Editing Borduria

{{short description|Fictional country in The Adventures of Tintin}}
{{about|the fictional country|the village in India|Borduria, Tirap district}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{Original research|date=July 2021}}
{{Fanpov|date=July 2021}}
}}
{{Infobox fictional location
| name          = Borduria
| alt_name      = Republic of Borduria
| image         = Borduriens flagga.svg
| image_size     = 130px
| caption       = Flag
| image2        = Balkan_Peninsula.svg
| caption2      = The [[Balkans]], general location of Syldavia and Borduria
| source        = [[The Adventures of Tintin]]
| creator       = [[Hergé]]
| ruler         = [[Marshal]] [[Kûrvi-Tasch]]
| type          = Semi-totalitarian [[Fascist]] dictatorship 
| ethnic_group  = Bordurian (Mixed [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman Turkish]] and [[South Slavs|Southern Slavic]] roots) 
| locations     = Szohôd (capital)
| people        = 
| population=
| first=
| last=
| blank_label   =  Motto
| blank_data    = 
| blank_label1  = Anthem
| blank_data1   = 
| blank_label2  = Language(s)
| blank_data2   = Bordurian
| blank_label3  = Currency
| blank_data3   = Bordurian Dinar

}}

'''Borduria''' is a [[fictional country]] in ''[[The Adventures of Tintin]]'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist [[Hergé]]. It is located in the [[Balkans]] and has a rivalry with the fictional neighbouring country of [[Syldavia]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Thompson |first1=Harry |title=Tintin: Hergé and His Creation |date=2011 |publisher=John Murray Press |isbn=9781848546738 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a4s5AgAAQBAJ&dq=syldavia&pg=PT64 |access-date=26 July 2020 |chapter=King Ottokar's Sceptre}}</ref> Borduria is depicted in ''[[King Ottokar's Sceptre]]'' (1938–1939) and ''[[The Calculus Affair]]'' (1954–1956), and is referred to in ''[[Tintin and the Picaros]]'' (1975–1976).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Apostolidès |first1=Jean-Marie |title=The Metamorphoses of Tintin, Or, Tintin for Adults |date=2010 |publisher=Stanford University Press |isbn=9780804760300 |pages=91–92 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8TizX-868GgC&dq=syldavia&pg=PA91 |access-date=26 July 2020}}</ref> Another international rival is [[Khemed]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Núñez |first1=Jorge E. |title=Sovereignty Conflicts and International Law and Politics: A Distributive Justice Issue |date=2017 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=9781351794794 |pages=133–136 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pDAlDwAAQBAJ&q=khemed |access-date=19 September 2020}}</ref>

==Appearances in ''Tintin'' books==
In ''King Ottokar's Sceptre'', [[Tintin (character)|Tintin]] reads a Syldavian tourist pamphlet that reveals the early history of Syldavia and its relationship with Borduria. In 1195, Syldavia was annexed by neighbouring Borduria due to the weakness of King Muskar II, and was under its rule until 1275, when Baron Almaszout drove the Bordurians away and established himself as King Ottokar I. In the later ''Tintin'' stories, this ancient rivalry continues with the Bordurians continually trying to invade or undermine Syldavia.

[[File:Heinkel He 118.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Nazi German]] [[Heinkel He 118]] used by Hergé to draw his airplane in 1939. The [[Swastika]] was replaced by another geometrical form.]]

''King Ottokar's Sceptre'' (written in 1939 by Hergé) depicts an unsuccessful Bordurian attempt at staging a ''[[coup d'état]]'' against Syldavia, trying to remove the king and invade the country with the support from Syldavian sympathizers. The sceptre is stolen, which would force the King to abdicate, however Tintin returns it in time. The Bordurians then withdraw their troops 15 miles from the borders to prove their peaceful intentions.

In ''The Calculus Affair'' (1956), Borduria is depicted as a stereotypical [[Eastern Bloc]] country with its own [[secret police]] (ZEP) (led by [[Colonel Sponsz]]) and a military dictator, [[Marshal Kûrvi-Tasch]]. A statue of Kûrvi-Tasch appears in front of a government building, in which he wears a moustache similar to [[Joseph Stalin]]'s and gives a [[Nazism|Nazi]]-like salute. The Bordurian military of this period is depicted as technologically inept—unable to stop a stolen tank commandeered by Tintin and his companions as a result of defective mines and anti-tank guns. Professor Calculus is kidnapped by the Bordurians after developing an ultrasonic weapon but is rescued in the end.

In ''[[Tintin and the Picaros]]'' (1976), the [[South America]]n [[banana republic]] of [[San Theodoros]], ruled by [[General Tapioca]], has formed an alliance with the Bordurian government, which has sent him military advisors, including Colonel Sponsz. In an unpublished page drawn by Hergé for this book, a bust of Kûrvi-Tasch can even be seen in the office of a San Theodorean colonel. Eventually, Tapioca is deposed by Tintin's friend [[General Alcazar]], and Sponsz is repatriated to Borduria.

