Portrait of a Russian Intellectual as a Crocodile¶

Up until the 1960s there still remained in the USSR a naïve faith in Leninism, partly maintained through the physical destruction of dissenters during the Stalinist years. But by the late 1960s, when mass terror had ceased, Soviet television aired a cartoon about Crocodile Ghena and his friend — the fantastical creature Cheburashka¹. In this cartoon, almost by accident, the real attitude of Soviet intellectuals toward Leninism broke through. This is explained in the Russian journalist Alexey Munipov’s parody sketch below, which takes a humorous approach.

“The only noticeable book in Crocodile Ghena’s library is Marx’s Capital. How should this be explained in light of the realities of 1969 (the year the first cartoon about him appeared)?

Fig.1 The only noticeable book in Crocodile Ghena’s library is Marx’s “Capital”

Ghena is a young Marxist of the 1960s, from the circle of Genrikh Batishchev². Obsessed with the idea of returning to “true socialism”, he avidly reads the young Marx, Gramsci, Marcuse, and Ivan Illich. He tries to preach to the Pioneers³. He works in a cushy but somewhat shameful sinecure — as an intellectual at a research institute, that is, as himself, “a crocodile in the zoo”; later, as an employee of the Higher Komsomol School in Veshnyaki. An aesthete (pipe, hat, bow tie, the much-remembered habit of wearing a velvet robe over a white shirt). In his spare time he likes to play the bandoneon, being one of the first in the USSR to discover and, as best he can, promote the music of Astor Piazzolla, and, according to legend, introducing it to the young Leonid Desyatnikov.

He develops — with pleasure though without much success — plans for socialist transformations in Third World countries⁴, which is how he befriends Cheburashka who has arrived from Africa. For a short time he works at Levada’s Institute for Concrete Social Studies. He lives in a one-room apartment near Aeroport metro, inherited from his grandmother, a star of Stalin-era cinema (who had already gotten him out of trouble more than once, and would do so again). His circle of acquaintances and interests naturally leads him into the editorial offices of Problems of Peace and Socialism⁵. In the 1990s, watching the astonishing career turns of his colleagues at the journal — Yuri Kariakin and Vladimir Lukin — he too prepares to enter politics. And so the aging, heavier, disillusioned Ghena — Gennady Andreyevich — embarks on a new life.” (Munipov 2016)

The key idea of the above humorous fragment is that although the creators of the cartoon may not have embedded all this content into it, the mere presence of Marx's “Capital” on the shelf of the cartoon crocodile, who clearly parodies Soviet intelligentsia with his entire appearance, testifies to the loss of all reverence and awe before Marxism in the USSR. In just ten years, this light irony would transform into genuine revulsion. This quote from Lenin—"The teaching of Marx is omnipotent because it is true"—eventually became a kind of proto-meme even in the 1970s, and later in the 1990s some stand-up comedians used it in their jokes. Later many Lenin’s quotes became targets of mockery and laughingstocks in the USSR.

In the Cheburashka stories, Crocodile Gena embodies the Soviet intellectual: dressed as an educated, respectable worker who assumes the role of teacher, organizer, and moral authority. Cheburashka, in contrast, is a rootless, exotic creature “from Africa,” whose lack of origins and social function makes him dependent on Gena’s guidance and integration into Soviet society. Read allegorically, their relationship can be seen as reflecting the dynamics between Soviet Marxism and Western (including Latin American) Marxism in the 20^th century: Soviet intellectuals positioned themselves as the guardians of “true” Marxist doctrine, treating alternative or localized Marxist movements as naïve, immature, or exotic, yet in need of guidance. Just as Gena “educates” and legitimizes Cheburashka, Moscow sought to subsume diverse Marxist currents under its ideological authority, offering paternalistic mentorship to movements in the “Third World” and the West while dismissing their independent interpretations.

