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{{quote|[[Germanic Depressives|Tell a joke to a German, and he will not understand it.]]
[[Stiff Upper Lip|Tell a joke to an Englishman, and he will understand it, but won't show it.]]
[[Inscrutable Oriental|Tell a joke to a Japanese, and he will understand it his own way.]]
Tell a joke to a Russian, and he will tell you that he knows three more versions of that joke that are '''much better'''.
|Russian metajoke}}
Russian humor is extremely pervasive. Almost every print publication will have at least a few jokes in it, up to and including the TV guide. They say that while in most countries, [[The Internet Is for Porn]], in Russia, the Internet Is For Jokes.▼
Russian humour comes mostly in form of "anecdotes" (anekdoty) - joke stories with a punchline. Typical of Russian joke culture is a series of categories with fixed and highly familiar settings and characters. Surprising effects are achieved by an endless variety of plots and plays on words. The most common characters of Russian anecdotes are the following:▼
Not to be confused with the [[Russian Reversal]].▼
▲Russian humour comes mostly in form of "anecdotes" (anekdoty) - joke stories with a punchline. Typical of Russian joke culture is a series of categories with fixed and highly familiar settings and characters. Surprising effects are achieved by an endless variety of plots and plays on words. The most common
{{examples}}
== Works of Fiction ==
* Stirlitz. This is a character from the highly popular Soviet TV series ''[[Seventeen Moments of Spring]]''. The series is about a Soviet spy Maxim Isayev, who infiltrates Nazi Germany under the guise of [[Colonel Badass|Standardentführer]] (see [[Common Ranks]]) Otto von Stirlitz and foils its plans to enter into separate peace treaty with the Allies. Stirlitz interacts with Nazi officials Walther Schellenberg, Ernst Kaltenbrunner, Martin Bormann, Heinrich Müller. In the jokes he interacts with them as well as with fictional female radio operator Kat, pastor Schlagg, professor Pleischner and other characters in the series.
::Most Stirlitz jokes are based on puns and wordgames. The series itself is dark and moody, similar to American [[Film Noir]], and has a solemn [[Narrator]]'s voice that narrates the inner dialogue of the characters. In the jokes, however, instead of superlogical trains of thought the stern voice tells puns in [[The Comically Serious]] way. Here is a typical example:
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- Take the grenades from the shelf, Petka.
Some time later.
- Whew! We've beaten them back!
- Good, Petka. Now, put the grenades back to the shelf.}}
* Lieutenant Rzhevsky, a Hussar from the popular movie ''[[Hussar Ballad]]''. He is renowned for being a womanizer, telling lewd jokes and dropping [[Cluster F-Bomb|Cluster F Bombs]] in a [[Sophisticated As Hell]] manner. By some weird reason (maybe for sheer contrast), these jokes usually depict him interacting with characters from [[War and Peace]] such as Natasha Rostove or Pierre Bezukhov. The humor in these jokes comes from the futile attempts of this trash-talking, tit-grabbing [[Boisterous Bruiser]] to pass as an [[Officer and a Gentleman]] and fit into the polite, sophisticated noble society.
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'''Echo [out of habit]''': Fuck, fuck, fuck. }}
* [[Sherlock Holmes]] and Dr. Watson, mostly based upon their portrayal by Vasiliy Livanov and Vitaly Solomin in [[The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson|the 1980s Soviet film adaptation]] of Conan Doyle's works. The content is similar to Stirlitz jokes above, only less centered on puns and more on Holmes' improbable ingenuity in deduction, and Watson acting as [[Straight Man]]. Another prominent theme is making fun of [[Victorian Britain]] stereotypes, especially porridge, which is believed to be the primary food of a [[Quintessential British Gentleman]].▼
{{quote|'''Watson''': Holmes, what is this terrible howling? Is this the Hound of Baskervilles?▼
'''Holmes''': No, Watson... It's Sir Henry, they're trying to make him eat porridge again. }}▼
* [[Filk]] in general. Includes the "screw your marching tune" military sort, but not limited to it. Extends to folk songs sometimes, and any cheesy propaganda in song or poetry if at all possible.
** The most promoted of early Soviet writers was Vladimir Mayakovsky. And, e.g. a line like "I draw out of the wide pants..." just begs for [[Gag Penis|things that are ''not'' a Soviet Union passport]] in the next.
** ''[[KVN]]'' had a separate musical contest from its early times and on.
** Common for the "bards" - solo singers/guitarists that began to appear in the late USSR era, and quickly multiplied in early post-Soviet times, especially in fandom. Less common for the "big" ones who have enough of their own poetry, but even [[Vladimir Vysotsky]] had his share.
== Stereotypes and archetypes ==
* Rabinovich. A sterotypical Russian Jew: smart, crafty, and very mercantile. Most jokes revolve around Rabinovich finding improbable sources of income and, in older stories, vigorously hating the Soviet government. Nowadays, can become a slight ''faux pas''. The most famous contemporary Rabinovich joke involves ''Pamyat'', a Russian ultra-nationalist (and thus antisemitic) group:
{{quote|'''Pamyat''': Pamyat headquarters, what is the nature of your inquiry?
