Russian reversal (“In Soviet Russia article reads you“)
Russian reversal or "In Soviet Russia" is a type of joke originated by Arte Johnson[citation needed] on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, and popularized by Smirnoff, and is an example of antimetabole. The general form of the "In Soviet Russia" joke is that the subject and objects of a statement are reversed, and "In (Soviet) Russia", or something equivalent, is added. For example:
In America, you catch a cold.
In Russia, cold catches you!
In America, you can always find a party.
In Russia, The Party can always find you!
In Episode #216 of Family Guy, There's Something About Paulie, Peter gets a car with different voices for the navigation system. The voice for Smirnoff in the navigation system says a few phrases:
In Soviet Russia, car drives you!
Turn right at fork in road.
In Soviet Russia, road forks you!
In Season 6, Episode 9 of King of the Hill, Bobby, who wishes to be a comedian, watches Smirnoff (who voices himself in the episode) and writes a joke which he sells to Smirnoff:
In America, you put 'In God We Trust' on your money.
In Russia, we have no money!
All of Smirnoff's original "In Soviet Russia" jokes made use of formulaic wordplay that carried Orwellian undertones. For example, two well known jokes of this type run "In America, you listen to man on radio. In Soviet Russia, man on radio listen to you!", and "In America, you watch television. In Soviet Russia, television watches you!" The joke alludes to video screens that both reproduce images and monitor the citizenry, as in Nineteen Eighty-Four.
At the peak of Smirnoff's celebrity in the mid-1980s, he did not say "Soviet Russia"—he said simply "Russia", as the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic had existed since 1917, was still extant, and showed no signs of imminent collapse. Smirnoff added the Soviet qualifier after the fall of the USSR, long after his fame had faded, presumably to specify that he was referring to the communist regime and not the present state.
The joke form has become a staple of Smirnoff's humor, and is widely referenced in television parodies and references as well as many on-line communities. The widespread reference to the jokes has led some linguists to consider the phrases to be Snowclones.[4]
ur welcome
open the damn roof