History Main / InSovietRussiaTropeMocksYou

[[quoteright:252:[[TropesForDummies http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/russianreversal.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:252:Dummies for Russian Reversal!]]

->''"In America, you can always find a party.\\
In Russia, [[BigBrotherIsWatching the Party]] always finds YOU!!''
-->--'''Yakov Smirnoff, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbP1DVeJCT0 Miller Lite Commercial, 1985]]'''

A type of joke, commonly called a Russian Reversal (but technically called the transpositional pun), popularized by Ukrainian comedian Yakov Smirnoff. It is based on taking a statement about capitalist United States and inverting it to describe the then communist Russia as an [[Literature/NineteenEightyFour Orwellian]] hellhole. Smirnoff later added the prefix "Soviet" to indicate the jokes were meant to target the past regime, as opposed to TheNewRussia. For instance:
-->In America, you watch Television.
-->In Soviet Russia, [[SinisterSurveillance television watches]] ''[[SinisterSurveillance YOU]]!!''

The compare-one-country-to-another form is OlderThanTheyThink, however, first appearing on ''Series/RowanAndMartinsLaughIn'' where ArteJohnson's [[NonSpecificallyForeign ambiguously]] [[{{Ruritania}} Eastern European]] character Rosmenko simply refers to "[[TheOldCountry Old Country]]."
-->Here in America, is very good, everyone watch television. In Old Country, television watches you!

Long after the fall of Soviet Russia, this joke underwent MemeticMutation. The internet being what it is, these jokes ignored any attempts to make it seem Orwellian in favour of non-sequiturs like "In Soviet Russia, motorcycle rides YOU''!!''" or [[ThisTropeNameReferencesItself the trope name]]. Now a DiscreditedMeme in some parts of the internet because of overuse. [[labelnote:*]]Although, in Soviet Russia, meme discredits YOU''!!''[[/labelnote]]

Can cause an InvertedTrope rather easily, if the trope can be described as "X does Y." If, in Soviet Russia, "Y does X," it is both this trope and an inversion of the other trope.

The source of many trope names, including AssKicksYou, DogWalksYou, BulletDodgesYou, TheDoorSlamsYou, TheCanKickedHim, and TheGamePlaysYou.

See also GloriousMotherRussia for the HollywoodAtlas version of Soviet Russia that inspired the jokes.
-----
!!In Soviet Russia, examples post ''YOU!!''

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Trope Names YOU!!]]
* The {{Trope Namer|s}} is, of course Yakov Smirnoff [[note]]although in Soviet Russia the trope made him[[/note]] who made jokes about how the U.S.S.R. had a BigBrotherIsWatching regime. It's also a case of BeamMeUpScotty; his most famous line was simply "In Russia...", not "In Soviet Russia..."[[note]][[DontExplainTheJoke 'Russia' at the time, though not a country alone, all but answered for the whole Soviet Union.]][[/note]] He shifted his comedy after starting his theater in Branson back in 1992 (where he is still playing), which means he quit using this joke long before it became an internet meme.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Anime & Manga Animate & Draw YOU!!]]
* [[RosesAreRedVioletsAreBlue Shinigami eyes are red, \\
Normal ones sometimes blue]], \\
In [[MemeticMutation Soviet Kanto]], \\
[[DeathNote Shinigami is killed by YOU!!]] [[hottip:*:This is true, if a human tricks the shinigami into extending his or another human's lifespan, the shinigami dies.]]
* [[RosesAreRedVioletsAreBlue Anita is red, \\
Maggie is Blue]], \\
In [[ReadOrDie Red Chinese Dokusensha]], \\
[[{{Papermaster}} Paper cuts YOU!!]]
* [[RosesAreRedVioletsAreBlue Hazumu is Red]],\\
[[SubvertedTrope Tomo is not blue]],\\
[[MemeticMutation In Soviet]] {{Kashimashi}},\\
[[SpaceshipGirl Spaceship]] [[LoveAtFirstSight is flattened by YOU!!]]
* [[RosesAreRedVioletsAreBlue Ranma is red, \\
Akane is blue]], \\
[[RanmaOneHalf In Red Chinese Yusenkyo]], \\
[[GenderBender Spring is transformed by YOU]]!!
* [[RecycledInSpace In Space]], [[{{Planetes}} garbage disposes of YOU]]!!
