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  2. Russian to English

"черный воронок"

English translation: the knock on the door in the middle of the night

14:05 Jul 3, 2002
Russian to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary
Russian term or phrase: "черный воронок"
Помимо постоянного "НАДО!","ВЫПОЛНИМ!", "ПЯТИЛЕТКУ-В ТРИ ГОДА!", "ДА ЗДРАВСТВУЕТ!", свершалась жизнь большинства людей, переживавших общие тяготы и лишения, общий страх перед "черным воронком" и страх за родных и близких, что попали в места не столь отдалённые.
B R
English translation:the knock on the door in the middle of the night
Explanation:
This suggestion concerns ignoring the specifically Soviet knowledge and fear of the "черный воронок". English speakers, unless extraordinarily widely read, are unlikely to grasp the depth of shorthand meaning entailed in the term as a symbol of something unspeakable and unspoken - the terror.

So I suggest getting it across in the manner in which English readers are chillingly familiar - the British and American equivalent of the dark car:

"... a common fear / dread anticipation of the knock on the door in the middle of the night..."
Selected response from:

Irene Chernenko
Russian Federation
Local time: 14:30
Grading comment
Thank you all
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +8black ravens
Yuri Geifman
4 +5the knock on the door in the middle of the night
Irene Chernenko
5 +2Black Maria
Jack slep
4 +2prison-van
Ludwig Chekhovtsov
4 +1PAZ -653 (Voronok )
IgorD
4 +1Black Maria
Irina Ivanova (X)
4jail/prisonmobile
Michael Tovbin
3 +1Prison-van/Patrol wagon
Sara Noss


  

Answers


2 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
jail/prisonmobile


Explanation:
a little flippant for the context but ...

Michael Tovbin
United States
Local time: 06:30
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in RussianRussian
PRO pts in pair: 1220
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5 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
PAZ -653 (Voronok )


Explanation:
NKVD (Secret police) vehicle)

Picture Link

http://www.geocities.com/maxparansky/653_pol.jpg

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Note added at 2002-07-03 14:12:31 (GMT)
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Another option -
Prisoner Truck

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Note added at 2002-07-03 14:14:28 (GMT)
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А вот как толкуется более современный вариант

GAZ 53: A prisoner transport vehicle, with two compartments in the trailer that serve as holding cells. Also may be colloquially called avtozak or voronok.





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Note added at 2002-07-03 14:15:21 (GMT)
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There was a black
car - \"voronok\" (such cars were used for arrests of criminals and
political dissidents) waiting near the doors.


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2002-07-03 14:15:50 (GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

http://216.239.37.100/search?q=cache:G01Ia-uPDDQC:felist.com...

IgorD
Russian Federation
Local time: 14:30
Native speaker of: Native in RussianRussian
PRO pts in pair: 104

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Valéry Shyrokov
7 mins
  -> Спасибо!
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9 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
Black Maria


Explanation:
Lit. a police wagon

see example below:

BACK START NEXT Story. Tenderloin criminals were carted off to jail in
the police department's "Black Maria."

Irina Ivanova (X)
Local time: 07:30
Native speaker of: Native in BulgarianBulgarian
PRO pts in pair: 12

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  nattash: I am afraid, that's a completely different concept,which belongs to a completely different cultural & historical strata
1 hr
  -> I am afraid I do not agree that the concept of a police car is "completely different"
agree  AYP
12 hrs
  -> Thanks
agree  forward
12 hrs
  -> Thanks
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10 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
prison-van


Explanation:
Мультитран:
Термины по тематике История, содержащие черный ворон :
"чёрный ворон", "воронок" - prison-van



Ludwig Chekhovtsov
Local time: 07:30
Native speaker of: Native in RussianRussian, Native in UkrainianUkrainian
PRO pts in pair: 217

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Oleg Pashuk (X)
4 mins
  -> Thank you!
agree  Сергей Лузан
1 day 4 hrs
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12 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
Prison-van/Patrol wagon


Explanation:
www.multitran.ru.
HTH.

Sara Noss
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:30
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in pair: 102

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Сергей Лузан
1 day 4 hrs
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13 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +2
Black Maria


Explanation:
Black Maria is another name for a patrol wagon, paddy wagon


    Webster's Dictionary; Novyi Bol'shoi R-A Slovar'
Jack slep
Local time: 07:30
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in pair: 2146

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  GaryG: "paddywagon" is not a fearsome-sounding in English
2 hrs
  -> Yeah, paddy wagon is a sissy name!
agree  AYP
12 hrs
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19 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +8
black ravens


Explanation:
perhapas with a footnote...
I found a few references on Google, e.g.:

During the repressive Stalin era, political prisoners (including poets who refused to conform to Soviet ideals) were usually arrested at night. Cars called "black ravens" would pull up around 2 a.m. There would be the sound of footsteps, a knock at the door, then people would be whisked away, never to be seen again.


My own transformation from a regular citizen to an active dissident wasn't that sudden. I had heard things before... My mother used to tell me. about the thirties, about the infamous black cars, "ravens", taking people away at. night... But I had no idea of the scope ... of events


I realize that both of these examples are probably translations from the Russian, but the "ravens" were a uniquely Russian phenomenon, weren't they?


    Reference: http://www.azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/71_folder/71_a...
    Reference: http://bolonkin.narod.ru/p15.htm
Yuri Geifman
Canada
Local time: 07:30
Native speaker of: Native in RussianRussian, Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in pair: 389

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  protolmach: totally agree. The best would be provide either a footnote or a similar explanation in Translator's Notes
5 mins
agree  nattash: absolutely!
49 mins
agree  Tatiana Neroni (X): with protolmach, too.
1 hr
agree  Zoya ayoz (X)
1 hr
agree  myrafla
5 hrs
agree  Dell (X)
10 hrs
agree  AYP
12 hrs
agree  Rafale: I suppose
1 day 21 hrs
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +5
the knock on the door in the middle of the night


Explanation:
This suggestion concerns ignoring the specifically Soviet knowledge and fear of the "черный воронок". English speakers, unless extraordinarily widely read, are unlikely to grasp the depth of shorthand meaning entailed in the term as a symbol of something unspeakable and unspoken - the terror.

So I suggest getting it across in the manner in which English readers are chillingly familiar - the British and American equivalent of the dark car:

"... a common fear / dread anticipation of the knock on the door in the middle of the night..."

Irene Chernenko
Russian Federation
Local time: 14:30
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in RussianRussian
PRO pts in pair: 259
Grading comment
Thank you all

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Dell (X): м.б. это звучит понятнее, чем "воронок"
9 hrs
  -> Думаю, это вызывает те ощущения, что надо.
agree  oldnick: i like it. Was it just a knock or hammering at the door? maybe shorten to middle- of-the-night arrest?
13 hrs
  -> Well, yes, hammering, bashing. I think the "knock" is suggestively chilling. And thank you!
agree  Teresa Pearce: Yes, this is exactly what would convey the same fear to us.
17 hrs
agree  Rafale: This translation seems accurate to me as an ex-Soviet
1 day 20 hrs
  -> Thank you!
agree  Libero_Lang_Lab: already graded i know, but for what it's worth just wanted to say, that's an excellent translation of the term!
30 days
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