The case of Brazilian Marxism illustrates this dynamic vividly. The Communist Party of Brazil (PCB), strongly influenced by the Soviet Union, adopted the framework of Marxism-Leninism as articulated by the Third International, applying its theses on “colonial, semi-colonial, and dependent countries” to Brazil’s context. While this provided an external model and a sense of revolutionary legitimacy, it also produced tensions: Soviet influence fueled internal factionalism, particularly after Khrushchev’s de-Stalinization in 1956, and eventually led to the 1962 split that created the Communist Party of Brazil (PCdoB). Moreover, conservatives and the military exploited fears of “international Bolshevism” to justify the 1964 coup, demonstrating how Soviet authority over Brazilian Marxism, much like Gena’s tutelage of Cheburashka, was both formative and destabilizing—at once a source of identity and a cause of dependence and conflict.

Fig.2 Comparison between two logos: The Communist Party of Brazil (PCB) and the Communist Party of Soviet Union (CPSU)

From this perspective, Cheburashka can be imagined as a Brazilian, uneducated student who must be instructed by the Moscow intellectual, Crocodile Ghena, in the “correct” and practical version of Marxism. Later, Cheburashka would return to Brazil to apply the acquired knowledge in practice, under the watchful supervision of Russian curators. In the long run, Brazil could even be envisioned as becoming the sixteenth republic of the USSR.

Gradually, even this pair — Crocodile Ghena and Cheburashka — came to be regarded as symbols of Russian imperialism, much like the numerous Lenin monuments once scattered across Ukraine. Since 1991, when the USSR collapsed, some 3,200 Lenin statues have been demolished in Ukraine. In the caricature below (drawn by Russian artist Ihor Ponochevny in 2025), three Russian cartoon characters — Crocodile Ghena, Cheburashka, and the Wolf — appear as monsters attempting to invade the home of a Ukrainian family. Ironically, even this “young Marxist of the 1960s” has, by the 2020s, become a symbol of Russian imperialist aggression. The caption “Why won’t you let us in?” satirically depicts Russian cultural symbols as instruments of imperialist aggression against Ukraine.

Fig.3 “Why won’t you let us in?” depicts Crocodile Ghena and Cheburashka invading a Ukrainian family household, by Ihor Ponochevny, 2025

This caricature is simply an ironic reflection on the real exploitation of Cheburashka in Russia’s war against Ukraine. Cheburashkas can be seen painted on Russian self-propelled multiple rocket launchers, while Russian children and school teachers produce thousands of Cheburashka toys for soldiers of the occupying army. They say: “This is ChebuRusshka. We will be ‘cheburusshing’ the fascists.” In Russian usage, “fascists” refers to anyone who defends Ukraine against aggression or supports its defenders.

Fig.4 “You have not even seen Ghena yet!” Modern Russian images of Crocodile Ghena and Cheburashka as “real heroes” in war against Ukraine

Fig.5 Russian women are making thousands of Cheburashka toys by hand to send as mascots to Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine.

Cheburashka, a beloved Soviet cartoon character from the 1960s, has become widely used in Russia’s aggression against Ukraine because of its strong cultural symbolism. For generations of Russians (and many people in former Soviet republics including Ukraine), Cheburashka represents innocence, childhood, and shared Soviet identity. By co-opting this figure, Russia tries to get many goals.

• Mobilize nostalgia – Cheburashka is a character almost every Russian recognizes with affection. Using it in war propaganda evokes emotional unity and taps into Soviet-era pride.
• Mask aggression with innocence – a “cute” character softens the image of war, making military actions appear less brutal or even playful.
• Reassert cultural dominance – just as Lenin statues once symbolized Soviet power across Ukraine, using Cheburashka signals that Russian culture still claims ownership of shared Soviet heritage.
• Produce propaganda for children – Cheburashka toys made by schoolchildren for soldiers normalize war, turning participation in aggression into a patriotic duty disguised as play.

This whimsical cartoon image took on a darker meaning in today’s Russia: Cheburashka is now deployed as a talisman by Russian invading forces in Ukraine, with toys and symbols sent to the front to inspire soldiers and “soften” the public image of aggression.

Bibliography¶

Munipov 2016: Munipov, Alexey. Facebook post, 30 March 2016. https://www.facebook.com/munipov/posts/10207862382130548

Footnotes¶