* [[RosesAreRedVioletsAreBlue Sakura is red,\\
Hinata is blue,]]\\
[[Manga/{{Naruto}} In Soviet Konoha]],\\
[[SealedInsideAPersonShapedCan prison is in YOU]]!!
* In most ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'' series, Earth lords over the space colonies. In ''[[Anime/MobileFighterGGundam G Gundam]]'', the colonies lord over Earth.
* In Nazi-ish [[Manga/FullmetalAlchemist Amestris]], arm loses you!
** In Nazi-ish Amestris, body loses you!
*** In Nazi-ish Amestris, soul loses YOU!!
** In Nazi-ish Amestris, pride swallows you!
* In real life, you eat meat. In ''Manga/{{BioMeat|Nectar}}'', [[ExtremeOmnivore meat eats you!]]
* [[RozenMaiden Rozen]] [[RosesAreRedVioletsAreBlue is red,\\
Suigintou is blue]],\\
In [[MemeticMutation Soviet Japan]],\\
[[{{Tsundere}} Dolls break YOU!!]] ([[http://knowyourmeme.com/photos/112861-in-soviet-russia fo shizzle]])
* In [[MemeticMutation Soviet Japan]], [[Manga/{{Chobits}} persocom]] [[GrailInTheGarbage finds YOU]]!!
* In ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'', [[spoiler:cake eats ''you!'']]
** A meta example: The origins of the MagicalGirl can be traced back to ''{{Bewitched}}'', meaning that witches became magical girls. [[spoiler: In ''Madoka Magica'', magical girls become witches!]]
* [[SoltyRei In the city, the Matrix enters you!]]
* In UsefulNotes/{{Romania}}, [[SnuffFilm you snuff]] [[HarmfulToMinors children.]] In [[Anime/BlackLagoon Roanapur]], [[CreepyTwins children]] [[InterplayOfSexAndViolence snuff YOU!]]
* In America, SarahPalin can see Russia from her house. In Soviet Russia, [[AxisPowersHetalia Ivan Braginski]] [[http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2010/007/8/7/In_Soviet_Russia_Shirt_Wears_U_by_rogueymu.jpg can see Alaska from his house.]]
** Note also that in Soviet AxisPowersHetalia, Russia is in YOU!!
* [[LastExileFamTheSilverWing In Soviet Anatoray,]] [[SkyPirate ship steals YOU!]] - helped by the fact that the Silvius' captain is named Tatiana, a Russian name.
* In America, [[YuGiOh5Ds Jack Atlas kicks your ass]]. [[SubvertedTrope In Soviet Russia,]] [[MemeticBadass Jack Atlas]] [[HeadsIWinTailsYouLose also kicks your ass]].[[hottip:*:From a Website/YouTube comment.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comedy Laughs at YOU!!]]
* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ho5T1zYccU8 In Soviet Russia, the war begins you!]]
* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Pickton In Port Coquitlam, pork eats you!]]
* Inverted with the text your question company in the United States, KGB. Thus, "in mother Russia the KGB ask you the questions, in the United States you ask the KGB the questions."
** You can also play it straight, sort of: "In America, you ask KGB questions. In Soviet Russia, KGB questions you!"
* In Soviet Russia [[http://wiki.rpg.net/index.php/File:MPost11503-sov-cthulhu.jpg you eat]] [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu Cthulhu]] (text on a label: [[hottip:Ktulhi innsmautovskie, 400rub $: Innsmouthian Cthulhus, 400 roubles]]).
** On the other hand, in Soviet Kanto, {{Pokemon}} [[http://www.funnyjunk.com/funny_pictures/183621/Pokemon+catch+YOU/ catches YOU!!]].
* In Soviet Russia environment destroys YOU!
** Germany learned this the hard way (twice--apparently [[AdolfHitler Hitler]] didn't take heed of what happened to the Teutonic knights). As did {{Napoleon|Bonaparte}} beforehand.
*** Germany is, however, one of the few countries to [[WorldWarOne actually defeat Russia...]]
** Charles XII of Sweden also fell for it about a century before Napoleon. They never learn...
*** And many, many miners.
**** Played straight in [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aral_sea#Impact_on_environment.2C_economy_and_public_health the Aral Sea region.]]
