Obrazovanshchina (, 'educationdom', 'educaties',Note: 'образован-' + '-щина': a noun derived from 'образование', education with suffix '-щина', similar in functions with English suffixes such as -ism, -ness, -dom, -ing 'smatterers') is a Russian ironical, derogatory term for a category of people with superficial education who lack the higher ethics of an educated person.Geoffrey A. Hosking, "The First Socialist Society: A History of the Soviet Union from Within", 1993, , p. 403
The term was introduced by Alexander Solzhenitsyn in his 1974 essay "Obrazovanshchina" (translated as "The Smatterers") as a criticism of the transformation of the Russian intelligentsia, which, in his opinion had lost high ethical values.ОБРАЗОВАНЩИНА, Obrazovanshchina essay at Solzhenitsin's official website (retrieved February 15, 2014) The essay and the term caused criticism from liberal intelligentsia, such as Solzhenitsyn's long-time opponent Grigory PomerantsГригорий Померанц. Сон о справедливом возмездии (Мой затянувшийся спор) , Синтаксис. Публицистика, критика, полемика. — Париж, 1980, no. 6, pp. 13—87 and , as well as being among the reasons of the bitter contention between Solzhenitsyn and the Russian "third wave" of emigration (of dissidents)."Russian Intellectuals, the Hand that Feeds Them", The Economist editorial, August 7, 2008 (retrieved February 18, 2014)
Wykształciuchy is a similar term used in Poland, a country that shares the concept of 'intelligentsia' with Russia.Tomasz Zarycki, "On the Contemporary Polish Perception of Russian Intelligentsia" , in: Europe-Russia: Contexts, Discourses, Images, Rīga: LU DZSC - LEVIRA, pp. 130-141.
Solzhenitsyn defines obrazovanshchina as the category of people who refer to themselves as "intelligentsia" solely on the basis of having a higher than middle education. Solzhenitsyn explains the selection of the term by reference to Vladimir Dahl's dictionary, which distinguished the terms ('to educate') and ('to enlighten'), the former concept having a superficial character, "external gloss."
A similar criticism of Russian intelligentsia came from Nikolai Berdyaev, who coined the ironic word intelligentshchina for the part of intelligentia locked in their own world, isolated from the rest of the Russian society.Н. А. Бердяев. Философская истина и интеллигентская правда. Статья опубликована в книге: "Вехи. Сборник статей о русской интеллигенции", Москва, 1909 год, http://www.yabloko.ru/Themes/History/berd-2.html
See also Atel (slang) Egghead, a derogatory term criticizing other aspects of educated people Wykształciuch, Polish wiki
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