How the first Soviet meme Ushats appeared

Today, Internet memes have become an integral part of our lives. Some of them appear and are forgotten after a couple of months, others remain with us for years. Scientists are studying the phenomenon of memes and they quite seriously claim that it will leave a serious mark on the history of our culture. Meanwhile, many admit that memes are not a new phenomenon and they appeared long before the first user entered the world Wide web. One of them was Ushats, which attentive viewers of old Soviet films are familiar with.

In the 40s of the last century, a young Jew Mikhail Lazarevich Ushats successfully passed the entrance exams to the prestigious Moscow Architectural Institute. He was an ambitious, yet unknown young man who was destined in the future to become a wonderful Soviet cartoonist, one of the leaders in the legendary satirical magazine "Crocodile", as well as a famous theater artist and screenwriter.

Among the first-year students of MARKHA, Misha Ushats stood out with an unusual habit — he signed his things, personal and not at all. No one paid attention to this for a while, but one day, at the drawing department, a funny incident occurred. Future architects had to draw a model from life and the attendants placed easels in the spacious auditorium.

Of course, not everyone got the places from where the most advantageous angle opens. Only efficient students who came in advance could take the most "top" places. As soon as the easels were finished, Ushats, who was passing by, looked into the audience. He chose the best place and wrote his name on it.

In the morning, the head of the group, who came to class first, saw the inscription "Ushats" on the easel, but did not erase it. Showing a remarkable sense of humor, he wrote on the other easels "Ushats ... Ushats... Ushats". It is not known how Mikhail himself took this joke, but the students really liked it, and they adopted it.

The surname Ushats began to appear in the most unexpected places. It was written comma-separated among the authors on the flyleaf of textbooks in the library, on desks and chairs in classrooms and laboratories, even on toilet bowls in toilets, including women's toilets, the ubiquitous "Ushats" appeared out of nowhere.

Very soon, almost all the institute's inventory received a signature, and then the meme "Ushats" broke out of the institute. He began to appear on architectural objects, including historical monuments, and then on fences, in entrances, in elevators, at train stations. Moreover, he crossed the impregnable border and began to appear abroad, where rare Soviet guests visited.

The inscription "Ushats" was seen on the Eiffel Tower in Paris, on the steps of the Parthenon in the Acropolis of Athens, the Egyptian pyramids, on the observation deck of the TV tower in Toronto and many other places in the world.

Ushats has penetrated into literature, cinema and even animation. A meme has also settled in the professional folklore of architects — the saying "It's just some kind of Ushats" has become very popular both among students and among venerable professionals.

There are "Ushats" in the comedies "Do not grieve", "Mimino" and "Autumn Marathon". Now few people know what this inscription means, but 30-40 years ago it invariably made people smile.