A Brief History of Russian Squat
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- Опубліковано 29 вер 2021
- If you haven't been living under a rock for the last 20 years - you've definitely heard about the Slav Squatting meme. It is literally one of the most famous things that people say about Slavs on the Internet. And I'm not going to deny it - if you visit Russia you'll probably see some shady guys in tracksuits squatting on the streets and chewing sunflower seeds. Let's try to figure out where the roots of this phenomenon come from.
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Hey there. Somehow you found my video and decided to watch it. So let me introduce myself. I'm Sergei and I'm from Russia. My channel is about my native country. I want to tell English-speaking viewers about the real Russia, about its past and present. Unfortunately, you can find a lot of propaganda about Russia on the Internet, both from the Russian media and from the Western ones. I want to tell you about Russia, as it really is, the country in which I was born, grew up, and lived all my life.
Free Stock Footage provided by Videvo.net and Videezy.com. - Розваги
I love it when people take a meme and make a history lesson
education via entertainment is the best 👌
"Heels on ground comrades found
Heels in sky Western spies"
KGB manual on how to identify foreign agents circa 1987
8:28 That Putin is a spy!
i swear i've never in my life been able to squat flat footed, my joints are simply unable to do that feat.
@@_DeadEnd_ Me too
@@ernstschmidt4725 Tis very natural your feet are always flat. try a wider stance
hahahaha
In Poland we have a few words describing gopnik-like people:
1) Dresy ["tracksuits"] - very similar to russian gopniks. Tracksuits on, bald heads, hanging out in abandoned places or near poorer flats' blocks drinking cheap beer. They can also mug you if they don't like you for some reason, however they prefer the "peaceful" method of voluntarily giving your belonging over beating (in polish such beating is called "spuszczanie wpierdolu"). Typically they start mugging by asking the question "Do you have any problem?". Nowadays less and less common.
2) Seby/Sebixy/Sebki [bastiardized plural versions of the name "Sebastian"] - a lite version of "dresy" - the only difference is much lower average strength (so-called "suchoklatesy" [dry chests] - those of a poor phisique). Rather harmless.
And contrary to western stereotypes, in Poland squatting is also not common. Most of us can't even do it properly, recently I was hanging with like 10 friends and we tried to do squatting - only I've succeeded. Still, I found it very uncomfortable to rest this way.
Well it is not common in Russia too. Like I said in the beginning - you can find some squatting dude somewhere but then you'll find 100 others who don't squat like ever
I wonder, why "Sebastian"? What did the poor guy do? 🙈
@@SovietMoviesExplained true reason is lost in time, but if I remember correctly the name got some unexpected popularity in the 90s so few years ago it became one of the meme names for generations, like Karen in US is a typical middle-aged woman. There was also a series of memes "Typical Seba" which made fun of typical childs and teenagers from the lower class.
And if anyone is courious about the meme generations names in Poland, here they are:
Grażyna, Janusz - boomers
Karyna, Seba - children of Grażyna and Janusz, often from the lower social class
Jessica, Brajan - children of Karyna and Seba
Julka, Oskarek - nowadays very young adults or teenagers. Julka is a typically nonbinary SJW from Twitter and Oskarek frequently is a son of wealthy parents
@@Polonius25 Which one are you? :-)
@@Polonius25, wow, that's illuminating, thanks 👍👍👍.
Have never heard of such generational gradations by names in other languages.
In Germany there are only Kevin and Schantal - for the low-class kids of the 90s (Kevin named after the "Home Alone" character).
In Russia we have none, afaik, exept the old "Van'ka" (diminutive of Ivan) - that was a proper noun for a typical country dweller.
as a south-east asian, i can confirm that i squat almost daily, sometimes unconsciously too. waiting for public transport and got nowhere to sit? squat, talking to your friends for long periods of time? squat, watching tv just to wait for something? squat.
Or just doing nothing, just do squat for no reason. And we have the word just for that, we call it "nongkrong".
