origin of name magazine "Crocodile", as well as the author of its logo (a red crocodile with a pitchfork) are not known for certain. The magazine was founded in 1922, quickly gained immense popularity, and by 1933 became the main (and only) all-Union satirical magazine. "Crocodile" has always been a mouthpiece of propaganda, so the subject matter of his illustrations has changed along with the political climate in the USSR and foreign dynamics. Some topics (in particular, anti-religious propaganda) remained one of the main topics of the publication throughout the years of its existence.

In the 20s cartoons were aimed mainly at the numerous vices of the Nepmen, religious leaders and kulaks, ridiculed the white émigrés and the bourgeois intelligentsia, who retained the old regime habits and manners. During the dangerous Stalinist years, the publication refrained from any sharp political commentary, instead illustrating the decay of foreign capitalism, the anti-social activities of international opportunists, exposing intellectual saboteurs, those responsible for the backwardness of socialist production and sellers of opium for the people. Moonshiners, truants, parasites and sycophants have at all times been the favorite target of the Crocodile.

During the Great Patriotic War, "Crocodile" could not stand aside - they acquire not only an anti-fascist orientation, but also expose American, British and French accomplices of fascism. Much attention is paid to the heroic struggle of the Spaniards against fascism. Illustrations, as well as texts during this period, are aimed at strengthening patriotic feelings and confidence in the imminent victory of the Soviet troops.

After the end of the war, the Crocodile inevitably had to change both its concept and design. The publication again begins to pay much attention to satirical illustrations and comments on foreign capitalist realities, bourgeois ideology, and at the same time publishes a lot of materials relating to the life and morality of Soviet people. In the 1960s and 1980s, the magazine reflected all the significant phenomena of an international scale - from nuclear hysteria to the hippie movement.

In 2000, Krokodil was closed due to insufficient funding. Then the magazine was published in the period from 2001 to 2004, and from 2005 to 2008. However, the new edition format failed to attract a sufficient number of readers, and 2008 was the last year in the history of Crocodile.

"Crocodile" cartoons from a magazine

Do you like paintings by great Russian artists and prefer cultural recreation? In this case, you will definitely be interested in the multimedia exhibition "I am Aivazovsky" in Moscow, all the details about which can be found on the website http://i-aivazovsky.com/. Sergei Garmash in the title role of the exhibition-performance.

27
june
2012

"Crocodile" (magazine binder)

Format: DjVu, Scanned pages
Year of release: 1952-1989
Genre: Satire and humor
Publisher: Pravda
Russian language
Number of pages: 16 each
Description: The magazine "Crocodile" is the main humorous magazine of the USSR.
Edition of the newspaper "Pravda". Humorous and satirical works, feuilletons and many funny caricatures.
The first issue of the magazine was published on August 27, 1922. At first it was a weekly, and since 1932 "Crocodile"
started coming out 3 times a month. In 1972, the magazine was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor. In the middle
In the 1980s, the circulation of "Crocodile" was unthinkable by today's times 5 million 600 thousand copies.
In 1970-80s, satires by V. Kanaev, R. Kireev, A. Moralevich, S. Bodrov, Yu. Borin,
A. Khodanov, A. Vikhreva; humorous stories by S. Komissarenko, B. Privalov, L. Naumov, B. Laskin, M. Kazovsky,
E. Shatko and many other authors. Wonderful cartoons were drawn by G. Ogorodnikov, G. Andrianov, Y. Cherepanov,
S. Spassky, E. Vedernikov, V. Dobrovolsky, E. Gurov, I. Sychev, V. Mochalov. Various competitions were held among readers. Since 1992, the magazine began to be published once a month, its circulation dropped sharply and fell to 50,000 copies. by the end of the 1990s.

Add. Information: To view the log, it is recommended to use
WinDjView program that can open DjVu files.

1952 Nos. 25-35.
1954 Nos. 03, 06, 08, 10, 17, 21, 23, 24, 27.
1967 Nos. 01, 02, 03, 36.
1971 Nos. 03, 13, 14, 18, 22, 23, 26, 29, 30, 32, 34, 36.
1988 Nos. 16-20.
1989 Nos. 15, 18, 20, 21, 22, 25, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36. (Nos. 35, 36 of improved quality)

10
but I
2014

Crocodile (Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky)

Author: Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky
Release year: 2014
Genre: Classical, Humorous prose

Artist: Ilya Khvost
Duration: 01:58:55
Description: A fair story about how one gentleman, of known age and well-known appearance, was swallowed alive by a passage crocodile, all without a trace, and what came of it. “Now I will invent a whole social system, and - you won’t believe it - how easy it is! One has only to retire somewhere far away in a corner or at least get into a crocodile, close your eyes, and you will immediately invent a whole ...

02
Feb
2011

Crocodile (magazine binder)

"Crocodile" (magazine filing 1935 - 1997)

Year of release: 1935 -1997
Genre: Satire and humor.
Publisher: Pravda
Russian language
Number of pages: 16
Description: The magazine "Krokodil" is the main humorous magazine of the USSR. Edition of the newspaper "Pravda". Humorous and satirical works, feuilletons and many funny caricatures. The first issue of the magazine was published on August 27, 1922. At first it was a weekly, and since 1932 "Crocodile" began to appear 3 times a month. In 1972, the magazine was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor. In the mid-1980s, the circulation of "Krok...

04
june
2011

"Crocodile" (Journal binder)

Format: DjVu, Scanned pages
Year of issue: 1924-1991
Genre: Satire and humor.
Publisher: Pravda
Russian language
Number of pages: 16 each

07
Apr
2011

Crocodile (Journal binder)

Format: DjVu, Scanned pages
Year of issue: 1951-1982
Genre: Satire and humor.
Publisher: Pravda
Russian language
Number of pages: 16 each

09
mar
2011

"Crocodile" (magazine binder)

"Crocodile" (magazine filing 1972 - 1991)
Format: DjVu, Scanned pages
Year of release: 1972-1991
Genre: Satire and humor
Publisher: Pravda
Russian language
Number of pages: 16 each

09
dec
2011

Crocodile (magazine binder)

Format: DjVu, Scanned pages
Year of release: 1952-1991
Genre: Satire and humor.
Publisher: Pravda
Russian language
Number of pages: 16 each
Description: The magazine "Krokodil" is the main humorous magazine of the USSR. Edition of the newspaper "Pravda". Humorous and satirical works, feuilletons and many funny caricatures. The first issue of the magazine was published on August 27, 1922. At first it was a weekly, and since 1932 "Crocodile" began to appear 3 times a month. In 1972, the magazine was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor. In the mid-1980s, the circulation of "Crocodile" was unthinkable for today ...

