The Volokh Conspiracy

Mostly law professors | Sometimes contrarian | Often libertarian | Always independent

Old Man Archimedes (ДедАрхимед)

An excellent series of short Russian-language satires on Russian politics (including the war).

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I've been listening to, and much enjoying, this series of short Russian-language verse satires. They started 4 years ago, but of course in the last month they have focused on the invasion of Ukraine; I've found them to be witty and incisive.

The performer's persona is a slightly dense and naive old man, who on the surface appears to be endorsing (or at most musing about) the authorities' official party line, but of course is actually mocking it. Very nicely done; if you know Russian, I think you'll enjoy it. Here's a simple:

As best I can tell, "Archimedes" is just a funny rhyme in Russian for "Дед," which here means old man (though it can also mean grandfather); I don't know of any other meaning it would have, nor any connection to the great ancient Greek.