The Essence of Putin

 

Oleksiy Kustovsky, The Essence of Putin, February 18, 2015.

The past days cartoons on Chaplin as the dictator dancing with the globe have been everywhere. The Chaplin scene is a trope in cartooning, which is not an issue per se, but it needs to be given new layers. Otherwise it is just a tired cartoon. Besides wondering what Putin had in mind belonged to the days before his invasion of Ukraine.

Then again, the balancing act was of greater relevance to the world outside of Ukraine. For almost a decade now and in particular following the Russian invasion of Crimea in 2014 Oleksiy Kustovsky has been defining Putin's game. It may at first seem an easy one drawing Putin as a twisted ape playing with heavy artillery, but the monochromatic simplicity of the composition is compelling. It is as calm as his face is nothing but. 

What happened this week was an affliction, which Putin could not suppress. Oleksiy Kustovsky lays before us how there is no rationale to his actions. The truth of his intrinsic nature is that he is all inflammation. He is basically the human equivalent of the hand grenade next to him.

Each cartoon by Oleksiy Kustovsky is a piece of art, which deserves to be seen as widely as possible.

Oleksiy Kustovsky, Gollum Putin, May 30, 2016.

The cartoons shown are courtesy of Oleksiy Kustovsky and must not be reproduced without acknowledging his name.