Pennywise is the dancing clown form of It from Stephen King's novel It, later popularised worldwide by the 1990 miniseries and the 2017 and 2019 films. The Russian line translates to asking what he is doing, turning a horror icon into a casual, everyday callout. Clips using the phrase spread on meme soundboards and short video edits, where the joke comes from treating a terrifying character like a misbehaving friend. It remains popular because the contrast between horror and a plain confused question is instantly readable.