Why are they called elephants in the army. "Elephant" in the Russian army: what does it mean when assigned

The Russian army is our defense, a huge military school, its own world, which has its own traditions and laws. Each military community has its own army traditions, customs. Traditions are general habits, norms of behavior that are passed down from generation to generation. Service in the army for each soldier is a separate segment of life, unlike anything else, and which he will remember all his life.

The army is filled with its own humor, its own culture, service in it is remembered with pride and a smile. Now let's try to roughly reproduce the traditions of the names of soldiers by periods of service in the ranks of the Russian army.

From the moment when an 18-year-old boy is drafted into the ranks of our army, he is called a "smell". Important task "smell"- to prepare for the oath in full swing.

Everything starts with the spirit

After taking the oath, it is customary to call him "spirit" and such a stigma hangs over him for up to six months. They call him a "spirit" because he becomes like a spirit who must carry out all the orders of the foreman, often doing dirty work. The only way moral discharge during this time is physical exercise.

After six months "spirits" in the army become "elephants". Among themselves, the army men say that only a real “spirit” can have the right to be called an “elephant”. That is, you need to go through a rather specific procedure of “initiation into elephants”: six blows with a badge. Just when a soldier has served six months, new "spirits" come.

The path to "grandfather" is very difficult

“Grandfathers” have something to do, as newcomers have come and they urgently need to show them what is what, and “elephants” can continue their service more calmly. Since now they serve only a year, it would be possible to finish our story right now with the title of “demobilization”. But history, for that it is history, in order to acquaint readers with it, and we will tell a little more about army hierarchy.

A soldier who has served for a year and a half has the right to be called "scoop". "Elephants" must look after them. But in order to become a "scoop" you need to go through the rite of beating with scoops. For the sake of this, the elders will spare no time and get them. Only about twelve strokes are made. the main task- follow the "elephants" and "spirits" in the army so that they do not shirk from work.

And no matter how scary it sounds, the service "scoops" after the expiration of time turn into "grandfathers". And here it does not do without assault! Already, eighteen strokes of a chair are worth going through to the soldiers in order to proudly wear the rank "grandfather" in the army. This title is proudly worn "warriors", which are included in the service interval from one and a half years to the start of the "hundred days".

And finally "demobilization". From the beginning of the "hundred days", in other words - the finish line. On the first evening of the “hundred days”, the “grandfathers” gather and, according to army traditions, due to the culinary abilities of the "spirits" pamper themselves with various treats. The same is carried out on the fiftieth day before departure. This is an exemplary army hierarchy. All of them can be different, someone has the number of names a little less, a little more. I would also like to note, speaking of traditions, that a representative of each category must be filed. The number and position of stitches depends on the status and rank of the soldier.

1 Since the service in the army has become only one year, instead of two, perennial concepts, and the informal soldier hierarchy has changed somewhat. Therefore, now not all citizens will be able to answer about the current army realities .. Add us to your bookmarks so that you can return to us again. Today we will touch on a rather funny word from army life, this Scoop, which means you can read a little later.
However, before you continue, I would like to recommend you some sensible publications on the subject of the army. For example, what does blue splash mean; what does Shchmit mean, how to understand the word Smeared, what is Zalyot, etc.
So let's continue what does scoop mean decryption in the army?

Scoop(new for those who serve a year) - this is the name of those who served 150 days

Scoop(obsolete for those who served 2 years) - for the honorary title of a scoop, it was necessary to serve 12 months

Today in most military units The Russian Federation about hazing titles have an idea, but transitions from one to another are no longer accompanied by special rituals, as it was before.
Usually, soldiers simply verbally congratulate them on "getting" another hazing promotion.
Today we will talk about those of them that have survived to this day.

Smells

In the early days in the army, newcomers are not even perfumes, but only smells. If you think that after you have looked a large number of information in the form of serials and films of an army orientation, you automatically became spirits, then this is not correct.
Why are noobs called smells in the army? It is believed that these boys smell like mother's pancakes and pies, which they ate in civilian life.

