"Upper Volta with missiles": what does it mean who said?

In the information space sometimes there are sonorous sticky names, viable due to their imagery. They are not connected with the worldview peculiarities of individual countries or nations. That is, the world perceives them unequivocally. For example, there is such a saying: "Upper Volta with missiles." It is, oddly enough, now associated with Russia. Even the president of the Russian Federation used this expression in his interviews. Let's see what this means and where it came from.

Let's look at the words

If everything is clear with rockets, nobody will treat this term in two ways, then "Upper Volta" needs explanations. The fact is that this name survived the education that designated. It was a small West African country. From the sixties to the eighty fourth of the last century it was called Upper Volta. With rockets, by the way, there was not something bad, but nothing at all. The poorest state, and even unstable. Now we can find it on the map under the name of Burkina Faso. With the change of name in the state, little has changed.

In special publications you can learn about the life there. She is depressing. There is no economy in the country, laws more closely resemble those established in the jungle. About science and more or less acceptable education in general, speech does not go. The country can be boldly characterized as the edge of civilization, which is enough for our reasoning. That's what it was and it is now - the Upper Volta. With missiles, she does not seem to ever exist.

The author of the statement

In view of the mega-size of the information space and the same number of interpreters and "insiders", some confusion arose. In one all are solidary. Upper Volta with missiles was first named the USSR. Some advocate the authorship of Margaret Thatcher, former Prime Minister of Great Britain. In fact, this is a uniform "slander". This honorable lady could think so, even agree that the USSR is the Upper Volta with missiles, only aloud to pronounce such upbringing would not allow it.

At that time aristocrats were strictly taught not to show their contempt to the public through "loud" expressions. Upper Volta with missiles called the superpower who had already sunk into oblivion Helmut Schmidt, the Federal Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (until 1982). Some curious researchers decided to find the source. Today we do not particularly imagine what life was like in Germany. And the Germans hardly remember the nuances. But some information still managed to get hold of.

The results confused even more

As it turned out, West Germany only seemed a very free country. In fact, everything was, to put it mildly, a little different. Saying aloud to the USSR the expression "Upper Volta with missiles" Schmidt could not. As they say, if this happened really, then only at night, under a thick blanket. The Federal Chancellor - a man far from stupid, distinctly aware of what a powerful army stands under his side.

He would not have teased Brezhnev. The consequences could be sad. In any case, there was no evidence of his authorship (serious). By the way, he is credited with this phrase since 1993. The book is written by a group of American Sovietologists. Maybe it was they who introduced the term "Upper Volta with missiles"?

Other version

If you look for traces of this expression in printed sources, you will come across an article published in the Financial Times. It is called "Soviet Export of Technologies". The author is David Buchan. Date of publication September 14, 1984 Perhaps, this is the first non-verbal mention of this loud and offensive nickname. In the above-mentioned material, Buchan criticized the superpower for building up its military power, paying no attention to the needs of the population (maybe rightly so).

What does "Upper Volta with missiles" mean

Who said the first such a phrase, after all, is not so important. It scattered around the world, becoming generally accepted. They now use it to address the Russian Federation, when they want to emphasize the underdevelopment of its economy, backwardness, and inadequacy. And if some time ago an offensive nickname was almost forgotten, it now surfaced again. The reason for this is a propaganda company directed against the "aggressor country". It goes on in the West, not stopping, and not just a storm storm, but waves of a tsunami covering the consumer of information. If we take into account the fact that Russia constantly conducts military exercises, by the way, very successful, the term has found its second life.

Now, with its use, the idea of encouraging the West (and not only) the people of the idea of the total collapse of Russia as a state, its chances of stability and return to world politics is connected with its use. If in the eighties this expression showed the level of civilization of the state, which actively influences the processes vital for all mankind, now they are willing to "withdraw from the real state of affairs".

Why the expression was again put into circulation?

To begin with, in 2014 the world began to change rapidly. Perhaps, the process started earlier, only to humanity it was brought from Maydan events. This is a kind of visual reference point in the process of toughening the confrontation between the Russian Federation and the West. It can also be regarded as the beginning of a "reorganization" of the world order. So, in any case, experts say. The West is trying in every way to prove to its citizens (and indeed the rest of the world) the inadequacy of the Russian Federation, its insolvency as a leader. Hence the revival of the expression "Upper Volta with missiles." What it means in the mouths of critics, it's not worth trying. You can literally interpret. Russia seems to them as an extremely backward country, possessing the most terrible weapons. If we follow this logic, we arrive at a disappointing conclusion: it must be neutralized. The division and deprivation of the "nuclear button", as it seems to these caring propagandists. What does Russia have to do? Yes, our bloggers and journalists did not stay aloof. Now in the network you can find a lot of materials about the "Upper Volta". But in them it turns out not only with rockets, but also with new technologies, formidable weapons, gold and so on. Others, acting in the vein of Western propaganda, add "with credits," "with debts," and so on. It's as you like it. Or, if you dig deeper, who has a homeland.