Here in the Philippines, we usually just seat on the curb or anything with our asses down. Squatting for us looks like taking a shit so it's kinda embarassing to do in any situation.
However, we tend to do a sort of "half squat" on a chair of bench to get comfortable at home. While improper at most times, it's a thing that many do instinctively.
@@WingMaster562 same, squatting here is often associated with shitting. but it's still better than to get sand and dirt on your pants, especially if it's a light colored one
I'm from the U.S. and picked up the habit as a young man. Later I found out it makes a lot of people in my country feel uncomfortable.
@@WingMaster562 yeah it looks weird but i tend to do it rarely too when i have nowhere to sit and i dobt feel like standing.
Way more comfrotable than an metal bench or the ground when it’s 5°C/-5°C outside.
Also the sidewalks are filthy.
This is the most informative and truthful video on the topic of gopniks available for English speakers.
"The army version is somewhat similar to the prison version." - this is concerning and sums up the military service in Russia pretty nicely.
??? why only in russia. I haven't seen any benches (next to the exersise) in american bootcamps as well. And during war?... I can't imagine that you americans are carrying benches around 24/7.
@@User-dc6sm Compulsory service?
1 year sentence for being male
@@hugoflores5806 You will have that too if your country enters a sirius war. And it isn't compulsory anymore, exept you made high ranked enemys and eaven if there is compulsory service for you (like in soviet times) , you could still break your leg and then you wouldn't have to go there.
@@User-dc6sm I know. The good side is that the SMN isn't that bad
I figured they squat because it allows you to rest when there’s nothing to sit on, without sitting on the ground/in the snow and getting all wet/dirty and freezing. 🤷♀️
How else would generations past sit and rest in winter when they were out doing things, especially in that climate?
Highly accurate!
*Approved by Professional Gopnik*
Greetings to Latvia
Another great video you should do one on the Russian Orthodox Church as an American we tend to put Christians into two denominations Catholics and Protestants It would be cool to know how the Orthodox Church plays into everything
I mean... he isn't a theologian.
There are others that do a good job of that. Orthodox Church is the original roman Church.
One day in Kiev I some years back I passed by a bookstore on the Kreschatik that had a display of a new book with the title 'Gopnik' which I knew meant 'thug' or 'petty criminal' in English. I then wrote an email to a writer who contributes to the New Yorker and other prestigious magazines and publications. His name? Adam Gopnik. Like me he is from Montreal and he, not me, comes from an upper class Jewish family. I met him a few times when we were both young but in his email reply he said he didn't remember me. Oh well, it gave me great joy to tell him what his family name meant.
Fascinating, probably all explanations apply. For a long time I tried to sit in a squat with both feet flat on the ground, it’s also easy with gardening. But never managed to do it.
Greetings from the Netherlands.
neither can I 😢. I've heard it has to do with women's physiology and center of gravity 🤷🏻♀️
I've never been able to do it, but then again, I have weighed over 200 pounds for most of my life, which makes it a bit tougher.
Most of these slav-squatters are super skinny and svelte.
I'm a tall heavy girl and I can do it. Takes practice. I employed the technique when I was gardening too.
I can do it even before I can talk.
In the UK we have CHAVS, sort of similar.
Interesting video. However, people did not really have to "learn" squatting. That's our natural resting position. You can see it all over the world. I personally know this from rural areas in Serbia and Bosnia, it's quite common and indicates a peasant, not a criminal. Only in heavily urbanized countries the squat is replaced by constantly sitting on chairs and thus loosing the ability to "squat for hours". Conditions in Russia and the Soviet Union simply preserved that natural resting position.
Every kid is doing it too, by the way. Just pay attention to pre-school kids, they all to the "Gopnik Squat"... And they do it perfectly! Without ever having been to prison or in the army.
Well the question is - do your heels touch the ground? because that is definitely not natural, but it is proper resting position. While natural thing for humans is to squad on the tips of the feet, which is hard to do for long time.
