Since there are a lot of Anglo-Russian transliteration schemes his answer has triggered a lively debate among Russian wits who tried to find out what exactly the former US Ambassador to Russia wanted to say.
Some users suggested that the diplomat not only "zabyl" ("has forgotten"), but also "zabil" — "does not give a damn" about the Russian language. Others offered a hypothesis that McFaul could have apparently misspelled the Ukrainian word "zabuv" that has the same meaning.
@McFaul @otvalitevcom забыл, забил или забув?
— Доктор Ливси (@Olegzo44) 11 июля 2015
"Zabyl, zabil or zabuv?" one commentator asked.
@McFaul @otvalitevcom тонкости транслитерации или ох уж этот русский язык- то ли забЫл, то ли забИл,но в обоих случаях вышло пикантно
— Давтян Светлана (@SvettikD) 11 июля 2015
"Some peculiarities of transliteration or oh, this Russian language — either zabYl or zabIl, anyway it sounds rather piquantly," the user named Davtyan Svetlana noted.
It is not the first time Mr. McFaul found himself in a comical situation due to his usually misspelled tweets in Russian.
Almost a year ago Michael McFaul wrote, ignoring basic rules of the Russian grammar: "If you think I'm a fool, please, please, please #unfollowmcfaul! Only fools read fools."
если вы считаете что я дурак, please, please, please, #unfollowmcfaul! только дураки читают дураки!
— Michael McFaul (@McFaul) 14 апреля 2014
Needless to say, McFaul's comment sparked a flurry of jokes among Russian-speaking Twitter users.
However, it's not only his Russian-language tweets that make Michael McFaul an object of ridicule in Twitter. The diplomat's stance on the burning issues of Russian politics usually prompts an animated discussion.
@McFaul We Believe :-) pic.twitter.com/QYD5MFf3t7
— Андрей Комардин (@warlocktlt) 12 июля 2015
"I'm arguing with Russians on Twitter that US didn't cause Maidan and with Ukrainians that US didn't cause Putin intervention!" Michael McFaul wrote on July, 12.
"@McFaul We Believe :-)" a Twitter user named Andrei Komardin noted, sharing a photo that depicted top US diplomat Victoria Nuland and Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt handing out buns and cookies to Ukrainian protesters.
Andrei Komardin also asked the former US Ambassador to Russia whether he can present any evidence of the Russian "invasion" of Ukraine: "@McFaul Russian soldiers? Where? Where is the evidence? :-) And again "social networks"? :-)"
Predictably, however, McFaul evaded the question:
Yikes! I just realized that I just tweeted to Stalin! Never again. Moving too fast. https://t.co/SgDApsCLKI
— Michael McFaul (@McFaul) 12 июля 2015
"Yikes! I just realized that I just tweeted to Stalin! Never again. Moving too fast," he wrote, referring to the user's profile picture.
"@McFaul Never say never :-)" the user noted.
@McFaul Never say never :-)
— Андрей Комардин (@warlocktlt) 12 июля 2015
