Where did “Filka’s letter” come from? The tragedy of the origin of humorous phraseological units. What does the expression "filkin's letter" mean?

In Rus' it was considered simple and most often belonged to people of the “vile class”. Modern dictionaries indicate the meaning of the word "filka" as a gender card game and the humorous name for a spy (detective).

But Russian language experts V. Dal and D. Ushakov call Filya the personification of simplemindedness, stupidity, etc. The people of Tver and Pskov actually meant by this word... fig. In addition to the nickname “simp”, derived from this name, this common noun character is captured in proverbs:

Filya was strong - all his friends flocked to him, but trouble came - everyone left the yard.
They put Filya in damn bast shoes.
They were at Fili’s, they drank at Fili’s, and they beat Fili.

The last statement, sad as it may be, has some semantic relation to the history during which the phrase “filkin’s letter” arose. It was not anyone who gave it to the Russian language, but the Tsar of All Rus' Ivan Vasilyevich himself, that is, Ivan the Terrible.

S. M. Solovyov in his “Anthology on the History of Russia” reports: “Reprimanding for himself the unlimited right to execute his villains, establishing the oprichnina, John complained about the clergy that they covered up the guilty.”

In the summer of 1566, the sovereign ordered to call to him the Solovetsky abbot Philip, the son of the boyar Kolychev. He planned to install this priest as Metropolitan of Moscow and all Rus', since he was of an ancient and noble family, although disgraced. Before his tonsure he served at the court of Elena Glinskaya, mother of John. Fyodor Stepanovich Kolychev took the name Philip in monasticism, was reputed to be an outstanding, highly educated man, and became famous for the successful arrangement of the monastery entrusted to him.

The priest, who appeared before the royal gaze, responded to the offer to become a metropolitan and replied that he would agree only on the condition of destroying the oprichnina. Although the tsar-father was angry, he insisted on his own, forcing Philip to give a written promise “not to interfere with the oprichnina and the royal household, and after being appointed not to leave the metropolis for the oprichnina and the royal household.” True, for this John himself asked “to go directly against the royal will, but to satisfy the sovereign’s anger at every opportunity.”

As time passed, John IV realized that he had made a mistake by not thinking to include in this receipt a waiver of the right to grieve, that is, to care and intercede for those subjected to persecution. And the metropolitan sent letters with just such content to the royal court. They became the prototype of the “filkin” ones, but later.

The tsar began to avoid meetings with the church leader, whom he had appointed, so as not to listen to his speeches in defense of the persecuted, and when he appeared in March 1568 for the service at the Assumption Cathedral, he called: “Just be silent, I tell you one thing: be silent, Holy Father! Be silent and bless us!” The incorruptible ruler answered: “Our silence imposes sin on your soul and inflicts death.”

The conversation, in the end, although it was difficult, brought the formidable king into great thought. The oprichniki, fearing that he might actually disband them, hatched a conspiracy. They found accomplices among the clergy, who began to inform on Philip II. In anger, the fooled Ivan Vasilyevich called the letters of the innocent Metropolitan Filkin, using a contemptuous form of the monastic name of the bishop.

This is the sad story behind the humorous expression “filka’s letter.” It was 1568 from the Nativity of Christ. The disgraced metropolitan did not have long to live, but there will be a special story about his amazing and dramatic fate.

Filka's letter Razg. Disapproved Usually units An empty, meaningless piece of paper; a document of no real value. To be, become, turn out to be... what? Filka's diploma.

Stop two factories!.. And you want all this to be done on the basis of this... filthy letter? (G. Nikolaeva.)

Everything that was written in the act did not have of great importance, but... it was probably not worth signing this filk’s letter. (S. Golubov.)

(?) Filka (Filya) – derivative from Philemon. When used as a common noun, Filka it meant “stupid, narrow-minded person, fool” (cf. simpleton). Filka's certificate literally meant: a stupidly composed, poorly written document.

Educational phraseological dictionary. - M.: AST. E. A. Bystrova, A. P. Okuneva, N. M. Shansky. 1997 .

