The schedule of repairs

Title

The schedule of repairs

Description

"“The reconstruction and renovation of residential housing is progressing well in the majority of Leningrad districts. However, in some city areas there have been repeated failures in meeting the
repairs completion deadlines and the quality of work has been poor. The district housing boards’ inspectors are lax in enforcing compliance among contractors. The houses with numerous defects still manage to pass inspection” (From the newspaper Leningradskaya Pravda).

Poet: Tumarinson, G.
The building’s still in total disrepair,
So far the renovation’s been disaster of a job.
Progress report we pulled out of thin air,
But it is fair to say that we are right on top.

The joke is centered on the Russian idiomatic expression ""from the ceiling"" that corresponds to the English expression ""out of thin air."" Here it is understood literally that the ceiling collapse is caused by the bureaucrat who pulled nonexistent figures out of it."

Creator

Kunnap, V.

Date

1961

Source

Rutgers

Relation

Rights

Source: Holzer, M., Illiash, I., Gabrielian, V., & Kuznestsova, L. (2010). Red Tape from Red Square:Bureaucratic Commentary in Soviet Graphic Satirical Art. Poughkeepsie, NY: NetPublications

Publisher

Rutgers

Contributor

Rutgers

Format

Medium: Poster

Language

Russian

Type

Artwork

Identifier

Art, Satire, Cartoons, Leningrad, Construction, Housing, Repairs, Bureaucracy

Coverage

Russia

Files

repairs.jpg

Reference

Kunnap, V., The schedule of repairs, Rutgers, 1961

Cite As

Kunnap, V., “The schedule of repairs,” Virtual Museum of Public Service, accessed March 28, 2024, https://vmps.omeka.net/items/show/470.