Kevin Kallaugher is a weekly political cartoonist for The Economist. In his most recent cartoon, published in the March 15th, 2014 issue of the magazine, Kallaugher comments on Russia's involvement in Ukraine (specifically in Crimea). This cartoon, directed at an audience with a current events-awareness, strives to bring to light the problems in the Russian government, especially when the situation in Ukraine is concerned. To achieve this, Kallaugher uses hyperbole and starling imagery in his drawing.
To convince his audience of the widespread problems in the Russian government and just how many Ukrainian people they affect, Kallaugher uses hyperbole. The group of people in the second panel of the cartoon is shown to be rather diverse, including what appears to be a child, an old woman, middle-aged men and women, and even a dog. The dog is an exaggeration – Putin is certainly not asking the opinion of Ukrainian dogs – but it does get Kallaugher's point across. The exaggeration of who is faced by Putin's tactics shows viewers that virtually everyone in Crimea is affected by the governmental problems under Putin. The image of Putin in a tank is hyperbole in and of itself, but it is primarily used for its ability to startle cartoon readers.
In this cartoon, when the reporter asks Putin if he can truly conduct a vote in Crimea when he has troops essentially occupying it, Putin responds with a simple "Sure." However, the next panel of the cartoon serves to alarm readers – the reporters and Putin are found to be standing upon a tank, and the Russian President has the tank's gun trained on a group of people. This image is extremely startling to readers, as it evokes a sense of fear for the people involved. This image works together with the other exaggeration in the cartoon to bring to light the lack of "free and fair referendum in Crimea" because, as the cartoon clearly states and shows, the Republic is essentially under military occupation. Additionally, the alarming response of Putin in contrast to his affirmation of the reporter's question demonstrates the lack of honestly present in the Russian government, further convincing readers of widespread problems relating to the current situation in Ukraine.
Through his use of hyperbole and startling imagery, Kevin Kallaugher effectively updates readers on problems with Russia's government and its involvement in Crimea. The alarming pictures mainly appeal to pathos through their exaggeration of the situation (though the exaggeration may not even be to particularly large magnitude), but this nonetheless allows Kallaugher to convince readers that there in a serious problem in Ukraine.
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