01
May
2011

Crocodile (Journal binder)

"Crocodile" (magazine filing 1932 - 1991)
Format: DjVu, Scanned pages
Year of release: 1932-1991
Genre: Satire and humor.
Publisher: Pravda
Russian language
Number of pages: 16 each
Description: The magazine "Krokodil" is the main humorous magazine of the USSR. Edition of the newspaper "Pravda". Humorous and satirical works, feuilletons and many funny caricatures. The first issue of the magazine was published on August 27, 1922. At first it was a weekly, and since 1932 "Crocodile" began to appear 3 times a month. In 1972, the magazine was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor. In the mid-1980s, the circulation of "Kr...

31
May
2015

Crocodile in the Sand (Elizabeth Peters)

Format: audiobook, MP3, 128kbps
Author: Elizabeth Peters
Release year: 2007
Genre: Ironic detective
Publisher: Do-it-yourself audiobook
Artist: White Rabbit
Duration: 10:55:16
Description: Life next to the old father, who thinks only about scientific research, is quiet, calm and boring. But, having escaped from her father's roof, and even with a tidy sum in her bank account, the only heiress of the scientist, of course, begins to live for her own pleasure. Considering herself a complete old maid (thirty years old is a respectable age), Amelia Peabody, the heroine of the book, dreams only of traveling and visiting ...

26
mar
2011

Crocodile from the country of Charlotte (Ioanna Khmelevskaya)

Format: Audiobook, MP3, 128 kbps, 44 kHz
Author: Joanna Khmelevskaya
Release year: 2007
Genre: Ironic detective
Publisher: You can't buy anywhere
Artist: Irina Erisanova
Duration: 09:28:34
Description: The heroine of the ironic detective story "The Crocodile from Charlotte's Country", the indomitable John, you and her lover, an investigator nicknamed the Devil, are looking for a vile villain, from whose hand her beloved friend dies. And, as one would expect, exposes an unknown killer.

09
june
2014

Crocodile Gena and other tales (Uspensky Eduard)

Format: audio performance, MP3, 96kbps
Author: Uspensky Eduard
Release year: 2014
Genre: Children's literature
Publisher: You can't buy anywhere
Artist: Nenarokomova Tatiana
Duration: 07:10:06
Description: The book includes three fairy tales, the characters of which fell in love with the children. These are Cheburashka and Gena the crocodile, Uncle Fyodor and his friends - the cat Matroskin and the dog Sharik, little hardworking guarantee men. Contents- Crocodile Gena and his friends An animal Cheburashka, unknown to science, lived in a telephone booth. Crocodile Gena worked at the zoo - a crocodile, and who else should he work with. But they really wanted...

11
Feb
2011

"Crocodile" (magazine binder 1951 - 1982) [Satire and humor., DjVu]

"Crocodile" (magazine filing 1951 - 1982)
Format: DjVu, Scanned pages
Year of issue: 1951-1982
Genre: Satire and humor.
Publisher: Pravda
Russian language
Number of pages: 16 each
Description: The magazine "Krokodil" is the main humorous magazine of the USSR. Edition of the newspaper "Pravda". Humorous and satirical works, feuilletons and many funny caricatures. The first issue of the magazine was published on August 27, 1922. At first it was a weekly, and since 1932 "Crocodile" began to appear 3 times a month. In 1972, the magazine was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor. In the mid-1980s, the circulation of "Kro...

24
aug
2011

"Crocodile" (magazine file 1959 - 1991) [Satire and humor., DjVu]

Format: DjVu, Scanned pages
Author: Collective.
Year of release: 1959-1991
Genre: Satire and humor.
Publisher: Pravda
Russian language
Number of pages: 16 each
Description: The magazine "Krokodil" is the main humorous magazine of the USSR. Edition of the newspaper "Pravda". Humorous and satirical works, feuilletons and many funny caricatures. The first issue of the magazine was published on August 27, 1922. At first it was a weekly, and since 1932 "Crocodile" began to appear 3 times a month. In 1972, the magazine was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor. In the mid-1980s, the circulation of "Crocodile" was unthinkable ...

04
but I
2009

F. Dostoevsky - Uncle's dream, Crocodile, Bad joke

Format: audiobook, MP3, 128kbps
Release year: 2004
Author: Fyodor Dostoevsky
Artist: Vladimir Samoilov
Genre: classic
Publisher: Ardis
Duration: 10:35:00
Description: "Uncle's dream" - a story about an old man-drag, a kind of "fragment of the aristocracy". Gloves, ties, waistcoats and perfumes are not able to turn a "dead man on springs" into a young man ... "Crocodile" (1865) - the original title - "About a husband eaten by a crocodile" - an acutely comic, grotesque situation of the story will remind the listener of Gogol's famous work " Nose". "Bad Anecdote" (1862) - in the story a harsh satire on the bureaucracy...

27
Jan
2017

Pani John 2. Crocodile from the country of Charlotte (Khmelevskaya John)

Format: audiobook, MP3, 96kbps
Author: Khmelevskaya Joanna
Release year: 2016
Genre: Ironic detective
Publisher: You can't buy anywhere
Artist: Erisanova Irina
Duration: 09:11:54
Description: The ironic detective story "The Crocodile from Charlotte's Country" has everything that makes readers love Joanna Khmelevskaya so much! Agents of international espionage, a mysterious gang of bandits and of course the indomitable Mrs. Joanna herself! And on the pages of this book we will meet with an old acquaintance, a prosecutor nicknamed the Devil, whom we met in the novel "Everyone is Suspected"! So John and his lover are looking for...

There were no crises in the USSR, so every citizen was confident in the future, and there were never any layoffs at Soviet enterprises.
“Which of the two to cut?”
(relevant in the light of current cuts).

Official Soviet statistics today unequivocally prove that everyone who criticizes the Soviet economy is brazenly lying, but in fact the successes of the Soviet economy are beyond all criticism.

“Sorry, comrade director, but it was me who accidentally turned the schedule upside down during cleaning”

In the USSR, people were sensitive and sincere to each other. Unlike today, when the phrase “Man is a wolf to man” has become the motto of life, in the USSR every Soviet person was different - “Friend, comrade and brother.”

Signing of a mutual non-aggression pact.

Although there were some shortcomings in the USSR in terms of the production of fashionable and modern products, everything made in the USSR reliably served its owners for decades.

- Where are the firewood from?
- From the Raymag, of course ...

Soviet statistics - the most accurate and reliable statistics!

"Throwing the Rings"

In the USSR, all people who followed fashion were dressed in fashionable modern clothes.

“And an additional question: where did you get such a sweater?”

Every year in the USSR, hundreds of thousands of square meters of comfortable living space were rented out for people on the waiting list.

“There is nothing to think about a soft landing here”

In Soviet new buildings, Soviet new settlers did not experience discomfort from the lack of consumer services for the population and shops selling the most necessary things for life.

"Here's a kitchen machine for you!"

In the USSR, every person could eat tasty food for a moderate fee in a network of catering canteens.

“For the first we have okroshka, but, unfortunately, without kvass”

In Soviet catering establishments, Soviet visitors were surrounded by an atmosphere of goodwill, comfort and coziness from the side of Soviet service personnel.

