This article examines how the Soviet Kukryniksy trio used wild animals in their political

cartoons to depict the enemies of the Soviet Union. The primary material of this research

consists of Kukryniksy’s 39 wild animal cartoons published in Pravda during 1965–1982. I

discuss these cartoons within the theoretical framework of frame analysis and propaganda

theory. According to frame analysis, we see the world through certain frames, which affect

the way we interpret what is happening. Thus, it is important to bear in mind that what

people perceive is dependent on their cultural frameworks. These frameworks can be used

in propaganda to manipulate our perceptions and affect our behaviour. In this article I

demonstrate what kind of symbolic functions wild animals have in these cartoons and what

kind of characteristics they attach to the enemies depicted. Furthermore, I examine in what

kind of frames the world was to be seen according to the Communist Party ideology, and

how these frames were created with the use of wild animal characters. In these cartoons

wild animals are used to reveal the ”true” nature of the enemy. The animal’s symbolic

functions may derive from the linguistic or other cultural contexts. The cartoons depict the

enemy mainly as deceptive and ruthless, but simultaneously predictable to the Soviet Union.

They also represent the enemy in a belittling light in order to retain the frame of the superiority of the Soviet Union over its enemies.