* In Soviet Russia, [[IronCurtain Curtain Irons]] you!
** In [[EastGermany Soviet Germany]], [[BerlinWall Berlin walls]] YOU!!
* Subverted by writer Emil Vrabie: ''"Don't you know the difference between the two economic systems? Under capitalism man exploits man. But, under communism, it's just the other way around."''
* Creator/WoodyAllen used to carry a bullet in his breast pocket; someone once threw a Bible at him and [[PocketProtector the bullet saved his life]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books Read YOU!!]]
* [[ComicBook/{{Watchmen}} "I'm not locked up in here with you...you're locked up in here with ME!"]]
* [[HeadsIWinTailsYouLose In America, you're scared of Batman]]. [[SupermanRedSon In Soviet Russia]], [[HeadsIWinTailsYouLose Batman scares you!]]
** In Soviet Russia, Man bats YOU! http://diabolicalleague.com/2012/06/24/in-soviet-russia-batman-fights-communism/
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Fiction Writes YOU!!]]
* A piece of the ''{{Stargate}}''/''{{X-COM}}'' crossover ''[[{{XSGCOM}} XSGCOM: Goa'uld Defense]]'':
-->'MALP shows all clear' reported the control room over the loud speaker system.
-->'In Soviet Russia MALP watches you' Andianov declared as they headed up the ramp.
-->Teal'c couldn't understand why O'Neill, Major Carter and Daniel Jackson were in hysterics as they stepped through the gate.
* Another {{Stargate}} fanfiction spends several pages detailing the operation of a Soviet-run SGC, all to set up the punchline when a KGB major mocks a captured goa'uld: "In Soviet Russia, Gods bow to you!".
** [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4531912/4/Hero_of_the_Soviet_Union In Soviet Russia, link finds YOU!!]]
* From "It's a small world after all" the characters get kidnapped by fangirls. [[AxisPowersHetalia Russia]] responds "In Russia, fangirls don't kidnap chibis, chibis kidnap them, da?"
* [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2565609/130/Odd-Ideas ''Ambition'']], a short Harry Potter fic by Rorschach's Blot, references the ComicBook/{{Watchmen}} line above. The speaker, in this case, is Harry himself. A pack of Ravenclaws lived to regret it.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Film Makes YOU!!]]
* One of the first examples, and a contemporary with Yakov Smirnoff's standup comedy, comes from the movie ''Film/{{Spaceballs}}'', when the henchman of galactic gangster "Pizza the Hut" warns Lone Starr the following message:
-->"You'd better pay up, or Pizza is gonna send out for ''you!''"
* In ''Film/JayAndSilentBobStrikeBack'', Jay imagines a ''PlanetOfTheApes''-style dystopian world where "[[ADateWithRosiePalms we will not spank the monkey]]; the monkey will spank us!"
* ''Film/{{Teeth}}'' In Soviet Russia, Pussy eats you!
* In ''Film/VanHelsing'', [[TheIgor Igor]] says this, when the the hot female ally and the Q of the hero try to force Igor into giving them the Werewolf antidote:
-->"You try to get Igor. Igor get you!"
* [[http://s660.photobucket.com/user/cthulhu19887/media/movie%20and%20tv/a0db1579.jpg.html?sort=3&o=3 In Mother Russia, Waldo finds ''you''!]]
** This is a glorious example from the 2004 Punisher movie. There's a scene in which a massive hitman known only as the Russian shows up at the Punisher's apartment and proceeds to kick his ass. Like the comic series from which it was adapted (Welcome Back, Frank), the Russian (played by pro wrestler KevinNash) is wearing a very distinctive horizontally striped red and white shirt. This prompted fans into proclaiming "In Soviet Russia, [[WheresWaldo Waldo]] finds you!"
* [[Film/TheBigLebowski "Sometimes you eat the bar and sometimes the bar, well, eats you."]]
* In Soviet Russia, [[RockyIV I must break you!]]
* [[RosesAreRedVioletsAreBlue Blood is red, \\
Serum is blue,]] \\
[[TheNewRussia In Former Soviet Russia,]] \\
[[Film/{{Blade}} Vampire is bitten by YOU!!]][[note]]It refers to the final scenes of Blade 1, which features Blade hunting Russian vampires in... Russia.[[/note]]
* The 4th theme of the ''Film/MissionImpossibleGhostProtocol'''s soundtrack is named "In Russia, phone dials you".