However, the "smell" from the "demobilization" is practically no different, because the first one has one foot on a civilian, and the demobilization is almost there. Eventually " smell"The newcomer will be before the oath, which will be no later than 2 months.

Once you've settled into the military and finally sworn in, you become a spirit.

Spirits in the army

In the role of a spirit, a fighter stays from 60 to 100 days, during which he actively cleans up, and fulfills all the wishes of grandfathers and demobilized.

Elephants in the army

Finally the day comes when you become a person, namely " elephant". This significant event takes place after 100 days. Of course, you ask why "elephant"? What kind of joke is this? In fact, there is little funny here, as it turned out, this is an abbreviation that stands for " Soldier Loving Fucking Loads". As the name implies, during this period the fighter is engaged in active physical labor. The guys plow with all their might, repair old iron, carry things in warehouses, and you never know how to find work for an obedient workforce.

The initiation into elephants is rather soft, and is taken from the past "life". It is carried out simply, the old-timer does not hit the ass very hard with a badge, and only three times, which symbolizes the past three months.

Scoops in the army

This is a non-statutory title, each soldier receives after 150 days of tireless care for his homeland. It is worth noting that this type of title is not present in all parts, and sometimes grandfathers immediately follow the elephants.

grandfathers in the army

A fighter becomes a grandfather when all the old-timers who came to the call before you are fired from the unit. Just then, you straighten your shoulders, and walk proudly looking down at everyone. This period will actually be for you the longest time until the order comes for your transfer to the reserve.

Of course you ask how dedicate to grandfather? Usually, the ritual itself is carried out only with the consent of the old-timer himself, and consists in applying several blows to the soft spot with a chair. Their number is strictly regulated, and depends, as you probably guessed, on how many months a person spent in the army.

After the order comes for your dismissal to the civilian, you turn into a great and terrible demobilization.

Demobilization in the army

According to the tradition adopted decades ago, every self-respecting demobilization gets himself a personal "spirit". Nowadays, many do not smoke, but there is one small plus for smokers demobilized, or rather a tradition that brightens up the wait.
Every day, a personal spirit brings a cigarette to the demobilization officer and reports in all the form approved back in time immemorial - "Let me report how long to serve as a demobilization officer." After that, the demobilization receives a cigarette, on which it is written how much he actually has left to serve. At this moment, his face begins to radiate with happiness, and he realizes that life is not so bad.

AT demobilization dedicate quite a fun process. It will require an ordinary thread, and several mattresses or pillows, after everything is prepared, the execution begins. The demobilization covers his soft spot with these personal protective equipment, and a specially trained person begins to whip the ass with a thread, through the mattress and pillows. At this time, the demobilization, or his attachment in the form of a personal spirit, begin to scream as if in pain.

Soldier ranks:

Smell- before the oath;

Spirit- if less than 100 days of service;

Elephant- from 100 days of service;

Scoop- from 150 days (sometimes this item is missing);

Grandfather- from 200 days;

Demobilization- from 265 days of service.

Today, old traditions are forever becoming a thing of the past, because serving one year is morally much easier than the previous two or three years. Navy. When the army of the Russian Federation finally becomes fully contractual, hazing and these

This word does not mean at all what our ears are accustomed to in civilian life. The expression "scoop" in the army means such a stage in the military service of a fighter when the second shift of grandfathers leaves from the moment of his call, and he remains "at the helm" along with the senior draft, which, when he was a "dukhanka", accounted for the bulk of the work, in including maintenance of grandfathers.

