Tankie is a term that stems from the UK Communist Party (fringe political party) mocking/distancing themselves from some of its more extreme members that defended the USSR sending tanks in to quell civilian protests in Hungary and Czechoslovakia. And later, to mock those who defended Mao’s crackdowns.
Since then, the term has evolved to mean any westerner who proclaims to be left but defends the imperialist actions and human rights abuses of Russia (despite them not even being remotely left wing anymore!) To a lesser degree it’s also applied to China.
In short: a westerner who rails about how horrible and imperialist the west is, but falls silent or defends it when Russia or China do the same or worse.
Tankie is a term that stems from the UK Communist Party (fringe political party) mocking/distancing themselves from some of its more extreme members that defended the USSR sending tanks in to quell civilian protests in Hungary and Czechoslovakia. And later, to mock those who defended Mao’s crackdowns.
Since then, the term has evolved to mean any westerner who proclaims to be left but defends the imperialist actions and human rights abuses of Russia (despite them not even being remotely left wing anymore!) To a lesser degree it’s also applied to China.
In short: a westerner who rails about how horrible and imperialist the west is, but falls silent or defends it when Russia or China do the same or worse.