Russian Jokes Tell the Brutal Truth
In a repressive society, dark political jokes allow regular people to describe what they see with their own eyes.
Even before Donald Trump was facing impeachment over his dealings with Ukraine, his indifference toward that country’s fate was a punch line in neighboring Russia.
Vladimir Putin is calling the White House, begins one joke that’s been making the rounds. “Hello, Donald? I would like to discuss Ukraine with you.”
Trump: “What’s Ukraine?”
Putin: “Thanks, Donald!”
This genre of dark political joke—the —has been a staple of Russian humor at least since Soviet times, and anyone associated with the Kremlin is fair game. Though he’s lampooned far less often than Putin is, Trump has become a subject of numerous because of his odd fascination with, and deference to, his counterpart in Moscow. ,declares one current . Another asserts,
