In authoritarian countries, jokes can allow citizens to mock the system’s absurdities, but they also reinforce the boundaries of speech and thought. A study of humor in Belarus puts the country’s current protests in a new light, just as the old quiescent mentality may be changing.

Keywords:
Belarus, authoritarianism, post-Soviet, dissent, humor, culture
© 2021 by The Regents of the University of California
2021
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