{"id":6737,"date":"2014-08-18T08:03:35","date_gmt":"2014-08-18T08:03:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/?p=6737"},"modified":"2018-08-16T14:52:34","modified_gmt":"2018-08-16T14:52:34","slug":"intro-to-russian-comedy-scene","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/intro-to-russian-comedy-scene\/","title":{"rendered":"Intro to Russian comedy scene"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>We have touched upon <a title=\"Understanding Foreign Humor: Russian Humor\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/understanding-foreign-humor-russian-humor\/\">Russian humor<\/a> in general, so I&#8217;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\u00a0known 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.<\/p>\n<p>The Russian comedy scene is fairly\u00a0diverse. After all, Russian comedy in the 20th century has encompassed acts ranging from\u00a0a 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.<\/p>\n<p>Russian comedians may be described by related but distinct terms:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>\u043a<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u043e<\/span>\u043c\u0438\u043a<\/strong> &#8211; comedian, usually said about the more amusing, sometimes more lowbrow, comedy; this word may also refer to actors<\/li>\n<li><strong>\u0441\u0430\u0442<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0438<\/span>\u0440\u0438\u043a<\/strong> &#8211; this is usually applied to people who write their own routines that include\u00a0present social commentary along with\u00a0than mere\u00a0lowbrow gags<\/li>\n<li><strong>\u044e\u043c\u043e\u0440<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0438<\/span>\u0441\u0442<\/strong> &#8211; this word can be applied fairly broadly; however, it has the connotation of benign, non-offensive humor<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>\u0410\u0440\u043a\u0430\u0434\u0438\u0439 \u0420\u0430\u0439\u043a\u0438\u043d<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Arkady_Raikin\">Arkadiy Raikin<\/a> (<strong>\u0410\u0440\u043a<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0430<\/span>\u0434\u0438\u0439 \u0420<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0430<\/span>\u0439\u043a\u0438\u043d<\/strong>) 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.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #003366\"><strong>Known for<\/strong><\/span>: parodies, master of disguise<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #003366\"><strong>Similar or related artists<\/strong><\/span>: <strong>\u041c\u0438\u0445\u0430<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0438<\/span>\u043b \u0416\u0432\u0430\u043d<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0435<\/span>\u0446\u043a\u0438\u0439<\/strong> (<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mykhailo_Zhvanetskyi\">Mikhail Zhvanetsky<\/a>), <strong>\u0420\u043e\u043c<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0430<\/span>\u043d \u041a<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0430<\/span>\u0440\u0446\u0435\u0432<\/strong> (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm0440248\/bio\">Roman Kartsev<\/a>), <strong>\u0413\u0435\u043d\u043d<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0430<\/span>\u0434\u0438\u0439 \u0425\u0430\u0437<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0430<\/span>\u043d\u043e\u0432<\/strong> (<a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gennady_Khazanov\">Gennady Khazanov<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #003366\"><strong>Humor sampler<\/strong>:<\/span><\/p>\n<p>(1:33 in the video)<em> \u0410 \u0435\u0449\u0451 \u0438 <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u044f<\/span>\u0434\u0438\u043a\u043e\u043c \u0437\u043c\u0435<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0438<\/span>\u043d\u044b\u043c &#8212; \u043e\u043e\u043e!\u00a0 <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u042f<\/span>\u0434\u0438\u043a \u043f\u0440<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0438<\/span>\u043c\u0435\u0448\u044c, \u0438 \u0432\u0441\u0451, \u0438 \u0443\u0436<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0435<\/span> \u0431<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u043e<\/span>\u043b\u044c\u0448\u0435 \u043d\u0438\u0447\u0435\u0433<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u043e<\/span> \u043d\u0435 \u043d<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0430<\/span>\u0434\u043e.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Overly talkative and obtrusive character giving advice to an old man complaining of headaches: &#8220;Have you tried snake venom? Oh! Once you take it, you&#8217;re good. There&#8217;s nothing else you&#8217;ll need.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u042f<\/span>\u0434\u0438\u043a<\/strong> is the diminutive of <strong>\u044f\u0434<\/strong> (poison, venom). This unexpected diminutive makes the character all the more comical.