Behind the Name
the etymology and history of surnames
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Subject: Re: Toptigin
Author: Anon.   (guest, 213.10.185.228)
Date: July 23, 2004 at 11:19:01 AM
Reply to: Re: On russian surnames for a past mascot by Sean Foglai
I don't think we need to know the meaning of Toptygin to understand why it was chosen for their Olympic bear. It was already used for a bear in the poem 'General Toptigin', written by Nikolay Nekrasov in the mid-19th century (a comic tale about a bear who takes a chaotic ride in a troika). The bear is actually called Mikhailo Ivanovich, but he is mistaken for general Toptigin by the villagers. So it's meaning may not have anything to do with bears...

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