Angela Greenfield (asker) Feb 20, 2014:

Thanks, Everyone! Was an interesting discussion. Very educational. Thanks for all the suggestions!

The Misha Feb 18, 2014:

ViBe, I hate to disagree, but there are three other considerations to add to those Rachel voiced. First, as a Russian-born I can relate to this affinity with the French, but please keep it in mind that for a typical American (I can't speak for anyone else from personal experience, and that's probably what Angela's audience is anyway) French is just another language he or she doesn't know that carries no more mystique than, say, Swahili, or Russian for that matter. Second, most wouldn't recognize the allusion even if it was translated into English for them. Third, the phrase is too long and absolutely unwieldy for this particular purpose. How do you even propose to fit it into the sentence? Nice try though, I totally get your logic.

I am offering this with absolutely no tongue in cheek and mean no disrespect whatsoever. I am your great fan.

ViBe Feb 18, 2014:

@ Rachel 1. You wrote, “"Après nous, le deluge" … is strongly associated with a king” = true, and I don’t insist on this solution, but "временщик" for me, in the exact same way as the French expression, has strong associations with some Russian historical figures—at least for my generation (not so sure about the author of the piece being translated by Angela). So, the translator can be allowed some freedom of maneuver in drawing historical parallels, I guess.

2. As to “"nomads" / "itinerants" and “временщики” and how the two will go together” = exactly: we’re not translating individual words here separated by commas; what has to be conveyed to the reader is the overall concept of “… ЛОГИКА КОЧЕВНИКОВ И ВРЕМЕНЩИКОВ…” = Hence, my suggestion to include the word philosophy or behavioral pattern or such-like.

PS. I’m thinking “rootlesness” for “логика кочевников.” Or “rootless wanderers” could do the job here for “кочевники,” que no?

Angela Greenfield (asker) Feb 18, 2014:

Rachel, I got a free bonus Itinerants! What a good suggestion. I used "nomads" mindlessly, but itinerants is so much more емкий термин. Thank you!

Rachel Douglas Feb 18, 2014:

@ ViBe Thanks for those observations. Still, setting aside the not-quite-synonyms, I don't think "timeserver" is necessarily out of place in its core sense of one who does whatever is expedient, in his own little here-and-now, for apparent self-interest. Yes, it usually means propitiation of some higher-up, but that's not too far afield in talking about social relations within the hierarchy of Soviet functionaries. ... I would caution on "apres nous, le deluge" because it's so strongly associated with a king - not with a petty timeserver, but with the boss of the whole country. ... One other aspect is that this will need to fit with "кочевники", so I wonder how Angela will translate that, and how the two will go together. Probably not "nomads", but maybe "itinerants"? What's interesting is that "itinerant" already takes care of the sense of somebody being in a position only for a short time, so it's reasonable for the translation to reach for something different by at least alluding to the historical meaning of "временщик". "Itinerants and timeservers": people in office for a short time, with no strategic vision, who want to do whatever is done in those days to get ahead personally.

ViBe Feb 18, 2014:

@ Rachel: (writing here, b/c I’m denied access to the “enter peer comments” field)

I like your literary allusions, but “временщик” in this context doesn’t seem to be a “лишенный принципов приспособленец и оппортунист” rather but a breed of rulers with no long-term vision or strategic thought who are fixated on rent-seeking NOW AND HERE and pocketing (public) funds as much and as fast as they can.

The only “lovely quality” I see emphasized here is that, дорвавшись до «хлебного места» (тоже литературная аллюзия) в «вертикали власти», such rulers don’t give a **** about what next generations of their constituencies beyond the four-year (or longer, in some countries) political cycle would think of them and take advantage of their time on or around the throne to make a buck or two NOW and HERE. And then--après nous, le déluge!