Vadim Kozlov Revealed

[Krik_IDDQD]

Maybe he spends a lot time in the Balkans.

On a wheat fields of the Kuban.

 

[defiler]

Can be translated like "Will we forget our roots without scholars of Franco-Iberia?"

The phrase itself feels awkward to me. An old russian saying about Ivan, who does not remember his relatives, feels out of place. Or maybe Kozlov is just trolling Franco-Iberia.

I would have an educated guess, that the phrase was supposed to be:
"Will we became Ivans, forgetting our ancestors, without the scholars of Franco-Iberia"
As we will became tyrants (Ivan the Terrible), without the Franco-Iberian Cannon referencing the Dark Side of Russia.
Just an educated guess

 

[SupremacyKing]

I would have an educated guess, that the phrase was supposed to be:
"Will we became Ivans, forgetting our ancestors, without the scholars of Franco-Iberia"
As we will became tyrants (Ivan the Terrible), without the Franco-Iberian Cannon referencing the Dark Side of Russia.
Just an educated guess

This. And it is very sarcastic. He is ridiculing Elodie's arrogant "protector of good culture" attitude. He is basically saying that they can build their culture just fine on their own, they don't need Elodie's wisdom in order to avoid repeating the dark aspects of Russian history.

 

[Eastern Heretic]

"Ivan who doesn't remember his ancestors" is an old Russian idiom, and I'm pretty sure it has nothing to do with czar Ivan the Terrible. It's origin seems to be unclear though, I tried to look it up and there are different versions out there.
Ivan is a common Russian name anyway, so common that it's sometimes jokingly used to refer to all Russians, so no reason to associate it with some particular historical figure.

 

[winddysphere]

I don't get the Bradford resemblance and never played the Bureau, but it's pretty obvious that he's modeled after Gagarin. He doesn't look particularly Russian and could pass for any Slav. He even looks a bit like my dad (a Bosnian Serb) on older pictures. My only complaint is that Kozlov is too tan. Maybe he spends a lot time in the Balkans.

Um I mean just his face and hair style. Just older and longer.

 

[defiler]

"Ivan who doesn't remember his ancestors" is an old Russian idiom, and I'm pretty sure it has nothing to do with czar Ivan the Terrible. It's origin seems to be unclear though, I tried to look it up and there are different versions out there.
Ivan is a common Russian name anyway, so common that it's sometimes jokingly used to refer to all Russians, so no reason to associate it with some particular historical figure.

Very interesting, as I said it was an educated guess, the only famous Ivan that I knew was the czar, that makes the phrase on Kozlov speach much more innocent

 

[bouncymischa]

I just find it a bit odd and uncomfortable that his speech (and the faction's feel) makes such a big deal out of the Soviet nostalgia - sure, as someone else said, it still exists today, but I thought Firaxis would at least show some sensitivity around this topic. Soviet Union may have been the only nation other than the US to participate in the space race (which eventually bankrupted it) but that was also the time of oppression, gulags and various attrocities.

Well, his speech does take place 200 years in the future -- it's not too surprising if they've largely focused on the various successes of the early years of spacefaring and neglected the various unpleasantries of the time. Ask the average American what they think of the US from 200 years ago, and they'll probably talk about "pioneering spirit" or the like, and gloss over the various massacres and other atrocities that went on at that point in time. Didn't the US just recently celebrate the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812, and try to pass it off as an American victory?

All in all, I'm glad to see that the SF is more the "space exploration" civ that I thought it might be, rather than something more stereotypically Soviet...

 

[Krik_IDDQD]

"Ivan who doesn't remember his ancestors" is an old Russian idiom, and I'm pretty sure it has nothing to do with czar Ivan the Terrible. It's origin seems to be unclear though, I tried to look it up and there are different versions out there.
Ivan is a common Russian name anyway, so common that it's sometimes jokingly used to refer to all Russians, so no reason to associate it with some particular historical figure.

Ivan in this idiom is not some Russian, but the overall image of Ivan the Fool, who if commits whatever negative actions, it is only by their ignorance, not out of malice. In his heart he is kind.

 

[Eastern Heretic]

There's another amusing line though

А когда другие экспедиции не выдержат состязания с мирозданием — мы спасем их от гибели и приютим под общей крышей.

"And when the other expeditions fail in their competition with the universe we will save them from death and accommodate them under the same roof."
Prepare to be annexed, benevolent Slavic Federation has room for everyone "under the same roof."

 

[Krik_IDDQD]

There's another amusing line though

"And when the other expeditions fail in their competition with the universe we will save them from death and accommodate them under the same roof."
Prepare to be annexed, Slavic Federation has room for everyone "under the same roof."

IT'S TIME TO LIBERATED OTHER EXPEDITIONS!!!
​

 

[gunther_nt]

Oh my God. Thank you, Firaxis, I am almost crying my warm heart out. This guys deserve a medal for "Absolute Zero Cranberry Project". I really respect that. And did they provide a Russian hugest gaming site with the material exclusively? That is extremely nice but cruel for the rest of the world.

