fact the latter terms were restored in 1946). Soviet political humor Ben Lewis wrote in his essay, book, and film (all titled Hammer & Tickle) that "Communism was a humour-producing machine. Its economic theories and system of repression created inherently funny situations. There were jokes under fascism and the Nazis too, but those systems did not create an absurd, laugh-a-minute reality like communism." Soviet people coined irreverent definitions for their leaders. "Mineralny sekretar" was a nickname for President Mikhail Gorbachev (due to his anti-alcohol campaign). "Kukuruznik" (from kukuruza, maize) referred to Nikita Khrushchev. See also New Soviet names Thought reform in the People's Republic of China LTI – Lingua Tertii Imperii, a book that studies the way that Nazi propaganda altered the German language References Further reading "Soviet Language", BBC Russian Service, October 11, 2005 Soviet culture Historical linguistics