"To bomb Voronezh"[a] (Russian:Бомбить Воронеж,romanized: Bombit' Voronezh) is a Russian-languageinternet meme and political idiom, referring to self-destructive actions by the Russian regime that harm the population, akin to the English "cutting off one's nose to spite one's face".[2]
The earliest iterations of the meme came in the aftermath of theRusso-Georgian War, when Russian authoritiesallocated large amounts of money to reconstruct destroyed cities ofSouth Ossetia. Anapocryphal anecdote states that a government official in the Russian cityVoronezh complained sarcastically around this time:[3]
The amount [of money] allocated for South Ossetia is three times more than what the entireVoronezh Oblast receives in three years. Better bomb Voronezh, that way we'll actually get normal roads.
According toRadio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, this story is probably a myth, since no records of the statement actually exist.[3] The earliest references to the meme date back to August 2008, when aLiveJournal user referenced a similar joke supposedly made by "the residents of Voronezh", with no mention of a government official.[3]
Starting in the mid-2010s, with theinternational sanctions on Russia and retaliatory Russian counter-sanctions, the meme had a change in meaning. In 2012, the Russian parliament passed theDima Yakovlev Law, which prevented the adoption of Russian orphans by Americans.[4] The main blow of the law fell on the Russian orphans themselves, many of whom suffered from serious illnesses.[4][3] Similar exchanges of mutual sanctions occurred after Russia'sannexation of Crimea, hurting ordinary Russian consumers.[4] Thus, a common Russian joke was that "in response to the sanctions, the president gave the order to bomb Voronezh".[5][3]
A joke spread onRunet about a supposed conversation between two Russian government officials:[3]
[Sergey] Lavrov calls[Sergey] Shoigu and says: "Listen, Kuzhugetovich, don't bombNew York, my daughter lives there."
Shoigu responds indignantly: "Crap![Dmitry] Peskov asked not to hitLondon orParis, and[Dmitry] Medvedev said not to hitBerlin,[Yelena] Mizulina said notBelgium,[Vladimir] Zhirinovsky said notSwitzerland... A lot of others called too, the list is long. Lavrov, where do we even hit?"
"Hmm... well, fuck it, [hit] Voronezh, no one we care about is there."
On 20 April 2023, during theRussian invasion of Ukraine the Russian Air Force accidentally bombed the Russian city ofBelgorod, injuring three people. Anti-war Russians drew comparisons to the "bomb Voronezh" meme.[6]
The meme was brought up again during theWagner Group rebellion in June 2023, when there were reports of government shelling against the Wagner rebels causing an oil depot in Voronezh Oblast to catch fire.[7][8][9][10][11]
