Urla (slang)

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Urla is derogatory Latvian slang term, referring to Russian-speaking men aged 17 to 30 who are believed to be criminals.

The term is mainly used by Latvian middle class teenagers, and the meaning is similar to the British slang word Chav. Some use the term to describe a foreign patriot — a person who believes that Latvia should be part of Russia. It was used for the first time sometime around 1996.^{[citation needed]}

urlas in their meeting spot.

Typical urla fashion items include sport shoes or vinyl shoes, athletic wear, and leather jackets.^{[citation needed]} A shaved head is believed to be essential for urlas.^{[citation needed]}

One hypothesis is that the term originated in post-USSR times when new Russians (as you can see one of them has an russian flag on his swet suit) called themselves "орлы" (Eagles), which was parodied by Latvians as urli.^{[citation needed]}

In the Latvian version of the video game The Crims, instead of local bastards there are vietējās urlas (local urlas).^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Description

Latvian teenagers who use the term claim that urlas are highly aggressive and violent, including towards Latvian teens — whom urlas refer to as gansi, a slang term derived from the common German first name Hans.

Although the first name Hans is not common in Latvia, the term gans originated as a description of Latvians after the World War II, because many Latvians served in the Latvian Legion, which fought on the Nazi German side against the Soviet Army.

Allegedly, when hanging out individually, urlas are quiet and peaceful — and only attack marginal elements like punks or wiggers.^{[citation needed]} Hoewever, when a pack of urlas come together, they sometimes attack anyone who doesn't look like them, and usually only attack if they outnumber their victims.^{[citation needed]}

Another common belief is that urlas admire BMW and Mercedes cars, and some of them have bought rusty 20-year-old cars.^{[citation needed]}

Groups of urlas are often found at night, standing around a BMW and listening to dance/house/trance music (like Scooter) or classic Russian hits.^{[citation needed]} They allegedly enjoy watching movies and television shows like Бумер and Бригада.^{[citation needed]}