Life — November 20, 1919 — page 10: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis This page contains **social notes from Soviet Russia** mocking the Soviet government's abolition of Christian names in favor of numerals. The text lists Russian citizens with names like "Kaleidovitch 1" and "Bustof 1," satirizing this policy by presenting ordinary social announcements (engagements, births) using the new numerical system. The cartoon depicts a tiger about to attack a woman, with dialogue mocking danger ("Don't bother me, I don't care what happens to a sabre-tooth tiger"). This appears to be satirical humor about Soviet indifference to threats. Below are sections on writer Roland Rohlfs and a joke about a Ouija board replacing a player-piano. The page primarily ridicules Soviet social policies through satire rather than offering serious political critique.