Krokodil


Krokodil was a satirical magazine published in the Soviet Union. It was founded in 1922, at first as the satirical supplement to the Workers' Gazette ; when it became a separate publication, the name 'Crocodile' was chosen at an editorial meeting from among a list of suggested animal names. At that time, many satirical magazines existed, such as Zanoza and Prozhektor. Nearly all of them eventually disappeared.

History

Although political satire was dangerous during much of the Soviet period, Krokodil was given considerable license to lampoon political figures and events. Typical and safe topics for lampooning in the Soviet era were the lack of initiative and imagination promoted by the style of an average Soviet middle-bureaucrat, and the problems produced by drinking on the job by Soviet workers. Krokodil also ridiculed capitalist countries and attacked various political, ethnic and religious groups that allegedly opposed the Soviet system.
Many notable persons contributed to the magazine, including Vladimir Mayakovsky, Kukriniksy, and Yuliy Ganf.
Similar magazines existed in all the Union republics, and in several ASSRs and in other states of the Soviet bloc, e.g. Starshel in Bulgaria, Eulenspiegel in East Germany, Urzică in Romania, Dikobraz in Czechoslovakia, and Szpilki in Poland.
Among the vocal compositions of Dmitri Shostakovich, who is known for his satirical character, there are 5 Romances on texts from Krokodil Magazine, taken from the section of the magazine where were published real-life nonsense texts.
RepublicTitleTranslation
Ukrainian SSRПерецьPepper
Belarusian SSRВожыкHedgehog
Uzbek SSRМуштумFist
Kazakh SSRАраBumblebee
Georgian SSRნიანგიCrocodile
Azerbaijani SSRКирпиHedgehog
Lithuanian SSRŠluotaBroom
Moldavian SSRКипэрушPepper
Latvian SSRDadzisBur
Kyrgyz SSRЧалканNettle
Tajik SSRХорпуштакHedgehog
Armenian SSRՈզնիHedgehog
Turkmen SSRТокмакMallet
Estonian SSRPikkerPikker
Bashkir ASSRХэнэкPitchfork
Chuvash ASSRКапканTrap
Komi ASSRЧушканзіWasp
Mari ASSRПачемышWasp
Tatar ASSRЧаянScorpion
Udmurt ASSRШӧкычHornet

Reinstatement

After the 1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union the magazine was discontinued. It was reinstated in 2005 in Russia, issued monthly, headquartered in Moscow, and with editor-in-chief Sergei Mostovshchikov. The reinstated version, deliberately printed on old Soviet-style paper, ceased publication in 2008.