A joke originated by Russian comedian Yakov Smirnoff,* which, years later, turned into a meme on Something Awful (thanks, anotherone), and then spread to Fark, where it eventually attained a level of popularity great enough to necessitate filtering. In November of 2002, it was introduced to Slashdot, and by the end of the month had attained a level of popularity rivaling that of CowboyNeal.

Although the joke is often mangled by those looking for cheap laughs and easy karma (as was AYBABTU before it), it's quite possible to create a Soviet Russia for almost any occasion with just a few simple steps:

  1. Take a sentence,
    The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
  2. switch around the subject and the object (for second person imperative sentences (e.g., "Imagine a Beowulf cluster of those."), you will, of course, have to add the subject first),
    The lazy dog jumps over the quick brown fox.
  3. ensure that the verb(s) are in the proper tense,
    The lazy dog jumps over the quick brown fox.
  4. (optional) remove words and/or change spellink to create effect of Russian accent (or simply trim the superfluous crap),
    lazy dog jumps over quick brown fox.
  5. prepend "In Soviet Russia," and change punctuation and emphasis to taste.
    In Soviet Russia, lazy dog jumps over quick brown fox!
  6. Share and Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I am not responsible for any losses of karma, tarnished reputations, lynchings, atrocities, or global thermonuclear wars that occur as a result of the use, misuse, or disuse of this writeup.

In Soviet Russia, memes node YOU!

*There's some debate as to what the original "Soviet Russia" joke was. Augusta says it was "In Los Angeles, you can always find a party. In Soviet Russia, the Party can always find YOU," while BrooksMarlin remembers it being "...television watches YOU!" Google and Yakov.com both seem to be silent on the subject.

AEton says re: In Soviet Russia: Wikipedia tells me (http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laugh-In) that the series Laugh-In first carried this joke in the 60's/70's

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