The translation you asked above follows:

Original.
Меня когда-то сравнивали с Юрием Гагариным, пионером космонавтики. С изрядной долей смущения, но я вынужден признать правомочность этого сравнения. И не только потому, что я такой же простой парень из рабочей семьи, грезивший о звездах, о пыльных тропинках далеких планет. Что тогда, что сейчас мы стоим на пороге значительных перемен. Тогда мы впервые шагнули за пределы Земли. Теперь мы уходим навсегда.

В этот печальный и торжественный миг начала первого года новой эры я хочу поздравить всех вас с Новым, 2210-м, годом!

Поехали!

The translation.
I have been sometimes compared to Yuri Gagarin, the space flight pioneer. With a great load of embarrassment I must confirm the validity of this comparison. And I do it not only because I am the same plain guy from a family of workers, who dreamed about stars since childhood, dreamed about “the dusty trails of far-away planets (1)”. Both in that past and now we are still standing at the edge of huge changes. In that past we were the first to make a step past the Earth boundaries. Now – we are leaving forever.

In this sad and triumphant moment, in the beginning of the first year of the new era I would like to congratulate you all with the new, 2210, year!

Let's go! (2)

****************
(1) A line from the song “14 minutes until Launch” see more http://www.peoples.ru/art/literatur...obronravov/chetyrnadcat_minut_do_starta.shtml
(2) An obvious reference to Gagarin's famous words “Let's go!” (Poyehali!) said through the comm to the flight control center at the liftoff moment. Used in post-Soviet society in the same way as NASA's “Liftoff, we have a liftoff”, both in serious allegories and in jokes about space.

 

[gunther_nt]

I am very-very sorry for double-posting, but I really feel I can contribute to understanding the material.

"Ivan the Oblivious" (sometimes + "of his relatives/of his ancestors/of good deeds") is a Russian idiom. It is a rude label for a person, who is not grateful or "out of his roots". So, nothing in common with Ivan the Terrible (monarch) or Ivan the Fool (fairy tales character). He basically says we shouldn't forget the contribution of Franco-Iberia's scientists and feel too over-proud of our own part.

A very poor google-translation as a proof
https://translate.google.ru/transla...w_article.php?id=201000814&edit-text=&act=url

 

[Solaxe]

"Russia has become a center of attraction for the less powerful neighbors"

Hah, nice joke.


I'm a bit disappointed that another slavic faction turns out to be russian-centered... at least Kozlov looks kinda original.

 

[GoodSarmatian]

"Russia has become a center of attraction for the less powerful neighbors"

Hah, nice joke.


I'm a bit disappointed that another slavic faction turns out to be russian-centered... at least Kozlov looks kinda original.

And what do they mean with neighbors ? Many of Russia's neighbors aren't slavs and most slavic countries aren't Russia's neighbors.



Well, at least they're vague enough that we can pretend that the Balkans aren't part of it and somebody can mod a Balkan Alliance faction encompassing the former Yugoslavia + Bulgaria + Greece + Albania + Thrace.

 

[Krik_IDDQD]

And what do they mean with neighbors ? Many of Russia's neighbors aren't slavs and most slavic countries aren't Russia's neighbors.



Well, at least they're vague enough that we can pretend that the Balkans aren't part of it and somebody can mod a Balkan Alliance faction encompassing the former Yugoslavia + Bulgaria + Greece + Albania + Thrace.

NO! ALL BELONGS TO MOTHER RUSSIA!!!

without Kosovo. Kosovo je Srbija.

P.S.
But if seriously, I still think that all Slavs are part of the Slavic Federation. If not all of Eastern Europe in general.

 

[3of5]

And what do they mean with neighbors ? Many of Russia's neighbors aren't slavs and most slavic countries aren't Russia's neighbors.

I am prepared to accept just for the sake of it that in 2200 more ethnies could self-identify as slavs, like almost all Chinese self identify as Han, even though they are not, strictly speaking. The fokus on "Slavicness" feels a bit strange for a progress oriented Federation Faction though. But maybe its more meant as a common identidier than as a nationalistic divisor. Like many of us today feel European even though there is no such thing as an european ethnicity. Judging from Koslovs speech the people of the SF went through some deep together, so they could have adopted a common identifier. Self identifying as slavs might not be historically accurate, but could make sense for them nevertheless.
-> headcanon

 

[Karl0413]

Personally, I think he looks much better as a Supremacy General:

Spoiler :

 

[Mustakrakish]

Where is that from?

 

[Karl0413]

Where is that from?

Check out the the thread I just started here:

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=531874

You will find what you seek.

 

[Sonereal]

This is a spoiler tag.

Spoiler :

[spoil er]No spaces between the l and e.[/spoil er]

They're often used with large images so people with small resolutions don't have to horizontally scroll to navigate the forum.