Jokes in Russia Are No Laughing Matter

Expand Screenshot from the video Alexander Dolgopolov recorded to announce that he fled Russia. © Alexander Dolgopolov/YouTube This week, a stand-up comedian fled Russia fearing prosecution over a recent set. Aleksandr Dolgopolov published, on January 21, a letter sent by police to a bar in Saint Petersburg where he performed last winter. In the inquiry, police demanded “full information” about Dolgopolov and his performance, a recording of which now has more than 2.8 million views on YouTube. In a video explainer he posted for his fans before leaving Russia, Dolgopolov, 25, said: “For a while,…

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