The above link is to a story I saw about “Pastafarians” or, members of the Church of the Flying Spahetti Monster. They has a parade/demonstration in Moscow, and the police set on them, for “offending the sensibilities of religious believers.” Apparently the Orthodox Church and the government are a LOT closer than they used to be.
No, they don’t. And you gotta be a complete idiot to try something like that.
“The Russian government is not known for its sense of humor, ma’am”
People misunderstand the Russians. They actually have a fantastic sense of humor, especially when it comes to practical jokes. It’s just that their sense of humor is often very dry, very drawn out, and often results in a casualty count that can reach eight figures.
Once you realize what a jester Iosef Stalin was, it all falls into place.
STranger
“Take my political rivals…please!”
(Stalin leans on mike and laconically drawls)
“there’s a dissident, human rights advocate and a capitalist running-dog walk into a gulag…”
Here’s an oooold Russian joke:
11pm. Kremlin. Stalin calls Lazar Kaganovitch, Central Committee member. He says “Lazar, I’ve been told you have close relatives abroad.”
Kaganovitch replies: “No, Comrade Stalin, it’s all lies, I have no such relatives. Someone is lying about me, please believe me.”
Stalin: “Well, come by my office tomorrow morning, we’ll talk about it.”
He hangs up. Calls Beria. “Comrade Beria”, he says, “I have heard you were telling jokes about me yesterday.”
“Comrade Stalin, those are lies. I would never… You know how loyal I am.”
“Well, come by tomorrow, we’ll discuss this.”
Stalin hangs up. Says to himself: “Wonder who else I should call to wish them good night?”
I’ve heard a legend that I can’t verify that Khrushchev himself told this joke.
A man went running through the streets of Moscow shouting, “Khrushchev is a fool! Khrushchev is a fool!” Naturally he was arrested and tried. He was sentenced to 17 years: 2 years for insulting the Premier and 15 years for revealing a state secret.
My favorite quote from the article is this one:
This alone proves that some Russians have a sense of humor.