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'''Rabinovich''': Great! Could you tell me where I might get my share? }}
* Vovochka (a diminuitive form of "Vova", itself, in turn, a diminutive form of "Vladimir"). A stereotypical Russian [[Ordinary High School Student|school student]] (depending on the story, his age may vary from kindergarten to high school): not too bright, not interested in studying, either, prone to underage drinking, smoking, and swearing. Think [[The Simpsons (animation)|Bart Simpson]], only sometimes worse. He's apparently a subversion of young Vladimir Lenin, who was a role model character in many didactic tales for children. His most common counterpart is Marivanna,<ref>shortened of "Maria [[Patronymic|Ivanovna]]"</ref> a stereotypical Russian schoolmarm, whose portrayal varies from sympathetic to outright offensive
** Ever since [[Vladimir Putin]] got elected President, the joke-tellers went meta and started considering Vovochka anecdotes political jokes.
** The teacher asks the class to produce a word that starts with the letter "A"; Vovochka happily raises his hand and says "Asshole!" The teacher, shocked, responds "For shame! There's no such word!" "That's strange," says Vovochka, "the asshole exists, but the word doesn't!"
▲* [[Sherlock Holmes]] and Dr. Watson, mostly based upon their portrayal by Vasiliy Livanov and Vitaly Solomin in [[The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson|the 1980s Soviet film adaptation]] of Conan Doyle's works. The content is similar to Stirlitz jokes above, only less centered on puns and more on Holmes' improbable ingenuity in deduction, and Watson acting as [[Straight Man]]. Another prominent theme is making fun of [[Victorian Britain]] stereotypes, especially porridge, which is believed to be the primary food of a [[Quintessential British Gentleman]].
▲{{quote|'''Watson''': Holmes, what is this terrible howling? Is this the Hound of Baskervilles?
▲'''Holmes''': No, Watson... It's Sir Henry, they're trying to make him eat porridge again. }}
* "New Russians", the ''[[Nouveau Riche]] [[Gratuitous French|a la Russe]]''. The stereotype of arrogant and poorly educated post-Perestroika businessmen and gangsters, who seized enormous wealth in [[The Nineties]] and were driving around in Mercedes cars and expensive suits, but have no idea what "style" is, only price. Typical plots involve them interacting among each other, bragging about their ill-gotten wealth, or with normal, poor but well-educated people. Or they are rammed by the [[Arch Enemy]] of a Mercedes - an old ugly [[The Alleged Car|Zaporozhets]].
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*** A similar joke is common in the west, but usually has the three characters as a brunette, a redhead and a blonde. [[Dumb Blonde|Guess which one wishes for the other two to return?]]
*** And then there's the other variation with character traits and yet another one with nationalities. Now, guess who's the third nationality?
* Drunkards. These jokes
* Policemen (-Militsiya- Politsiya since march 2011). These revolve the stereotype of a dim-witted, corrupt law officer, which was formed during the worse times in the Soviet Union and Russia (read: 1990s).
{{quote|Subversion: "A Toyota car is driving through downtown Moscow on a winter night and stops on a crossing where a policeman is keeping watch. A Japanese tourist gets out and asks the policeman: 'Oyasuminasai. Sumimasen, omawaru-san, doko de watashi wa kono yukitoshi ni Coca-Cola no kan'o koubaimasu ka?' The policeman hesitates a little, then replies: 'Excuse me, I didn't quite understand... You asked, where in this sad, snowy city you can buy a can of... what exactly?'"}}
** Or:
{{quote|'''Q:''' Why do policemen travel in threes?
'''A:''' One to read, one to write, and one to keep an eye on the two intellectuals. }}
*** Another versions of the same joke: ▼
▲** Another versions of the same joke:
{{quote|'''Q:''' Why do policemen travel in threes?
'''A:''' One to read, one to write, and one to keep an eye on the two intellectuals.
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* Ethnic stereotypes. The Russians have a lot of ethnic stereotypes similar to Rabinovich above. A typical joke goes like "An Englishman, a French guy, and a Russian sit in a bar..." and is quite similar to analogous jokes in British humour. Favorite targets are:
** Chukchi, the native people of Chukotka related to [[
{{quote|'''Chukchee:''' Hey, I was in the city, purchased TV, [[Verbal Tic|however]].
'''Geologist:''' Dude, you need an outlet to plug TV in!
'''Chukchee:''' Do you think I'm silly? I purchased an outlet too! }}
{{quote|'''Tourist''' (got lost in Tundra and in panic): Hey! People!
