Life — July 22, 1920 — page 22: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This political cartoon satirizes early Soviet communism and the Russian Revolution. The image depicts a skeleton (labeled "Bolshevik") seated at a table with a peasant ("Moujik," a Russian farm worker). The skeleton is eating from a bowl while the peasant protests that though he agrees with communist ideology, he objects to the literal appropriation of his food. The cartoon's message critiques Bolshevik practice versus theory: communists claimed to share ideology with common people, but actually seized their material resources—grain, livestock, and sustenance. The skeleton imagery suggests death and deprivation caused by Soviet policies. This reflects Western anti-communist sentiment, likely from the early 1920s when famine and "War Communism" were producing widespread suffering in Russia. The title puns on "victim," suggesting peasants became victims of Bolshevism despite its egalitarian rhetoric.