How quickly the month flew by!

In Soviet catering enterprises, the Soviet consumer was always offered products of the highest quality, in contrast to modern soy "meat" products.

"I'll make a cutlet out of you"

High yields on Soviet fields were harvested by the most modern agricultural machinery.

“When it stops, call. We will send an emergency

In the USSR, the most stringent nature protection was ensured, which was not and could not be in the capitalist countries.

"The best bait - all the fish will gather here! .."

Unlike capitalist trade, in Soviet stores there was never such a disgusting phenomenon as overdressing customers.

"Seller Championship"

The products of the Soviet light industry were in constant demand among the Soviet consumer.

"Textile factory needs: BUYERS"

The Soviet workers were the most inspired workers in the world and worked tirelessly behind the machines for the benefit of the Soviet government.

“I’ll leave for a minute in the shop, I’ll hang up the report card”

There were no cases of absenteeism at Soviet enterprises, since Soviet employees were aware of their high debt to the Soviet government and devoted themselves to work with incredible stress.

"Today in our trust SEARCHING"

And we emphasize again: Soviet statistics are the most reliable statistics.

“Again, they ate inflated reports!”

There were no cases of theft of socialist property at Soviet enterprises, and the manufactured products themselves met the highest quality and design criteria.

- Do you take out toys? Well, show me!
- Aren't you afraid, grandfather?

Soviet citizens have always rested their souls by shopping in Soviet stores. Not a single capitalist trading enterprise could compare with the politeness of employees with Soviet stores.

“Our store has joined the month of courtesy!”

The USSR was not even afraid of atomic bombs. It could only be destroyed with such terrible things that were sent to the gullible Soviet youth by the insidious emissaries of the capitalist foreign countries. Needless to say, how such parcels undermined the Soviet power.

Abbey Road by the Beatles, a Rolling Stones album and a pack of chewing gum is worse than an atomic bomb!

Well, in conclusion, a bonus: And this is how online games were presented back in 1970.

Actually, it's not that far from the truth. And here "Crocodile" is, as always, reliable.

Please note that the year of publication of the book (1963) determines the use of the Soviet official propaganda lexicon.

---
The oldest Soviet satirical magazine. It has been published in Moscow since 1922 by the Rabochaya Gazeta publishing house, since 1932 by the Pravda publishing house.

The emergence is associated with the "Working newspaper" (formerly "Worker") - the organ of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, which began to be published in Moscow in 1922 under the editorship of K. S. Eremeev. A talented team of employees created a new type of mass newspaper, designed for the working reader. Close ties with the people, a large influx of critical letters from the localities, the presence of experienced satirists among the staff, headed by Demyan Bedny - all this led to a prominent place for satirical works in the newspaper. The satires of D. Bedny, N. Ivanov-Gramin, V. Knyazev, A. Neverov were published here from issue to issue. A. Arkhangelsky and V. Lebedev-Kumach have proven themselves as satirists. On the pages of the newspaper, satirical departments and headings “Under the glass jar of the Worker”, “Red Rayek”, “Priestly Affairs”, etc., caricatures, critical signals from readers with satirical comments from the editors are firmly established.

On June 4, 1922, in order to expand the subscription, the editors began to issue a weekly illustrated and satirical supplement, which was sent free of charge to subscribers along with Sunday issues.

The editions of the supplement ridiculed the pillars of international opportunism, white émigrés hoping for a drought and famine in Russia, the NEP bourgeoisie, bourgeois intellectuals who sabotaged the activities of the Soviet government, churchmen who intoxicate the people, as well as crooks, speculators, moonshiners and other bearers of the vices associated with the NEP. The satire of these numbers is still rather abstract. The authors lack efficiency in covering the negative phenomena of life. They have not yet groped for the main themes to which life and the struggle of the Soviet people with the dying past directed the edge of satire. Unlike the newspaper, whose satire was based mainly on critical letters from readers, the pages of the supplement were filled with works by professional writers who were more committed to traditional forms and methods of selecting and presenting satirical materials. The reader is a friend and adviser, the reader is a correspondent and an active author has not yet established himself on the pages of the emerging magazine, has not said his decisive word about his face and character. The tasks of a satirical publication in the conditions of the peaceful development of the Soviet state have not yet been realized and clearly formulated. However, intensive searches for forms of communication with the working reader, new topics, new principles and methods of satirical typification have yielded positive results. The three-month experience of publishing an illustrated satirical supplement allowed the editors to find the right way to create a satirical magazine of a new type.

On August 27, 1922, instead of the next issue of the supplement (No. 13), the subscribers of Rabochaya Gazeta received the first issue of Krokodil.

The new magazine differed from its predecessor not only in the name. In the first number in the program poem by Demyan Bedny “The Red Crocodile is the bravest of the brave! - Against black and white crocodiles” the task of the publication is clearly formulated:

Reaching for all the rottenness
And stir up rot without any mercy,
So that the NEP dregs do not bloom
And not rotten
That is the task of the Red Crocodile!

The Nepman bourgeoisie, all sorts of rot generated by it “at the time of the NEP high water”, the predatory “crocodile tribe”, operating there, “where it is most muddy”, - this is the main target for satirists who, according to the poet, write “not for“ gentlemen ” , but for the "common people".

The attention of the satirists of "Krokodil" is drawn primarily to the shortcomings of the country's economic life, which ultimately determined the outcome of the struggle of the Soviet people against devastation, hunger, for a new, socialist Russia. Tearing up the NEP rottenness, the slush of everyday life, showing the doom of everything that the temporary revival of private initiative and entrepreneurship splashed onto the surface of life in a muddy wave, the crocodiles declared a truly revolutionary war on the disorganizers of the national economy. They caught, denounced and pilloried those who retained capitalist habits, mercilessly branded the shortcomings of the country's economic life. Guided by the advice of V. I. Lenin, who demanded from the Soviet press a business-like and merciless war against specific carriers of evil, systematic persecution of the worthless, they put the lagging behind factories and plants on the blackboard, and expose the specific culprits of this lag.

Irreconcilable to shortcomings, merciless criticism of their specific perpetrators, breathe the poetic reports of the “Red Crocodile selkor” Demyan Bedny about his trips around the country, the reports of the special correspondents of the magazine A. Arkhangelsky, L. Mitnitsky and others. Feuilletons and notes signed by the collective pseudonym “Demyan Poor and warm company of red crocodile rank. They were based on the materials of the raids of the magazine's employees and working correspondents-crocores in factories, factories, construction sites and institutions.

The unworthy deeds of the backward section of the workers were brought to the judgment of the masses. Grabbers and swindlers, loafers and truants, talkers and sycophants, drunkards, hooligans, parasites, swindlers were stigmatized. At the same time, “Krokodil” constantly stands guard over the interests of the working people, protects them from the arbitrariness of presumptuous administrators, from exploitation by the owners of the NEP, from swindlers, speculators, etc. The swagger, lordly manners, indifference to the demands and needs of the working people that took place were ruthlessly ridiculed. from individual leaders.

