When Violence Becomes Entertainment: Soviet Georgian Caricature

Abstract

This article examines Soviet Georgian political caricature with a focus on the normalization and aestheticization of violence. The study argues that caricature functioned as a mechanism for transforming violence into spectacle and entertainment, contributing to the erosion of empathy. Using art-historical and semiotic analysis, the research explores satirical journals such as Niangi and Tartarozi. It demonstrates that visual strategies including grotesque exaggeration, symbolic contrast, and dehumanization were used to legitimize aggression and shape ideological perception.
The article concludes that caricature played a central role in constructing emotional responses aligned with Soviet propaganda. The case of Georgia is particularly insightful. Situated between Eastern Europe and Western Asia, the country developed an active satirical press during the late imperial and early Soviet periods. By the beginning of the twentieth century, caricature had become an important tool for discussing social inequality, local political issues, cultural tensions, and international relations. However, after Georgia was incorporated into the Soviet system, the role of satire changed. The new political regime did not remove humorous imagery but reshaped its purpose. Satire turned into a medium for spreading official ideology in a form that was understandable to the local population.