бабушка

Babushka (бабушка) means 'grandmother' in Russian — an affectionate diminutive of baba (old woman). Every Russian has a babushka.

In English, 'babushka' also means the headscarf Russian grandmothers traditionally wear — tied under the chin. The woman and her accessory merged.

The 'babushka' became a stereotype: the sturdy, headscarved Russian grandmother, eternal survivor, keeper of traditions. She appears in a thousand cartoons and jokes.

Now 'babushka' carries nostalgia for a disappearing world — for grandmothers who remember the Soviet Union, who make borscht from memory, who know what real hardship means.