Cartoonist Denis Lopatin: "If the king doesn't laugh at jokes, it's time to smother him with a pillow"

In a caricature, it is very important not just to portray a person funny and similar. It is also necessary not to lose the line between humor and insult. Unfortunately, everyone has their own measure, and therefore the Russian cartoonist Denis Lopatin managed to make himself ill-wishers. And even difficult ones, such as Lukashenka and Kadyrov. How did the cartoonist from Minsk and why is he living in France now?

For a long time, caricature has been a serious weapon against tyrants. Those, in turn, oppressed and exterminated the authors of seditious drawings as best they could. But this art turned out to be no less immortal than painting, and with its help, evil and injustice are being smashed even today.

One of the sharpest pencils in the world, without a doubt, belongs to 44-year-old artist Denis Lopatin. He was born in Minsk and graduated from school and institute there. In 2002, he moved to Russia, choosing a very unexpected region for life — Kamchatka. In 2018, Denis left the hospitable peninsula and no less pleasant country and settled in France.

Lopatin is a world-famous cartoonist and caricaturist. His works have been highly appreciated at many international competitions. He is the winner of the Grand Prix of the Caricaturama 3000 competition, the nominee and winner of the Portuguese World Press Cartoon competition and many other serious events.

Working in Kamchatka in various publications, Denis repeatedly explained himself to the prosecutor's office and received subpoenas many times. His personal exhibition "Grimaces of Power" was banned by the governor himself. In 2017, the cartoon "Find a stupid man!" dedicated to Duma deputy Natalia Poklonskaya caused a serious scandal. It was this work that became fateful for the artist and made him think about moving to Europe.

Denis is not one of the timid ones, but who does not want to live and work in peace, spitting on conventions. That is why he is now living in France, continuing to inflict painful injections on his influential victims. One of the rules of the cartoonist was "who is more offended, you need to continue to insult."

Of course, this applies to odious persons, to whom Lopatin feels a craving. He speaks about his "clients" not too respectfully, but very accurately:

Denis, of course, is not going to strangle anyone. But he can easily bring his works out of mental balance.