* In ''Film/TropicThunder'', though not Soviet :
--> '''Kirk Lazarus''' : I don't read the script. The script '''reads me'''.
* ''[[Film/JurassicPark The Lost World: Jurassic Park]]'' gives us this gem:
--> '''Nick:''' Hammond's cheque cleared or I wouldn't be going on this wild goose chase.
--> '''[[DeadpanSnarker Ian:]]''' Ah, where you're going is the only place in the world where [[RaptorAttack the geese chase you!]]
* ''Film/{{Machete}}'' : In Mexico, the border '''[[MexicoCalledTheyWantTexasBack crosses you]]'''.
** This probably originated from ''Film/MalcolmX'':
--> '''Malcolm:''': We didn't land on Plymouth Rock! Plymouth Rock landed on us!'''
*** Which in turn got spoofed in ''Film/RobinHoodMenInTights'':
---> "We didn't land in Sherwood Forest! Sherwood Forest landed on us!"
*** The line from Malcolm X was itself probably a reference to the song "Anything Goes" (see below).
* A Meta-Example: [[http://www.digitaltrends.com/international/in-plymouth-u-k-movie-watches-you-and-changes-endings-depending-on-your-reaction/ in Plymouth UK, movie watches you.]]
* ''Film/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen'' has the following exchange after Quatermain and Sawyer capture Mr. Hyde:
--> '''Skinner:''' Hullo, Dorian. The {{great white hunter}}'s bagged his prize.
---> ''(One of Captain Nemo's {{redshirt}}s goes flying across the corridor in front of them.)''
--> '''Dorian:''' Or the prize bagged ''him''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature Reads YOU!!]]
* Creator/FriedrichNietzsche: "If you gaze for long enough into the abyss, the abyss gazes back [into you]."
* ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour'', one of the trope inspirations: In RealLife you are watching ''BigBrother''. In ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour'', BigBrotherIsWatching YOU!
** That's weird, because NO ONE WATCHES BIG BROTHER!
** Even in RealLife, [[ParanoiaFuel Big Brother Is Watching You]].
* A popular phrase from the ''{{Havemercy}}'' fandom: "In Soviet Volstov, Dragon ride you!" This is because Volstov is generally accepted as a fantasy parallel to Russia.
* From ''Ye Gods!'' by Tom Holt:
-->When Jason opened his eyes, all he could see was a perfectly ordinary Underground carriage, and Virgil sitting on one of the seats, meditatively stirring a large pile of ash and charred bones. Jason winced.\\
"Let me guess," he said, "this is a No Smoking carriage."\\
"On the contrary," Virgil replied. "Only here, the train smokes the people."
* Magazine/{{MAD}} in an 1962 issue: "Russian politics can best be understood by comparing them with American politics. For instance, in America, politicians have to kiss babies, and if they don't, the mothers can take their offices away from them. In Russia, the system is somewhat different. To get food, mothers have to kiss politicians and if they don't, the politicians can take their babies away from them."
* Subverted in the philosophy book ''Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar'', when describing the difference between capitalism and communism.
--> Under capitalism, man exploits his fellow man. Under communism, the opposite is true.
** This is a pretty common joke in the old Eastern Bloc. I've most often heard it cited as an {{East German|y}} "[[GermanHumour Fritzchen]]" joke, although it's been told as a Russian/Soviet "Vovochka" joke, as well.
** Mike Myers parodies this on a behind-the-scenes feature on the DVD for ''The Cat In The Hat'', combining it with a running joke. "Under capitalism, man exploits his fellow man. Under communism, it's the complete opposite. *pause* Because of the sand which is there."
* ''Literature/CityOfThieves'' mentions this [[quoteblock]] We couldn't feed our pets, so our pets fed us[[/quoteblock]]
* In ''[[HumanxCommonwealth Mid-Flinx]]'', Teal warns Aimee about the flower in her hair: "You do not wear the cristif, the cristif wears you." Unfortunately for Aimee, Teal's not making a Yakov Smirnoff reference: [[spoiler: The "flower" is an invasive parasite, which sends its tendrils fatally bursting from Aimee's flesh seconds later.]]
