???‚?€?µ???µ?????µ: dismissal, dethronement
Like everyone else in Moscow, when I heard about Mayor Yury Luzhkov’s dismissal, I wondered what it meant. Oh, not the politics of it. I put away my political crystal ball a long time ago. I was curious about the word used to describe the dismissal — ???‚?€?µ???µ?????µ (dismissal, dethronement, impeachment), which I associated with deposing kings and presidents. After all, the related verb ???‚?€?µ?‡?????? is to abdicate a throne.
It turns out that I wasn’t the only one who was puzzled by the word choice. One Russian linguist described the word as archaic and suggested that by using this term, “???€?µ?·?????µ???‚ ?…???‚?µ?» ???€?????°?‚?? ?????????? ???»?????°?? ???‚?‚?µ?????? ?????°?¶?µ??????” (The president wanted to give his words a tinge of respect).
This is just the sort of linguistic connotation I love, but, alas, the real explanation is more prosaic. President Dmitry Medvedev’s decree simply used the wording from the law regulating local authorities. Article 19 of the law covers conditions for ???????€???‡?????µ ???€?µ???€?°?‰?µ?????µ ?????»?????????‡???? ???‹?????µ???? ?????»?¶???????‚???????? ?»???†?° (the early termination of powers of the highest-ranking official). Since Luzhkov hadn’t died, moved abroad permanently, been declared incompetent by a court or committed any of the other acts that would be cause for dismissal, only one of the 10 reasons for termination could be applied: “???‚?€?µ???µ?????µ ?µ???? ???‚ ?????»?¶???????‚?? ???€?µ?·?????µ???‚???? ? ?????????????????? ?¤?µ???µ?€?°?†???? ?? ???????·?? ?? ???‚?€?°?‚???? ???????µ?€????” (dismissal from office by the president of the Russian Federation because of loss of confidence). The loss of confidence, as defined by the law, is ?·?° ???µ???°???»?µ?¶?°?‰?µ?µ ?????????»???µ?????µ ?????????… ???±???·?°?????????‚?µ?? (for failing to carry out his obligations properly).
The verb pair ???‚?€?µ???°?‚??/???‚?€?µ?????‚?? is used when someone powerful has been naughty. It is defined as: ???????»???‡???‚??, ?????°?»???‚?? ?·?° ???????µ?€???µ?????µ ?‚???¶?????… ???€?µ???‚?????»?µ?????? (to expel or remove someone for committing serious crimes). Stay tuned to “As Moscow Turns.”
Meanwhile, this is a good time to look at how to quit or fire someone in Russian, which depends to some extent on the position. Big shots and peons use different verbs. ???‚???‚?°?????° (resignation) is used by military brass, as well as by high-ranking governmental and commercial leaders. The person who wants to resign can ???????°?‚?? ?? ???‚???‚?°?????? (to put in his resignation), ???‹???‚?? or ?????‚?? ?? ???‚???‚?°?????? (resign). The head honcho may or may not ???€???????‚?? ???‚???‚?°?????? (accept the resignation), or he can instigate his subordinate’s exit: ???‚???€?°?????‚?? ?? ???‚???‚?°?????? (to fire someone).
???????»???????‚??/???????»???‚?? is used when a peon is relieved of his duties. You might hear ???????»???‚?? ?? ???‚???????? (to send someone on leave or vacation), or ???????»???‚?? ?? ???‚???‚?°?????? (to dismiss someone), but you are more likely to hear the simple “?µ???? ???????»???»??” (he was fired) to describe anyone who’s gotten a pink slip. It’s slangy and rather cheeky when used in regard to a bigwig. ???‚???‚?€?°?????‚??/???‚???‚?€?°?????‚?? ???‚ ?????»?¶???????‚?? (to relieve someone of his duties) is a neutral expression that can be applied to errant employees anywhere on the career ladder. If you’re the employee who is leaving, you can say ???????»???????‚??????/???????»???‚?????? ?? ?€?°?±???‚?‹ (to quit).
Historically, we find that ?????????»?°?? II ???‚?€?‘?????? ???‚ ???€?µ???‚???»?° (Nicholas II abdicated the throne); ???€???‰?‘???° ?????????±???????»?? ???‚ ?????»?¶???????‚?µ?? (Khrushchev was relieved of his posts); ?“???€?±?°?‡?‘?? ???»???¶???» ?? ???µ?±?? ?????»?????????‡???? ???€?µ?·?????µ???‚?° (Gorbachev resigned the post of president); and ?›???¶?????? ?±?‹?» ???‚?€?µ???‘?? ???‚ ?????»?¶???????‚?? (Luzhkov was deposed). So I guess we’ve come almost full circle.
The king is dead! Long live the king!
Michele A. Berdy is a Moscow-based translator and interpreter. A collection of her columns, “The Russian Word’s Worth,” has been published by Glas.