Russian reversal

A Russian reversal is a type of joke, usually starting with the words "In Soviet Russia", in which the subject and objects of a statement are reversed: "In America you do X to/with Y; in Soviet Russia Y does X to/with you." Sometimes the first part is omitted.[1]

Although the exact origin of the joke form is uncertain, an early example is from the 1938 Cole Porter musical Leave It to Me! ("In Soviet Russia, messenger tips you.")[2] Bob Hope used the form at the 1958 Academy Awards.[2] In the 1968–1973 television show Laugh-In, a recurring character, "Piotr Rosmenko the Eastern European Man" (played by Arte Johnson), delivered short jokes such as "Here in America, is very good, everyone watch television. In old country, television watch you!" This joke alludes to "telescreens" from George Orwell's dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four which both reproduce images and monitor the citizenry.[3]

The joke form is often credited to Ukrainian-American comedian Yakov Smirnoff, although he only rarely used Russian reversals; an example is a Miller Lite commercial in which he appeared in 1985, wherein he stated: "In America, there's plenty of light beer and you can always find a party. In Russia, Party always finds you".[1][4] Yet another example is by Garry Kasparov: "Every country has its own mafia; In Russia, the mafia has its own country." [5]

See also

References
  1. Liberman, Mark (January 29, 2004). "In Soviet Russia, snowclones overuse you". Language Log. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
  2. Rothman, Lily (February 23, 2015). "In Soviet Russia, the Oscars Host You". Time. Retrieved April 2, 2017.
  3. "Rowan & Martin's Laugh In". www.webpan.com. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
  4. "Yakov Smirnoff Miller Lite Commercial (1985)". YouTube. November 11, 2007.
  5. Stableford, Dylan (May 21, 2018). "Garry Kasparov: I told you Putin would attack U.S. election — and he will again". Yahoo! News.
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