Up F ront
C R E D I
T:
M i n t I
m a g e s L i m i t e d /
A l a m y
36 A ‘SEASONED DISSIDENT’
SPEAKS UP: MARTIN BRIGHT Writing against Russian authority has come full circle for Gennady Katsov
Special Report: Having the Last Laugh
42 AND GOD CREATED
LAUGHTER (SO FUCK OFF): SHALOM AUSLANDER On failing to be serious, and trading rabbis for Kafka
46 THE JOKES THAT ARE
MADE – AND BANNED – IN CHINA: JEMIMAH STEINFELD Journalist turned comedian Vicky Xu is under threat after exposing Beijing’s crimes but in comedy she finds a refuge
50 GIVING PUTIN THE FINGER:
JOHN SWEENEY Reflecting on a comedy festival that tells Putin to “ fuck off ”
53 MEET THE IRANIAN
CARTOONIST WHO HAD TO FLEE HIS COUNTRY: DAISY RUDDOCK Kianoush Ramezani is laughing in the face of the Ayatollah
54 THE SLAPP STICKERS:
ROSIE HOLT AND CHARLIE HOLT Sometimes it’s not the autocrats, or the audience, that comedians fear, it’s the lawyers
56 THIS GREAT STAGE OF
FOOLS: DANSON KAHYANA A comedy troupe in Uganda pushes the line on acceptable speech
58 JOKE’S ON LUKASHENKA
SPEAKING RUBBISH BELARUSIAN. OR IS IT?: MARIA SORENSEN Comedy under an authoritarian regime could be hilarious, if it was allowed
61 LAUGHING MATTERS:
DAISY RUDDOCK Knock knock. Who’s there? The comedy police
62 TALIBAN TAKEOVER JOKES:
SPOZHMAI MAANI, RIZWAN SHARIF In Afghanistan, the Taliban can never be the punchline
65 TURKEY’S STANDUPS SIT
DOWN: KAYA GENÇ Turkey loses its sense of humour over a joke deemed offensive
68 AN UNFUNNY DOUBLE ACT:
THIỆN VIỆT A gold-plated steak and a maternal slap lead to problems for two comedians in Vietnam
70 DRAGGED DOWN:
TILEWA KAZEEM Nigeria’s queens refuse to be dethroned
73 TURNING SORROW INTO
SATIRE: ZAHRA HANKIR A lesson from Lebanon: even terrible times need comedic release
76 ‘HATRED HAS WON,
THE ARTIST HAS LOST’: SALIL TRIPATHI Hindu nationalism and cries of blasphemy are causing jokes to land badly in India
78 DID YOU HEAR THE
ONE ABOUT..? NO, YOU WON’T HAVE: ALEXANDRA DOMENECH Putin has strangled comedy in Russia, but that doesn’t stop Russian voices
81 OF CONSERVATIVES, CANCEL
CULTURE AND COMICS: SIMONE MARQUES In Brazil, a comedy gay Jesus was met with Molotov cocktails
82 STANDING UP FOR
INDIGENOUS CULTURE: KATIE DANCEY-DOWNS Comedian Janelle Niles deals in the uncomfortable, even when she’d rather not
84 THE ULTIMATE PUNCHLINE IS
DEATH: JP O’MALLEY For David Baddiel nothing is off-limits for jokes
Comment
88 YOUR TRUTH OR MINE:
BOBBY DUFFY Debate: Is there a free speech crisis on UK campuses?
90 ALL THE BOOKS THAT
MIGHT NOT GET WRITTEN: ANDREW LOWNIE Freedom of information faces a right royal problem
93 AN IMAGE OR A
THOUSAND WORDS?: RUTH ANDERSON When to look at an image and when to look away
Culture
96 LUKASHENKA’S HORROR
DREAM: ALHIERD BACHAREVIČ, MARK FRARY The Belarusian author’s new collection of short stories is an act of resistance. We publish one for the first time in English
112 LOST IN TIME AND MEMORY:
XUE YIWEI In a new short story, a man finds himself haunted by the ghosts of executions
116 THE HUNGER GAMES:
STEPHEN KOMARNYCKYJ, MYKOLA KHVYLOVY The lesson of a Ukrainian writer’s death must be remembered today
120 THE WOMAN WHO STOPPED
MALTA’S MAFIA TAKING OVER: PAUL CARUANA GALIZIA Daphne Caruana Galizia’s son reckons with his mother’s assassination
INDEXONCENSORSHIP.ORG
CHIEF EXECUTIVE Ruth Anderson EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Jemimah Steinfeld ASSISTANT EDITOR Katie Dancey-Downs EDITOR-AT-LARGE Martin Bright ASSOCIATE EDITOR Mark Frary ART DIRECTOR Matthew Hasteley EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS Francis Clarke, Daisy Ruddock SUB EDITORS Adam Aiken, Tracey Bagshaw, Jan Fox, Sally Gimson CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Kaya Genç, Emily Couch, Danson Kahyana, Salil Tripathi HEAD OF POLICY & CAMPAIGNS Jessica Ní Mhainín POLICY & CAMPAIGNS OFFICER Nik Williams DEVELOPMENT OFFICER FUNDRAISING & EVENTS Ujala Syed DIRECTORS & TRUSTEES Trevor Phillips (Chair), Kate Maltby (Vice Chair), Anthony Barling, Andrew Franklin, James Goode, Helen Mountfield, Elaine Potter, Mark Stephens, Nick Timothy PATRONS Margaret Atwood, Simon Callow, Steve Coogan, Brian Eno, Christopher Hird, Jude Kelly, Michael Palin, Matthew Parris, Alexandra Pringle, Gabrielle Rifkind, Sir Tom Stoppard, Lady Sue Woodford Hollick ADVISORY COMMITTEE Julian Baggini, Jeff Wasserstrom, Emma Briant, Ariel Dorfman, Michael Foley, Conor Gearty, AC Grayling, Lyndsay Griffiths, William Horsley, Anthony Hudson, Natalia Koliada, Jane Kramer, Jean-Paul Marthoz, Robert McCrum, Rebecca MacKinnon, Beatrice Mtetwa, Julian Petley, Michael Scammell, Kamila Shamsie, Michael Smyth, Tess Woodcraft, Christie Watson
INDEXONCENSORSHIP.ORG 3
