Cartoon Fables : Animal Symbolism in Kukryniksy’s Pravda Political Cartoons, 1965–1982

Recent conflicts have highlighted that international and domestic propaganda campaigns, particularly in Russia, are once again becoming more significant. To understand this phenomenon, it is important to study the historical roots of propaganda in Russia, the tools and mechanisms that propagandists use to influence the political discourse. Animal symbolism is one of the most important of these tools. It is often used to belittle the enemy by describing their “non-human” nature. Furthermore, in using animals to depict negative characteristics of their enemies, propaganda also inadvertently builds upon and develops negative cultural stereotypes that are associated with those animals, thus creating a sort of feedback loop wherein the one strengthens the other. This dissertation examines the ways in which the famous Soviet propaganda artist trio Kukryniksy used animal symbolism in their political cartoons published during the rule of Leonid Brezhnev (1965—1982). The primary material of the research consists of 117 animal cartoons that were published in the Soviet Union’s main news source, Pravda. Methodologically and in its theoretical approach, this dissertation draws from a range of multidisciplinary fields, including Russian Studies, Propaganda Studies, Art History, and Human-Animal Studies. Its theoretical approach is largely based on frame theory and cartoon theory. The thesis is mainly based on qualitative methods. It relies on composition and discourse analysis, paying particular attention to how the cartoons worked within and reinforced preexisting cultural frameworks. There is also a quantitative element based around a content analysis of the frequency of various elements in the cartoons. The analysis of the frames Kukryniksy created and the techniques they used, shows that their animal symbols derived their significance from the animals’ proximity to the humans’ sphere of living, their behavioural traits, utilitarian functions, and linguistic and cultural nuances. With the use of culturally dependent references and different cartooning techniques, Kukryniksy constructed a framework in which the animal metaphor revealed the “true” nature of the enemy and taught the audience the moral of the story of international politics. As such, Kukryniksy’s political cartoons are part of a long tradition of Russian and Soviet propaganda that used animal symbolism to describe the enemy and divide the world into two spheres, “us” and “them”. By analysing this historical propaganda, this dissertation thus also helps us to better understand and deconstruct contemporary propaganda campaigns.Viimeaikaisissa konflikteissa kansainvälisten ja kansallisten propagandakampanjoiden merkitys on korostunut ja tullut näkyvämmäksi; erityisesti huomion kohteena on ollut venäläinen propaganda. Venäläisen propagandan ymmärtämiseksi on tärkeää tutkia sen historiallisia juuria, sekä niitä välineitä ja mekanismeja, joilla propagandistit pyrkivät vaikuttamaan poliittiseen diskurssiin. Eläinsymboliikka on eräs merkittävä keino, jolla poliittiseen diskurssiin pyritään vaikuttamaan. Sitä käytetään vihollisen vähättelemiseen kuvaamalla tämä “epäinhimillisenä” olentona. Käyttämällä eläinsymboliikkaa propaganda ammentaa eläimiin liittyvistä negatiivisista kulttuurisista stereotypioista, samalla myös vahvistaen niitä. Näin syntyy eräänlainen itseään ruokkiva kehä, jossa propaganda ja stereotypiat vahvistavat toinen toistaan. Tämä väitöskirja tarkastelee kuuluisan neuvostoliittolaisen propagandataiteilijakolmikko Kukryniksyn tapoja käyttää eläinsymboleja pilakuvissaan Leonid Brežnevin hallintokauden (1965–1982) aikana. Tutkimuksen primaariaineisto koostuu 117 Pravdassa, Neuvostoliiton pääasiallisessa uutislähteessä, julkaistusta eläinpilakuvasta. Metodologiselta ja teoreettiselta pohjaltaan väitöskirja on monitieteellinen. Se asemoituu Venäjän tutkimuksen, propagandatutkimuksen, taidehistorian, sekä yhteiskunnallisen ja kulttuurisen eläintutkimuksen kenttään. Teoreettisina lähtökohtina toimivat kehysteoria ja pilakuvateoriat. Pääsääntöisesti tutkimus on kvalitatiivinen. Se tukeutuu rakenneanalyysiin ja diskurssianalyysiin. Erityisesti tarkastellaan pilakuvien toimintaa osana olemassa olevia viitekehyksiä sekä tapoja, joilla pilakuvat vahvistivat näitä viitekehyksiä. Tutkimuksessa on myös kvantitatiivisia, sisältöanalyysiin perustuvia tarkasteluja, joissa esitetään pilakuvien ja niissä esiintyneiden teemojen frekvenssejä. Kukryniksyn luomien kehysten ja käyttämien tekniikoiden analyysi paljastaa, että taiteilijakolmikon eläinsymbolien merkitykset kumpuavat pilapiirroksissa esiintyvien eläinten käyttäytymisestä, läheisyydestä ihmisten elinpiiriin, käyttötarkoituksista sekä kielellisistä ja kulttuurisista merkitysvivahteista. Kulttuurisidonnaisia viittauksia ja erilaisia pilakuvatekniikoita käyttäen Kukryniksy rakensi viitekehyksen, jossa eläinmetafora paljasti vihollisen “todellisen” luonteen ja pyrki samalla kertomaan lukijoille kansainvälisen politiikan takana piilevän moraalisen tarinan. Näin Kukryniksyn pilakuvat asemoituvat osaksi pitkää venäläisen ja neuvostoliittolaisen propagandan jatkumoa, joka käytti eläinsymboleita vihollisen kuvaamiseen ja maailman jakamiseen kahteen binääriseen kenttään, “meihin” ja “heihin.” Analysoimalla historiallista propagandaa tämä tutkimus auttaa paremmin ymmärtämään ja dekonstruoimaan yleisemminkin nykyaikaisia propagandakampanjoita.Siirretty Doriast

