Sunday comics

I've wanted for a while to share this comic strip, "Akimych and Vladimir Vladimirovich" by Konstantin Yavorskiy. I guess the strip is sort of like "Doonesbury," in that it's political satire, but it has a much smaller cast of regular characters. Akimych is an average Russian guy, and he and the President are shown hanging out in various situations. "Akimych" was mentioned in this 2003 article in Nezavisimaya Gazeta, this 2004 article in Novye Izvestiia , and on a talk-show on Echo of Moscow Radio where the discussion focused on comics, but there's not much else on the internet about it.

I don't think Yavorskiy is doing new editions of this strip anymore - whether that's because he's moved on or Bolshoi Gorod didn't want to run the it anymore (maybe it didn't fit their glossy new image), I don't know. One Russian blogger commented on her disappointment with this particular change from the old version of Bolshoi Gorod, and I have to say that I share the sentiment, although I think they may have stopped running the strip before their re-launch.

Here's a quality edition of "Akimych" for your Sunday viewing pleasure (you may want to click on the image to expand it):



Translation:
[Frame 1] Old Lady: OK, go on.
[Frame 2] Akimych: Leader, head of state...
[Frame 3] Old Lady: Tsar!
Akimych: No, that doesn't fit.
[Frame 4] Old Lady: King?
Akimych: Nope.
[Frame 5] Akimych: It has to be 9 letters long.
[Frame 6] Old Lady: OK then - Emperor! [the word has 9 letters in Russian]
[Frame 7] Akimych: Nope, that doesn't work either...
[Frame 8] Akimych: ...the fourth letter has to be an "S."
[Frame 9] Vladimir Vladimirovich: President! I figured it out right away.
Akimych: Correct!
Old Lady: OK, go on.

This website has an archive of "Akimych" for your enjoyment.