Borduria
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| Official language | Bordurian | ||
| Capital | Szohôd | ||
| Government | Totalitarian dictatorship | ||
| Head of State and Head of Government | Marshal Kurvi-Tasch | ||
Borduria is a fictional country in The Adventures of Tintin. It is located in the Balkans, probably in what is currently the eastern half of Slovenia or Eastern Croatia and is bordered by Syldavia, Hungary and Yugoslavia. It is first a parody of a fascist state with close connections with Nazi Germany according to their military equipment and later of a stereotypical Eastern bloc country.
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[edit] History and location
Not much is known about Borduria, since it has been a rather closed country. Borduria seems to have a preference for military governments or governments with a facade of democracy but with military powers pulling all the strings behind the scenes. Borduria’s capital is Szohôd (the diacritic is properly in the shape of the emblematic moustache). In 1195, Borduria conquered their neighbour Syldavia, and ruled it to 1275, when baron Almazout drove the Bordurians away after six months, and became king Ottokar I of Syldavia. In 1939, they unsuccessfully staged a coup d'état against Syldavia, trying to remove the king and invade the country, which it is historically linked to, with support from Borduria sypathizers within Syldavia. This was analogous to, and possibly an indictment of, the Nazi Germany take-over of Austria. This analogy is further reinforced by Hergé's depiction of Bordurian fighter planes, which closely resemble the Messerschmitt Bf 109, perhaps intended to be understood as actual German Bf-109s sold to the Bordurian Air Force.
[edit] Religion
Like Syldavia, Borduria has or has had Islam as one of its religions: a minaret is visible behind the modernist buildings surrounding the statue of Kurvi-Tasch.Today both countries are primarily Christian.The culture is similar to the Yugoslavian and the Serbian one, with later on typical communist-modernism building style.
[edit] The Bordurian language
The country's language, Bordurian, is poorly known; however, it uses the Latin alphabet and is possibly meant to be related to Hungarian: There is a city called Szeged in Hungary which might have been the inspiration for the name of Szohôd and "Köztársaság" is the Hungarian word for "republic". Yet some other words seem to be of Germanic origin, such "mänhir", mister (cf. German "Mein Herr").
[edit] Local/Internal affairs
[edit] Unnamed aggressive military government
In 1939, its political system was reminiscent of fascist or national socialist government. It unsuccessfully attempted to take over its neighbor Syldavia, which it is historically linked to. This was analogous to, and possibly an indictment of, the Nazi Germany take-over of Austria. This analogy is further reinforced by Hergé's depiction of Bordurian fighter planes, which closely resemble the Messerschmitt Bf 109... or were actual German Bf-109s sold to the Bordurian Air Force. In actuality there were several minor fascist dictatorships during World War II, such as the Croatian Ustashe regime, Hungary under Miklós Horthy and Romania under Ion Antonescu... all of which fell to the Communists at the end of the war.
[edit] Military
Borduria seems to be relatively well equipped in terms of its military. It is heavily German or Italian influenced, with German-produced Messerschmitt Bf 109 as their main aircraft.
However, in one Tintin comic (The Calculus Affair), they made attempts to stop the stolen tank that Tintin and his companions commandeered. However, all their attempts fail because of the terrible quality of their weaponry, stymied by defective mines and an anti-tank gun that burst.
[edit] Taschist Borduria
By 1956, Borduria was reminiscent of a stereotypical Eastern Bloc country complete with its own secret police (ZEP), military dictator, Kurvi-Tasch, whose name is a combination of his moustache and his ideology, and the "taschist" ideology which in all indications seems to be identical to Stalinism with a more militaristic edge. The statue of Kurvi-Tasch in a Nazi-like salute in front of a government building is an overt comparison between him and Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin. The ubiquity of his moustache, "the whiskers of Kurvi-Tasch", seems to be similar to the swastika or hammer and sickle in its (over) use (it is often seen used as a swear word and a diacritical mark, and the bumpers of the local cars are shaped to resemble it).
Other traces of the Kurvi-Taschist moustache can be found on the name of the Hotel were Tintin was staying in Szohod, where it is called Hotel Zsnorr which, given Herge's Belgian bilingualism, means moustache in Dutch ('snor').
Policemen and officials wear red armbands with the ruling party's symbol in the centre of a white circle. It is similar to that worn by the German Nazis under Hitler.
[edit] Foreign Affairs
In 1976, in the story Tintin and the Picaros, the Bordurian government supported General Tapioca, the current ruler of San Theodoros, a fictional banana republic in South America, and even sent him military advisors. Officially, General Tapioca and San Theodoros are subscribers to the "taschist" ideology, proof of this can be seen in a page drawn by Herge but not published in the final book of Tintin and the Picaros: when Colonel Sponsz is talking with Colonel Alvarez in the former's San Theodorian office the latter accidentaly hits a bust of Kurvi-Tasch with an unbreakable glass. Another common point between both countries is their tradition of military leadership of the state and government and in that respect the many colonels that they hire. Military and government equipment in San Theodoros often incorporates the Taschist moustache logo in detail decoration, indicating Bordurian origin.
[edit] Sources
Tintin albums featuring Borduria:
- Le Sceptre d’Ottokar (King Ottokar's Sceptre, 1939)
- L’Affaire Tournesol (The Calculus Affair, 1956)
- Colonel Sponsz of Borduria features in Tintin et les Picaros (Tintin and the Picaros, 1976)