Psychologically, this results in the following picture: the first year the soldier lives in an atmosphere of constant psychological pressure from both officers and ensigns, and, which is immeasurably more important, from the senior conscription and sergeants. After all, for a soldier there are two lives: under the eye of command (day) and in the barracks under the eye of the collective (night); they are very different. Life in the barracks and among their own is usually associated with the greatest hassle, humiliation, deprivation. If punishment from officers is episodic and often does not come immediately, then punishment from colleagues comes immediately, always and inevitably gets even for the smallest misconduct (among your own you are always in sight); it is inevitable, and can be stretched out in time, and hit the psyche again and again. But the worst thing is that the punishment here, even for completely minor offenses, is quite tangible. However, actions are insignificant only from the point of view of a sane person or a civilian, far from army life. In the army, a person is deprived of the vast majority of benefits, therefore, the most insignificant benefits from the point of view of a snickering layman, as well as non-standard improvements in available public objects (a special large hemming, a patch on a uniform, a tattoo), due to the standardization of everything around, turn out to be desirable and incredibly important for him, become literally the meaning of life. For such trifles of life, a monstrous struggle in terms of cruelty and psychologism unfolds.

So a soldier in the army in the first year of service is in a state of constant psychological stress: he is deprived of even insignificant benefits available in the army (grandfathers take cookies for lunch, copters take a new uniform), he is not allowed to improve available things - any improvement is met with hostility (they say , according to the service life is not allowed); humiliated, forcing them to serve grandfathers and provide them with a luxurious life by army standards; they are severely punished even for the most insignificant offenses and mistakes (the punishment is disproportionately stronger than the offense), moreover, both with guilt and without guilt. What can I say, they simply humiliate and mock, beat to prevent protest. In general, a strong and constant psychological pressure is exerted on a person.

And now imagine the state of such a person when the senior conscription leaves, and he is spared from this constant psychological pressure. A person gets used to it too much, becomes very plastic - it is easy to put pressure on him, so he now comes under pressure from officers and ensigns, who use him as a buffer in putting the order into practice. The desire to get more is replaced by a desire to maintain what has been achieved, so the pressure does not completely disappear, but weakens and takes on a different form; the soldier is now not so humiliated and against the background of the young who have appeared, he feels like a king. But for now, he is in shock from the grace that has fallen on him and in a hurry begins to make up for what he has been deprived of for so long: scoop, scoop and scoop again - with all the fibers of the soul and all parts of the body. Hence the word: "scoop".

Scoops usually behave with young people worse than grandfathers, since they have just reached a new level social status and haven't gotten used to it yet. They are also less disciplined than grandfathers, since they are far from demobilization, and they are not concerned about the upcoming problem of dismissal and the expectation of civilian life, while grandfathers, on the contrary, not only settle down, but also strive to curry favor so that they are fired at least for a few days ahead of schedule (the unit commander has the right to add up to 5 days to the vacation).

A separate topic is the relationship between grandfathers and scoops. In general, grandfathers protect the young from the atrocities of scoops, sometimes even clashing with the latter. Therefore, the scoops, if they try to puzzle the young with something, do it very carefully so as not to get caught: a strong and respected grandfather will not even let the scoops down for such a violation of subordination.

The scoops try in every possible way to get away from work and at the same time remain in their own right according to collective laws; usually they work only when the grandfathers themselves work.

The ritualization of military service in the SA made itself felt from the very first days when a young soldier entered a unit (company). The recruit was a "spirit" ("salaga", "solobon", "elephant", etc.). With a two-year service life, the first 6 months the "spirits" had to "die" - all the dirty work that only existed in the army lay on their shoulders - mopping the floors in the barracks, cleaning the territory and much more. With the advent of a new conscription in the company, the "spirits" passed into the category of "young" ("pheasants", etc.). The "young" controlled and directed the "spirits" and looked forward to being transferred to the "scoops". Those who served a year, as expected, received a badge or scoop on the fifth point and became "scoops" ("skulls"). They now commanded both the "spirits" and the "young."