See what “filkina’s letter” is in other dictionaries:

Filkina's diploma- piece of paper, writing Dictionary of Russian synonyms. filkina literacy noun, number of synonyms: 8 ... Synonym dictionary

Filka's certificate- The expression belongs to the Russian Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible (1530-1584), who so, in a pointedly derogatory manner, called the messages of the head of the Russian Orthodox Church Metropolitan of Moscow (1566 1569) Philip II. In them is a disgraced church hierarch... ... Dictionary of popular words and expressions

Filka's certificate- Filka's letter is a stable expression in the Russian language, meaning “an ignorant, illiterately drawn up or non-legal document.” Initially, this is what Ivan the Terrible contemptuously called the revealing and... ... Wikipedia

Filkina's diploma- contempt about empty, worthless paper, a document that has no force. There are several versions of the origin of the phraseological unit: 1. Initially, it was a letter written by an illiterate person of the “vile class”, a simpleton. Dupe - ... Phraseology Guide

Filka's certificate- 1. Unlock Contempt. An empty, meaningless piece of paper that has no document power. FSRYaa, 111; BMS 1998, 135; BTS, 225; Mokienko 1989, 167. 2. Arrest. Rules internal regulations ITU. Baldaev 2, 109. 3. Zharg. school Joking. Foreign language.… … Big dictionary Russian sayings

Filka's certificate- Razg. Express A document that has no force; empty piece of paper. The Tsar’s manifesto, which you are talking about, turned out to be a piece of paper, no offense intended (A. Stepanov. The Zvonarev family) ... Phrasebook Russian literary language

The best illustration of the expression “Filka’s letter” can be the film “Tsar” directed by Pavel Lungin. In him we're talking about about the reign of Ivan the Terrible. The reign of this king to this day has not been unequivocally assessed by historians. One thing is certain - she was a very unpredictable, suspicious and therefore very cruel nature.

On the one hand, Ivan the Terrible carried out the reforms necessary for the state.

On the other hand, he chose unusual and cruel methods for this.

Therefore, he seemed to be looking for an excuse for his actions, he wanted the clergy to support him. We must not forget that in those days religion was an integral part of every person’s life.

And so Ivan the Terrible appoints Abbot Philip as Metropolitan of Moscow. He really wants him to support him. But the priest cannot come to terms with the king’s unjustified thirst for bloodshed. He tries to understand him, but to no avail. Gradually their relationship deteriorates. The last straw is Philip's reluctance to bless Ivan the Terrible during the service. This was a serious challenge to the spiritual authorities against the Svetsky.

Philip was exiled to a monastery. There he gains special powers of healing and clairvoyance. And also - p looking for letters, so-called letters, in which he tries to reason with the king. He calls them contemptuously - filkin letters. Sarcasm: people of low social origin who were illiterate were called filkas, mankas, petkas, etc.

Metropolitan Philip was eventually strangled on behalf of Ivan the Terrible. Later, he was canonized.

And the expression “filkina gramata” has become very popular among the population and means:

There is a single, clear, supported historical sources version of the origin of this phraseological unit "filkina gramata".

This story began during the reign of Ivan the Terrible, when he tried with all his might to get the state access to Baltic Sea, which would significantly strengthen the influence of Rus' in this region both in the military and commercial fields. But the king’s great thoughts were hampered by constant wars in different regions. The Tatars, Swedes and Poles were especially successful in this, distracting Ivan the Terrible from the main task. In addition, the boyars actively opposed the continuation of the war, from whom there was sometimes open betrayal and switching to the enemy’s side.

Tired of the constant opposition and conspiracies of the boyars, the tsar abdicated the throne, settling in Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda. More than one delegation came to persuade Ivan the Terrible to return to his rightful place. In the end, under certain conditions, the king agreed to return. One of the conditions of Ivan the Terrible was the creation of an oprichnina - possessions controlled personally by him. The northeastern lands of the state, with the most developed economy, fell into the oprichnina. Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda, the new residence of the Tsar, was chosen as the capital of the oprichnina. With the help of the army he created - the guardsmen, Ivan the Terrible confiscated the princely and boyar estates, transferring them to the noble guardsmen. All those who disagreed had to move to other regions of the state, for example, the Volga region. Since the guardsmen were freed from judicial liability, they carried out harsh repressions with impunity against people disliked by the tsar, practically it was legalized terror.

The only one who dared to speak out against Ivan the Terrible was Metropolitan of Moscow and All Rus' Philip II, and before taking the rank, Fedor Kolychev. Philip sent messages to Ivan the Terrible in which he condemned the actions of the oprichniki and called on the tsar to disband the oprichnina. The angry Ivan the Terrible contemptuously called the Metropolitan “Filka”, and his letters - “Filka’s letters” - meaningless pieces of paper, showing his disdain.

Subsequently, Philip II was defrocked on false charges and exiled to the Tverskoy Monastery, where on December 23, 1569 he was strangled by Malyuta Skuratov. It is worth adding that the church reveres Philip II as a saint and martyr, and the Church of St. Philip was built in Meshchanskaya Sloboda.

