19 Russian Memes to Improve Your Language Skills With Humor

"This is Russia, Bro" — via meme-arsenal.com

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Updated on January 22, 2020

Russian memes are an excellent resource for Russian language learners, thanks to their combination of images (which provide visual context) and wordplay.

In addition to being a great way to boost your language skills, Russian memes provide insight into Russian culture. Humor is essential to Russian culture, but Russian humor can seem peculiar to anyone unfamiliar with the culture. Understanding Russian humor is crucial for anyone who wants to speak Russian like a native.

Russians tend to see the humor in everything, including the darkest parts of life, and jokes and memes are often tinged with nostalgia. Humor about death, misery, and misfortune is abundant, but jokes that involve physical pain (e.g. someone getting hurt by falling over or being hit on the head) are not seen as funny in Russia.

Some of the most popular Russian memes reflect universal ideas or current events that are familiar to English speakers, like an Elon Musk trend that involved posting images of silly inventions with the caption, "How about this, Elon?" Other Russian memes can only be understood if you follow Russian current affairs and popular culture. Test your understanding of Russian humor with these hilarious memes.

01

of 19

Say Bread

"Say 'bread."

"Brrad."

"Softer."

"Brad."

"Even softer.'

"Brioche.'

A situation familiar to all beginners: trying to pronounce Russian words and exasperating your teacher.

02

of 19

I Love My Job!

"I love my job."

"Where do you work?"

"Nowhere."

03

of 19

Fingers Crossed!

"Fingers crossed I don't miss my stop."

This meme pokes fun at being on public transport in the middle of the Russian winter.

04

of 19

Heaven or Omsk?

"Welcome to Heaven! We have no work and no money!"

"Oh no, we're in Omsk again."

05

of 19

Great Job!

"October 12th. All calculations were done in my head."

"Great job! 2."

Russia's grading system uses a scale of 1-5. The top score is 5, and a score of 2 is considered a "fail." At least this student got a Молодец ("great job") comment!

06

of 19

Your Best Smile Attempt

"When they ask you to smile for a picture."

07

of 19

Thanks for the Translation

"Speaking Russian"

Evidently, someone at this English language channel couldn't be bothered to do their job.

08

of 19

Art History Humor

"When an artist can only paint people's faces."

09

of 19

Poor Humans

"I feel so sorry for people who don't have a dog. I've heard they have to bend down to pick up the food they have dropped."

10

of 19

First Date

"Fingers crossed she won't realize that I'm an idiot."

"It's such lovely weather."

"Thank you."

11

of 19

Food Baby

"When you came to PE straight from the canteen."

12

of 19

Interested, Elon Musk?

"And how do you like this, Elon Musk?"

Some of the most popular Russian memes are addressed to Elon Musk. They feature silly inventions that are jokingly "pitched" to the famous technology billionaire.

13

of 19

Lenin, Leave Me Alone!

"Your hair smells so good."

"Lenin, leave me alone, I'm begging you, please!"

14

of 19

My Weekends

"My weekends:

First image. Age: 18.

Second image. Age: 20 +"

15

of 19

Angel vs. Demon

"Angel or demon, which do you choose?"

16

of 19

Just Give Me Fries And Tea

"I highly recommend our tender veal steak and beautiful 1836 wine to accompany it."

"Oh God, I've already told you, I just want a plate of fries and some tea."

17

of 19

Super Germ

"When you're a super powerful microbe and soap has killed 99% of all your friends."

18

of 19

His And Hers

"She: 'He's probably thinking about other women again.'"

"He: 'If I ate myself, would I become double my own size or would I disappear?'"

19

of 19

Something Wrong?

"Something wrong?"

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Nikitina, Maia. "19 Russian Memes to Improve Your Language Skills With Humor." ThoughtCo, Feb. 17, 2021, thoughtco.com/russian-memes-language-skills-4178974. Nikitina, Maia. (2021, February 17). 19 Russian Memes to Improve Your Language Skills With Humor. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/russian-memes-language-skills-4178974 Nikitina, Maia. "19 Russian Memes to Improve Your Language Skills With Humor." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/russian-memes-language-skills-4178974 (accessed May 29, 2023).