A “tankie” is a slang term often used pejoratively to describe individuals who support or defend authoritarian socialist or communist regimes, particularly those associated with historical events involving military intervention, such as the Soviet Union’s use of tanks to suppress uprisings (e.g., in Hungary in 1956 or Czechoslovakia in 1968). The term is generally used to criticize those who are perceived to be uncritically supportive of such regimes despite their human rights abuses or authoritarian practices.