Despite this, in the Russian language the word “Filka” has become associated with a certain simpleton, and the expression “Filka’s letter” implies a document that has no legal force, and indeed does not mean anything.

Phraseologism “filkina gramota” is familiar to many and has a very definite meaning.

But there was no clear opinion about who this Filka was. And that's great!

Let's look at the meaning and 4 versions of origin, synonyms, as well as sentences with phraseological units from the works of writers.

The meaning of phraseology

– an ignorant, illiterate document; meaningless piece of paper

Phraseologisms-synonyms: bullshit (partially), Chinese literacy (partially)

IN foreign languages There are expressions that are similar in meaning. Among them:

• "Mickey Mouse" document, useless scrap of paper (English)
• chiffon de papier (French)
• Geschreibsel (German)

Origin of phraseology

Unexpectedly, it turned out that there are at least four versions of the origin of the phraseological unit “filkin’s letter”. Of course, not all of them are equally convincing, but they are all interesting:

• The most famous version tells about the complex relationship between the darkly famous Tsar Ivan the Terrible and Metropolitan of Moscow and All Rus' Philip II. After their serious deterioration in 1568, Metropolitan Philip was exiled to the Tver Otroch Assumption Monastery, from where he sent letters to Ivan the Terrible, in which he called on the Tsar to come to his senses and dissolve the oprichnina. Ivan the Terrible contemptuously called Philip Filka, and his letters - “Filka's letters” - empty, meaningless pieces of paper. At the end of 1569, the most famous guardsman, Malyuta Skuratov, strangled the 62-year-old inflexible old man. The Church reveres Philip as a saint and martyr. The argument against this version is that it is unlikely that an expression that was clearly unfair and ungodly towards the disgraced metropolitan would have spread among the people. It would seem more natural that Ivan the Terrible would use an expression already in use among the people for his own special, let’s say propaganda, purposes. In the same time, strong point this version - the presence of written sources confirming it.
• Surprisingly, another version of the origin of the phraseological unit is also associated with the name of the church hierarch. Moscow Metropolitan Filaret Drozdov - “Filka”, as he was popularly called - compiled the Tsar’s Manifesto on the liberation of the peasants, promulgated on February 19, 1861. This is supposedly where the expression “filkin’s letter” came from, as a designation for a stupid document. The Manifesto was written in a language difficult to understand, which was noted by two classics of Russian literature: “The men will not understand a word, and we will not believe a word,” Leo Tolstoy categorically expressed himself, and Ivan Turgenev added that it was as if “written in French and translated into clumsy Russian by some German.” Thus, despite all the restrictions and abuses, 23 million landowner peasants received personal freedom, but a residue remained.
• According to the famous scientist N. M. Shansky, this phraseological unit arose by analogy with the expressions spiritual diploma, charter letter, and had the meaning of “stupidly composed, poorly written document.” Since Filka is just “stupid, narrow-minded person, fool,” where the word “simp” came from (I recall Pushkin’s “You fool, you simpleton!” from “The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish”). In the Russian language dictionaries of Dahl and Ushakov, Filya means simpletonness, stupidity. Academician V. Vinogradov in his “History of Words” claims that Filya, Filka (diminutive of Filimon) in the 17th-18th centuries was characteristic name a peasant serf, a servant, was considered common, with an obvious disdainful connotation. And in the 19th century, writers often used this name in fiction to describe stupid people.
• Finally, there is a version that in Russia late XIX- beginning of the twentieth century. the word filka served as a colloquial humorous designation for a spy (by the name of a police agent in France) conducting secret surveillance of suspects. The reports such agents submitted to police superiors about the results of surveillance were often illiterately written and often supplemented with fictitious exploits of their authors. According to this version, such illiterate and biased reports began to be called filkin letters.

As you can see, different versions cover a significant period of Russian history. For me personally, this is an argument for the third, “folk” version of the emergence of phraseological units. One way to look at it is that for all other versions tied to specific historical events, this expression seemed to be taken out of popular usage and given it the additional meaning of “on occasion.”

Examples from the works of writers

My friend read the contract and, to my great surprise, became angry with me. - What kind of filthy letter is this? What, you idiot, are you signing? - he asked. (M.A. Bulgakov, “Theatrical Novel”)

The Tsar’s manifesto that you are talking about turned out to be a piece of paper, no offense intended (A.N. Stepanov, “The Zvonarev Family”)

Filonov took a quick look at the drying posters and grinned.
- Filka’s letter. Quantity at the expense of quality. Not a single word is correct. Instead of yet - icho; instead of fire - agon; instead of down - with lodoy... what kind of lodoy is this? (V.P. Kataev, “Time, forward!”)