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MEANING

 

The expression Molotov cocktail designates a makeshift incendiary device for throwing by hand, consisting of a bottle or other breakable container filled with flammable liquid and with a piece of cloth, etc., as a fuse.

 

ORIGIN

 

Perhaps after the Finnish expression Molotovin koktaili, the expression Molotov cocktail originally designated various kinds of makeshift incendiary devices used against Soviet tanks in Finland, in the Winter War of 1939-40, which was triggered by the Soviet invasion of Finland.

Both those expressions refer to the Soviet stateman Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov (born Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Skryabin – 1890-1986), Commissar, later Minister, for Foreign Affairs from 1939 to 1949, who led the Soviet campaign against Finland.

The following explanations are from the Oxford English Dictionary (online edition, September 2024), s.v. Molotov:

There is evidence for a large number of Finnish slang terms formed on Molotov’s name during this period, many of which identify it with the Soviet Union in general; while the evidence so far found in English-language sources […] is earlier than that for the corresponding Finnish terms, the influence of Finnish on their formation is likely.

The following news-item mentions (in translation) some of the Finnish slang terms formed on Molotov’s name during that period—it is from the Yorkshire Observer (Bradford, Yorkshire, England) of Saturday 24^th February 1940 [page 5, column 7]:

The Finns, according to Finnish circles in London, appear to regard Molotov as the arch-criminal of the war. The general opinion is that it was his ignorance of foreign countries and his lack of accurate information of Finland that was the foundation of the Russian policy which led to the war. They recall that he has never been out of Russia and speaks no other language.
Hence all sorts of things are named after him. The children call the sirens “Molotovs,” the bombers are called “Molotov’s peace doves,” and the bombs themselves are called “Molotovs.” The petrol grenades which are used to destroy tanks are “Molotov cocktails.”

 

EARLY OCCURRENCES

 

These are, in chronological order, the earliest occurrences of the expression Molotov cocktail that I have found:

1-: From To-day In Europe, published in The Hamilton Spectator (Hamilton, Ontario, Canada) of Saturday 27^th January 1940 [page 1, column 1]—reprinted from The Times (London, England) of Saturday 27^th January 1940:
—However, here, the expression Molotov cocktail designates the liquid that was used as a fuel for the Soviet tanks:

Finnish officers on the Petsamo front in the Arctic now think the Russians will never succeed in their operations there, partly because snow now makes it impossible, and when the snow melts late in the spring the whole country will be turned into swamps. The petrol used in the enemy tanks, known as “the Molotov cocktail,” has proven unsuitable for freezing temperatures.

2-: From a correspondence from Helsinki, Finland, dated Thursday 8^th February 1940, by John Langdon-Davies, Evening Standard special correspondent on the Finnish war front, published in the Evening Standard (London, England) of Thursday 8^th February 1940 [page 2, column 3]:

I am informed by a military technician that the vast majority of tanks destroyed by the Finns have been wrecked by antitank fire. The methods are often unorthodox.
Thus “Molotov’s cocktail,” a flaming mixture of petrol and other liquids, thrown by men from manholes dug in roads, immobilises many tanks.

3-: From a United-Press correspondence from Rovaniemi, Finland, dated Saturday 10^th February 1940, by Hubert Uexkuell, published in several newspapers on Sunday 11^th February 1940—for example in The Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, Wisconsin, USA) [page 2, column 3]:

The Finns have written a new chapter in the history of modern war and it is called, “how to kill a tank.”
[…]
There are, of course, the conventional methods of tank killing—mines, anti-tank guns, artillery—but the Finns have invented others which have made tank-hunting a thrilling, if dangerous, sport.
[…]
Method No. 1 is to tie six or seven hand grenades together, get within easy pegging distance of the tank and smash them against its sides. This weapon is known as “a bunch of grapes.”
Method No. 2 is an improvement on No. 1. You include bottles of gasoline among the grenades. The explosion ignites the gasoline and the tank crew either crawls out and surrenders or is burned to death. This weapon is called the “Molotov cocktail” in honor of Soviet Premier [sic] Viacheslav [sic] Molotov.