If you speak Russian, do yourself a solid and go read the replies under this tweet featuring a “social ad” in Russian subway:
I wept with laughter, and now my face is swollen and I’m hiccuping. People give the wittiest, most entertaining explanations of what the picture means.
This is completely apolitical and simply very funny.
While not explicitly anti-war, the ad could be intended as a warning against dangerous or harmful symbols, which might include those linked Putin’s War. If the boy sees a girl saluting in such a manner, it might symbolize an uncomfortable or inappropriate alignment with past dictatorship ideologies—possibly reflecting how the Ukrain war has a growing perception as a regressive or dangerous error.
While the ad doesn’t explicitly say “anti-war,” the use of this provocative Fascist image suggests a repudiation of the current political crisis in Russia. A subtle way of criticizing the ongoing war in Ukraine, suggesting that it is a dangerous and regressive path that Russia is taking under Putin’s leadership. While not overtly anti-war, the symbolism of the salute points toward a repudiation of the current political direction and possibly of the war itself.
By drawing on imagery associated with dictatorship and authoritarianism, it seems to suggest that the war in Ukraine represents a dangerous and regressive course for Russia under Putin’s leadership. The use of such potent historical imagery points toward a rejection of the political direction Russia is heading, and by extension, the war itself. This poster encourages viewers to consider whether Russia has make a grave error by continuing down the path imperialism to prevent the expansion of Nato into the Ukraine. The ultimate message could be a challenge to reconsider the political direction and the cost of imperialism.
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Since it says (I think), “Family- the mirror of the soul”, I’m assuming, the boy is trans and he’s got an imaginary friend, the mom worries about getting old and the dad wishes he was smarter.
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The dad’s belt is made out of the tie worn by the other dude. That’s all very mysterious.
The ad was created by the Attorney General office of the St Petersburg region which adds to the weirdness of the whole thing.
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It’s supposed to be about the continuity of family, and how you can look at your own family as a continuation of the family your parents had.
And parts of it do convey the intended message – the young woman is clearly the young girl in the picture, looking back on her past as she’s looking to build something similar with her future. Successfully pulls at your heartstrings. If the piece did nothing right, it would probably be too boring to comment on.
They’re having trouble with the guy. He has the same colour hair as the old mother, has the same colour hair and has his belt in the pattern of the old dad’s tie. The possible implications are on a range, but all of them are some mix of hilarious to disturbing – the married couple could be siblings, or the young woman married someone who loves to crossdress as her mother.
This happened because the additional complexity of families being composed of members of two different families is just too much to handle for a piece of art from the Attorney General, and so they had to reduce it symbolically to a 1:1 relationship in a hacky way. And now it’s funny.
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A conservative literary critic and college professor
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