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Examples

  • From my visits to Eastern Europe before the fall of the Soviet Union, my impression was that although diamat [dialectical materialism] was taught everywhere as a compulsory topic and formed obviously part of any philosophical program, nobody actually believed in it there.

    Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty 2009

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  • Shorthand Russian for "dialectical materialism". A popular joke in the Soviet Union compared diamat with mat, the Russian word for swearing, especially swearing that makes references to someone's mother (mat').

    Here's the joke:

    - В чем разница между матом и диаматом?

    - Мат знают в�?е, но делают вид, что не знают. Диамат не знает никто, но делают вид, что знают.

    – What's the difference between mat (swearing) and diamat?

    – Everybody understands mat but pretends they don't. Nobody understands diamat but they all pretend they do.

    August 26, 2008