We have touched upon Russian humor in general, so I’m sure you may be curious to get acquainted with the Russian comedy scene. As any aspect of culture, it is too vast to be covered in one post. I will try to present overview of a few household names known to many people in Russia and in Russian-speaking environments around the world, but I will necessarily omit someone, so feel free to add to this post in the comments.

The Russian comedy scene is fairly diverse. After all, Russian comedy in the 20th century has encompassed acts ranging from a film actor relating the idiosyncrasies of life to a philosopher critiquing the society around them to a hipster making obscene jokes in a stand-up gig.

Russian comedians may be described by related but distinct terms:

• комик – comedian, usually said about the more amusing, sometimes more lowbrow, comedy; this word may also refer to actors
• сатирик – this is usually applied to people who write their own routines that include present social commentary along with than mere lowbrow gags
• юморист – this word can be applied fairly broadly; however, it has the connotation of benign, non-offensive humor

Аркадий Райкин

Arkadiy Raikin (Аркадий Райкин) was one of the most famous and influential Soviet comedians. His sketches, usually performed at respectable concert halls, made fun of the idiosyncrasies of the Soviet life and people. He was an inspirations for a whole generation of Soviet and Russian comedians.

Known for: parodies, master of disguise

Similar or related artists: Михаил Жванецкий (Mikhail Zhvanetsky), Роман Карцев (Roman Kartsev), Геннадий Хазанов (Gennady Khazanov)

Humor sampler:

(1:33 in the video) А ещё и ядиком змеиным — ооо!  Ядик примешь, и всё, и уже больше ничего не надо.

Overly talkative and obtrusive character giving advice to an old man complaining of headaches: “Have you tried snake venom? Oh! Once you take it, you’re good. There’s nothing else you’ll need.”

Ядик is the diminutive of яд (poison, venom). This unexpected diminutive makes the character all the more comical.

Евгений Петросян

Several comedians are associated with the TV show Anshlag (Аншлаг). Yevgeny Petrosyan (Евгений Петросян) is one of them. His acts usually include several character sketches and are favorites with the older crowd in Russia. However, Petrosyan and other Anshlag artists are also accused of being hackneyed, not funny, and repetitive. Younger crowds tend to look up to other comedians.

Known for: parodies, innuendo

Similar or related artists: Klara Novikova (Клара Новикова), Efim Shifrin (Ефим Шифрин)

Humor sampler:

The routine below is built on the premise that the character, who is a plumber, is getting phone calls for sex services after his phone number appeared under the wrong ad.

КВН

КВН, short for Клуб весёлых и находчивых (Club of the funny and inventive), is a TV contest among teams of comedians. Teams representing different universities and different regions compete against each other to get the highest scores from the judges. This show has launched the careers of countless comedians throughout its existence. The jokes usually make fun of current events or fads.

Known for: sketches, improv, songs

Similar or related artists: “Большая разница” (Big Difference), “ОСП-студия”

Humor sampler:

The video below is edited to look like opening credits of a soap opera, which are famous for its melodramatic language. Here, the team is trying to predict how the Russian soccer team will do at the World Cup

(0:59) Сборная России по футболу – плачем всей страной.

Russian national soccer team — crying with all of Russia.

Gorodok

Городок (“small town”) was a TV show produced by and featuring two actors – Ilya Oleynikov (Илья Олейников) and Yury Stoyanov (Юрий Стоянов). Their jokes usually made fun of the inherent contradictions in language and society.

Known for: sketches, recurring characters and settings, puns, twist ending

Similar or related artists: Маски шоу, 6 кадров

Humor sampler:

The two characters below are talking about preventing burglaries to their dachas in their absence.

(0:49) – Тёщу в город вывожу. – А вот это неправильно.

“I take my mother-in-law to the city.” “This is where you are wrong.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTihcuiQu5E

Камеди клаб

Comedy shows in the Soviet days tended to be cautious about any adult humor. Overt obscenity was not allowed; the farthest an artist could venture was innuendo or minced oaths. However, recent shows have challenged that trend with sometimes overtly obscene, shocking, and non-politically-correct humor. Камеди клаб (Comedy club) is perhaps the best-knows of these shows. It features routines by several “resident” comedians. Their jokes make fun of celebrities, contemporary Russian society, and sometimes borderline offensive subjects like ethnic minorities.

Known for: Western-style standup, obscenity, mean jokes

Similar or related artists: Наша Russia (Our Russia), Павел Воля (Pavel Volya)

Humor sampler:

Just watch for yourself what happens when a door to door salesman tries to sell washing powder.

Если это сосед, то у меня нет соли, нет дрели, нет денег, нет лампочки. Я не воровал ваш вайфай.

If you’re my neighbor, I don’t have any salt, drill, money, or light bulb. I didn’t steal your wi-fi.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCqOmjBGJqc