The power of monuments of the past. Part 1. Ivan Krylov’s “The Wolf in the Kennel”

The material originally posted at our Telegram channel “Beorn An dThe Shieldmaiden”.

One of the reasons why NATO and the Ukro-Nazis, among others, are so panic-stricken in the face of the Soviet and Russian monuments that they seek to destroy them is of course that the monuments represent the power of the collective past of the nation, giving strength and guidance to the present generation.

In the autumn of 1944 issue № 41 of “Krokodil” we can admire such a guidance in a drawing on page 8.

Here the Soviet soldiers are driving on the armour of a tank past the monument to Ivan Andreevich Krylov, the famous Russian poet, fable-writer and translator. On the pedestal they read the words from one of his works, “The Wolf in the Kennel”, written in the fateful year of 1812:

You shan’t make peace with wolves in any other way,
Than flogging their skins away.

To which they salute, exclaiming:

— The task to flog the skin is understood, Ivan Andreevich!

Artist: M.Cheremnyh

📖📖📖

“The Wolf in the Kennel”

by the Russian poet Ivan Krylov, written in 1812.

A wolf at night, thinking to get into the sheepfold,
Got to the kennel in its stead.
Suddenly the whole kennel yard rose up –
Sensing the Gray bully oh so close,
The dogs are barking in the stables and wishing for a fight;
The dog-keepers shout: “Oh, guys, there’s a thief!”
And instantly the gate is locked;
In a minute, the kennel became hell.
They’re bustling: one with a club,
Another with a gun.
“Fire! – they are shouting, – fire!” They came with fire.
My Wolf is sitting with his back pressed into the corner.
Teeth snapping and fur bristling,
With his eyes, it seems, he would like to eat everyone;
But seeing that he’s not in front of a herd here
And that the time of reckoning, at last,
comes to Him for all the sheep, –
My cunning man started
With negotiations
And he began like this: “Friends! What’s all the fuss about?
I, your old matchmaker and godfather,
I came to make peace with you, not at all for the sake of a quarrel;
Let’s forget the past, let’s set up a common mood!
And not only will I not touch the local herds in time to come
But I’m happy to fight for them with others
And I affirm it with a wolf’s oath,
that I…” – “Listen, neighbour,”
Here the hunter interrupted in response, ”
“You are Gray, and I am, buddy, gray haired with my age,
And I’ve known your wolf nature for a long time;
Therefore, the custom of mine is:
You shan’t make peace with wolves in any other way,
Than flogging their skins away.”
And immediately released on the Wolf a pack of hounds.

📖📖📖

Here is the original text of the fable in Russian, taken from Russian poetry
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Soviet New Year Toys – A Fragile Nostalgia

Happy Old New Year to all of you from us at Beorn And The Shieldmaiden!

A short documentary film from NTV which, in the course of just 10 minutes, manages to tell the story of the Soviet Union, seen through the colourful New Year tree decorations.

The feeling of nostalgia, so accurately conveyed by the film, is very much familiar to all of us who either had such New Year toys, or is still keeping them on the upper shelf, in a wooden box…


Backup at Rumble

🎄🚩☃️

The documentary mentions several classic Soviet films. Here they are:

🎦 “Grunya Kornakova”, 1936 — a film about the riot of the workers of a large porcelain factory. The events in the film take place in pre-revolutionary Russia. The first Soviet full-length colour film created using a rolling method.

🎦 “Circus”, 1936 — A musical film based on the comedy of I. Ilf, E. Petrov “Under the Dome of the Circus”. In the mid-1930s, an American Marion Dixon fled the US with a small black son. Knowing the facts of her personal life, the circus actor von Kneitschitz blackmailing her, forces her to work with him. Arriving with an original attraction in the USSR, Marion finds here friends, a loved one and decides to stay here forever.

🎦 “The Siberians”, 1940 — This film is filled with mystery and the expectation of a miracle. Two boys (6th grade students Seryozha and Petya), having heard from an old resident of their village a story about the distant events of the pre-revolutionary period, set out to find one very important thing… If it were the Holy Grail, a treasure trove, or a meteorite, at the very least, it would be fine, but the peculiarity of this touching story is that the boys are enthralled by the search of Comrade Stalin’s pipe.

🎦 “Carnival Night”, 1956 (with English subtitles) — A new chief of a “Culture House” is planning to hold a terribly boring New Year concert. A group of young amateur actors are doing their best to liven up the concert. Obviously, no one wants to change the program with only a few hours before the show, much less to replace it with something so boring. So everyone teams up in order to prevent Ogurtsov from getting to the stage. They manage to trap Ogurtsov by any means necessary so that the acts can perform their scheduled pieces, and celebrate New Year’s Eve as originally planned.

🎦 “Chuk and Gek”, 1953 — A touching story about how young Muscovites – seven-year-old Chuk and six-year-old Gek – went with their mom to their dad, who was on a distant geological expedition, and how they struggled with a harsh winter and all sorts of difficulties because their dad, having set out on an urgent expedition, did not meet them, but sent a telegram, which the children threw out the window without letting their mom read it… Based on the story of the same name by Arkady Gaidar.

“The Winter Fairytale” and “When New Year Trees Light Up” – Soviet New Year animation films to all of you!

Our warmest congratulations and presents from the New Year eve on our Telegram channel “Beorn And The Shieldmaiden”!

Happy New Year of 2025!

We wish our dear BATS readers a very happy New Year!

Let the coming year bring happiness and good fortune, let there be peaceful skies above our heads and normalcy in our world!

🎄Postcard from the New Year of 1962 – 1963 with the scene from the animated film “When New Year Trees Light Up” — from Beorn’s family album.


The Winter Fairytale

A 1945 magically musical New Year animated film from the USSR.

A cold winter has arrived, and the New Year is coming soon. The forest animals gathered to meet him. Ded Moroz (Grandfather Frost), Snegurochka (the Snow Maiden) and the Snowman help them in this. A New Year’s tale with musical scenes around the New Year tree.

Directed by the legendary Ivan Ivanov-Vano, and set to the music of Pyotr Ilyich Chaikovskij. This is the last Soviet colour film that was created using the tri-colour method.


Backup on Rumble


When New Year Trees Light Up

The cartoon about the magic of the New Year season — when all the dreams manifest themselves, but also about the importance of being true to your word!

The film was created by the animation studio “Soyuzmultfilm” and appeared on the Soviet TV screens on the 31st of December 1950.

Backup on Rumble

Happy New Year of the 80th Anniversary of the Great Victory!

We present a selection of posts with drawings and caricatures from a very special edition of the Soviet satirical magazine, “Krokodil”. More can be found at our Telegram channel “Beorn And The Shieldmaiden”!

Greetings on the coming Year of the 80th Anniversary of the Victory!

No doubt was left: the New Year of 1945 would finally bring Victory! As attested by the painting by L.Brodat on the cover of the combined issue №47-48 of “Krokodil” from December 1944.

🎄🎄🎄

— Who is coming?
— New Year!
— Password?
— Victory!
— Advance! *

🎄🎄🎄

* The final command — Advance! — is a play on the double meaning of the phrase “Coming New Year”, which translates literally as “Advancing New Year”, when at the same time, in the military context, the first word would also carry the meaning of “to attack” or “to charge”.

In the posts leading up to the New Year, we bring some of the drawings and caricatures from that issue of “Krokodil”. Some of them, as you will see, are surprisingly relevant now, in December of 2024!


At the Fascist Flee(ce) Market

The caricature by Yu.Ganf from the combined issue №47-48 of “Krokodil” from December 1944. It sums up the departing year in humorous detail, accompanied by a longer text with a month-by-month blow, which are translated below!

Let us admire the caricature in all its Bruegelesque detail, starting with the upper left corner.
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100 Year Anniversary of the Soviet Art Collective “Kukryniksy”

KUKRYNIKSY is 100 Years!

We present the material from the series of posts at our Telegram channel “Beorn And The Shieldmaiden”, celebrating the centenary of this illustrious art collective!

2024 marks the 100th anniversary of the day when the first cartoon of Mihail Vasilyevich Kupriyanov, Porfiry Nikitich Krylov and Nikolai Alexandrovich Sokolov was printed in the magazine “Komsomolia” with their common signature “Kukryniksy”.

👉 Mihail Vasilyevich Kupriyanov [October 8 (21), 1903 – November 11, 1991]
👉 Porfiry Nikitich Krylov [August 9 (22), 1902 – May 15, 1990]
👉 Nikolai Alexandrovich Sokolov [July 8 (21), 1903 – April 17, 2000]

The “y” at the end is the Russian plural form — that is, “Kukrynikses” — preserved for the authenticity of the collective’s name.

Mihail Kupriyanov was born in the city of Tetyushi, Kazan province of the Russian Empire, Porfiry Krylov — in Tula, Nikolai Sokolov — in the village of Tsaritsyno, Moscow province, and his entire childhood and youth were spent in Rybinsk.

Young talented artists would hardly have had the opportunity to meet if it were not for the “Higher Art and Technical Workshops” (VHUTEMAS). In 1922, Kupriyanov and Krylov began working together in the wall newspaper of VHUTEMAS under the signature of Kukry and Krykup.

At the same time, Sokolov, while still living in Rybinsk, put the signature “Niks” on his drawings. In 1924, he joined Kupriyanov and Krylov, and the three of them worked in the wall newspaper of VHUTEMAS as Kukryniksy.

Our team, to tell the truth, consists of four artists: Kupriyanov, Krylov, Sokolov and Kukryniksy. All three of us treat the latter with great trepidation and care. What was created by the team could not have been mastered by any of us individually.
— Kukryniksy


The Exhibition in honour of KUKRYNIKSY

I do not know if there ever existed — and I do not think that in the field of caricature there could exist — such a “consubstantial and indivisible trinity” as our Kukryniksy.
— Maxim Gorky

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The gas pipeline in the American side, anno 1982

The Gas Wars, of which we translated a documentary “The Great Gas Game” – An Excellent Documentary from Vesti and published a number of articles, like The Third Gas War: EU and US must pay for their “successes” in Ukraine, the saga with Navalny, and the ultimate blowing up of the Nord Stream pipeline by the USA in order to freeze Germany out of competition, are just the recent manifistations. Lets us look at the events of 1982, and see how USA was opposing the gas pipeline from the USSR to the Western Europe.

We illustrate it through a series of caricatures and posts, which we originally published on out Telegram channel “Beorn And The Shieldmaiden”.


Piped Piper of a Pipeline

Bill Mauldin’s caricature, published in the Chicago Sun-Times in 1982, shoes an issue that remains relevant for decades. It was drawn when the United States and Europe were at odds over the construction of the world’s first transcontinental gas pipeline Urengoy – Pomary – Uzhgorod.

The construction was colossal, the whole of the USSR contributing to it, with other interested countries taking part in it – Poland, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, and the GDR. At first, it was planned to pull the gas pipeline from Yamburg, but later the Urengoyskoye field was chosen.

The United States, as always, tried to prevent the implementation of a project beneficial to Europe. But back then Germany, France, Great Britain and Italy still had a voice and teeth. And the sanctions imposed by the United States were quickly lifted.

Yuzhniigiprogaz Design Institute from Donetsk became the general designer of the gas pipeline. It had previously performed brilliantly in similar, albeit more modest projects.

The construction was completed ahead of schedule. On July 9, 1983, labour collectives reported on the commissioning of the integrated gas treatment plant No. 9.

👉 4,451 kilometers of steel pipe had been stretched to solve the ambitious task of supplying natural gas from Siberian fields to consumers in the USSR and European countries.

👉 2.7 million tons of pipes were laid during the construction of the gas pipeline.

👉 120 kilometers were laid through permafrost, 360 kilometers through swamps.

Gas went to Europe on January 13, 1984, making the USSR the leader in its production and sale.

A lot of cartoons appeared on the topic, no less biting on the Soviet side.

The facility built by the whole country later became the basis of political speculation of the state education called “Ukraine”.

Source: Our Donbass – edited


«The unfeasible dream of the overseas pirate»

This is the title of the caricature by Yuri Cherepanov, published in the November issue №31 of the Soviet satirical magazine «Krokodil» in 1982.

The pirate in question, sailing under the US flag, has «Threats» and «Sanctions» written on his sails.

40 years ago, Western Europe managed to stand up for its own intetrests. Now… the USA simply blew up the completed Nord Stream.
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Last Year’s Snow Was Falling – Soviet New Year Animation, 1983

A small New Year present to our readers, first published on our Telegram channel Beorn And The Shieldmaiden yesterday! ☃️

No New Year is complete without this plasticine animated film from 1983, directed by Alexander Tatarsky and voice acting by Stanislav Sadalsky.

The film plays on many Russian folk tales, but with unexpected twists. It reached a cult status after its first appearance on Central TV. The aphoristic remarks of the characters, full of absurd humour, turned into colloquial proverbs.

Russia Running Out of Weapons 2.0 – A Documentary

It was very surreal listening last year to Ursula von der Leyen’s State of the Union speech, standing there in a brown suite, giving a OUN/UPA Nazi collaborator greeting, and then proclaiming that Russia was taking chips out of dishwashers. So much so, that it prompted us, while working on the translation of “2 Years” – A Danish Underground Publication from 1943, to create a historical parallel caricature. At the same time, media was in a frenzy about how Russia, any second now will run out of missiles, or had actually already done so. It was also presenting a portent analogy to the media frenzy in the German-affiliated press in 1941, just as Nazi Germany invaded the USSR. I was saving the links to those publications back then, for a better time, which happened to be now…

Bizarre delusions of grandeur to go with self-seductive propaganda narratives seem to be inherent as Western imperialism once a century launches project “defeat and conquer Russia”.

German Nazism once displayed it big time, and EU and NATO now parrot their predecessor while openly aligning politically with Fascism.

Since the start of the SMO western MSM have consistently reported “Russia out of missiles”. A mantra that didn’t age very well and the humour is lost on no-one, when the articles are viewed in one take. We added some 1940s deja-vu, plus a little something for the full-spectrum experience.

Earplugs!


The video is also published on the “Beorn and The Shieldmaiden” Telegram channel.

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Western songs of the ’90s that codified the youth of the USSR – Pet Shop Boys and Scorpions

Back in the early 90s I, just as lots of other youths in Russia and the post-Soviet space listened to a multitude of Western pop groups, like Scorpions, Pet shop boys, A-Ha. With my command of the English language becoming more solid, I was also starting to understand the lyrics – remember, there was no Internet to check the texts, so you got by with what you understood on your own.

And the understanding was that of a warm and fuzzy welcoming feeling – the West invitingly offering to become the best friend of Russia. Or so it seemed. Later, in the naughts, came other musical preferences, and Scorpions with PSB faded into the background.

Now, many decades later I re-listened to some of my favourites from that time. And, what is more important, re-watched the clips. It’s important to keep in mind that not all music of that time had a political undercurrent or agenda, in fact, the majority of the clips were perfectly innocent in this regard. And then there were occasional musical items that failed the smell test of time.

“Wind of Change” by Scorpions seemed like a nice peace-building work of musical art, a hand of friendship outstretch to the new Russia… until 2023, when they changed the lyrics to suite the new political agenda of pandering to Ukraine, with Ukraine becoming the new target for this song.


Pet Shop Boys has two clips that drew my attention with the modern knowledge of the past events. Watch closely “Go West”. I always thought of it as addressing the wider Soviet audience, luring people into the sweet embrace of the West (that with the hindsight turned out to be a sweet honey trap). Yet, watch closely the clip.

Pay attention to the blue-and-yellow “Ukrainian” colour scheme…

…the gesture of the OUN-UPA Bandera Nazi collaborators nonchalantly thrown at three places in the clip…

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“Fainting Piglet”, aka. “Unconscious Piggy” Satirical Cartoons Explain the Core of Ukraine and Why SMO Was Unavoidable (with future updates)

In the August of 2022 the CGI animator Evgenia from Krasnodar Krai started creating something that grew into an in-depth satirical reviews of all what was failing Ukraine, and explaining the Special Military Operation’s goals.

