Sovok

Sovok (совок) is a Russian-language slang and pejorative term used in Russia and Ukraine to describe the Soviet Union, the mindset and lifestyle of Soviet people, and the perceived remnants of Soviet culture and psychology in post-Soviet states. The term initially emerged within late-Soviet counterculture and diaspora circles. Although it first represented a critique of state-sponsored economic dysfunction, it later became a broader sociological or psychological diagnosis. It has come to denote an individual or mentality characterized by state dependency, social apathy, resistance to change, and compliance with authoritarian structures. It is related to the concept Homo Sovieticus, although sovok gained greater popularity within the Soviet population.