Title: Working and Eating

General information about item:

• Verbal folklore, proverb
• Language: Russian
• Country of origin: Russia
• Informant: Amanda Durfee
• Date collected: 10/31/18

Informant Data:

Amanda is a senior at Dartmouth College. She was raised in Wisconsin, but attended a Russian camp during the summer when she was in high school, which is where she learned the proverbs she shared. She has also studied abroad in Russia, and is majoring in the subject at Dartmouth, where she is currently taking coursework in the language.

Contextual Data:

Amanda learned this proverb while at Russian camp in high school. She is also currently taking classes in Russian at Dartmouth to fulfill her major in Russian.

Item

кто не работает, тот не ест.

Literal translation: “Whoever doesn’t work, doesn’t eat.”

Meaning: Everyone should do their part, and in exchange they will be rewarded.

Associated file:

Transcript: “‘кто не работает, тот не ест.’ Which translates to, like, ‘He who does not work, does not eat.'”

Informant’s comments:

Amanda noted that this phrase came into use during the Soviet Union, adding an interesting note to its history. In addition to the obvious meaning of the importance of work in earning a reward, it also adds an element of class struggle in which the non-working bourgeoisie do not deserve to eat.

Collector’s comments:

This proverb was probably the least directly connected to friendship, instead serving as a more general form of commentary of the nature of relationships and where they fit into the social sphere. It is phrased negatively, with a focus on obligations — good deeds are not rewarded, bad deeds are punished. It is also a strongly collectivist saying.

It follows a parallel structure of the form “If [not] x, then [not] y,” which does come up in other proverbs as well. This serves to drive home the relationship between the two things. Because x and y are, in this case, verbs, it also serves to highlight them as actions, creating a proverb that is focused on doing and that feels, as a consequence, alive.

Collector’s name: Zachary Benjamin