Verbal Satire and War Discourse in Contemporary Russia

Summary

This article analyzes verbal satire in contemporary Russian war discourse by applying the General Theory of Verbal Humor developed by Salvatore Attardo as its primary theoretical framework. The study focuses on a corpus of 45 satirical songs and poetic compositions by the Russian-speaking blogger and songwriter Ded Arkhimed, produced between February 2022 and April 2025 and considered in their primarily oral and performative dimension. Through a systematic examination of recurrent script oppositions and logical mechanisms, the analysis demonstrates how satire functions as a form of discursive critique that exposes the linguistic strategies of legitimation, euphemization, and moral inversion characteristic of official war propaganda. Particular attention is paid to the ways in which satirical discourse destabilizes dominant narratives by revealing their internal inconsistencies.