The magazine also showed the diverse life of the village, exposed the kulak, ridiculed talkers and couch potatoes. As a rule, an anti-religious theme is connected with the life of the village: hostile machinations and swindles of churchmen, religious prejudices and superstitions, old-fashioned customs and mores that prevent the Soviet peasantry from working and building life in a new way. The journal stood up for the bond between town and country, for the expansion of cultural and economic ties, education and agronomic education of the peasants.

Attention was paid to cultural issues. In the permanent section of the Crocodile Theater, hacks from literature and art were ridiculed, the ideological enemies of the Soviet people operating at home and abroad, intellectual saboteurs, whiners, alarmists, etc. were exposed. Materials on similar topics were also published in other departments, under various headings.

The unfinished enemies of the republic, the white émigrés and their patrons from the camp of international reaction, were ridiculed evilly, their hopes for the restoration of the old order, for the rebirth of Soviet power.

"Crocodile" is quickly gaining immense popularity in the work environment. Circulation is growing rapidly. By the beginning of 1923, it reached 150,000 copies, a number unprecedented at that time for publications of this kind.

Since February 1923, the “Crocodile Library” began to be published regularly, in which the works of the best satirists of the magazine, albums of caricatures by its leading artists were printed in mass editions. In May of the same year, the release of “The Living Crocodile” was organized - repertoire collections of satirical plays, feuilletons, miniatures intended for theaters, workers and Red Army clubs, etc. They were compiled by crocodiles, who often acted as performers.

V. Mayakovsky took an active part in the "Live" Crocodile ". Oral releases further expanded the sphere of influence of the "Crocodile" on the masses, increased its popularity. The journal becomes a friend of the working people, their adviser and defender. At general meetings, rallies, a symbolic Crocodile is elected an honorary director, a forester, a firefighter, etc. A large army of his followers appears in the field - crocodile.

At the end of 1923, the editors, together with readers, warmly said goodbye to their ideological leader and organizer K. S. Eremeev (Uncle Kostya), who was appointed member of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Baltic Fleet. The team of "Crocodile" elects him an honorary editor, promises to sacredly keep the traditions of crocodile satire. N. I. Smirnov becomes the editor-in-chief. "Krokodil" had a great influence on the process of formation of the Soviet satirical periodicals of the 20s. According to its type, satirical supplements of central and local newspapers begin to be built. Crocodile satirists take an active part in the creation of a number of such magazines. D. Moor devotes himself entirely to work in "The Atheist" ("The Atheist at the Machine"). M. Cheremnykh becomes one of the organizers of the "Godless Crocodile". For reasons like these, these and other key employees are moving away from their day-to-day work at Krokodil. An increasing role in the journal is beginning to be played by non-partisan satirists of the older generation, who by no means always understood the innovative role of Krokodil in the development and approval of new principles and methods of satirical journalism, have not yet freed themselves from the traditions of bourgeois humor.

The pages of "Crocodile" are beginning to fill with works of professional writers and artists. Topical notes and letters of crocodile are published less and less. From the middle of 1924, the most combat department disappears - "Pitchfork in the side." Following this, rabkor's notes cease to be published in other departments and headings. For some time they are concentrated, however, in "Kipatka" - a satirical and humorous newspaper "Crocodile" specially created to serve the working reader, but the works of staff members are soon forced out of there as well.

Political sharpness, topicality, the scale of the satire of "Crocodile" are noticeably reduced. The magazine begins to focus on the intelligent layers of readers, on employees, urban philistinism. Themes of work and life of workers fade into the background. The subject of the magazine has changed, other departments and headings have appeared. The "Reader Page" was replaced by the "Reader - Artist - Writer Page" and "Household Page". The rubrics “Party Deeds on a Pin”, “Modest Official Documents”, “From the Great to the Ridiculous”, “Our Panopticon”, “Literary Pelvis”, “Trifles”, etc., appeared.

In April 1927, Krokodil, along with some other satirical and humorous magazines, was subjected to severe and fair party criticism. The Central Committee of the Party obliged the editorial board to radically restructure the magazine, raise the ideological and artistic level of the printed materials and turn it into an organ serving the politically mature sections of the workers.

Party criticism of the shortcomings of satirical and humorous magazines, a big talk about the development of satirical periodicals, about its tasks, which took place in the Central Committee of the Party, had a beneficial effect on the process of restructuring Krokodil. He again takes an orientation towards the working reader, gradually restores ties with the masses, and attracts prominent Soviet satirists to cooperate. The departments "Pitchfork in the side" and "Reader's page" are being created again. By the end of the 1920s, Krokodil regained its fame as the best mass organ of Soviet satire. The circulation of the publication is steadily growing. By 1932, it already amounted to 500 thousand copies. The editors during these years are: from April 1927 - K. Maltsev, from September 1928 - N.K. Ivanov-Gramen and Felix Kohn, from May 1930 - M. 3. Manuilsky.

In the late 1920s and early 1930s, Krokodil headed for expanding communications with the largest factories and new buildings in the country.

In August 1930, Krokodil took patronage of Magnetostroy. The visiting team regularly publishes reports on the progress of construction in the magazine, publishes a satirical newspaper "Crocodile" on Magnitka. Other traveling brigades of crocodiles are actively invading the lives of numerous teams of the largest construction projects in the country.

Crocodile has enough to do
Crocodile has a big program:
In the next issue we take aim
Malfunctions at the AMO plant, -

wrote the editors in No. 1, 1931. In 1931, the editors informed readers that they were taking control of the work of 36 shock socialist construction projects.

The traveling brigades relied on work correspondents. The collected and processed material was published in wall newspapers, local newspapers, special satirical bulletins and leaflets. In 1931 - 1932 "Crocodile" was published simultaneously in several editions, differing from each other in two pages, intended for readers of various regions (main, Moscow, Leningrad, Ukrainian, Ural-Siberian, etc.).

Numerous and meaningful material from readers and working correspondents was used by the editors on the pages of the magazine by no means completely.

Part of it was published in leaflets, which were sent to local factory and wall newspapers. Up to 100-150 leaflets "Crocodile with us" were sent monthly. The sheets were filled with caricatures and sharp notes using factual material. They were, as it were, a continuation of the permanent departments "Special Department", "Dear Crocodile", "On Land and Sea", etc. The most qualified employees of the magazine, workers of the factory press, worker correspondents worked on the release of the leaflets "Crocodile with us".

The emblem of the magazine - a crocodile with a pitchfork - becomes known in the widest circles of readers. Krokodil is turning into one of the most popular Soviet publications, attracting the attention of progressive circles in foreign countries.

His satirical speeches often served as a signal for the formation of a broad public opinion around certain shortcomings and negative phenomena in industrial and social life. The departments “Pitchfork in the side”, “Rapid fire”, “Rolling shop”, “Hair on end”, “Crocodile for a snack”, “For hail and springs”, “Crocodile archive”, etc. enjoyed continued success. called "Rescripts of the Crocodile", which issued special "orders" to bunglers and bureaucrats.