@@YaroslaffFedin Of course with the heels on the ground. And this definitely is the natural resting position. Like I said in my previous comment at the end, just look at pre-school children, they all do it. We also did it when we were toddlers but got spoiled due to hours long sitting in school etcetera, and thus many have to re-learn it.
@@qalette alright you are a true Slav! I never learnt to do it properly
@@YaroslaffFedin Actually, you un-learned it, as you definitely did do it as a kid. We all did! You just have to re-learn it. Our modern lives are very distorted in many regards, and having lost the ability to squat properly is just one of those things many of us have lost.
And it's not only Slavs. Some call it "Asian squat", others call it "African Squat" -- all people that preserved some pre-modern lifestyle know to do this squat.
@@qalette if "distorted" means "comfortable" then sure.
I do know that Olga of Kiev slav squatted when she buried those nobles alive.
I too enjoy count dankula.
Rurik was squatting on the deck of his longboat when he arrived to conquer Russia.
@@planescaped, that one was real gopnik, for sure 🤣
:D
When long distance hiking we used to squat rather than sit for that light tension during quick breaks. Sitting is hard to get up from and can give you cramps. Great vid! 👍🏻
Another banger! Your stuff is still sadly so underrated :(
In Mexico we have something very similar to gopniks, we call it "Cholos"
Hahaha, yea GTA San Andreas players...
In Indonesia, we have "Preman"
Really entertaining and fascinating, never thought memes could have such deep historical background.
"And the robbery can be done without violence"
Reminds me of those guys who panhandle outside super markets in bigger cities and try to borrow a dollar.
I remember the first time I saw it when visiting my brother and his wife. It was one of those "Is this real life?" moments. Born and raised in a smaller city, it was both something I'd never seen before and never thought to expect, so it was quite odd. :P
"Hol up! Spare a dolla?"
begging isnt robbery, jim, its begging in order to survive.
Aggressive panhandling is an epidemic especially in places like Chicago, I’ve seen it several times especially in the south side. When I was in NYC this homeless fucker would literally shove his hand in front of everyones face as they exited an Applebee’s. But yeah fuck aggressive panhandlers
@@AnixCo1990 the moment you get off at Clark & Lake is the worst with aggressive panhandling
No, it's more aggressive than that. They'll approach under seemingly innocuous excuse, like ask for a smoke or to call on your phone. Then they'll try and provoke a conflict, paint you as an assailant for looking at them the wrong way or saying something they'll pretend is very disrespectful and then proclaim that they have no choice but to defend their honor by kicking your ass or taking your cash and your phone.
You incorrect. It's just begging.
There was a guy in 1920s Saint-Petersburg. He was very big with angry scruffy face. He catch lone people on the night streets with a brick in his hand and offer them to buy it. If people refuse he just walk away. So when police caught him they can't accuse him in robbery cause he just offer to buy a brick and technically hasn't done anything illegal.
So all they can do is to prosecute him for parasitism.
Brilliant research and explanation. Thank you Mr. Setarko
The history lesson we didn't know we needed. Thank you
Great video! You got an honest laugh out of me at the end, I'll go put on my slav track suit now, and go for a squat! Greetings from Canada.
I still remember when I learned about slav squat I chuckled because I used to squat like that in construction just because there was no where else to sit lol.
Also, when I worked as surveyor, wery often it was only awaiable pose to have break too, because sqat is better, than to sit on snow.
I guess russians have plenty of stimuli to learn to squat, though.
Thanks for the last photo in commando pants, bare chested 🤩👍 cool dude Setarko. Very good! I though it could be going back to our primate days as gorillas squat in the forest. The footage and photos you used were awesome! You always do good programmes. I like the Russian accent.
neat, another setarko video.
Very nice video, I love that you mentioned Asia as well. I've noticed how often they squat while they're working.
Nice video 😊
Fascinating! Thank you!:-) 🙏
Teacher: "Identify the word Slav."
The whole class: *Puts on track suits and squats*
Maybe eastern Slavs.
Awesome video. This type of squatting is also very good for people who spend a lot of time in the forest. It keeps all of the crawling and biting insects from finding their way into your pants.