==Geography==

The Bordurian countryside is set in dramatic mountainous terrain. The craggy landscape and towering peaks are most similar to the [[Balkan Mountains]] in [[Moesia]]. Therefore, it is possible that Borduria is set roughly in the present-day locations of [[Bulgaria]] and [[Serbia]]. The capital of Borduria is Szohôd, which is also the seat of government.

==Government and military==
[[File:Flag of Borduria (Tintin - 1939).svg|thumb|right|upright|Old flag of Borduria (from 1939 black and white edition of ''King Ottokar's Sceptre'')]]
[[File:Flag of Borduria.svg|thumb|right|upright|Alternative interpretation of 1939 black and white edition]]
[[File:Flag of Borduria (Tintin - 1946).svg|thumb|right|upright|Old flag of Borduria (from 1947 color edition of ''King Ottokar's Sceptre'')]]
[[File:Borduriens flagga.svg|thumb|right|upright|Post-war flag of Borduria (from 1956 ''The Calculus Affair'')]]
[[File:Flag of Borduria (Tintin - 1956).svg|thumb|right|upright|Variant of post-war flag]]
Borduria is a fascist country with a [[totalitarian]] government. Several Central European countries such as [[Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946)|Hungary]], [[Independent State of Croatia|Croatia]], [[Albanian Kingdom (1928–1939)|Albania]] and [[Kingdom of Romania|Romania]] were ruled by fascist governments before or during [[World War II]]. Many became client states of the [[Soviet Union]] after the war; Borduria may be presumed to be in a similar situation. In Tintin post-war stories it is not depicted as a typical [[Eastern Bloc]] country, however, but as a fascist state. The fact that the president of state bears the military rank of [[Marshal]] is a reference to Soviet leader [[Joseph Stalin]], Romania's wartime leader [[Ion Antonescu]] and [[Yugoslavia]]'s post-war president [[Josip Broz Tito]]. However, the leader's cult of personality most resembles [[Joseph Stalin]].

The army in pre-war ''[[King Ottokar's Sceptre]]'' is depicted as German-supplied, the main aircraft depicted being the [[Messerschmitt Bf 109|Bf 109]]. In post-war stories it has all the characteristics of the Soviet military. In ''[[Tintin and the Picaros]]'' the [[San Theodoros]] army is supplied by Borduria with [[Beretta AR70/90]] assault-rifles and [[Mil Mi-1]] helicopters. Also the government state limousine with Kurvi-Tasch's mustaches is inspired by the Soviet [[ZIL-114]].

In ''King Ottokar's Sceptre'', the Bordurian flag is black with a red circle and two black triangles, reminiscent of the stark, eye-catching symbols used by several Fascist movements. In ''[[The Calculus Affair]]'', it is red, with the emblem of Kurvi-Tasch's mustache inside a white circle, resembling it closer to the Nazi flag, and this was also worn as military armbands by the Bordurian military personnel. In ''King Ottokar's Sceptre'', the Bordurian army uses the [[Gewehr 98]], [[vz. 24]] and [[Karabiner 98k]] [[bolt-action]] rifles. In ''The Calculus Affair'', Bordurian soldiers and agents were armed with Italian [[Beretta Model 38]] [[Submachine Gun]]s. Due to the nature of its government and its military's weaponry, Borduria was most likely an affiliate of the [[Axis powers|Axis]] during World War II, although there is no explicit mention of that in the books.

The post-war emblem of Borduria is similar to the [[circumflex]] symbol, and is modelled in the likeness of the mustache of [[Marshal Kûrvi-Tasch]]. In ''The Calculus Affair'', evidence of the cult of personality surrounding the Marshal can be found in countless objects in Borduria, from the lettering on signs and buildings to the logos of Bordurian companies and even certain characteristics and details on cars, including the car bumpers, include the shape in their designs.

== Language ==
The ''Tintin'' books depict the country's language, Bordurian, only in fragments. Like [[Syldavian]], the language seems to be based on the [[Dutch language|Dutch]] [[Brussels]] dialect [[Marols]], such as {{lang|art-BE|mänhir}} for "mister" or "sir" (cf. Dutch {{lang|nl|mijnheer}}). Unlike Syldavian, it uses the Latin alphabet exclusively, and makes heavy use of the digraph ''sz'' (possibly borrowed from [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]]), as well as ''ô''.

==References==
{{commons category|Borduria}}
<references/>

{{Tintin and Hergé}}

[[Category:Fictional elements introduced in 1938]]
[[Category:Tintin locations]]
[[Category:Fictional European countries]]
[[Category:Balkans in fiction]]
[[Category:1939 in comics]]