The influence of "Crocodile" on the local press is growing. Satirical departments and headings appear in factory, district and regional newspapers, thousands of satirical stennovoks are published. At some of the largest factories, working satirical magazines and newspapers were created with the help of crocodiles, printed in a typographical way. The special Krokodil propaganda plane, built at the expense of the magazine's employees and readers, did a lot to popularize the magazine and even greater communication with the working people, penetrating into the most remote corners of the country.

The "Crocodile" of the early 1930s largely got rid of those mistakes that appeared in it in the mid-1920s.

A. M. Gorky provided great assistance in eliminating these shortcomings to the Soviet satirists of the 1930s. He advised more often and more widely to use such an artistic technique as opposition, emphasizing the contrasts between the world of capitalism and the world of socialism. This technique helped the reader, especially the young one, to see more clearly the new that appeared in the life of the country, to better understand the significance of the ongoing changes. Setting the satirists to predominantly show internal problems, focusing on individual, often minor, phenomena led to a loss of perspective. Gorky insisted on the need to cover in the journal not only domestic, but also international topics, to expose the foreign world with its vile and terrible reality, using both large and small facts for this.

Gorky demanded to abandon the naturalistic reproduction of life, taught to subject the facts to satirical generalization.

In 1931, Gorky met with the employees of Krokodil and, in a conversation with them, expressed critical remarks about the work of the magazine. This intervention by Gorky entailed a significant restructuring of the Crocodile.

Even greater changes are taking place in Krokodil in connection with the arrival of M. Koltsov as an editor in 1934, who was closely associated with A. M. Gorky through joint work in a number of magazines, saw well the shortcomings of the young Soviet satire and shared Gorky's views on its character and significance in the conditions of socialist reality.

M. Koltsov attracts talented Soviet satirists to active work in Krokodil. Among them are D. Bedny, A. Bezymensky, V. Ermilov, D. Zaslavsky, E. Zozulya, I. Ilf, V. Kataev, E. Petrov, M. Svetlov, I. Ehrenburg and others. I. Abramsky, N. Aduev, M. Andrievskaya, V. Ardov, A. Arkhangelsky, N. Aseev, A. Bukhov, N. Verzhbitsky, V. Voinov, V. Granov, A. d "Aktil (A Frenkel), N. Ivanov-Gramin, V. Inber, S. Kirsanov, N. Kruzhkov, V. Lebedev-Kumach, L. Mntnitsky, I. Molchanov, L. Nikulin, I. Prutkov (V. Zhirkovich), M Pustynin, P. Romanov, G. Ryklin, L. Sayansky, V. Solovyov, A. Stovratsky, A. Tolstoy, Y. Fidler, V. Shishkov and others. Tour (P. Ryzhey and L. Tubelsky), S. Vasilyev, E. Vesenin, Y. German, B. Gorbatov, V. Gusev, S. Dikovsky, V. Karbovskaya, A. Kolosov, L. Lagina, B. Laskin , L. Lench, M. Matusovsky, S. Mikhalkov, A. Raskin, M. Rosenfeld, K. Simonov, M. Slobodsky, S. Smirnov, A. Tvardovsky, S. Shvetsov and others. iks, both at the expense of old cartoonists who had previously retired from cooperation in the magazine, and at the expense of new talented youth.

Along with the old crocodiles (L. Brodaty, Yu. Ganf, N. Denisovsky, M. Dobrokovsky, K. Eliseev, B. Efimov, V. Kozlinsky, N. Kupreyanov, D. Moore, A. Junger, etc.) B. Antonovsky, V. Galba, L. Gench, V. Goryaev, E. Evgan, I. Kalikin, A. Kanevsky, Kukryniksy, A. Maleinov, B. Prorokov, F. Reshetnikov are actively performing; I. Semenov, L. Soyfertis, V. Suteev, A. Topikov, Yu. Uzbyakov and others.

In the "Crocodile" of this time, the best forces of Soviet satire are again gathering. This allowed the editorial board of the journal (from April 1934 - L. Ginzburg, V. Ermilov, B. Levin, M. Koltsov, M. Manuilsky, L. Rovinsky, in 1938 - V. Kataev, M. Koltsov, L. Lagin, A. Nazarov, E. Petrov, L. Rovinsky, G. Ryklin) expand the subject, make it socially acute, highly artistic. Almost every issue opened with a topical feuilleton by M. Koltsov, which determined the main blow of the magazine's satire. The forms of presentation of materials, methods of mass work are being improved and diversified.

The Second World War leaves a peculiar imprint on the appearance of the Crocodile. From issue to issue, pamphlets, feuilletons, and cartoons are printed on its pages, exposing the fascist warmongers and their accomplices from the camp of the so-called appeasers. A remarkable achievement is his political caricature on international topics, presented by the names of L. Brodaty, Kukryniksy, K. Eliseev, B. Efimov, Yu. Ganf and others.

The magazine's satirists denounced fascism and its ideologues, tore off the masks of peacekeepers from the Anglo-French and American imperialists who pandered to the fascists. For a long time, the attention of the poets and satirists of the magazine is attracted by the heroic struggle of the Spanish people against fascism. The "crocodile" of these years played a significant role in educating the Soviet people in the spirit of irreconcilable hatred of fascism. He called for vigilance, for combat readiness, and strengthened the feelings of proletarian internationalism and Soviet patriotism among the masses.

By the end of the thirties, the cult of Stalin's personality made itself felt especially noticeably. He left his mark on satire. It gradually loses its concreteness, ceases to touch upon topical topics of the country's internal life, and becomes smaller. A sharp feuilleton, a critical signal from the spot is being replaced by a humorous story, a cautious allegory, a lightweight joke. Satire on specific carriers of evil is replaced by denunciation of abstract and, as a rule, insignificant shortcomings.

Many prominent satirists in these years are moving away from active work in the Crocodile, leaving for the so-called "great" literature.

On the pages of the magazine, only humorists find a wide field of activity for themselves, encouraged in every possible way by the "theoreticians" of the so-called positive feuilletons.

Since December 1938, the signature of the executive editor M. E. Koltsov, who was subjected to unreasonable repression, disappeared from the last page of Krokodil. The unnamed "Editorial Board" became the head of the journal. Krokodil is still printed in a large circulation (275 thousand copies), continues to be one of the most beloved mass publications, but its face is undergoing significant changes.

The satirical program of the journal of this period is formulated by the editors in the note “A Few Words about the Scheme”, which opened the 8th, special issue of Krokodil, which was a response to Stalin's report to the 18th Party Congress. Satirists were called upon to learn skills from Stalin, to find topics in his speeches for their denunciations. It was recommended, first of all, to “mock evilly” at the external enemy (here a number of topics were given) and, as it were, by the way, to “laugh” at some shortcomings that still took place in the life of the Soviet people. A bashful enumeration of these shortcomings (bureaucrats, couch potatoes who do not want to move their brains, “narrow specialists”, people who continue to “blow the old tune”) was accompanied by assurances that “the magazine, together with the whole country, will rejoice and laugh merrily, looking at the flowering our homeland."

