Caricature and Print Culture in Late-Imperial Russia

Caricature became entrenched as a common form of social commentary in Russian visual culture in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Four prominent humor magazines: Iskra (Spark, 1859-1873), Budil'nik (Alarm Clock, 1865-1918), Strekoza (Dragonfly, 1875-1908), and Oskolki (Splinters, 1881-1916) promoted caricatures and built success largely on the public's appetite for them. The editors and staff of these humor magazines made caricature a ready and effective tool of social criticism and helped develop a critical public familiar enough with the form to appreciate it. The rather gentle caricature of the early period and its benign social criticism established a foundation for a harsher partisan form of caricature as political advocacy during the revolution of 1905-1906.