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\u0410\u0440\u043a\u0430\u0434\u0438\u0439 \u0420\u0430\u0439\u043a\u0438\u043d - \u0418\u0437 \u0442\u044e\u0440\u0435\u043c \u043e\u043d \u043d\u0435 \u0432\u044b\u043b\u0435\u0437\u0430\u0435\u0442\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/IgX0COCqPC0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>\u0415\u0432\u0433\u0435\u043d\u0438\u0439 \u041f\u0435\u0442\u0440\u043e\u0441\u044f\u043d<\/h2>\n<p>Several comedians are associated with the TV show <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Yevgeny_Petrosyan\">Anshlag<\/a> (<strong>\u0410\u043d\u0448\u043b<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0430<\/span>\u0433<\/strong>). <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Yevgeny_Petrosyan\">Yevgeny Petrosyan<\/a> (<strong>\u0415\u0432\u0433<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0435<\/span>\u043d\u0438\u0439 \u041f\u0435\u0442\u0440\u043e\u0441<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u044f<\/span>\u043d<\/strong>) 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.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #003366\"><strong>Known for<\/strong><\/span>: parodies, innuendo<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #003366\"><strong>Similar or related artists<\/strong>:<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/ru.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/%D0%9D%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B0,_%D0%9A%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B0_%D0%91%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%81%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%BD%D0%B0\">Klara Novikova<\/a> (<strong>\u041a\u043b<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0430<\/span>\u0440\u0430 \u041d\u043e\u0432\u0438\u043a\u043e\u0432\u0430<\/strong>), <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Efim_Shifrin\">Efim Shifrin<\/a> (<strong>\u0415\u0444<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0438<\/span>\u043c \u0428\u0438\u0444\u0440<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0438<\/span>\u043d<\/strong>)<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #003366\"><strong>Humor sampler<\/strong>:<\/span><\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\u041f\u0435\u0442\u0440\u043e\u0441\u044f\u043d \u0421\u0430\u043d\u0442\u0435\u0445\u043d\u0438\u043a\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/vILJLHn2v-Y?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>\u041a\u0412\u041d<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/KVN\">\u041a\u0412\u041d<\/a>, short for <strong>\u041a\u043b\u0443\u0431 \u0432\u0435\u0441\u0451\u043b\u044b\u0445 \u0438 \u043d\u0430\u0445<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u043e<\/span>\u0434\u0447\u0438\u0432\u044b\u0445<\/strong> (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.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #003366\"><strong>Known for<\/strong><\/span>: sketches, improv, songs<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #003366\"><strong>Similar or related artists<\/strong>:<\/span> &#8220;\u0411\u043e\u043b\u044c\u0448\u0430\u044f \u0440\u0430\u0437\u043d\u0438\u0446\u0430&#8221; (Big Difference), &#8220;\u041e\u0421\u041f-\u0441\u0442\u0443\u0434\u0438\u044f&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #003366\"><strong>Humor sampler<\/strong>:<\/span><\/p>\n<p>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<\/p>\n<p>(0:59) <em>\u0421\u0431\u043e\u0440\u043d\u0430\u044f \u0420\u043e\u0441\u0441\u0438\u0438 \u043f\u043e \u0444\u0443\u0442\u0431\u043e\u043b\u0443 &#8211; \u043f\u043b\u0430\u0447\u0435\u043c \u0432\u0441\u0435\u0439 \u0441\u0442\u0440\u0430\u043d\u043e\u0439.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Russian national soccer team &#8212; crying with all of Russia.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\u041a\u0412\u041d \u041f\u0440\u043e\u0440\u043e\u0447\u0435\u0441\u0442\u0432\u043e \u043e \u0441\u0431\u043e\u0440\u043d\u043e\u0439 \u0420\u043e\u0441\u0441\u0438\u0438 \u043f\u043e \u0444\u0443\u0442\u0431\u043e\u043b\u0443\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/zCW1jkFfRuY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Gorodok<\/h2>\n<p><strong>\u0413\u043e\u0440\u043e\u0434<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u043e<\/span>\u043a<\/strong> (&#8220;small town&#8221;) was a <a href=\"https:\/\/ru.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/%D0%93%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%BE%D0%BA_%28%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BF%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%B0%D1%87%D0%B0%29\">TV show<\/a> produced by and featuring two actors &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ilya_Oleynikov\">Ilya Oleynikov<\/a> (<strong>\u0418\u043b\u044c<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u044f<\/span> \u041e\u043b<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0435<\/span>\u0439\u043d\u0438\u043a\u043e\u0432<\/strong>) and Yury Stoyanov (<strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u042e<\/span>\u0440\u0438\u0439 \u0421\u0442\u043e<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u044f<\/span>\u043d\u043e\u0432<\/strong>). Their jokes usually made fun of the inherent contradictions in language and society.