Sergei Troitskiy
Estonian Literary Museum, Tartu

The protest semantics of humorous expressions persist over time, regardless of genre or historical context. The lecture will focus on a specific set of motifs related to ballet, their transformations, and mutual influences. The Soviet ideological myth of the USSR’s supremacy in ballet and the active promotion of ballet among the Soviet public led to “Swan Lake” being broadcasted on television during critical moments of late Soviet history, which resulted in its association with the death of communist leaders. This semantic connection became the basis of late Soviet jokes and could have remained there. This meaning was evident and has been repeatedly mentioned in the interpretation of specific humorous folkloric works․ However, this motif gained popularity in the late 2000s and became particularly relevant in the 2010s and early 2020s as an allegorical expression of the desire for change (the death of a dictator). The full-scale invasion and the resistance of Russians to Putin and the war in Ukraine have turned this motif into an element of protest pop culture. In turn, protest pop culture has stimulated the development of new forms of this folkloric motif. All of them thematize ballet in the context of protest expression, making it a tool of resistance.

February 25 at 6:30 pm at 31/4 Charents str. Caucasus Institute building, 3rd floor