The Palgrave Handbook of Digital Russia Studies

With the growing interest in digital humanities, the methodology of digital art history is in some respects lagging behind the trend. Given the prospects of the new digital image analysis, computer vision, and visualization methods, a number of questions have arisen as to how exactly the new digital methods can and should be applied to art history. Furthermore, when trying to apply these digital methods to the analysis of Russian art, one encounters a whole new set of questions and challenges. In this chapter, I examine current and potential applications of digital methods to the analysis of Soviet political cartoons published in Pravda during the “Great Patriotic War,” 1941–1945, as well as the study of Russian art history more generally. I especially examine how the combination of quantitative and qualitative analyses of political cartoons enables a deeper understanding that illustrates cultural, historical, and political developments over time.</p

Tito Pravdan pilapiirroksissa 1949–1950

Following the split between the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia, Josip Broz Tito became the target ofa Soviet propaganda campaign. The former ally was now portrayed as an enemy. This campaign alsoinvolved the use of political cartoons. The cartoons portrayed in a visual and easily comprehensibleform the official Soviet view on matters. In this article, I examine the ways in which the politicalcartoons published in Pravda created an image of Tito as an enemy. In order to reposition Tito frombeing an ally to being an enemy, the cartoonists equated him with both contemporary (the USA andother market economy countries of the West) and past (Hitler's Germany) enemies. Simultaneously,they depicted Tito as a traitor who had abandoned the true Marxist-Leninist ideology for money.Neuvostoliiton ja Jugoslavian välirikon seurauksena Neuvostoliitossa&nbsp;aloitettiin Josip Broz Titon vastainen propagandakampanja. Entisestä&nbsp;liittolaisesta alettiin rakentaa vihollista. Pilapiirrokset toimivat osana&nbsp;tätä kampanjaa ja viestittivät kuvallisessa ja helposti ymmärrettävässä&nbsp;muodossa Neuvostoliiton virallista näkemystä tapahtumista. Tässä&nbsp;artikkelissa käsittelen niitä keinoja, joilla Pravdassa julkaistut pilapiirrokset&nbsp;loivat kuvaa Titosta vihollisena. Siirtääkseen Titon liittolaisestavihollisleiriin pilapiirtäjät rinnastivat hänet sekä sen hetkiseen&nbsp;(Yhdysvallat ja muut läntiset markkinatalousmaat) että menneeseen&nbsp;(Hitlerin Saksa) viholliseen. Samalla he kuvasivat Titon marxismileninismin&nbsp;oikeasta aatteesta rahan vuoksi luopuneena petturina