The character personifying Ukraine became a little wayward, Nazi-tainted piglet. The Russian title of the series is “Свинка в обмороке” (Svinka v obmoroke), which is a play on the shortened name of the Special Military Operation (SMO) – SVO in Russian. In English the series have got several varying names, trying to convey the essence: “Unconscious Piggy”, “Fainting Piglet”, “Piglet in a Swoon”, “Swooning Pig”.

All episodes are released at the official Telegram channel of the Fainting Piglet. Evgenia writes in the description: “The Piglet is not the whole of Ukraine, but only her demented part!” I have additionally uploaded them to Yandex Disk for easy download.

Jump to the newly-added episode(s)

While the later episodes were released bilingually, earlier episodes require translation (and most of them also require some context for the Western audience, who have been subjected to the heavy Mains Stream Media censorship). This honourable task was undertaken by the admin of The Putinger’s Cat Telegram channel.

As more and more episodes get release and translated, they are becoming increasingly more difficult to trace. And, additionally, not everyone has Telegram. That is why I decided to upload them to Odysee and create this collated post that will get updates as new episodes see the light of day.

But first, a very short clip that cuts to the chase, and shows the very essence of the conflict and the role Ukraine plays in it!


The very first Unconscious Pig episode – “What is Russia Punishing Ukraine For?” or “Why do Russians support the SMO?” – is finally translated! (Translation at Putinger’s Cat)

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J.K.Rowling did not live up to the words of her Dumbledore

“It was important, Dumbledore said, to fight, and fight again, and keep fighting, for only then could evil be kept at bay, though never quite eradicated. . . .”
-Albus Dumbledore

“Dark times lie ahead of us and there will be a time when we must choose between what is easy and what is right.”
-Albus Dumbledore

Alas, J.K.Rowling could not live up to the words she put into the mouth of Professor Dumbledore. She chose the easy path of following with the flow of the Western support of the Nazi battalions in Ukraine and distancing herself from the fight against the resurgence of the Brown Plague that Russia is performing now.

I used to be a fan of Harry Potter in my late teens/early twenties, and the main allure of the books is in the concept of standing up to the evil, even when facing seemingly insurmountable odds, which appeals to the Russian soul. This is also the reason for why J.K.Rowling’s works had such a large following in Russia. However, the stance of the author in these hard and trying times sets a lager question mark regarding her honesty. As honesty is another trait dear to any true Russian. Russians also have a close affinity to the image of the Phoenix – or Fenist, The Pure Falcon, as it is known in the Russian folklore – which resonates with Russia’s constant rebuilding after every wave of aggression from the Western shores.

It so happens, that literary works sometimes take a life of their own, regardless of what the author originally intended or how the author later changed in their lives. The Harry Potter book series is one such work.

In fact, I wrote about the resonance of the unfolding events in my June 2014 post Ukraine events resonating with Half-Life2, Harry Potter and Star Wars, and the similarities have just become stronger since then!

So, onwards to Victory, Z Order of Z Phoenix, vanquish the modern-day Voldemort-Zelensky and his band of Death Eaters-UkroNazis (battalions “Azov”, “Aidar” and their ilk.) Maybe, once the Battle of Hogwarts-Donbass is won, J.K.Rowling will say that she was “Imperiused”-brainwashed by the Western MSM. But then, again, many a Death Eater reverted to that tactics to avoid the just punishment…

May The Truth prevail!

PS: Even the Greek Parliament was outraged when Zelensky brought an “Azov” neo-Nazi to the video address to the Parliament, yet they did not condemn Zelensky’s regime itself. Apparently they do not know how Zelensky was performing in front of “Azov” in May 2014 in Mariupol, thanking them and calling them the true brave heroes of Ukraine…

Don’t poke the bear – a lesson yet to be learned by the West

In 2014 we saw this:

They continued poking….

Now the sanctions knock on the door, yet:


(Text: “Are you sure he’ll get scared and start begging for mercy?”)

Poking continues…

I know a hundred ways to pull the Russian bear from its den, but none to pull him back. Do not tease the Russian bear!