Evil, sharp political satire on international topics and "joyful", "cheerful" laughter when referring to the topics of the country's internal life - these are the basic principles and attitudes that determined the appearance of the "Crocodile" of the pre-war period. Satire, thus, completely switched to international topics, humor asserted its monopoly on domestic topics. This attitude was reflected in the name of the permanent satirical, departments and headings. The department "Pitchfork in the side" and many other departments and headings are being liquidated. They are replaced by "Quotes by the way", "Special Department", "Order Board", "Paper for signature". The prevailing place was occupied by a sharp political feuilleton, pamphlet, caricature, newspaper and documentary facts of international life, given with witty comments. The satirical photomontage on international themes, presented by the master of this genre, B. Klinch, began to play an important role. Small genres on the same topics fill the departments and headings “We are written from abroad”, “Museum of Stupidity”, “Crocodile's Diary”, “Foreign Humor”, etc.

During these years, the journal's interest in questions of literature and art increased noticeably. Often there are thematic issues dedicated to the anniversaries of writers (Mayakovsky, Saltykov-Shchedrin, Chekhov, etc.). The rubrics “Books for Review”, “Looking at Faces” appeared, filled with literary portraits, parodies and epigrams of S. Vasiliev and other satirists.

Professional writers begin to play the predominant role again. The journal often publishes poems glorifying the labor exploits of the Soviet people, their patriotism and heroism. In poems of this kind, the theme of vigilance, combat readiness, the growth of the country's defense capability, etc., is especially often heard. Heroic themes have been almost leading since September 1939, when the Soviet people extended a fraternal helping hand to the peoples of Western Ukraine and Western Belarus. Field brigades of the "Crocodile", which were in parts of the Red Army, constantly inform readers about events, are actively involved in campaign work, participate in front-line printing, in the production of propaganda posters, etc. For example, the "Crocodile" brigade as part of V. And Lebedeva-Kumach, M. Edel, and others, at that time, established a regular issue of the magazine "Crocodile in Western Ukraine", printed in two languages. The military theme becomes the main one in the magazine during the Soviet-Finnish war.

From the first days of the Great Patriotic War, the entire content of the "Crocodile" is subordinated to one task - the fight against the Nazi invaders. The magazine exposes the plans of the fascist army, calls for a merciless struggle against the enemies, and expresses firm confidence in the final victory over the fascist invaders. The satire of "Crocodile" mobilized the workers and soldiers of the Soviet Army for exploits in the rear and at the front. Along with political posters, "Windows" of TASS, the satire of "Crocodile" in these years becomes a great propaganda force.

Many satirists of "Crocodile" during the Great Patriotic War fought in the ranks of the Soviet Army. From the active army, from the front line of fire, they send sharp angry works to their magazine.

During these years, satirists of the older generation, who remained in the rear and took on the chores of uninterrupted production of the magazine, took up pen and pencil (D. Zaslavsky, V. Lebedev-Kumach, D. Bedny, N. Ivanov-Gramen, N. Kruzhkov, L. Nikulin, S. Marshak, L. Mitnitsky, M. Pustynin, V. Tobolyakov and others, artists L. Brodaty, Yu. Ganf, K. Eliseev, B. Efimov, A. Kanevsky, M. Cheremnykh and others. ). The difficulties of wartime noticeably affect the printing design of "Crocodile", its volume, circulation, periodicity. The magazine was often printed on plain newsprint, sometimes with monochrome illustrations. Its volume was reduced to 8 pages, circulation - up to 135-100 thousand copies. The editors (since April 1943, the names of the editor and members of the editorial board reappear on the cover of the journal: the executive editor is G. Ryklin, the members of the editorial board are D. Zaslavsky, V. Kataev, Kukryniksy) makes a lot of efforts to prepare issues for publication in a timely manner and release into the light. A significant, although quite understandable and justified shortcoming of the work of the editorial board at that time was a weak connection with the military and rabselkor activists. The magazine was made by the forces of a narrow team of employees, based on a few cadres of satirists working in the rear. But this support was not always strong, since many of the professional satirists devoted themselves entirely to working on propaganda posters, TASS “Windows”, sponsorship of military units, hospitals, etc. Similar reasons did not allow the editors to establish permanent ties with the old crocodiles, who were on the fronts of the Patriotic War and worked in the front-line and army press. The leading department of the magazine "Accurate Strike" was built mainly on the materials of front-line and army newspapers. Documentary material formed the basis of such departments and headings as "Short line", "There is something to talk about", etc. The heading "With genuine bad" was filled with excerpts from letters and testimonies of captured German soldiers and officers. Under the heading “From my own correspondent”, satirical works of the magazine’s own correspondents from the active army (V. Kataev, M. Edel, etc.) were published - the parody newspaper “Vralishe Brekhobakhter”, regularly printed on the pages of the magazine, was cleverly built and enjoyed great popularity among readers. The life of the rear of the country was reflected in the sections “Dear Crocodile” (letters from readers), “Talents and Admirers”, “Once Upon a Time ...”, etc. The section “From the cycle of portraits of non-heroes of our time” was interesting, under which he spoke with poetic feuilletons AT. I. Lebedev-Kumach.

During the war years, N. Aduev, S. Alymov, Yu. Arbat, Argo, V. Ardamatsky, V. Ardov, N. Aseev, A. Bezymensky, E. Vermont, S. Vasiliev, O. Vishnya, L. Galkin, V. Granov, E. Dolmatovsky, V. Dykhovichny, A. Zharov, M. Zoshchenko, Vl. Ivanov, A. Isbakh, V. Karbovskaya, B. Kezhun, S. Kirsanov, B. Kovynev, A. Kolosov, O. Kolychev, E. Kopylov, B. Kotlyarov, E. Krotkiy, N. Labkovsky, L. Lagin, B. Laskin, L. Lench, V. Mass, S. Mikhalkov, I. Molchanov, S. Narignani, A. Nedogonov, A. Prokofiev, A. Raskin, A. Rezapkin, I. Ryabov, L. Slavin, M. Slonimsky, S. Smirnov, Ts. Solodar, A. Tvardovsky, B. Timofeev, A. Tolstoy, I. Utkin, Yu. Fidler, A. Fleet, Yu. Chaplygin, M. Chervinsky, S. Shvetsov, A. Erivansky, A. Erlich, A. Yashin and others.

The Great Patriotic War ended. The transition to the theme of peacetime required the editors of Krokodil to radically restructure all their work. But it didn't happen. The magazine retained its former “front-line” appearance, was made by the same narrow circle of employees, did nothing to attract experienced writers and satirists to its pages, and did not worry about expanding ties with the masses. The editorial board (its former composition was preserved) did not take serious measures to raise the ideological and artistic level of the published works.