Tito Pravdan pilapiirroksissa 1949-1950

The Image of Josip Tito in Pravda’s political cartoonsFollowing the split between the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia, Josip Broz Tito became the target of a Soviet propaganda campaign. The former ally was now portrayed as an enemy. This campaign also involved the use of political cartoons. The cartoons portrayed in a visual and easily comprehensible form the official Soviet view on matters. In this article, I examine the ways in which the political cartoons published in Pravda created an image of Tito as an enemy. In order to reposition Tito from being an ally to being an enemy, the cartoonists equated him with both contemporary (the USA and other market economy countries of the West) and past (Hitler's Germany) enemies. Simultaneously, they depicted Tito as a traitor who had abandoned the true Marxist-Leninist ideology for money.</div

The Law of the Wolf: How the Kukryniksy Trio Represented the Enemy as a “Wild” Animal in Cold War Political Cartoons in Pravda, 1965–1982

This article examines how the Soviet Kukryniksy trio used wild animals in their political cartoons to depict the enemies of the Soviet Union. The primary material of this research consists of Kukryniksy’s 39 wild animal cartoons published in Pravda during 1965–1982. For my theoretical and methodological framework, I rely on frame analysis and propaganda theory. My aim is to demonstrate what kind of symbolic functions wild animals have in these cartoons and what kind of characteristics they attach to the enemies depicted. Furthermore, I aim to examine in what kind of frames the world was to be seen according to the Soviet propaganda machine, and how these frames were created with the use of wild animal characters. In these cartoons wild animals are used to reveal the “true” nature of the enemy. The animal’s symbolic functions may derive from the linguistic or other cultural contexts. The cartoons depict the enemy mainly as deceptive and ruthless, but simultaneously predictable to the Soviet Union. They also represent the enemy in a belittling light in order to retain the frame of the superiority of the Soviet Union over its enemies

Intramuscular sex steroid hormones are associated with skeletal muscle strength and power in women with different hormonal status

Peer reviewe

Menopause and adipose tissue : miR-19a-3p is sensitive to hormonal replacement

Tissue-specific effects of 17 beta-estradiol are delivered via both estrogen receptors and microRNAs (miRs). Menopause is known to affect the whole-body fat distribution in women. This investigation aimed at identifying menopause-and hormone replacement therapy (HRT)-associated miR profiles and miR targets in subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue and serum from the same women. A discovery phase using array technology was performed in 13 women, including monozygotic twin pairs discordant for HRT and premenopausal young controls. Seven miRs, expressed in both adipose tissue and serum, were selected for validation phase in 34 women from a different cohort. An age/menopause-related increase of miRs-16-5p, -451a, -223-3p, -18a-5p, -19a-3p,-486-5p and -363-3p was found in the adipose tissue, but not in serum. MiR-19a-3p, involved in adipocyte development and estrogen signaling, resulted to be higher in HRT users in comparison with non-users. Among the identified targets, AKT1, BCL-2 and BRAF proteins showed lower expression in both HRT and No HRT users in comparison with premenopausal women. Unexpectedly, ESR1 protein expression was not modified although its mRNA was lower in No HRT users compared to premenopausal women and HRT users. Thus, both HRT and menopause appear to affect adipose tissue homeostasis via miR-mediated mechanism.Peer reviewe