Army "thieves in law" in the Soviet Armed Forces can be called "grandfathers", who had to serve somewhere about six months, "100 days before the order." Grandfathers are the unspoken kings of the SA units, with whom even junior officers were considered: grandfathers maintained order in the companies, and the company commanders, accordingly, had less trouble. It is not so important by what means to maintain discipline, as long as all this does not go beyond the limits of the unit. The term "hazing" was named for the status of the most important representatives of the hierarchical ladder in the Soviet army - all the horrors of hazing in it are associated with this category of servicemen.

The time limit for the dreams of any Soviet conscript is demobilization, the time of exodus. Demobilization as the status of a serviceman is something like an army volunteer: demobilization is, as it were, deleted from army everyday life, but not yet transferred to the reserve. The order to dismiss their conscription has already been issued, and they are mentally already there, in civilian life.

The last ritual for conscripts in the Soviet army was associated with demobilization (as a phenomenon) - “demobilization chord”. In essence, it was a shameless game of the army authorities on the soldiers' hope and desire to return home as soon as possible. When a soldier was demobilized, his further stay in the unit is limited to a maximum of a couple of weeks or a few days. During this time, the command forced the demobilized people to build (or, conversely, break), dig (dig) something - the range of work for the “chord” was the widest. The purity of the “experiment” in this case, as a rule, was neglected - the work was carried out only by demobilized personnel, without the participation of “spirits” or other assistants who were lower in the army hierarchy.

Some consider the army a waste of time, they say, study at the same university, development own business and other civil cases would bring much more benefit. Others, usually those who have already served in this category, sincerely believe that the army makes a man out of a man in the full sense of the word. You can argue about this for a long time, but it will not work to come to a consensus.

At the same time, everyone agrees that the army is a kind of state, with its own rules, hierarchy, unwritten laws, sometimes not entirely clear to civilians. Do you know who the army calls "spirit", "elephant", "skull", "grandfather", "demobilization"? If you have heard some of these titles at least once in your life, then with others you will have to rack your brains. So, let's try to figure out who is who in the army hierarchy.

Hierarchy. Smells

The first stage, which is often not taken into account by employees, is the era of being a smell. From the moment the conscript arrives at the unit, he receives exactly this title. He will move to the next step when he takes the oath, becoming a full-fledged soldier. Smells usually don’t represent very well what a skull or an elephant is in the army, but they are full of army romance, the belief that it is in this place that they will make real friends, or maybe at this stage they are still trying to come to terms with that in the near future they will be forced to live in the barracks, eat in a common dining room and obey orders.

Smells study the basics of drill training, the basics of service, it is at this stage that the first outfits happen, the first conflicts with old-timers (still not ending in anything serious), the first pains after forced marches. Simply put, the smell is someone like a pupil junior group kindergarten, who seems to be not in civilian life, but not yet a soldier.

Perfume

On the day of taking the oath, the former smell moves to a new level: it becomes a spirit. Despite the fact that this particular stage of the service is considered the most difficult, all the fun is still ahead. In addition to lawful foremen and officers, only the so-called elephants can command the spirit (we will talk about them a little later), and even those at the suggestion of old-timers. The spirit is an unknown animal, which at first is feared by both grandfathers and skulls: you never know how he will react to "extraordinary" relationships, after all, he can complain - and then everyone will be unhappy. Being a spirit determines how your colleagues will perceive you further: those who break already at this stage will never be able to restore their reputation, which is why it is important to make a good impression on old-timers. After 100 days of service, a new level is provided by the hierarchy in the army: spirit - elephant - this is the next stage.

elephants

"Elephantism" is probably the most difficult time for an employee. There are already certain relations with the old-timers, they understand well what this or that soldier is like and therefore use their unwritten powers to the fullest. The best understanding of who the elephant in the army is, deciphering this “title” gives: a soldier who loves awesome loads.