In a resolution of the Central Committee of the Party, published in September 1948, the journal was justly criticized. The detachment of the editors from life, the lack of the necessary exactingness to the ideological and artistic level of the works were noted, and an unattractive appearance was pointed out. “Krokodil,” the decision said, “is being conducted completely unsatisfactorily and is not a fighting organ of Soviet satire and humor.” The reasons for this state of affairs in the journal were seen in the lack of collegiality, lack of planning in the work, in the fact that it was done by the hands of a narrow circle of full-time employees, that prominent Soviet writers and poets, workers of the central and local press were not involved in participation, etc.

The Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks approved a new editorial board of Krokodil, consisting of D. G. Belyaev (managing editor), S. A. Shvetsov, S. A. Vasiliev, A. N. Vasiliev, D. I. Zaslavsky, V. P. Kataeva, Kukryniksov (M. V. Kupriyanov, P. N. Krylov, N. A. Sokolov), S. D. Narinyani, V. I. Prorokova, G. E. Ryklina, I. A. Ryabova.

The Central Committee set specific tasks for Krokodil. “The magazine,” the resolution said, “should, with the weapon of satire, denounce the plunderers of public property, grabbers, bureaucrats, manifestations of swagger, servility, vulgarity; to respond in a timely manner to topical international events, to criticize the bourgeois culture of the West, to show its ideological insignificance and degeneration.

The Central Committee obliged the editorial board to make wider use of various genres of satire and humor, to acquaint readers with the best materials published in local humorous magazines and magazines of the countries of people's democracy, satirical works of progressive foreign writers, to publish documentary photographs from foreign newspapers and magazines, supplying them with politically sharp comments. The editorial board was invited to involve a wide range of writers, poets, artists, workers of the central and local press, to practice discussing the thematic plans of the magazine and the content of published issues with the author's asset, to regularly hold reader conferences at enterprises, collective farms, educational institutions, and military units. In order to attract new cadres of satirists to work in the journal, the editorial board of Krokodil, together with the Union of Soviet Writers of the USSR, decided to hold a meeting of writers - satirists and feuilletonists in Moscow in November 1948. The editors of Krokodil were also instructed to hold a competition in December 1948 for the best humorous story, feuilleton and caricature. The editors undertook to reduce the time for the journal to go through production, improve the artistic and printing design, increase the volume, create conditions that ensure the regular release of the journal on the 10th, 20th, 30th of each month.

After the decision, the magazine improved markedly. It began to be printed on 16 pages, with colorful illustrations, on good paper. Its content has also improved dramatically. “Pitchfork to the Side” reappears, the “Dear Crocodile” department expands, and the “Crocodile Helped” section appears. The sections and headings “Reporting addresses”, “With genuinely bad”, “Oddly enough, but ...”, “Crocodile's photo showcase”, “From printed”, etc., are assigned a critical signal to readers.

The expansion of ties with the masses allowed the editors to make their critical statements concrete and effective.

A positive role in improving the work of the magazine was played by a meeting of writers - satirists and feuilletonists, held at the direction of the Central Committee of the Party by the editorial board of Krokodil and the Union of Writers. After this meeting, the old satirists, who had previously departed from the magazine, again come to Krokodil. New forces were attracted by the competition for the best humorous story, feuilleton and caricature.

V. Alenin, S. Ananin, V. Bakhnov, Yu. Blagov, A. Vikhrev, S. Vishnevsky, V. Dragunsky, B. Egorov, S. Zvantsev, I. Kostyukov, Ya. Kostyukovsky, V. Kotov, V. Kukanov, B. Leontiev, A. Malin, S. Marshak, A. Nikolaev, S. Oleinik, J. Polishchuk, V. Polyakov, B. Privalov, G. Radov, I. Ryabov, R. Sartsevich , N. Cherepanova, S. Shatrov, 3. Yuryev, Yu. Yakovlev and others. Along with the old crocodile artists, cartoonists A. Bazhenov, G. Valk, M. Weisbord, V. Vasiliev, E. Vedernikov, E. Gurov, V. Konovalov, S. Kuzmin, B. Leo, N. Lisogorsky and others.

The resolution of the Central Committee opened up great prospects for Soviet satirists. For satire, not only the right to exist was recognized - great responsibilities were assigned to it. However, any somewhat bold criticism of the vices that accompanied Stalin's personality cult was immediately met with hostility, any attempt at a satirical typification of the negative phenomena of life was seen as an attempt to denigrate and defame Soviet reality. Under the conditions of the cult of personality, Soviet satire was actually doomed to vegetate, it was removed from active influence on life, deprived of its main qualities - courage, adherence to principles and sharpness in raising the most important issues of the country's social development, topicality and combat intransigence towards specific carriers of evil, was deprived of the right to artistic generalizations, typification.

On September 21, 1951, a new resolution was adopted - "On the shortcomings of the Krokodil magazine and measures to improve it." This resolution again noted that Krokodil was an uninteresting journal and was conducted at an insufficiently high ideological and artistic level.

“On the pages of the Krokodil magazine,” it said, “many far-fetched, meaningless stories and poems are printed, weak drawings and caricatures that do not have serious social significance, mistakes are made in covering the internal life of the country and international events. Quite often, isolated negative facts in Krokodil are presented as general shortcomings in the work of state, trade union and other organizations, which creates a misconception among readers about the work of these organizations.

The Central Committee drew the attention of the editorial board to the fact that it publishes mainly drawings and caricatures of a narrow circle of artists, whose works are primitive and monotonous in theme, stereotyped in execution. “The magazine,” the resolution states, “poorly fulfills the task of combating the remnants of capitalism in the minds of Soviet people.” The Central Committee of the Party obliged the editorial board to eliminate the shortcomings and in the shortest possible time to achieve an increase in the ideological and artistic level of the journal.

A sharp change in Soviet satire in general, in "Crocodile" in particular, occurs after the historic decisions of the XX Congress of the CPSU. The resolute condemnation of Stalin's personality cult and all its negative offspring cleared the ground for the all-round development of criticism and self-criticism.