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #003366\"><strong>Known for<\/strong><\/span>: sketches, recurring characters and settings, puns, twist ending<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #003366\"><strong>Similar or related artists<\/strong>:<\/span> \u041c\u0430\u0441\u043a\u0438 \u0448\u043e\u0443, 6 \u043a\u0430\u0434\u0440\u043e\u0432<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #003366\"><strong>Humor sampler<\/strong>:<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The two characters below are talking about preventing burglaries to their dachas in their absence.<\/p>\n<p>(0:49) <em>&#8211; \u0422\u0451\u0449\u0443 \u0432 \u0433\u043e\u0440\u043e\u0434 \u0432\u044b\u0432\u043e\u0436\u0443. &#8211; \u0410 \u0432\u043e\u0442 \u044d\u0442\u043e \u043d\u0435\u043f\u0440\u0430\u0432\u0438\u043b\u044c\u043d\u043e.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I take my mother-in-law to the city.&#8221; &#8220;This is where you are wrong.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=CTihcuiQu5E\">http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=CTihcuiQu5E<\/a><\/p>\n<h2>\u041a\u0430\u043c\u0435\u0434\u0438 \u043a\u043b\u0430\u0431<\/h2>\n<p>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. <strong>\u041a<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0430<\/span>\u043c\u0435\u0434\u0438 \u043a\u043b<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0430<\/span>\u0431<\/strong> (Comedy club) is perhaps the best-knows of these shows. It features routines by several &#8220;resident&#8221; comedians. Their jokes make fun of celebrities, contemporary Russian society, and sometimes borderline offensive subjects like <a title=\"Some Awkward Points on Ethnicity in Russia\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/some-awkward-points-on-ethnicity-in-russia\/\">ethnic minorities<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #003366\"><strong>Known for<\/strong><\/span>: Western-style standup, obscenity, mean jokes<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #003366\"><strong>Similar or related artists<\/strong>:<\/span> <strong>\u041d<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0430<\/span>\u0448\u0430 Russia<\/strong> (<a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Nasha_Russia\">Our Russia<\/a>), <strong>\u041f<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0430<\/span>\u0432\u0435\u043b \u0412<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u043e<\/span>\u043b\u044f<\/strong> (<a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pavel_Volya\">Pavel Volya<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #003366\"><strong>Humor sampler<\/strong>:<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Just watch for yourself what happens when a door to door salesman tries to sell washing powder.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u0415\u0441\u043b\u0438 \u044d\u0442\u043e \u0441\u043e\u0441\u0435\u0434, \u0442\u043e \u0443 \u043c\u0435\u043d\u044f \u043d\u0435\u0442 \u0441<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u043e<\/span>\u043b\u0438, \u043d\u0435\u0442 \u0434\u0440<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0435<\/span>\u043b\u0438, \u043d\u0435\u0442 \u0434<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0435<\/span>\u043d\u0435\u0433, \u043d\u0435\u0442 \u043b<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0430<\/span>\u043c\u043f\u043e\u0447\u043a\u0438. \u042f \u043d\u0435 \u0432\u043e\u0440\u043e\u0432<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0430<\/span>\u043b \u0432\u0430\u0448 \u0432\u0430\u0439\u0444<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0430<\/span>\u0439.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>If you&#8217;re my neighbor, I don&#8217;t have any salt, drill, money, or light bulb. I didn&#8217;t steal your wi-fi.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=bCqOmjBGJqc\">http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=bCqOmjBGJqc<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We have touched upon Russian humor in general, so I&#8217;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\u00a0known to many people in Russia&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"post-item__readmore\"><a class=\"btn btn--md\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/intro-to-russian-comedy-scene\/\">Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[349654,349653],"class_list":["post-6737","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-comedy-in-russia","tag-russian-comedians"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6737","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/113"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6737"}],"version-history":[{"count":30,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6737\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11161,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6737\/revisions\/11161"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6737"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6737"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}