* In nonfiction text ''The Steampunk Bible'', a troper is quoted about whether the Steampunk movement has jumped the shark:
-->'''JessGulbranson''': In alternate timeline Czarist Russia, clockwork shark jumps you.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV Watches YOU!!]]
* ''[[Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000 MST3K]]'' had a Yakov Smirnoff [[{{Expy}} knockoff]] saying: "In your country, you watch movie ''Film/TheRock''. In my country, we break rock in Gulag!"
** HilariousInHindsight: guess what movie the Gulag level in ''ModernWarfare 2'' [[WholePlotReference ripped off]].
* This is kind of the point of Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer. In other horror works the girl, or child, will look under the bed for monsters. Here...here the monster checks under the bed for [[{{Badass}} Buffy]].
** This even gets lampshaded in Season 4 by a soldier in The Initiative who thinks "The Slayer" is just a boogieman story that monsters tell baby monsters to help keep them in line.
** Also lampshaded in ''Series/{{Grimm}}''. As the Blutbad (werewolf) Monroe explains to Nick, the Grimm, while human children are told stories of all the different monsters who make up the Wesen world who will come to get them if they are bad, Wesen children are told the same kind of stories about the Grimms.
* [[Series/DeadliestCatch On Bearing Sea]], piñata [[EverythingTryingToKillYou hits you]].
* The TomBaker era ''DoctorWho'' arc "The Seeds of Doom" featured a plant-monster called a Krynoid. At one point the Doctor observes, "Well, on most planets, the animals eat the vegetation. On planets where the Krynoid gets established, the vegetation eats the animals."
* Since it ''was'' the Cold War, no Soviet reference is made, but the original intro of ''IDreamOfJeannie'' ends with "...and there in this house, the girl in the bottle plays spin the astronaut."
* In the ''Series/StargateSG1'' episode "The Gamekeeper," SG-1's Planet of the Week has a deserted but apparently well-tended garden, and an overgrown greenhouse in the center of it.
--> '''Daniel:''' I love what they've done with the place.\\
'''Jack:''' ''(seeing several people plugged into chairs in suspended animation)'' I love what the place has done with ''them''.
* In ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'', when Leonard and Sheldon argue in the episode "The Staircase Implementation":
--> '''Leonard:''' Screw the roommate agreement!\\
'''Sheldon:''' No, ''you'' don't screw the roommate agreement. The roommate agreement screws ''you''!
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Music Listens to YOU!!]]
* OfMontreal has a song titled ''The Party's Crashing Us'' (Do they mean [[DirtyCommunists the]] party?)
* A line in the Music/{{Muse}} song "Knights of Cydonia" goes, "Don't waste your time or time will waste you".
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mythology Tells YOU!!]]
* In a strange sort of FridgeBrilliance / HilariousInHindsight example, the [[AmazonBrigade Amazons]] from ClassicalMythology. In the myths, they were just about the only civilization at the time where women oppressed men instead of the other way around. (And, as chance would have it, according to [[Literature/TheHistories Herodotus]] they inhabited parts of what is now Ukraine and Russia.)
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tabletop Games Play YOU!!]]
* In ''{{Exalted}}'', Autochthonian civilization has a decidedly communist aesthetic, and is unique in that the Alchemical Exalted are not the rulers of the civilization, but heroes in service to it. Thus, [[MemeticMutation in Soviet Autochthonia, Exalted serve YOU!!]]
* In ''{{Rifts}}'', the standard cyborg presented in the main book is pretty underwhelming. However, in the Russia splatbook, there are numerous cyborg variants that can be some of the more powerful options. Thus in America, you defeat cyborgs; in Soviet Russia, cyborg defeats you!
* One collection of epic monsters for ''DungeonsAndDragons'' introduces the junkyard golem with the line, "On the world of the Sklavadok, the trash takes you out!"
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Theatre Acts in YOU!!]]
* In the musical ''Leave It to Me!'' ([[OlderThanTheyThink 1938]]), set largely in Soviet Russia, journalist Buck Thomas is handed a telegram by a messenger. He reaches in his pocket for a tip, but the messenger tells him:
-->'''Graustein''': No tipping. In Soviet Russia, messenger tips you.\\
'''Thomas''': Propaganda.\\
'''Graustein''': Correct.
* The title song of ''Theatre/AnythingGoes'' (1934) makes the basic transpositional pun OlderThanTelevision.