Already in the first years after the 20th Congress, Krokodil became sharper, more militant, more closely connected with the reader. The leading role in expanding and strengthening relations with readers is again assigned to the departments "Pitchfork in the side" and "Dear Crocodile". New headings appear and old headings flourish, built exclusively on critical materials from readers (“Allow me to disturb”, “With genuine bad”, etc.) - A permanent heading “Motley Chronicle” appears, reflecting the impressions of the Crocodile from his frequent trips around the country to analyze readers' complaints . A large and serious conversation is being conducted in "open letters" to workers on a union and republican scale, who are guilty of various shortcomings. Forgotten rubrics appear - "Crocodile Raid", "Crocodile Mix", "Excerpts from the Unwritten", "From the Printed", etc. The magazine's relations with satirists of the fraternal republics, countries of people's democracy, progressive satirists of foreign countries are expanding. A lot of interesting things have appeared on the pages of the magazine in recent years. The editorial board (from the end of 1958 M. G. Semenov became the editor) revives the best traditions of Krokodil of the 1920s and 1930s. The share of readers' participation in the preparation of issues is immeasurably increasing. Dozens of critical signals and notes are printed in the sections and headings "Dear Crocodile!", "The Reader's Word", "You Can't Invent It On Purpose", "Responses and Replicas", "Please Inform", "From the Unpublished", "On a Direct Wire", " We are informed”, “Indecent consumer goods”, “Crocodile helped, but...”, “Crocodile Telegraph” and others. cartoons. Traditional forms of communication with the masses are being revived. Traveling brigades of the magazine penetrate all regions of the country. They regularly inform readers about their struggle with the revealed shortcomings. At shock construction sites, factories, factories, state farms and collective farms, Krokodil posts are organized, the magazine takes patronage over them, special headings appear: Crocodile Raid, Crocodile Post, My sponsored, etc.

"Crocodile" is fighting for saving public funds. A special thematic issue “About a penny” was released, permanent headings “My piggy bank”, “Exhibition of waste”, etc. were introduced.

Much attention is paid to the issues of everyday life and morality of the Soviet people (department "Life or not life?"). Some other rubrics are subject to the same problems. Cultural life is regularly reflected (the departments "Talents and Admirers", "Turning Through the Pages", "Among the Muses and Graces", the heading "Literary Parodies", etc.). Under the heading "My Interviews" and "My Opening Day" the reader gets acquainted with the work of various remarkable figures of literature and art of our time. Satirists from the countries of the socialist camp, progressive satirists from the capitalist countries often appear in Krokodil.

The international themes are rich and multifaceted. Warmongers are exposed, atomic psychosis is sharply ridiculed in a crocodile way, the true face of bourgeois ideology, politics and diplomacy is revealed. Satirists use a variety of genres, from pamphlet to anecdote. The caricatures receive a great international response. Satirical miniatures published under the headings “Our Teletype”, “Small Shot”, “On a Joking Wave”, “Crocodile Review”, etc. enjoy common love. Around the light and darkness”, etc.

"Krokodil" rightfully occupies the honorable place of the leading magazine in a large multinational family of satirical publications in our country. He has strong friendly ties with his foreign comrades in arms, shares his experience with them, regularly acquaints readers with examples of world satire and humor. The permanent column "What's new in the satirical workshop" informs about the latest in satirical literature and graphics. Books of satire and humor from the “Crocodile Library”, albums dedicated to the work of the largest Soviet cartoonists, series of satirical posters on various topics, etc. are published in mass editions.

In 2000, due to insufficient funding, Krokodil ceased publication.
From September 2001, a group of crocodiles published the New Crocodile magazine until August 2004. The publication of the magazine resumed in Moscow in 2006. However, designed not for the broad masses, but for a narrow circle of readers, he could not win the former fame and finally closed in 2008.

Fictional characters often appeared on the pages of the magazine, who were given the features of real-life people. These characters include:

Crocodile- a permanent character of feuilletons, caricatures and screensavers, as well as the cartoon series "Cartoon Crocodile". Depicted as a red crocodile with a pitchfork and a pipe (the pipe disappeared in different years, then reappeared). Komsomolets since 1922 (that is, from birth; No. 28, 1968). "Raised" two sons - Totosha and Kokosha. "Owned" a three-room apartment in Moscow (No. 36, 1987) and a Zhiguli car (No. 18, 1981; model unknown). In 1990, he "founded" his own party - the RCP (entertaining crocodile party). "Died" in 1992 from acute financial insufficiency; after the funeral service, the body was given over to water (No. 6, 1992).

Totosha and Kokosha- children of the Crocodile (the names are borrowed from the works of K. Chukovsky "Crocodile" and "Moydodyr"), "leading" headings "At Totoshi and Kokoshi" (1982-1989). Depicted as red twin crocodiles. According to Crocodile (No. 36, 1990) by the beginning of the 1990s. grew up, after which Totosha took up management, and Kokosha went to the USA to make entertainment magazines for men. Considering that in 1991 the rubric was resumed, it can be assumed that Crocodile had grandchildren.

Big Crocodile- Crocodile's wife. According to the latter (No. 36, 1990), she went crazy back in the 1930s, which was reflected in the famous song.

Nile Crocodile- the elder brother of the Crocodile, a native African. With his older brother, Crocodile "made" a journey through the liberated countries of Africa, resulting in the appearance of No. 25 for 1960.

Lev Skameikin- a fictional correspondent for the crocodile newspaper "Around the Light and Darkness" in 1976-1980 and 1985. The name of the journalist is a portmanteau of the names of journalists Lev Rubashkin and Yan Skameykin from the novel The Golden Calf by Ilya Ilf and Yevgeny Petrov.

Evgeny Dotoshny- detective, character of feuilletons and comics published under the heading "Documentary Detective" (1982-1984)

I. Khmelnoy- a fictional correspondent for the fictional newspaper "Drinking Buddy", a chronic alcoholic ("fighter against sobriety"). Feuilletons on anti-alcohol topics were published under the name of Y. Khmelny. The name of the newspaper "Sobotylnik" may be an allusion to "Sobesednik" - the name of the supplement to the newspaper "Komsomolskaya Pravda".

Katyusha- the emblem of the XII World Festival of Youth and Students in Moscow. Depicted as a girl in a Russian sundress and a kokoshnik in the form of a festival chamomile. With Katyusha, Krokodil "made" a walk around the festival Moscow, as a result of which No. 21 for 1985 appeared.

Old Man Sinitsky- the son of Zosya Sinitskaya and the great-grandson of the old man Sinitsky from the novel by Ilya Ilf and Evgeny Petrov "The Golden Calf", a hereditary puzzle writer. He was the "leading" column "Move the cerebral gyrus" (1986-1988).

Princess Turandot and Prince Calaf- characters from the comedy "Princess Turandot" by Carlo Gozzi. They were the "leaders" of the heading "Turandot" (1989-1992), which replaced the heading "Move the cerebral gyrus".

Valentin L. Podsvechnikov- private entrepreneur, founder of the cooperative "Vitamin C" (vitamin of laughter). As a result of the agreement concluded between Crocodile and Podsvechnikov, No. 10 for 1989 appeared.

Harlequin and Columbine- the characters of A. Blok's drama "Puppet Show", and in "Crocodile" Harlequin played the role of an informal humorist, and Colombina - a formalized satire. Together with Harlequin and Columbine (as well as Blok who came to visit them), Crocodile “created” No. 10 for 1990.

In 2000, due to insufficient funding, Krokodil ceased publication. From September 2001, a group of crocodiles published the New Crocodile magazine until August 2004. The publication of the magazine resumed in Moscow in 2006. However, designed not for the broad masses, but for a narrow circle of readers, he could not win the former fame and finally closed in 2008 ...