Faux Cyrillic

About

Faux Cyrillic is the practice of replacing characters in Latin text with those resembling the same letters in the Cyrillic alphabet. It is often employed in Western media with themes relating to Russia, the former Soviet Union or communism.

Origin

The earliest known use of Faux Cyrillic in popular media dates back to the 1966 American comedy film The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming^[1] by Norman Jewison, which utilized Cyrillic letters in its promotional posters.

Spread

Although originally designed in order to look childish, and not as a reference to Eastern European culture, the backwards 'R' in the name of the Nu Metal band KoЯn^[2] is perhaps the best-known example of this meme. The 2006 mockumentary comedy film Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan^[3] also features an example in its stylized title, BORДT.

The website TV Tropes has an article^[4] "The Backwards R", which compiles many notable examples of the practice of using faux Cyrillic lettering.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References