Borduria is a fictional dictatorship in the comic strip series The Adventures of Tintin. It is located in the Balkans and has a rivalry with the fictional neighbouring country of Syldavia. Borduria is depicted in King Ottokar's Sceptre and The Calculus Affair, and is referred to in Tintin and the Picaros. In the latter two books, it is depicted as a stereotypical fascist country.
Bordurian is the official language spoken in the country. Close to their border with Syldavia is the Fortress of Bakhine, which serves as a military base and office of Colonel Sponsz.
Tintin in Borduria[]
Tintin first went into Borduria in King Ottokar's Sceptre, due to hunger, and met soldiers at a Bordurian Frontier Post. He gets an aircraft from Borduria, which is shot down, while heading to Klow at 15 km away.
He re-enters in The Calculus Affair to save Professor Calculus from the clutches of Colonel Sponsz, It reflects the Cold War Tension.
In Tintin and the Lake of Sharks, Tintin and Archibald Haddock enter Borduria to arrest Rastapopoulos, after his secret base exploded.
History[]
Borduria dates back to at least the middle-ages. It is known that in 1195 the country invaded and annexed Syldavia. It maintained control of the nation until 1275 when Baron Almaszout successfully led a revolt against his Bordurian rulers. The struggle lasted two years ending in Syldavia regaining independence.
By the mid-twentieth century, Borduria had been taken over by a fascist totalitarian dictatorship. By this stage, Borduria had also established its own secret police; the ZEP. The leader of this movement is known only as Kûrvi-Tasch. Under his rule, Borduria renewed its claim to Syldavia's lands, even attempting a coup d'état by way of stealing the Ottokar Scepter. Borduria also was intent on world domination and unsuccessfully attempted to steal knowledge of a sonic wave device pioneered by Professor Calculus and Alfredo Topolino, in order to use it as a weapon. Both attempts were thwarted by Tintin, however.
Rastapopoulos managed to enter this country in The Lake of Sharks to avoid Syldavian police in a submarine. However, Tintin gave chase and brought him back to Syldavia for arrest, after the submarine collided with rocks underwater and ended up being beached.
Borduria appears to be located north or west of Syldavia, since it has a more Central European culture like Croatia or Hungary, in opposition to the more Orthodox and Turkish influences on Syldavian culture, like Serbia or Romania. Both Borduria and Syldavia are Germanic countries, as may be ascertained from examining their languages, although this fact is never explicitly mentioned in the series.
Government[]
Hergé does not tell about the early government of Borduria, but the country is run like Nazi Germany, meaning it is a Fascist state from its leader Kurvi Tasch who is based off of Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin. Several countries in Central Europe had fascist governments and were allied to Nazi Germany during World War II, and Borduria may be presumed to be as well. After the war and defeat of the Nazis, it may have a Soviet-aligned government, again like many Central European countries.