Radio Yerevan jokes

The Radio Yerevan jokes, also known as the Armenian Radio jokes, have been popular in the Soviet Union and other countries of the former Communist Eastern bloc since the second half of the 20th century. These jokes of the Q&A type pretended to come from the Question & Answer series of the Armenian Radio.[1][2] A typical format of a joke was: "Radio Yerevan was asked," and "Radio Yerevan answered."[3][4]

Examples of Radio Yerevan jokes include:[3]

  • Radio Yerevan was asked: "Is it true that the poet Mayakovsky committed suicide?"
Radio Yerevan answered: "Yes, it is true, and even the record of his very last words is preserved: "Don't shoot, comrades."
  • Radio Yerevan was asked: "It is true that there is freedom of speech in USSR (in some versions, Russia), just like in the USA?"
Radio Yerevan answered: "In principle, yes. In the USA, you can stand in front of the White House and yell, “Down with Reagan!”, and you will not be punished. Equally, you can also stand in the Red Square in Moscow and yell, “Down with Reagan!”, and you will not be punished."
  • Radio Yerevan was asked: "How many people of Russian origin live in Finland?"
Radio Yerevan answered: "There are enough to have a referendum."
  • Radio Yerevan was asked: "Comrades, will there be war?"
Radio Yerevan answered: "No, but there will be such a struggle for peace that everything will be razed to the ground."
  • Radio Yerevan was asked: "Could an atomic bomb destroy our beloved town, Yerevan, with its splendid buildings and beautiful gardens?"
Radio Yerevan answered: "In principle, yes. But Moscow is by far a more beautiful city."
  • Radio Yerevan was asked: "Why did they establish a Ministry of the Navy in landlocked Armenia. Do you have a sea?"
Radio Yerevan answered: "To spite Azerbaijan. They had established a Ministry of Culture."
  • Radio Yerevan was asked: "What is the socialist friendship of nations?"
Radio Yerevan answered: "It's when Armenians, Russians, Ukrainians, and all other peoples of the USSR unite in a brotherly manner and all together set out to beat up the Azeris."
  • Radio Yerevan was asked: "Is it correct that Grigori Grigorievich Grigoriev won a luxury car at the All-Union Championship in Moscow?"
Radio Yerevan answered: "In principle, yes. But first of all it was not Grigori Grigorievich Grigoriev, but Vassili Vassilievich Vassiliev; second, it was not at the All-Union Championship in Moscow, but at a Collective Farm Sports Festival in Smolensk; third, it was not a car, but a bicycle; and fourth he didn't win it, but rather it was stolen from him."
  • Radio Yerevan was asked: "When will life be better in the USSR?"
Radio Yerevan answered: "In the USSR, life already has been better."

See also

References
  1. Paul Gleye (1991), Behind the Wall: An American in East Germany, 1988-89. SIU Press. ISBN 9780809317431
  2. Birgit Beumers (2005), Pop Culture Russia!: Media, Arts, and Lifestyle. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781851094592
  3. Allan Stevo (2014). "Radio Yerevan Joke Collection". Bratislava Guide.com. Archived from the original (Internet Archive) on September 8, 2014. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  4. Draitser, E. (1989). "Soviet Underground Jokes as a Means of Popular Entertainment." The Journal of Popular Culture, 23(1), 117–125.
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