The West in The Soviet Caricature: Vietnam War
I think I am the only one who finds these things interesting, but since I wasted all the time extracting and uploading all the old caricatures, you get to look at more of them.
If for some reason you want to see more, please don’t hesitate to click on my previous posts.
The West in the Soviet Caricature
The West in The Soviet Caricature: Libya Edition
The West in The Soviet Caricature: Israel
Behind The Iron Curtain: SatireThe following set of caricatures from the Soviet satirical magazine Krokodil is indicative of the treatment of the Vietnam War in the Soviet press. While stepping up the propaganda war, the Soviet Union was quietly shipping ammunition and advisers to Vietnam. During my army years, I served with a guy who was one of the Soviet military advisers in Vietnam; according to him, they were forbidden from displaying any kind of Soviet insignia, didn’t wear the uniform and pretended to be either some kind of sports trainers or construction workers.
Continue reading →WTF Illustrated
I haven’t done this for a while:
Undecided?
And the prize for the biggest penis sign goes to (drum roll) Julia Lynn for State Senator. She wins by a skin an inch small margin.
If I had a religion I would be switching it right now. You probably can’t read this sign photographed at a local Backyard Burgers restaurant but it says:”FREE 1/3 BYB (backyard burger) with church bulletin”. Last time I went to a synagogue I didn’t even get a free bagel. For those keeping a score: Jesus – 1, other deities – 0.
Continue reading →Old Photos: The Redistribution of U.S. Wealth
I found this 1946 Life Magazine article while searching for vintage Kansas photos (the article features a farmer from Shawnee County, KS and a future post is forthcoming). We frequently hear about the way it used to be, stable middle class of the past, high taxes on the wealthy and many other economic and cultural realities that were lost over the past 60 years. The article briefly touches on several segments of the post-war society, their roles in the economy and their material well-being. The language of the article is strikingly similar to what we see in the media today. Over time, the classes described in the article were redefined or disappeared; rich people are not content with just two Cadillac’s; no one is paying two thirds of their income in taxes; and $12,000 a year does not equate to being successful. There is one notable exception: the teachers are still being screwed. Anyway, the article is short, enjoy.
The redistribution of U.S. Wealth
Taxes, unions and higher prices are making the man with a large income Poorer and the poorer man richer.
Published in the Life Magazine December 16, 1946 p91.
Continue reading →Old Photos: A Marriage Palace in Leningrad
Every person who grew up in the Soviet Union has photos like these stashed in their dusty photo albums. Not all Marriage Palaces used to belong to the Czar’s family but any self-respecting city had a place where the new units of society were forged or at least registered under the watchful stare of
Jesus ChristVladimir Illych Lenin.Old Photos: Winter In Moscow 1959
I am often asked if I like cold and snow because I am from the USSR where it’s always cold, snowy and hungry bears are roaming the streets attacking the people who spend their days standing in darkness in line for toilet paper. As much as this image is truthful, I only like cold and snow when it stays where it belongs – in Colorado, or more generally away from the areas where I live, work and drive. The song about the white Christmas was probably written somewhere in Florida where it was unlikely to ever happen.
Continue reading →
With this in mind here are some photos of winter in Moscow. Original Life Magazine article can be found here.