. ENAR aims to end structural racism and discrimination and advocates for equality and solidarity for all Europeans. It connects ...
report mentions the recent use of the word ''tibla'' in Estonian-language media as an example of inappropriate language.
Controversies
In 2002, the Estonian Press Council settled the case when the newspaper ''
Eesti Päevaleht'' printed an advertisement: "Don't you read the Päevaleht? You must be a tibla then. Be a true Estonian and become the reader."
[
In 2008 the usage of the word in media caused a controversy, when Estonian TV aired the film '' Airheads'', in which the slur " retards" was translated as ''tibla'' (a completely different meaning). When confronted, the translator, a well-known linguist, apologised, saying that she was careless.][Shmelev, M. Strange accent of the local translation." Daily ''Vesti'', 16.09.2008; the reference taken fro]
"Racism in Estonia"
ENAR
The European Network Against Racism (ENAR) is an EU-wide network of anti-racist NGOs. ENAR aims to end structural racism
Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes ...
Shadow Report 2008
See also
* Katsap
* Rashism
* Vatnik
Notes
References
{{Ethnic slurs
Anti-communist terminology
Anti-Russian sentiment in Europe
Estonian words and phrases
Pejorative terms for European people
Pejorative demonyms