-->Times have changed\\
And we've often rewound the clock\\
Since the Puritans got a shock\\
When they landed on Plymouth Rock.\\
If today any shock they should try to stem\\
'Stead of landing on Plymouth Rock\\
Plymouth Rock would land on them.
* In "Monica" from ''ILoveMyWife'', the effects the eponymous girl has on people include "Men go ape/Apes go man."
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games Play YOU!!]]
* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXI'' there was the Republic of Bastok, the only one of the three starting nations that was not a Monarchy, jokes soon followed.
** In Soviet Bastok, party looks for you!
* ''VideoGame/{{BioShock|1}}'' has this trope between two ghosts the player encounters:
-->'''Ghost 1:''' Fuck Fontaine!
-->'''Ghost 2:''' You don't fuck Fontaine. Fontaine fucks you!
** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HorskuPPMKc&t=0m15s In Soviet Youtube, video watches YOU!!]]
* In ''VisualNovel/AceAttorneyInvestigationsMilesEdgeworth'', this is one of several memes spouted by [[{{Otaku}} Sal Manella]] curing his brief cameo in case 2.
--> In Soviet Russia, World Flags Lunchboxes eat j00!
* In ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'', Hair cuts YOU! (bonus points- the character whose hair cuts you is russian)
* From ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}} Imperishable Night'':
-->'''Marisa:''' Move and I'll shoot! ...I messed up. I mean, shoot and I'll move. [[SuperSpeed In a flash.]]
* A certain mod of ''VideoGame/SonicRoboBlast2'' contains an extra difficulty known as "Soviet Russia Mode". You know how Sonic breaks monitors by jumping on them? Well, in Soviet Russia, [[PoisonMushroom monitors break Sonic!]]
** Robotnik monitors break Sonic too!
* In VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft, when you attack a monster named Lurk, he says "In Nagrand, food hunt ogre!"
* In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3'', [[spoiler:EVE tempts the SNAKE]].
** In other area, [[PacifistRun you can]] [[CherryTapping tranquilize the enemies.]] [[spoiler:In Sokrovenno, [[ThatOneBoss The End]] [[CherryTapping tranquilize]] [[FissionMailed you!]]]]
*** Even better is that this game actually takes place in Soviet Russia.
** [[RosesAreRedVioletsAreBlue Samuel is red,\\
Raiden is blue,]]\\
In'' MetalGearRisingRevengeance'',\\
[[GenreShift enemies hide to ambush YOU!]]
* In ''VideoGame/SidMeiersAlphaCentauri'', you don't destroy the planet - [[GeniusLoci Planet]] [[HordeOfAlienLocusts destroys YOU.]]
* In Soviet Russia, [[HumanCannonball cannon]] [[RedAlert3 fires you!]]
** [[RedAlert3 In USA you bear arms, in Soviet Russia you arm bears.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Comics Draw YOU!!]]
* GorgeousPrincessCreamyBeamy: "In Russian East Stereotypia, prostitute pays YOU! ... Why did I ever leave Russian East Stereotypia?"
* In nearly all {{hentai}} featuring NaughtyTentacles, tentacle monsters rape schoolgirls. In [[QuestionableContent Pintsize's]] {{doujinshi}}, [[http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1524 it's the schoolgirls raping the tentacle monsters]] (see the similar example under "Web Original").
* TropeOverdosedTheWebcomic has the Heavy from ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' saying "In America, spy sap sentry. In Russia, sentry sap spy!"
* When Webcomic/{{Mulberry}} and her friends visit Russia in one comic, Jack claims to have trouble believing they're really there, since "the movies aren't watching people, the hamburgers aren't eating people, [and] the pants aren't wearing people". Mulberry explains that things have changed since the Soviets lost power. [[spoiler: However, [[BrickJoke a later panel shows an anthropomorphic burger threatening to eat a Russian.]]]]
* ''Webcomic/DeadWinter'' has it's resident Badass Russian say a version of [[http://deadwinter.cc/page/338.htm this.]]
* ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'' had the eponymous amorph remind local frat boys that "[[http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2003-04-07 Sometimes you have fun, and sometimes the fun has you.]]"
* A wordless strip of ''NerfNow'' shows a bunch of people in what's evidently Soviet Russia, standing side by side at a bus stop. When enough people arrive to completely fill the panel, [[http://www.nerfnow.com/comic/376 their lower bodies bloodily vanish]]. According to the text below the post, "... ''Tetris'' plays you."
