Quote:
Originally Posted by Marulus
Can someone explain to what the term gopnik exactly means and what is the origin of such a designation? Does it solely refer to a "youth subculture" (like yob and chav) or has some wider implications?
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It's not a subculture, I'd say. It's just youth belonging to the lowest social class.
In 1920 in St.Petersburg Bolshevik government organized an accomodation community for the poorest orphan children. It was called "Gorodskoye Obshezhitiye Proletariata" - GOP (City Proletary Hostel or something like this - I hope someone will give a right translation). Those orphans, street hooligans were called
gopniks.
Nowadays gopniks are young men from the lowest social class, poor and not educated, tending to commiting crimes. They do not form any special subculture.