LOL! That ending... Did not expect to hear some promotion of this practise. xD
I love this video, very interesting.
The reason squatting stopped being popular in Slavic countries is because we got some more comfortable sitting spaces and in Asia they didn't really get it.
This is a Master piece
thank you Sergei
Do a video on russian/soviet cameras there is lot to talk about.
I transferred to an old trustee camp once in the 2000s in America while doing time. You had to wake up at 5, make your bed, get dressed and checked, and leave it and not see it again until lights out. You couldnt sit unless it was chow time or you were riding to a job. The rest of the time you had to be standing and basically being active. I played baseball alot. It was actually pretty fun. But the building was so old and decripit. Even the wear they provided was falling apart. Kinda felt like something old and soviet. Or like boot camp sometimes.
"The Squatting Slav" sounds like the name of a cartoon pub lol
One more thing that may have played a part in this: the Soviet Union spent soo many years in competition with the United States and Americans don't squat. In the United States we adopted the American Indian practice to sitting your butt on the ground with your legs crossed, which is actually called "sitting Indian style". So when there is nothing to sit on, Americans will almost always stand, lean against something, or sit their butt on the ground.
squatting has to due with not getting your ass covered in dirt and walking around like a fool. has nothing to do with competing.
Rooting for you, really loved the Russian vodka video keep up the good content
It’s like in my country, where it’s known as “Yankee-zuwari”, “Yankee” being basically Japanese gopniks/greasers.
It is interesting that there is a bit of an equivalent to the гопник in British society - the "chav". The word is often seen as a bit of a class-insult, so use it carefully. However, it means an uncultured, working-class, track-suit wearing, sometimes criminal (sometimes just déclassé), uncouth lad (sometimes lass) who tends to hang out aimlessly on street corners.
In fact, I've seen similar 'types' in Paris, Berlin, Hamburg, Amsterdam, Prague ....
What about the toilets? Growing up all my shitters were hole in ground or tall tank of water above porcelain hole. It is how you poop in field too. Sitting toilets were not a thing.
Well, I'm either too young for that (even though I'm in my 30s already) or just lived in big cities but I've practically never encountered them. Only in some really distant villages or in tent camps or in some other places like that.
@@Setarko I was only an hour out of Novosibirsk but the kindergarten and primary school I went to both had the flat floor toilets. My flat obviously had a sitter. If you ever venture across to China those toilets are quite popular there too. But also on the dachya you dig a hole and squat or out in the woods hunting
The search results came out with Life Of Boris. The best way to learn Slav cuisine apparently
I am watching while squatting , unironically, i just like squatting.
"JONGKOK" (yes, almost like those Korean celebrity names), that's what we in Indonesia call this particular posture.
I'm leaving surprisingly enlightened 😂👍
Hmm. I mainly know squatting like that from the Middle East. I've been to a handful of Middle Eastern countries, and squatting in the shade to relax is something almost everyone there does. I can't fucking do it. Kills me.
Squatting is actually a much healthier position in which to, ahem.. void yourself.
I too am curious as to how slavs don't get poopy when they squat for hours since squatting encourages bowel movement.
Squatty Potty. Shark Tank.
Propably you don't have to poop if you run on high octane vodka fuel. 😗
Good position for shitposting on the internet too.
@@UkraineJames2000 Now I just picture a guy slav-squatting over an old piss-yellow CRT monitor on the ground typing away at high speed.
You have such an adorable accent!
For something not adidas approved and non ads friendly, squats and russian meme are very well loved by YT algo, you somewhat wonder whether the algo are actually algopniki.
You go to india and TONS DO IT. It's done in QUITE A LOT of asian countries. Vietnam as well.
