Visualization of political life of Russia in the early 20th century: elections to the State duma in the Don region

Abstract

The paper dwells upon political cartoons as a part of broad cultural and political discourse. Visualization of the political in late imperialRussiawas realized through satirical graphics, i.e. a visual mediator that could deliver a political message. The Don printed media shows how political cartoons were adapted to the needs of political symbols exchange. The conclusion is drawn that visual images, used by political forces during the elections to the State Duma of the Russian Empire, served as a powerful tool for propaganda and promotion of parties’ ideas and programs. The Don political cartoons demonstrated various representative symbols: “Aesopic”, “pictographic” groups. The analysis of the Don satirical graphics revealed the use of puns in the cartoons’ verbal row.  The authors demonstrate that the Don political cartoons are a linguo-visual phenomenon and a genre variety of creolized text the structure of which comprises two non-homogenous parts: verbal and non-verbal. The article displays the Cossacks-related specifics of the Don satirical graphics. The cartoons are an important source for exploration of the Cossacks’ ethnic stratification and efficient means of its construction. The ability of cartoons for exaggeration, distortion becomes of key importance for the process of collective identification. The very essence of cartoons makes it possible for them to take part actively in creating “friends” and “foes” as well as in creating symbolic divide between them while ignoring the similarity and emphasizing the differences.