'''Chukchee''' (walks from behind a nearby hillock): Ah. So here in Tundra it sounds as "hey, people!". And back in Moscow it's "hey you,
{{quote|A Chukcha is spotted playing chess with a polar bear. People say, "Look, such a smart bear!" "Not so smart, - says the Chukcha, - I'm leading 3 to 2!"}}
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{{quote|The Japanese have bought a license for an advanced Russian jet. They assemble it exactly by the blueprints, and it turns out to be a steam locomotive. They check the blueprints, gather their best engineers and assemble it again. Still locovotive. They file a complain to the Russians, so the Russian team arrives, goes into the workshop and shortly produces a perfectly good jet. The Japanese are astonished: "We've tried it again and again and only got a steam train!" "Why, of course," - reply the Russians - "did you [[Read the Fine Print]]? First you get a steam train. And then you work on it with a rasp."}}
== Generic and abstract ==
* Black humor. A very popular subgenre which makes fun of (and exaggerates) the more morbid aspects of Russian life, leading to a sometimes tilted perception of it by foreigners. These jokes frequently revolve around medicine (ill people and doctors), Chernobyl victims, and various disabilities.
{{quote|"Nurse, where're we going?"
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* Man, his wife and her lover - very popular story pattern. Almost always begins with "Man came home after business trip and his wife is with a lover". [[Hilarity Ensues]]. In this plot lover may try to hide in a wardrobe or under the bed, escape from the apartment or convince husband that he is not a lover.
** A man came home after a business trip. The same day in the middle of the night a naked man with a knife jumps out of the wardrobe and shouts: "I am fugitive criminal Ivanov!" and then run through the door. A few second after that another naked man jumps out of wardrobe and shouts "I am police detective Petrov, have you seen where fugitive criminal Ivanov gone?" The confused husband gestured to the door. "Thank you, citizen, SWAT team, follow me!"
* Political/historical "anecdotes", a venerable genre that descended from anecdotes in the classical sense and was already quite popular in the early 19th century ([[Alexander Pushkin|Pushkin]] was pretty fond of them). Those are mostly jokes about Russian (and later Soviet, and now Russian again) rulers, revolving around their most famous achievements and facts related to them mentioned in history textbooks, famous quotes
** Lenin's "Communism is Soviet power plus the electrification of the whole country!", often treated as a mathematical formula that can therefore also be written as "Soviet power is communism minus electricity", and so on.
** Stalin jokes seem particularly popular no matter what, though, probably because he fits the archetype of the smug, whimsical, unrestrained tyrant so very well and also happens to overlap with ethnic jokes about Georgians:
{{quote|'''NKVD major:''' We arrested this man for treason!
'''Stalin (with an untranslatable thick Georgian accent):''' What did he do?
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* Asylums. The stock joke is that [[Psycho Psychologist|the personnel]] is [[Not So Different]] from their patients. The stock insanity is [[Napoleon Delusion]].
{{quote|...But of course, he's crazy. Because the REAL [[Napoleon Bonaparte]] is ME!}}
** Influenced and was influenced by the song "Dear Show" by [[Vladimir Vysotsky]], where patients write a rambling letter to TV show somewhat related to the subject of their interest. And end with a "threat" of writing to completely unrelated "Sport Lottery" next if they receive no answer - which became a meme, because that's exactly what mentally unstable people do.
** This tradition later influenced internet culture. RuNet counterpart of "[[Kibo]]logy" was "Kaschenism", since the name of an asylum (named after P.P.Kaschenko) was locally used as an exclamation equivalent to "that's ''crazy''!", and dealing with idiots, [[Loony Fan]]s, crackpots and psychopaths on net (as well as provocateurs - but those overlap, like with that [[LiveJournal]] wannabe- [[Paedo Hunt|Paedofinder General]], who turned out to be not only a scammer, but also kind of [[Shotacon]] herself) is what it used to do, thus the form reflected the function.
* Meta-humour. Lots of jokes about jokes, or referring to (improving or subverting) well known old jokes, or crossovers/[[Fusion Fic|fusion]]. For example, "How 3 [[National Stereotypes]] do X" replaced with movie/TV characters:
▲Russian humor is extremely pervasive. Almost every print publication will have at least a few jokes in it, up to and including the TV guide. They say that while in most countries, [[The Internet Is for Porn]], in Russia, the Internet Is For Jokes.
{{quote|[[Seventeen Moments of Spring|Stirlitz]]'s car: steering wheel is on the left.
[[James Bond]]'s car: steering wheel is on the right.
[[The X-Files|Agent Mulder]]'s car: steering wheel is out there. }}
▲Not to be confused with the [[Russian Reversal]].
----
{{quote|'''[[Statler and Waldorf|Waldorf]]''': Хе Статлер, почему мы говорим в плох переведенном русском?<ref>Hey Statler, why are we talking in badly translated Russian?</ref>
'''[[The Muppet Show|Statler]]''': Я думаю, кто-то использовал Бабелфиш для бедного юмором!<ref>I think someone with a poor sense of humor used Babelfish!</ref>
'''Waldorf''': Так я угадываю мы не даже нужный в советском Россия.<ref>So I guess even we don't want to do a [[In Soviet Russia, Trope Mocks You|Soviet Russia joke]].</ref>
'''Statler''': Почему это?<ref>Why is that?</ref>
'''Waldorf''': В советском Россия, тропэры делают дурачков себя!<ref>In Soviet Russia, tropers make idiots of themselves!</ref>
'''[[Memetic Mutation|Both]]''': До-хо-хо-хо-хо-хо-хо!<ref>Do-ho-ho-ho-hoh!</ref>
}}
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