May 01, 2022

Sergei Elkin: Russia Through Caricatures


Sergei Elkin: Russia Through Caricatures
Drawing in the modern age. YouTube, The Moscow Times

Sergei Elkin is one of Russia’s best-known, most lauded political cartoonists. Over the course of his career, he has drawn hundreds of political cartoons satirizing Russian politicians, socialites, and businessmen. He has also been featured in many blogs and newspapers, most notably The Moscow Times.

Most of Elkin’s drawings are based on his own political opinions. However, he will also "word to order" for fans who want to see their own ideas in his creation.

One of Elkin's main targets is Russian President Vladimir Putin. He even created a specific series for his Vladimir Putin cartoons, “Putin’s Russia," begun on the heels of the 1998 financial crisis. Satirizing Putin quickly became a specialty.

His caricatures are remarkable given that many media outlets and artists don't dare to publish negative opinions of the president. Elkin said he enjoys drawing Putin because he has a distinct appearance and often displays no emotion.

A picture of a cartoon drawn by Elkin featuring Vladimir Putin interrogating a globe under a light, with the Russian words "Признавайся что ты задумал против меня", translating to "confess with you have in mind against me".
"Spill it: what are you plotting against me?" Instagram @ elkin_cartoon

Elkin did not begin as a political cartoonist. In the 1990s, he worked as an editor for a newspaper in Voronezh. When the paper wanted something more than words to fill a void in their content, Elkin took a shot at drawing. It helped he had attended art school.

He soon realized that drawing was his true passion, and then set foot into the realm of political cartoons. His greatest influences were Viktor Bogorad (who for years  illustrated Russian Life's "Survival Russian" column) and Mikhail Zlatkovsky.

A political cartoon featuring Vladimir Putin holding the hands of a ruble, while putting all of his focus on Bitcoin.
Is Bitcoin a woman? Instagram @ elkin_cartoon

Today, Elkin draws on a digital sketchpad, which allows him to work much faster and create far more, faster. Apparently he can draw up to seven cartoons per day on a computer, versus at most three per day the old analog way.

The 2022 invasion of Ukraine didn't put a stop to Elkin's work. He has even released works that satirize Putin’s role in the conflict. A few can be seen here

A political cartoon featuring Vladimir Putin skating in an ice rink, though his ice skates are military tanks
Skating on thinner ice than we thought. Instagram @ elkin_cartoon

However, new censorship rules threatens the work of artists, journalists, and the media. Anyone “spreading misinformation” faces a threat of up to 15 years in prison. While Elkin said he does not fear publicizing his works (and many outlets have refused to publish them), circumstances today are different. Two weeks ago the artist fled Russia for Bulgaria.

Much of his most recent work can be seen on his Instagram account.

You Might Also Like

Signed, a Foreign Agent
  • April 25, 2022

Signed, a Foreign Agent

Artist Daria Apakhonchich illustrated her quarterly report to the Ministry of Justice with her thoughts about the war in Ukraine. 
Spot the Difference
  • April 22, 2022

Spot the Difference

Zoya Cherkassky-Nnadi is creating pieces of art comparing the Ukraine she knew in childhood and the war-riddled Ukraine we see today.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Marooned in Moscow

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.
The Moscow Eccentric

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.
The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.  
A Taste of Chekhov

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.
The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.
Okudzhava Bilingual

Okudzhava Bilingual

Poems, songs and autobiographical sketches by Bulat Okudzhava, the king of the Russian bards. 
Fearful Majesty

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.
Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.
Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.
Survival Russian

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.
The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The fables of Ivan Krylov are rich fonts of Russian cultural wisdom and experience – reading and understanding them is vital to grasping the Russian worldview. This new edition of 62 of Krylov’s tales presents them side-by-side in English and Russian. The wonderfully lyrical translations by Lydia Razran Stone are accompanied by original, whimsical color illustrations by Katya Korobkina.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955