Political Humor under Stalin

Edited and with an introduction by David Brandenberger

Political Humor under Stalin is an anthology of jokes, wisecracks, and satire from the Soviet 1930s and '40s that provides a glimpse of everyday dissembling and dissent in one of the modern world's most repressive societies. More than merely a joke book, it offers no less than a folkloric counter-narrative to the "official" history of the USSR, as well as a ground-breaking discussion of the culture of joke-telling under Stalin.

"Political Humor under Stalin is a resource that will interest historians and cultural critics, and has the potential to become a class reading in a number of subjects. I enjoyed it immensely: it satisfied the scholar in me, plus it was just plain fun." -James von Geldern, Macalester College