Comrade


The term comrade is used to mean 'mate', 'colleague', or 'ally', and derives from the Spanish term camarada, literally meaning 'chamber mate', from Latin camera, meaning 'chamber' or 'room'. Political use of the term was inspired by the French Revolution, after which it grew into a form of address between socialists and workers. Since the Russian Revolution, popular culture in the Western World has often associated it with communism. However, the term comrade is improperly attributed to Russian speakers, since Russians do not say comrade, but rather .

Background

Upon abolishing the titles of nobility in France, and the terms monsieur and madame, the revolutionaries employed the term citoyen for men and citoyenne for women to refer to each other. The deposed King Louis XVI, for instance, was referred to as Citoyen Louis House of Capet to emphasize his loss of privilege.
When the socialist movement gained momentum in the mid-19th century, socialists elsewhere began to look for a similar egalitarian alternative to terms like "Mister", "Miss", or "Missus". In German, the word :de:Kamerad had long been used as an affectionate form of address among people linked by some strong common interest, such as a sport, a college, a profession, or simply friendship. The term was often used with political overtones in the revolutions of 1848, and was subsequently borrowed by French and English. In English, the first known use of the word comrade with this meaning was in 1884 in the socialist magazine Justice.

Russian and Soviet usage

In the late 19th century Russian Marxists and other leftist revolutionaries adopted as a translation of the word Kamerad the Russian word tovarisch , whose original meaning was "business companion" or "travel mate", deriving from the noun товар. as a form of address in international social democracy and in the associated parts of the labour movement. For instance, one might be referred to as Tovarisch Plekhanov or Tovarisch Chairman, or simply as Tovarisch. After the Russian Revolution, translations of the term in different languages were adopted by communists worldwide. However, due to its common usage in portrayals of the Soviet Union in Cold War films and books, the term became most strongly associated in public consciousness with communism as known in the Soviet Union, even though many other socialists would continue to use Comrade among themselves.
In the early years of Soviet power, the Bolsheviks used Tovarisch when addressing or referring to people assumed sympathetic to the revolution and to the Soviet state, such as members of the Communist party and people from the "working masses". The more neutral republican form of address would translate as Citizen. Accordingly, supporters of the White movement in the Russian Civil War would use Tovarisch mockingly as a derogatory term for their enemies – although at the same time, the various socialist anti-Bolshevik forces such as the Socialist Revolutionary Party and the Mensheviks also used Tovarisch among themselves.
By the mid-1920s, the form of address Tovarisch became so commonplace in the Soviet Union that it was used indiscriminately in essentially the same way as terms like "Mister" and "Sir" are employed in English. That use persisted until the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Still, the original meaning partly re-surfaced in some contexts: criminals and suspects were only addressed as "citizens" and not as tovarischi, and expressly refusing to address someone as tovarisch would generally be perceived as a hostile act or, in Stalinist times, even as an accusation of being "Anti-Soviet".
The term Comrade is not used in Russian society, and the term Tovarisch is not often used in contemporary society, but it is still the standard form of address in the Russian Armed Forces and Police of Russia, where officers and soldiers are normally addressed as ''Tovarisch Colonellang\|ru-Latn|Tovarisch|italic=unsetlang\|ru-Latn|Tovarisch|italic=unsetlang\|ru-Latn|tovarishch po neschast'yulang\|de|Leidensgenosselang\|ru-Latn|boyevoy tovarishchlang\|ru-Latn|tovarishchestvoCitation needed|date=January 2015

Chinese usage

In Chinese, the translation of comrade is 同志, literally meaning ' the same spirit, goal, ambition, etc.'. It was first introduced in the political sense by Sun Yat-sen to refer to his followers.
The Kuomintang, which was co-founded by Sun Yat-Sen, has a long tradition of using the term Tongzhi to refer to its members, usually as a noun rather than a title; for example, a KMT member would say "Mr. Chang is a loyal and reliable comrade."
Nevertheless, the term was promoted most actively by the Communist Party of China during its struggle for power. It was used both as a noun and as a title for basically anyone in mainland China after the People's Republic of China was founded. For example, women were nü tongzhi, children were xiao tongzhi and seniors were lao tongzhi. However, after the 1980s and the onset of China's market-oriented reforms, this term has been moving out of such daily usage. It remains in use as a respectful term of public address among middle-aged Chinese and members of the Communist Party of China. Within the Communist Party, failure to address a fellow member as tóng zhì is seen as a subtle but unmistakable sign of disrespect and enmity.
At party or civil meetings, the usage of the term has been retained. Officials often address each other as Tongzhi, and thus the usage here is not limited to Communist Party members alone. In addition, Tongzhi is the term of preference to address any national leader when their titles are not attached.
In October 2016, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China issued a directive urging all 90 million party members to keep calling each other "comrades" instead of less egalitarian terms. It is also in the regulations of the Chinese Armed Forces as one of three appropriate ways to formally address another member of the military
Chinese territories such as Hong Kong and Macau do not have comrade in its popular vernacular due to longtime administration by foreign Western powers which instilled a different language paradigm in the people native to those regions.

South African usage

During the 1970s and 1980s, comrade emerged as a popular revolutionary form of address in South Africa among those involved in anti-apartheid political activities. For example, members of the African National Congress and South African Communist Party frequently referred to each other as comrade.
Among poor residents of the country's segregated townships, it was also used to specifically denote members of militant youth organisations. These radical activists led consumer boycotts, organised anti-apartheid rallies and demonstrations, and intimidated those suspected of having ties to the South African government or security forces. In this particular context, the English title comrades was also used interchangeably with the Xhosa term amabutho.

Zimbabwean usage

In Zimbabwe, the term is used for persons affiliated with the ZANU political party. The state media also use Cde as short for comrade. Members of other political parties mainly the Movement for Democratic Change are often referred by their names or Mr, Mrs or Prof.
The revived Zimbabwe African People's Union members also call themselves comrades.

South Sudanese usage

Members of the Sudan People's Liberation Army call each other 'Comrade'.

Internet Culture usage

As aforementioned, the usage of the word comrade has resurfaced within internet culture. References to usage of "Comrade" can be connected with commentary upon communism and communistic symbols.

British Fascist Usage

The British Union of Fascists used the word commonly to refer to members, which was controversial. The Marching Song, set to the music of the Horst-Wessel-Lied began 'Comrades, the voices'. The writer, E.D. Randall, defended the usage of the word by stating that 'comrades' ‘fittingly and completely expresses the ideal of unity in the service of a common cause’

In other languages

In George Orwell's novel Animal Farm, the animals all refer to each other as comrade, as the story is a satirical look at the Russian Revolution. Also in Nineteen Eighty-Four, party members in Oceania refer to each other as comrade.

Citations