The shocking attack last week on the offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and its aftermath showed that even in the 21st century, a religious drawing can divide the world. In reserving the right to mock organised religion, Charlie Hebdo saw itself as part of the strong tradition of secularism that has held sway in France since the revolution.

In Russia today, the situation looks rather different. While France insists on the separation of church and state, the Russian state looks to the Orthodox Church to prop up its conservative nationalist ideology. As the Pussy Riot trial demonstrated, the two in tandem can be a powerful force. (This troubling relationship was portrayed excellently this year in Andrei Zvyagintsev’s Golden Globe-winning film Leviathan).

However, the contemporary approach is miles away from that of Soviet society, in which there was no place for religion in the perfect and progressive proletarian future. The USSR had a strong tradition of religious satire: from the revolutionary propaganda in the 1920-30s to more lighthearted mockery in the postwar period. The Calvert Journal’s selection of caricatures from Soviet satire magazines Krokodil, Perets and Vozhyk showcase this tradition, and date from the 1960s and 70s.

Religion and the Space Race