A Russian bureaucratic official or civil servant, especially one who is rigid, pedantic, or focused on following rules rather than helping people.
From Russian 'chinovnik,' derived from 'chin' meaning rank or office. The word gained literary fame through Russian authors like Gogol, who depicted bureaucrats as absurd and unhelpful.
Russian literature is absolutely obsessed with mocking the chinovnik—Gogol's whole point was that these low-level officials were so rule-obsessed they'd refuse to help you even when helping made sense!
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