Borduria is a fictional country in the adventures of Tintin. It is located in the Balkans, probably in what is currently the eastern half of Slovenia. It is first a parody of a fascist state and later of a stereotypical Eastern bloc country. Map of the Land of Oz, the fictional country in the book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Map of the fictional island of Sodor used in the Thomas the Tank Engine stories Fictitious countries used in the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four A guidebook produced about the fictional country Molvanîa... Tintin and Snowy (Tintin et Milou) are world travellers and inseparable friends in The Adventures of Tintin. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... A map of the Eastern Bloc. ...

Not much is known about Borduria, since it has been a rather closed country. Borduria seems to have a preference for military governments or governments with a facade of democracy but with military powers pulling all the strings behind the scenes. Borduria’s capital is Szohôd. The country's language is poorly known; however, it uses the Latin alphabet and is possibly meant to be related to Hungarian. Strangely enough, there is a city called Szeged in Hungary which could easily be altered to Szohôd in a related language (much as the Russian "Mogilev" has become "Mahilyow" in Belarusian). The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most widely used alphabetic writing system in the world today. ... Votive Church Szeged (help· info) (in Serbian Segedin or Сегедин, in German Szegedin/Segedin, in Polish Segedyn, in Romanian Seghedin, in Slovak Segedín) is the fourth largest city of Hungary, the regional centre of South-Eastern Hungary and the capital of Csongrád county. ... Mahilyow, or MahiloÅ­ (Belarusian Магілёў (MahiloÅ­), Russian Могилёв (Mogilyov), Polish Mohylew or Mogilew) is a city in eastern Belarus, close to the border to Russia with about 300,000 inhabitants. ...

Local/Internal affairs

Unnamed aggressive military government

In 1939, its political system was reminiscent of fascist or national socialist government. It unsuccessfully attempted to take over its neighbor Syldavia, which it is historically linked to. (This was analogous to, and possibly an indictment of, the Nazi Germany take-over of Austria. This analogy is further reinforced by Hergé's depiction of Bordurian fighter planes, which closely resemble the Messerschmitt Bf 109) 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Fascism (in Italian, fascismo), capitalized, was the authoritarian political movement which ruled Italy from 1922 to 1943 under the leadership of Benito Mussolini. ... The Nazi party used a right-facing swastika as their symbol and the red and black colors were said to represent Blut und Boden (blood and soil). ... Syldavia is a fictional Balkan country featured in the adventures of Tintin by Hergé. The language spoken is Syldavian. ... The Messerschmitt Bf 109 was a World War II fighter aircraft designed by Willy Messerschmitt in the early 1930s. ...

Taschist Borduria

By 1956, Borduria was reminiscent of a stereotypical Eastern Bloc country complete with its own secret police (ZEP), military dictator, Kurvi-Tasch, whose name is a combination of his moustache and his ideology, and the "taschist" ideology which in all indications seems to be identical to Stalinism with a more militaristic edge. The statue of Kurvi-Tasch in a Nazi-like salute in front of a government building is an overt comparison between him and Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin. The ubiquity of the his moustache, "the whiskers of Kurvi-Tasch", seems to be similar to the swastika or hammer and sickle in its (over) use (it is often seen used as a swear word and a diacritical mark, and the bumpers of the local cars are shaped to resemble it!). 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A map of the Eastern Bloc. ... A secret police (sometimes political police) force is a police organization that operates in secret to enforce state security. ... Kurvi-Tasch is a military dictator of fictional regime of Borduria in the popular comic series Tintin. ... Stalinism is a brand of political theory, and the political and economic system named after Josef Stalin, who implemented it in the Soviet Union. ... The term National Socialism has been used in self-description by a number of different political groups and ideologies, some of which have no connection with the Nazis; see National socialism (disambiguation). ... (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945) was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 and Führer (Leader) of Germany from 1934 until his death. ... (Russian, in full: Ио́сиф Виссарио́нович Ста́лин [Iosif Vissarionovich Stalin]; December 18 [O.S. December 6] 1878[1] – March 5, 1953) was the leader of the Soviet Union from the mid-1920s to his death in 1953 and General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1922-1953... A right-facing Swastika in decorative Hindu form For the town in Ontario, see Swastika, Ontario. ... The hammer and sickle as it appeared on the Soviet flag The hammer and sickle as it appears on Communist Party of China flag The hammer and sickle is a symbol used to represent communism and communist political parties. ... Diacritical is a Washington DC based experimental rock band offically formed in 2004. ...

Other traces of the Kurvi Taschist moustache can be found on the name of the Hotel were Tintin was staying in Szohod, where it is called Hotel Zsnorr which, given Herge's Belgian bilinguilism, means moustache in Dutch ('snor').

Foreign Affairs

In 1976, the Bordurian government supported General Tapioca, the current ruler of San Theodoros, a fictional banana republic in South America, and even sent him military advisors. Officially, General Tapioca and San Theodoros are subscribers to the "taschist" ideology, proof of this seen on page 22 of Tintin and the Picaros when Colonel Sponz is talking with Colonel Alvarez in the former's San Theodorian office the latter hits a bust of Kurvi-Tasch with a cork. Another common point between both countries is their tradition of military leadership of the state and government and in that respect the many colonels that they hire. 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1976 calendar). ... Flag of San Theodoros San Theodoros is a fictional South American country in the adventures of Tintin. ... A Banana Republic store in The Grove, Los Angeles. ... Flag of San Theodoros San Theodoros is a fictional South American country in the adventures of Tintin. ... English-language edition Tintin and the Picaros (originally Tintin et les Picaros) is one of a series of classic comic-strip albums, written and illustrated by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé, featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero. ...

Military

Borduria seems to be relatively well equipped in terms of its military. However, in one Tintin comic (The Calculus Affair), they made attempts to stop the stolen tank that Tintin and his companions were using. However, all their attempts fail because of the terrible quality of their weaponry and military construction. English-language edition The Calculus Affair (Laffaire Tournesol) is one of a series of classic comic-strip albums, written and illustrated by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé, featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero. ...

Sources

Tintin albums featuring Borduria:

• Le Sceptre d’Ottokar (King Ottokar's Sceptre, 1939)
• L’Affaire Tournesol (The Calculus Affair, 1956)
• Colonel Sponsz of Borduria features in Tintin et les Picaros (Tintin and the Picaros, 1976)