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Article: Communist jokes: Funny bones.(Viewpoint essay)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- July 5, 2008
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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JOKES under communism were not just a welcome contrast to the dreariness of everyday life; they also helped undermine it. For example. "How do you deal with mice in the Kremlin?" "Put up a sign saying 'collective farm'. Then half the mice will starve and the others will run away."
Ben Lewis has collated some of the best, and best-known, jokes that were told under more than seven decades of communist rule. His work is based on more than 40 previously published collections ranging from underground selections, to those published by anti-communist emigres, and a large sprinkling that appeared after 1989, once it was safe to air them.
Most make you giggle ...