What a Fall in the Camps!
comrade found
The meme with a history behind it.
released 6 seconds ago, last time i was this early the soviet union was still around
Watching this while squatting
I sometimes feel I am not Russian. I cannot squat, I hate kvas, I don't drink alcohol and I don't like sauna 🤣
Every day is like "oh yeah another Russian stereotype/common Russian thing that doesn't fit me"
Lol exactly the same for me, don't like kvas and banya, never even tried vodka. I mean, I can squat but find it really uncomfortable. Could I be a foreign spy who was planted in Russia as a child? Who knows.
@@Setarko "иностранный агент" 😆
Скоро придёт ФСБ
@@Setarko fransisky agent
"transposed to the free world" that was hilarious!
Thanks for your insight on Russian habits.
Very good video! where did you take the videos `? I can see that some are from the archives but there are movies as well. Am I right ?
Yeah, there are two movies here, one is Anarchy (Беспредел) from 1989 and the other is Gop-Stop from 2010. Second one is very bad tho
Oh, and the third one is "Новая Земля", 2008
Having lived in Afghanistan it became obvious that squatting is habitual where there is no furniture (furniture for many asians is a carpet). It is also habitual where there are no "sit down toilets." One is directed to squat and shit into a hole in the ground or under your ass or simply on the ground by the roadside. Fear not! Nobody is looking or gives a shit (so to speak) about what you are doing. Save some empathy for those who need to squat but belong to the "bad knees" group.
Interestingly when I squadded at work my Croatian and Bosnian colleagues did call it Četnik squad or Četnik mode
Is that some inner joke among your friends?Like,not used as an insult,and you are on good enough terms with them to be comfortable to use such terms in jokingly fashion?
In Australia we have 'eshays'.
The Russians love squatting so much they made a dance where they repeatedly go from squatting to standing and back. (Kazachok)
This type of squatting is an amazing way to stretch hamstring and IT muscles :-)
I’ve also heard it referred to as the “poverty squat.”
I need to know that intro Song sounds amazing
ua-cam.com/video/Y557vtuqT2E/v-deo.html
A random gift from the algorithm
Although this is a funny meme and a reason for jokes, but for my country and people there is nothing good and funny in this, on the contrary, it is very bad that the criminal culture so strongly influences all levels of our existence from the ruling power to children's upbringing, this whole "life according to the concepts of" and AUE, only outrage, banditry and damage to human society, as the character of the comedy film "Gentlemen of Fortune", which tells about this criminal culture, Yevgeny Toroshin, put it: "Well, what kind of people are you? Aren't you ashamed? You are forty years, more than half of your life has already been lived! What's behind you, what's in the present, what's ahead?! Darkness, dirt, fear and nothing human. Come to your senses, THINK It's not too late, here's my advice!"
Well, I got here from well "The life of Boris" that guy is making a good living for himself taking the comic view of Slavic life. Here in the States, it's guys wearing their pants halfway to their knees. Now it's the proliferation of piercings and tattoos, to the point of out and out stupidity. I tell young people that cross my path, you want a guaranteed better than good living, study like a fiend and become a plastic surgeon, the growth industry in another 25 years is going to be fixing damaged ears and body parts due to piercings and removing tattoos. I don't want you to think that you Russians have a lock up on the stupidity, in some ways you are pikers compared to what is going on here in the States. On a serious note, I know a lot more about Russian History life, and culture than I did a decade ago, never mind growing up and being a young adult during the 1970s and '80s. I am disappointed about one thing, Bears on unicycles, everywhere and all the time. Blame "Family Guy" for that!
Get your wallets ready, yung impressionable people who change their minds quickly after making questionable body alterations! ... Or, look like freaks for the rest of your lives, since norms are slowly changing and people start to be more open minded and accepting towards unusual looks, if you're not some uptight jerk... :P
@@senismarsenis9678 Yeah and If I was 17 again I would do nothing but crack the books and become a plastic surgeon. I am a retired professional pilot, nothing as stupid as what I stated will keep you out of flying for a living faster than a ring in your nose and visible holes in your earlobes and "artwork. I taught a plastic surgeon to fly some years back and he flat out said tattoo removal was going to buy him the airplane he wants when he gets the Certificate. That was a while ago.
