Visual rhetorical analysis of cartoons about turkish statesmen in magazine krokodil: 1922-1924*

Abstract

This study analyzes how Mustafa Kemal Pasha, Mehmed VI Vahideddin, and Abdulmejid II were portrayed in the Soviet cartoons published between August 1922 and April 1924 in the magazine Krokodil, the oldest and most famous political humor magazine of the USSR. The article begins by outlining how the Soviets used cartoons for propaganda, as well as providing chronological information about the magazine Krokodil. Since the Soviets supported the government in Ankara due to the favorable atmosphere in Turkish-Soviet relations at that time, it was assumed that the cartoons published during this period portrayed Mustafa Kemal Pasha positively and Mehmed VI Vahideddin and Abdulmejid II negatively. The published cartoons in the abovementioned period were scanned, the cartoons that were found were subjected to visual rhetoric analysis, and the hypothesis was put to the test. In accordance with the findings, it was found that in the cartoons published in Krokodil magazine between 1922 and 1924, Mustafa Kemal Pasha was portrayed positively, while Mehmed VI Vahideddin and Abdulmejid II were portrayed negatively.