Absurdistan
Absurdistan is a joking name for a country where absurdity is the norm because government red tape and incompetence run deep. The phrase started with Eastern bloc dissidents describing parts of the Soviet Union and its allies, and it stayed common in discussions after communism.
The first known printed use was in 1971 in a German magazine. In Czech, dissident and later president Václav Havel used Absurdistán. The English first appeared in 1989: The Spectator wrote about Czechoslovakia being called Absurdistan, comparing daily life there to the Theatre of the Absurd. The Nation followed with Prague Summer of ’89: Journey to Absurdistan. In 1990, The New York Times used the term in a piece on the Soviet Union, and the Village Voice ran an interview with Havel titled The New King of Absurdistan.
From there, Absurdistan stopped being just about Eastern Europe and was used for other countries too. The term shows up in many movies, books, and articles.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 14:59 (CET).