Political Humor Under Stalin: An Anthology of Unofficial Jokes and Anecdotes

170 Pages·2009·35.419 MB·English

by  David Brandenberger

Political Humor under Stalin

POLITICAL HUMOR UNDER STALIN
An Anthology of Unofficial Jokes and Anecdotes
Edited and with an Introduction by
DAVID BRANDENBERGER
Bloomington, Indiana, 2009
SLAVICA
© 2009 by the author. All rights reserved.
ISBN 978-089357-351-5
Front cover montage from USSR in Construction, No.3 (1939): 27.
Back cover photograph from Soviet/and 11 (1938): 7
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Political humor under Stalin: an anthology of unofficial jokes and anecdotes /
edited and with an introduction by David Brandenberger.
p.cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-0-89357-351-5
I. Soviet Union--Politics and govemment--1936-1953--Humor. 2. Soviet
Union--Politics and govemment--1917-1936--Humor. 3. Communism--Soviet
Union--Humor. 4. Russian wit and humor--Translations into English. I.
Brandenberger, David.
PN6210.P652009
891.7'70080358470842--dc22
2009047191
Siavica Publ ishers [Tel.] 1-812-856-4186
Indiana University [Toll-free] 1-877-SLAVICA
2611 E. 10th St. [Fax] 1-812-856-4187
Bloomington, IN 47408-2603 [Email] [email protected]
USA [www] http://www.slavica.com/
Contents
List of Illustrations ...................................................................................................... vii
Acknowledgments ....................................................................................................... ix
Terms and Acronyms .................................................................................................. vi
Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1
Unofficial Jokes and Anecdotes of the Stalin Era ........................................ 27
The Revolution, Civil War and "War Communism" ................................... 29
The New Economic Policy ................................................................................. 35
Stalin's Revolution from Above ....................................................................... 51
Collectivization .................................................................................................... 63
Industrialization ................................................................................................... 75
Everyday Life ........................................................................................................ 87
The Great Terror ................................................................................................ 107
Storm Clouds Gather ........................................................................................ 121
The Great Patriotic War .................................................................................... 133
The Early Postwar Years .................................................................................. 139
Appendix: Jokes from the Harvard Project on the Soviet Social System ...... 145

List of Illustrations
1. Raboche-krest'ianskaia krasnaia armiia, ed. EI Lissitskii
(Moscow: Izogiz, 1934), 289 ............................................................................ 4
2. USSR in Construction 4 (1940): 9 .................................................................... 5
3. Raboche-krest'ianskaia krasnaia armiia, ed. EI Lissitskii
(Moscow: Izogiz, 1934), 161 ............................................................................ 6
4. USSR in Construction 6 (1939): 6 .................................................................... 7
5. Raboche-krest'ianskaia krasnaia armiia, ed. EI Lissitskii
(Moscow: Izogiz, 1934), 174 ............................................................................ 8
6. Raboche-krest'ianskaia krasnaia armiia, ed. EI Lissitskii
(Moscow: Izogiz, 1934), 191 .......................................................................... 10
7. S. Ingulov, Politbesedy, 3rd ed. (Moscow: Partizdat, 1937), 311 ............ 30
8. B. Volin, Politgrmnota, 2nd ed. (Moscow: Partizdat, 1933), 237 ............. 33
9. S. Ingulov, Politgramota, 2nd ed. (Moscow: Partizdat, 1933), 385 ......... 36
10. S. Ingulov, Politbesedy, 2nd ed. (Moscow: Partizdat, 1935), 282 ............ 41
11. S. Ingulov, Politbesedy, 3rd ed. (Moscow: Partizdat, 1937), 107 ............ 49
12. S. Ingulov, Politbesedy, 3rd ed. (Moscow: Partizdat, 1937), 107 ............ 52
13. S. Ingulov, Politbesedy, 2nd ed. (Moscow: Partizdat, 1935), 269 ............ 54
14. S. Ingulov, Politbesedy, 3rd ed. (Moscow: Partizdat, 1937), 105 ............ 57
15. S. Ingulov, Politbesedy, 2nd ed. (Moscow: Partizdat, 1935) 291 ............. 58
16. E. Iaroslavskii, Istoriia VKP(b), 2nd ed. (Moscow: Partizdat, 1934),
~. ~~ ............................................................................................. ~
17. B. Volin, Politgrmnota, 2nd ed. (Moscow: Partizdat, 1933), 235 ............. 64
18. S. Ingulov, Politbesedy, 2nd ed. (Moscow: Partizdat, 1935), 75 .............. 66
19. S. Ingulov, Politgramota, 3rd ed. (Moscow: Partizdat, 1934),36. ............ 67
20. S. Ingulov, Politgramota, 2nd ed. (Moscow: Partizdat, 1933), 76 ........... 70
21. S. Ingulov, Politgramota, 3rd ed. (Moscow: Partizdat, 1934), 240 ......... 72
22. S. Ingulov, Politgramota, 3rd ed. (Moscow: Partizdat, 1934), 119 ......... 76
viii ILLUSTRATIONS
23. S. Ingulov, Poiitgramota, 2nd ed. (Moscow: Partizdat, 1933), 44 ........... 78
24. S. Ingulov, Politgramota, 3rd ed. (Moscow: Partizdat, 1934),95 ............ 81
25. S. Ingulov, Politgramota, 3rd ed. (Moscow: Partizdat, 1934), 109 ......... 93
26. S. Ingulov, Poiitbesedy, third ed. (Moscow: Partizdat, 1937), 107 ......... 97
27. B. Volin, Poiitgrmnota, 3rd ed. (Moscow: Partizdat, 1934),242 ............. 99
28. S. Ingulov, Poiitgramota, 3rd ed. (Moscow: Partizdat, 1934), 211 ....... 110
29. S. Ingulov, Poiitgramota, 3rd ed. (Moscow: Partizdat, 1934),48. .......... 116
30. S. Ingulov, Poiitbesedy, 2nd ed. (Moscow: Partizdat, 1935), 206 .......... 125
31. S. Ingulov, Poiitbesedy, 3rd ed. (Moscow: Partizdat, 1937), 151 .......... 127
32. S. Ingulov, Poiitgramota, 3rd ed. (Moscow: Partizdat, 1934),42 .......... 130
33. S. Ingulov, Poiitbesedy, 3rd ed. (Moscow: Partizdat, 1937), 87 ............ 132
34. S. Ingulov, Poiitgramota, 3rd ed. (Moscow: Partizdat, 1934), 69 .......... 148
35. G. Bibikov, Minin i Pozharskii (Moscow: Gos.
izd-vo polit. literatury, 1942), cover ........................................................ 151
36. S. Ingulov, Politgramota, 3rd ed. (Moscow: Partizdat, 1934),217 ....... 154
Acknowledgments
This study was begun in Moscow in 1996 during a research trip supported by
the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX) and completed be
tween 2003 and 2007 with funding supplied by the Davis Center for Russian
and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University and the Arts and Sciences Re
search Committee at the University of Richmond. Katia Dianina, Maya Turov
skaya, Mark Lipovetskii, Jim von Geldern, Serhy Yeke1chyk, Olga Velikanova,
Peter Blitstein, and Bryan Wockley provided help at critical junctures, as did
Terry Martin, Susan Gardos, Vladimir Brovkin, L. G. Zaiatueva, J. Arch Getty,
Vicki Polansky, Natalya Panteleya, and George Fowler.