–Otto von Bismarck

Do not expect that once taking advantage of Russia’s weakness, you will receive dividends forever. Russian has always come for their money. And when they come – do not rely on an agreement signed by you, you are supposed to justify. They are not worth the paper it is written. Therefore, with the Russian is to play fair, or do not play.

–Otto von Bismarck

And one for dessert:

Showing the role of the Western MSM in this Information World War.

Post Scriptum

And a little bit more about bears and sanctions…

“- Is he asking for help?”
“- You won’t believe it: he’s threatening with reprisals”
The burning boat in the background is labelled “Libya”.


Title of the book: “Import replacement”

SCS Software makes a politically biased and uninformed statement, censors and bans commentors with descenting views

I happen to like playing driving games to wind down and just relax for a few minutes after a busy day. Trucking games, and especially those from SCS Software were among my favourites.

Yesterday SCS Software made a biased political statement, containing inaccuracies on their Steam Community Hub forum of their game Euro Truck simulator 2.

Coming to the forum, which was not locked for comments, I naïvely thought that SCS Software was open to discussion and posted the following comment:

[quote=jxnnxk GER;3185738591084346113]This game is about trucking not qbout politics… [/quote]
Exactly. I am saddened to see this statement by SCS, where I hoped they would keep away from politics.

Especially with a such badly-educated statement as “We deeply condemn this act of aggression for which there is no reason, nor excuse.” Forgetting the people of Donbass – children, women, elderly – their livelihood and homes being shelled by the Ukrainian army for the last 8 years, a topic which is not spoken about in the MSM.

I go to games to avoid politics, to find respite from it, not to find another political statement on the game’s newsfeed!

I was looking forward to the Heart of Russia DLC, and I have bought most of all of your map DLCs, enjoying all the routes, including those to what little of Ukraine you have there. But no, after this statement, I wonder if it is time to find another game to play…

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Russian FM Lavrov’s speech at UNGA is akin to Cat Leopold teaching mice good manners

There is an iconic Soviet children’s cartoon series “The Adventures of Cat Leopold”, where a kind, friendly cat is attempting to teach two misbehaving and downright evil mice to behave and to live in peace. “Guys, let’s live in friendship” is the cue of Cat Leopold. Whatever he tries to do to teach those mice – good example, showing them the errors of their ways, nothing helps. They are soon back to their old ways of making Leopold’s life a living hell. More often than not the mice fall victim of their own traps and provocations, thus illustrating the Russian proverb: “Don’t dig a hole for someone – you’ll end up falling into it yourself”.

In one episode, the ever-kind and balanced Leopold gets prescribed a medicine, “Wilderine”, to make him act more like a raging leopard. That seems to get the mice’s attention for awhile. Yet, at the end of the episode Leopold is back to his kind ways, enticing the mice to “live in friendship”.

Here is the episode in question: “The Revenge of Cat Leopold”

And here is a collection of several other Cat Leopold cartoons:

Why am I writing this? Because Soviet and now Russian actions, trying to make the West behave in a peaceful and well-mannered way are akin to Leopold’s attempts to make the mice behave.

And I am afraid that today’s excellent speech by the Russian FM Lavrov at UNGA is yet another such attempt, falling on deaf ears.

UPDATE 2023: In a bout of enforcing the freedom of speech and democracy, in 2022 YouTube removed the RT channel, while the West blocked the RT site. The link below is update to an uncensored mirror of RT.

Drop the diktats, try diplomacy: Major takeaways from Lavrov’s UN speech

“But history didn’t teach us anything,” Lavrov said, adding that allegations “based on the notorious ‘highly likely’ thing are sufficient for some Western counterparts to pin the blame on anyone.”

“We do remember how often these unfounded claims were used to justify interventions and ignite wars, such the 1999 bombing of Yugoslavia, 2003 invasion of Iraq and 2011 intervention in Libya.”

“Colonial-era diktat and coercion should be sent into the archive or the dustbin of history.”

Moscow believes constructive dialogue can meet any challenges that arise in world affairs, according to Lavrov.

“If you have any questions or claims to anyone, then sit down and talk, show facts, listen to your counterpart’s arguments, try to balance your interests.”