Muhkay boomers. I regret a lot but tattoos aren't one of them.
I think that even if squatting isn't that popular in Russia, it's still just more popular than elsewhere. In Brazil I don't think I've never seen people squatting in public, we just sit on benches or any other surface
Great video! Also, what is the music?
Epic Russian chanson
ua-cam.com/video/1XI-la3YRXU/v-deo.html
Fun fact squatting is also the natural human position for taking a dump. Every time I see someone squatting thats all I can think about. Honestly squatting in public is kind of obscene.
You have a nice accent :)
Question: Why does it hurt to hold the squat? Doing squats for exercise is pretty easy, and I'm a fairly active person, so I'm in shape for the most part, but for whatever reason when I try to hold the position for more than a minute my shins start to feel like their on fire and I begin to lean back. Am I doing something wrong or is that just something you get used to?
Edit: When I do the squat I look like the guy at 2:50 with the hat, with either my arms out or folded.
Because it blocks your blood vessels
Or put a pressure on it
In Philippines language Cebuano, we call that pungkô.
It's not the only ones who sit like this.
I squat in my office chair.
Sure people may think it's weird, but it beats a standing desk.
On your final point, squatting can be quite dangerous too. It's not uncommon for homeless people to fall asleep squatting and wake up with gangrene in both legs, leading to amputation if they're lucky.
This video is quite informative! I, an American that is interested in Russia, have heard of the so-called "Slav squat", it existing mostly in memes, it apparently being called "doing the crab" (на крабе) in Russia, and its connection to Russian street robbers (or at least, that's how I translate "gopnik" in the classical sense), and from what I can tell, that's three more facts than most of my countrymen on the Internet.
I, however, did not think soldiers, miners, and even Asians might have influenced it! The Asian theory makes sense, since the first picture on the Wikipedia article for "Squatting position" is of that exact same squat in Viet Nam. Who knows? Maybe the "Slav squat" is actually an _Eastern_ _Asian_ squat!
For more information about the squatting position, including the Vietnamese squat: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squatting_position
Eastern Asian don't do squat
@@thanosal-titan yes they do, it's how our working class teenagers loiter or how our construction workers take ciggy breaks.
I think that this video has criminal low views for it´s quality!
I am squating as I watch this video
Why are they obsessed with Semechki though?
Cheap snack food .
not only them, it was popular in villages in tsar times.
It's just the way that they eat the seeds (squatting) and spit out thr shells, that became trademarked
Yung lean in the thumbnail, let's gooooo
I don't always squat, but when I do, I'm taking a deep shit.
Здравствуйте товарищ Лейтенант Сергеевич
Lex fridman has pushed me down the Russian rabbit hole and this is my new favorite channel. Ive been bing watching everything and not only is it incredibly entertaining but I am learning a ton about history and culture.
Thank you for making it all so accessible to my uneducated uninformed American self, I love it!
Oh and as to squatting... I particularly liked the nude beaches along the Dnipro in Kiev in the summer. So many naked squatting men with great big shaved scrotums hanging down. I remember my first summer day on the beach in Gydropark. When I arrived I thought "What? Are all these guys having a crap? All at the same time? In public?"
In Japan it’s sometimes called “unko-zuwari” (shit-sitting, since oldschool toilets had no seats) or “yankee-zuwari” (yankee-sitting - “yankee” has nothing to do with US, yankees being the local semi-agressive youth 😂).
_Have a Squad Comrade_
Squatting is common in Asia
Watching this while Im squatting on my chair.
Every time I see someone sitting like that, it makes me think they’re shitting themselves. Ever since I read squatting is actually the correct way to shit has made it even worse.
I squat but can.t get up😁
what is the music at 0:34
Squatting exercise is good in correct form AKA but if done incorrectly, it is actually quite harmful to knee joints
Asia people: finally we have friend to squatting 😊❤
03:00 They are literally just like the U.S. American Gangsta's.
Even in South Asia, Afghanistan to India. It's pretty common to squat. So the asian one seems quite credible.