For another hundred days, he fulfills all sorts of instructions from his elders, is responsible to them for his own mistakes and even for some mistakes of the spirits. Sometimes it is at this time that the old-timers begin to extort money from the younger ones, and the latter cannot complain anywhere, otherwise they will lose their face in front of the rest. But this soon passes: the elephant in the army becomes a skull.

Scoops (skulls)

In modern Russian army after two hundred days, the soldier moves on, receiving the "title" of the skull. Sometimes it is also called a scoop. The choice of a specific name depends on the preferences of a particular part. Only grandfathers and officers can command scoops, while the skull itself leads both elephants and, if possible, spirits. In fact, after the experience of elephanthood, the service goes much easier. There is less and less control on the part of the old-timers and obligations to them, there is more and more some kind of personal freedom, all the hardships of army life, which at first seemed almost torture, are more and more easily endured. But this is not the end of the army. Spirit, elephant, scoop - and then comes the grandfather, this is almost the highest step in the hierarchy.

grandfathers

And now three hundred days have passed since the day of taking the oath. The employee already knows perfectly well what an elephant means in the army, how to dress in the time while a match is burning, how to assemble and disassemble a machine gun, how to command those very elephants and spirits. And now he becomes a grandfather. Apart from demobilizations, grandfathers are the highest caste, which can only be led by officers, and even those already respect those who have practically already given their duty to their homeland.

Almost everything that is ordered to the grandfather is entrusted to the young, so this stage of the service can be called perhaps the most pleasant. Grandfather already feels the approach of a citizen with all the fibers of his soul. And this feeling becomes even stronger when, a month and a half before the long-awaited return home, he moves to the last step of the hierarchy, receiving the title of demobilization.

Dembel

It seems like a month and a half?! But it is this time that is considered both the most joyful and dreary at the same time. The demobilization can already afford not to follow the commands of the superiors so precisely, only, by the way, the foremen, because the rest have not been ordered to him for a long time. There is also no particular desire to lead the young - everything is obscured by the thought of an early citizen. But at the same time, at this stage, the soldier understands what mark the army left in his life. Elephant, spirit, grandfather, ladle, outfits out of turn, forced marches, cooking in the kitchen, shaving under cover of night so that no one takes the bathroom - all this is about to be left in the past. It will be difficult to unlearn what you have become so accustomed to during this time, but the demobilized people are well aware that there, in civilian life, everything will be completely different, and perhaps this new one will be much better than the barracks, orders and outfits.

Army entertainment. Assignment of "title"

Now that we know who is called an elephant in the army, how the spirit differs from the smell, and how the demobilization behaves, we can move on to some army traditions associated with one or another step in the hierarchy. Interesting, for example, are the ceremonies of “assigning” one or another title.

A soldier receives as many blows with a belt on a soft spot as he has served for months. Moreover, as some employees notice, the blows are usually so strong that the star badge is imprinted on the skin for a long time. It happens like this: the soldier lies down on a stool with his chest, placing a pillow under him to cover the causal place, and the old-timer weighs blows to him. Moreover, the young man must endure all this without squeaks and complaints, otherwise how can he be promoted further along the hierarchy?

Chest for inspection!

There are also traditions that test the endurance and, frankly, the courage of the fighters. One of them received the comic name "chest for inspection." From an old-timer spirits, elephants in the army sometimes hear this phrase. After it, they should rise, straighten their chest and say: “Three-layer plywood, armor-piercing, of such and such a year of manufacture (the year of birth is inserted here) is ready for battle.” The grandfather hits the victim in this very chest, and the victim, if, of course, after such a blow she can, grandfathers don’t waste time on trifles, answers: “The rollback is normal, the shells are in the box.” In the event that the young one fails the test, it is repeated again and again.

Elk

But on this, the elephant in the army does not pump up its "fun". An even more dangerous and, perhaps, multi-variant fun was called “elk”. The simplest option, the usual elk - the young puts his hands in the form of elk horns (the palm of one hand is pressed against the second hand and this structure is pressed in turn to the forehead). After that, the grandfather beats on these same horns.