* In ''{{Sinfest}}'', [[http://www.sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=2965 In Soviet America Comic Strip Laugh At You!]]
* In [[http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=586#comic this]] SaturdayMorningBreakfastCereal comic, the absurdity of this trope has lethal consequences.
* Some characters in ''Webcomic/{{Mezzacotta}}'' try to make these jokes. One character states something, and [[http://www.mezzacotta.net/archive.php?date=-271828-04-01 the other character reverses it]]. Because of DadaComics, the reversal tends to be as nonsensical as the original statement.
--> "In Soviet Russia, you make no sense to this joke!"
* In ''{{SomethingHappens}}'', in a magical land and later Megadelmartco, workers pay their employers an hourly wage instead of the other way around.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original Uploads YOU!!]]
* [[http://funnyjunk.com/funny_pictures/3007083/In/ In Soviet Russia, bomb disarms YOU!!]]
* Despair.inc advertised a t-shirt which mocked the bail-out General Motors received with the text: 'In Soviet America, the car drives you... bankrupt'
* RockPaperCynic gave us ''In Capitalist America, Hope Loses You''. [[RunningJoke Next]] ''In Capitalist America, Money Makes You''. [[UpToEleven Next they]] [[http://www.rockpapercynic.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=664 made a contest about it!]]
** [[http://www.rockpapercynic.com/index.php?date=2010-05-24 One of the contest winners.]]
* [[http://knowyourmeme.com/photos/107744 Roses are red, violets are blue...]]
** ...InSovietRussia, poem writes you!
* During WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic and [[WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall Linkara's]] joint review of ''Film/{{Superman}} IV'', the two of them are stunned when Superman talks to some Russian astronauts...while still in [[SpaceIsNoisy the vacuum of space]]. "In Soviet Russia, physics breaks you!"
* Invoked in the RiffTrax of ''Film/{{Spider-Man}} 3'' when Spidey nearly gets hit by a subway car: "In Soviet Russia train misses you!"
* "[[WebVideo/TheNostalgiaChick In Soviet Russia, Chick remembers you!]]". C'mon, she was reviewing ''{{Anastasia}}'', she had to.
* In the second season of ''Game Dogs'' they're called "game makes you" when they meet the new Russian owners.
* [[http://browse.deviantart.com/?qh=§ion=&global=1&q=In+Soviet+Russia#/d27uwij Courtesy of DeviantArt]]: In Soviet Russia, [[BlackComedyRape Tentacle Monster gets raped...by you]].
* In certain pieces of [[Franchise/FinalFantasy Tifa]] fan art, which shall not be linked because of their NSFW nature, Chocobo rides you.
** In Soviet [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyX Spira, ze shoopuf]] [[{{Squick}} rides you]].
* [[http://www.xkcdb.com/?5293 The best]] (so far) Yakov Smirnoff [[RussianHumour metajoke]].
* From WebVideo/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries episode 52: In Soviet Cyber World [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney rules screw you.]]
* ''Twice'' in SFDebris's review of the [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration ST:TNG]] episode "The Naked Now", referring to the Soviet-built ship ''Tsiolkovsky''
-->(as Picard) ''You know, number one, in your country, you send ships into space, but in Soviet Russia, ship sends YOU into space!''
-->''Well, looks like they're screwed; unable to muck with the tractor beam that can only pull things...it looks like that ship seeking boulder is going to take out the ''Enterprise'' and ''Tsiolkovsky'', which won't make them happy back in Soviet Russia. Wait, that's it! In Soviet Russia, tractor beam will PUSH!''
* Weebl's [[GloriousMotherRussia "Russian Dancing Men"]] has an image of a Whac-a-Mole machine with the caption, "Do not whack Russian, Russian whaks [sic] you."
* [[SonicTheHedgehog2SpecialEdition IN SOVIET RUSSIA MICHELLE GOROBOCHOP]]
* [[http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Association_of_Deletionist_Wikipedians In Soviet Wikipedia, bad article delete YOU!]]
* The internet short paying tribute to Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o52X9xXs3g8 Tomatoes Eat You]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation Watches YOU!!]]
* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' involved a car with a GPS system, and one of its voice settings was "Yakov Smirnoff".
