Russians' distinctive brand of humor can catch
Westerners off guard.
Violent death, repulsive behavior and imbecility are the staples of Russian humor, and English-speakers can now sample these delights in their own language courtesy of an entrepreneurial student.
Timur Akbergenov, 21, has translated and published a selection of Russian jokes with cartoon illustrations in a booklet which he hopes will be the first of a monthly series.
The jokes come "from the air," according to Mr Akbergenov. "All Russians know them. Tourists in St Petersburg see lots of guidebooks about theaters and museums and they can get tired of this. I think my book will pick up their feelings."
It might do, if Westerners who have been indoctrinated from birth by political correctness are willing to cast aside their lack of prejudices for a few minutes. These Russian jokes go unflinchingly where American and British humor fears to tread, the lighter side of rape and male chauvinism, for instance:
A drunk cowboy wakes up in the morning with no memory of the night before. He finds that he is in bed with an old ugly woman. Cowboy: Oh my God! How old are you? Woman: As old as I look. Cowboy: Jesus, I didn't think that a person could live so long.
"There is very little sarcasm in Russian humor," said Mr Akbergenov. "It is mainly based on offended people and unhappy people."
In the Soviet era, when open criticism of the government was a crime, Russians freely ridiculed politicians in their jokes. Now that Russian politics is filling millions of pages of newsprint and thousands of hours of airtime, people are going back to jokes about unfaithful wives. New jokes about Brezhnev and Lenin are also very popular, Mr Akbergenov said.
Brezhnev is on an excursion in London and his attention is taken by a statue. Brezhnev (pointing at the statue): Who is that? Guide: Shakespeare. Brezhnev: I know him. He wrote Winnie-the-Pooh. Guide: No, that was A A Milne. Brezhnev: I don't understand capitalism. The author of Winnie-the-Pooh is A A Milne but the statue is of Shakespeare.
An American, 22-year-old David Smart, had the job of editing Mr Akbergenov's book, removing jokes which he thought foreigners wouldn't understand.
He considers that Russian and British humor are quite similar, relatively subtle in comparison with American humor, which he described as "in your face."
Mr Akbergenov said he likes British humor and its frequent use of words with double meanings. He quoted an example which presumably was not intended as a critique of his first publishing endeavor. "Do you think I need to put more fire in my book?" "I think you need to put your book in the fire."