The second option, more sophisticated, is a musical moose: the design is the same, only the elephant still has to sing: “Suddenly, like in a fairy tale, the door creaked”, and after the blow - “Everything has become clear to me now.” The third version - "reed elk" - after the usual elk, the elephant moves back, as if passing through the reeds. And the last view - “mad elk” - here the grandfather does not hit, but only points to an object that the elephant should hit from acceleration.

45 seconds off!

One of the main things in the army is speed. This is what grandfathers teach the spirits (elephants already know this firsthand) with the help of the command “45 seconds - lights out!”. Young people line up in the cockpit, their task after the command is to run to the bed, undress (“training” is carried out in uniform), put clothes on and go to bed. If at least one spirit fails the task, everything repeats again.

The next stage of this "game" is "3 seconds - hang up!". Of the clothes for the spirits, only shorts and a T-shirt, and they only have to run to the bed and lie down. In case of failure, the command is repeated until the grandfather gets bored. But if the young have passed this test, then the training goes into its final stage - “three control squeaks”. After this command, the grandfather counts the creaks of the spirit beds until he falls asleep. If he hears three, then everyone rises together and goes on to hone “45 seconds - lights out!”.

Butterfly Catching

In principle, there is not much difference between what a spirit or an elephant in the army represents in the hierarchy - both of them are subjected to bullying-training by the old-timers from time to time. Another fun is "catching butterflies", which develops both physical strength and endurance. The young one crouches and then jumps as high as possible, clapping his hands over his head, as if trying to catch a butterfly with his hands. After that, he shows his palms to his grandfather so that he can check if the younger one has caught the ill-fated insect. Most often, the answer, of course, is negative, and the unfortunate elephant continues its “hunt” until the older one gets bored.

Letter

Elephants themselves sometimes participate in the "writing". In part, as is known, in modern ways communication with the outside world is difficult. That is why paper letters are used. Physical exercise is the standard, but sometimes grandfathers are much more inventive.

When the spirit receives his first letter from his beloved girl, the elders tear the edge of the envelope, inflate it in the manner of a cracker, and then burst it on the back of the spirit's head. The sensations are unpleasant, but, as the servicemen believe, if the clap was loud, then the girl is still waiting for her soldier. If the envelope exploded without special special effects, then you should not hope for favor.

Silencing the tiger

What does an elephant mean in the army? Endless "training", checks and instructions from old-timers. Elephants and spirits are forced to adapt to the old-timers, and if they somehow interfere with the latter, "study" begins. One of its variants is “silencing the tiger”. If the older one cannot fall asleep due to the snoring of the young one, he gives the command “silence the tiger!”, After which the unfortunate one is thrown with pillows, blankets, shoes - everything that comes under the arm to wake him up. An elephant that wakes up from such a thing sorts out everything that has flown into it, and only after that it goes to sleep again, naturally, trying not to snore again, so as not to incur the wrath of grandfathers.

street racing

Away from civilization, men sometimes want to drive. Considering that there are no cars in the unit, spirits and elephants are engaged in “street racing”. The guys get on all fours, slippers are put on their hands and feet. And arrange races along a long corridor along the bedrooms in the barracks. Naturally, the one who came first won. But even here it can’t do without army humor: along the route there are pit stops - places where there are additional slippers so that the “racer” can “change shoes”; the second option - "accelerators" - soldiers standing along the track and giving street racers acceleration with kicks. Of course, it sounds strange, but what will you not do for the sake of entertainment?

Conclusion

Service is the school of life. After her, young people will learn what an elephant means in the army, how to do what they don’t want at all, how to eat inedible food, how to obey the strange commands of their grandfathers - all this invariably tempers character. To go to serve or not is a personal matter for everyone, but perhaps there are not so many disadvantages in this service as it seems at first glance.