Captain Russia

The head of the president of the Russian federation, Vladimir Putin, is put onto the body of the famous comic character „Popeye“. The figure is showing off his muscular arms, while popping out of an original copy of the Soviet propaganda newspaper „Pravda“ (Truth) from 1948.
The setup of „Captain Russia“ was inspired by a famous comic book cover of the well-known superhero „Captain America“ from 1969 (Link). In some way the work can be seen as a huge cover for a comic book staring the bizarre hero „Captain Russia“ a mixture of Putin and Popeye. The stony-faced superhero shows us exactly where his superpowers are located: his pumped-up underarms with the eye-catching tattoos. Hammer and sickle on his right arm and the cross of the Russian-orthodox church on his left arm.
Vladimir Putin has a broad support in the Russian society – something which might surprise a person from a western country who is used to see him as the cold-hearted dictator suppressing the Russian people. One of the reasons for his popularity is his domestic policy which combines two contrasts: On the one hand Putin loves to flirt with Soviet nostalgia. For example, he changed the national anthem back to the soviet version and he reintroduce an number of special soviet holidays. Today a lot of people in Russia love to remember the Soviet era as a time of stability and pride – especially after the rough years of the 1990ies. On the other hand, Putin is the first president since the Czars who officially confesses to the Russian Orthodox Church which was forbidden during the soviet era. The church in Russia is gaining more and more popularity – and helps Putin to remain as popular as he is.
.