# Can someone translate this USSR poster? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 17, 2002, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-translate-this-ussr-poster/119368 "2002-07-17T06:35:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Seven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Seven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seven)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2002, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-translate-this-ussr-poster/119368/1 "2002-07-17T06:35:47Z")
I have an old poster from the USSR which a friend bought for me when he was visiting many, many years ago. The subject is a man in a stripped shirt throwing a hand gernade. Along the bottom it says “3A POANHY” The “A” in POANHY is slightly different then the one in 3A. I don’t think it’s an “A” but it looks pretty close. The “N” in POANHY is backwards. Any idea on what this thing says? ---
**Author:** ![Mirage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Mirage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mirage)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2002, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-translate-this-ussr-poster/119368/2 "2002-07-17T07:08:43Z")
In Latin characters it would(could) be spelled **Da rotinu**. It means “For the Native Country” or “For the Motherland” ---
**Author:** ![Apache](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Apache](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apache)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2002, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-translate-this-ussr-poster/119368/3 "2002-07-17T07:11:00Z")
For The Motherland! Comrade. ---
**Author:** ![Apache](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Apache](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apache)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2002, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-translate-this-ussr-poster/119368/4 "2002-07-17T07:13:02Z")
çà ðîäèíó ---
**Author:** ![Seven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Seven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seven)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2002, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-translate-this-ussr-poster/119368/5 "2002-07-17T07:19:58Z")
Well,. that makes sense. Thank you Teeming Millions (or Teeming 2 as it were) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Apache](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Apache](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apache)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2002, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-translate-this-ussr-poster/119368/6 "2002-07-17T07:22:57Z")
I guess I just found out the limitations that this board supports. With all due respect to Mirage: The character that looks like a 3 is pronounced like the letter “Z” and that almost “A” character in the second word is a Cyrillic “D”. IMHO it would be “Za Rodynu”. ---
**Author:** ![Seven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Seven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seven)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2002, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-translate-this-ussr-poster/119368/7 "2002-07-17T07:37:07Z")
Apache: Would it be pronounced “Za Rodnew”? ---
**Author:** ![Mirage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Mirage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mirage)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2002, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-translate-this-ussr-poster/119368/8 "2002-07-17T07:38:46Z")
Misscommunication and typos on my part. Both **Za Rodynu** and **Za Rodinu** should be acceptable. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2002, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-translate-this-ussr-poster/119368/9 "2002-07-17T09:27:24Z")
…I don’t suppose you have a picture of the poster available, Seven? It sounds interesting/ (Aesthetically, of course. 😉 ) Ranchoth ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2002, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-translate-this-ussr-poster/119368/10 "2002-07-17T14:08:55Z")
Just a few nitpicks. **Za Rodynu** would be an incorrect transliteration, as _y_ is generally used to represent the “soft sign” in Cyrillic, which resembles the number 61. Or the word “PI” if you flipped it upside down. The correct transliteration would be **Za Rodinu** , and the pronunciation “Za RO-dee-noo”. The translation is, of course, “For the Motherland” and was one of the more popular slogans (or parts thereof, the complete one being “Za Lenina, za Stalina, za Rodinu”) during the Great Patriotic War (aka WWII on this side of the Atlantic). I’d be interested in knowing whether you have an original or a reprint, as if it were an original it might actually be worth something. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2002, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-translate-this-ussr-poster/119368/11 "2002-07-17T17:24:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Olentzero \* > **Just a few nitpicks. Za Rodynu would be an incorrect transliteration, as _y_ is generally used to represent the “soft sign” in Cyrillic, which resembles the number 61. Or the word “PI” if you flipped it upside down.** [further nitpick] Your description sounds like the letter “yeri”, not the “soft sign” (aka “tvordiy znak”). The “soft sign” does look like the left half of the “yeri”, though. [/further nitpick] ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2002, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-translate-this-ussr-poster/119368/12 "2002-07-17T19:19:15Z")
:smack: You’d never be able to tell I actually majored in Russian at Georgetown, would you? ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2002, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-translate-this-ussr-poster/119368/13 "2002-07-17T21:06:22Z")
Hy, xopowo. (Pretty close, although the w shouldn’t be so pointy. I wanted to write “Nu, ladna,” but there’s nothing in teh roman alphabet that looks much like the cyrillic “l” or “d”.) –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![Seven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Seven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seven)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2002, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-translate-this-ussr-poster/119368/14 "2002-07-18T09:57:21Z")
Ranchoth: I’ll see if I can get something on-line and show you. I’m taking some pictures for a project so give me a couple of days. I’ll bookmark this thread and bounce it with the url. Olentzero: It looks pretty old IMO. I framed it several years back so it’s been kept in good condition. I don’t know where my friend got it in the old USSR. Even so, if it is a reprint, it’s now at least 20 years old if not more. ---
**Author:** ![Seven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Seven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seven)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2002, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-translate-this-ussr-poster/119368/15 "2002-07-18T09:59:20Z")
Oh yeah Olentzero… thanks for the pronunciation as well. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2002, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-translate-this-ussr-poster/119368/16 "2002-07-18T14:27:12Z")
Da ne za chto. Vsegda rad pomogat’. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2002, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-translate-this-ussr-poster/119368/17 "2002-07-18T21:08:40Z")
A year and a half of Russian and I remember how to say good, excellent, caviar, and I love you. Anything else, you’re way over my head. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![evilhanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba8739/32.png) [@evilhanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evilhanz)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2002, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-translate-this-ussr-poster/119368/18 "2002-07-18T21:18:13Z")
Here is a [great collection](http://poster.wz.cz/listy/russ1.htm) of Soviet-era propaganda posters. ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2002, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-translate-this-ussr-poster/119368/19 "2002-07-18T21:18:39Z")
Tebia liubliu, xoroshaia otlichnaia ikra! ---
**Author:** ![NetLord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90ced4/32.png) [@NetLord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NetLord)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2002, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-translate-this-ussr-poster/119368/20 "2002-07-18T23:13:56Z")
Çà Ðîäèíó, çà Ñòàëèíà! Óðÿÿÿÿÿ! 🙂 “Ìû ñìåëî â áîé ïîéäåì Çà ñóï ñ êàðòîøêîé, È ïîâàðà óáüåì Ñòîëîâîé ëîæêîé!” Âû á åùå ïðî ìàòðåøåê ñ áàëàëàéêàìè âñïîìíèëè. 🙂 Seriously though, I doubt the poster is worth anything. You can find tons of these over in Russia. They’ve printed way too much of them.