During Soviet times, anecdotes—short, witty political jokes—became a way for people across the USSR to share criticism, mock the government, and address cultural differences with humor.
Armenians, Azerbaijanis, and Georgians frequently became characters in anecdotes, picking at each other’s supposed quirks. Over time, these anecdotes not only reinforced existing stereotypes but also created new ones, embedding caricatures of each nationality into the collective mindset—sometimes with lasting effects on neighboring perceptions.
This video dives into the humor (and a bit of tension) that has grown from centuries of close proximity and the playful (and sometimes brutal) stereotypes each nation has of the others. Watch as Armenians, Azerbaijanis, and Georgians share the most popular jokes about each other and see how humor both divides and connects.
The idea of the project comes from Nurlan Hasanli, a film director from Azerbaijan.