Originally used as a patriotic slogan by nationalistic Russians, it subsequently spread in Ukraine as a mocking Internet meme.[1][2]
Original form of the meme
According to scholar Mikhail Suslov, "'Krymnash' arose as a serious meme as an attempt at describing reality" in 2014 to promote the idea that Crimea must become part of Russia.[3] In November 2015, a survey said that 52% of Russians believed "Krymnash" was a symbol of their country's "pride and revival".[4]
In March 2016, there was an attempt to hold a rally to celebrate the anniversary of "Krymnash" in Moscow, but it did not occur.[5]
Satirical meme
According to Suslov, "literally a day after the referendum, the meme was redefined in an ironic way."[3] The new satirical form of "Krymnash" began to be used in a satirical context[6] to mock Russia's domestic failures in spite of the annexation.[7] In formal writing, the phrase would be written as two words, like "Krym nash", but was written without spaces as "Krymnash" in its slogan form on the Internet. Galina Sklyarevskaya, the head of a computer lexicography department at St. Petersburg University, says that this kind of hashtag-like spelling of slogans is influenced by Twitter.[8] In the satirical incarnation of the phrase, the two words are always combined.[9] In this ironic context, it is used as "almost a throw-away line – "our toilets don't work but at least Krymnash!""[3]
When the phrase is still used sincerely by supporters of the annexation, it is almost always spelled out in two words with both capitalized, as “Krym Nash”.[3]
An ironical anagram "Krymnash"->"Namkrysh" («Крым наш» -> «Нам крыш») was variously used by Russian dissidents. «Нам крыш» is a hint to the expression of panic «Нам крышка» ("We are doomed").[10][11]