-->'''GPS:''' Turn left at the fork in the road. In Soviet Russia, car drives you!
* ''{{Futurama}}'':
** "That's Lobstertainment!": Zoidberg's brief career as a stand-up comedian consisted solely of this type of joke.
-->'''Zoidberg:''' Earth! What a planet! On Earth, you enjoy eating a tasty clam. On my planet, clams enjoy eating a tasty you!\\
''([[ChirpingCrickets glass clinking]])''
** Used and lampshaded in "Crimes Of The Hot":
-->'''Fry:''' That ice dispenser is so big, the ice crushes you! *laughs to self* Yakov Smirnoff said that.
-->'''Leela:''' No he didn't.
* There was ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode with a revue of stars of TheEighties. There is the line "So sit back, relax, and watch our revue," and Yakov slides in and says, "In Soviet Union, revue watches you!" This probably had a hand in revitalizing the meme for the Internet crowd.
** After Grandpa causes his mischief on stage, Smirnoff comments "In Russia, stage is for performers only." Then Charlie Callas, [[HesJustHiding who is not dead]], starts making funny sounds.
*** [[FunnyAneurysmMoment The real Charlie Callas officially died from natural causes on 27 January 2011.]]
* The ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'' episode guest starring Smirnoff has him buying one of these jokes from Bobby, despite the comedian's protestations that he has abandoned this type of material in favor of relationship humor.
** But give Bobby credit, at least he plays with the trope. "In America, you put 'In God We Trust' on the money. In Russia, we ''have'' no money!"
*** And Yakov pays Bobby for the joke and says "keep them coming."
* In [[TransformersGeneration1 Transformers G1]] Galvatron is AxCrazy while Cyclonus is the [[OnlySaneMan Sane Man]]. In TransformersArmada Galvatron is the Sane Man (well sort of) while Cyclonus is Ax Crazy.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'' had this line in the episode "The Girl with the Googily Goop":
-->'''Dot:''' In these cartoons, the potty goes to you!
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Other is YOU!!]]
* [[http://shirtoid.com/17180/in-soviet-russia-zero-divides-by-you/ This t-shirt.]] In Soviet Russia, zero divides by you! [[http://rainbowjerk.deviantart.com/art/ISR-Dividing-by-zero-48613176 But it's bad for your health.]]
* [[http://www.glarkware.com/adult/in-soviet-russia In Soviet Russia, shirt wears YOU!]]
* [[http://rainbowjerk.deviantart.com/art/In-Soviet-Russia-48462156?offset=0 In America, You Break Law. In Soviet Russia, Law Breaks You!]]
* [[WorldWarTwo "In Soviet Russia, Russia invades GERMANY!"]]
* The [[DirtyCommunists Party is red]],\\
Your [[TheGulag fingers are turning blue]],\\
In Soviet Russia, [[TheGulagArchipelago prose writes YOU]]!!
* [[http://www.motifake.com/in-soviet-russia-soviet-russia-sins-sin-commit-tattoo-prison-demotivational-posters-72384.html In Soviet Russia, sin commits YOU!!]]
* In Soviet Russia, [[JosefStalin president]] [[ThePurge assassinates]] YOU!!
** In [[TheNewRussia Former Soviet Russia]], [[VladimirPutin president still assassinates]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Litvinenko YOU]]!!
* [[http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/uu330/cthulhu19887/82916b56.jpg In Soviet Russia, english learns YOU!!]]
* In America, you consume vodka. In SovietRussia, [[TheAlcoholic vodka consumes YOU]]!
** Unfortunately, in [[TheNewRussia Former Soviet Russia]], [[TheAlcoholic vodka still consumes YOU]]!
* In Soviet Russia, [[MasochistsMeal pepper eats you!]]
* In Soviet Russia, [[YuriGagarin rocket launches you!]]
* A [[Franchise/StarTrek Ferengi]] Rule (Probably Nr. 190) which is equally true in RealLife: Drive your business or it will drive you.
* Inverted example: in Soviet Russia, [[AxisPowersHetalia you break Busby's Chair]]; in England, Busby's Chair breaks you!
* DarkerAndEdgier: In Soviet Russia, [[http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:EDi_eQzfjQcJ:www.top-monitor.com/forum/index.php%3Faction%3Dprintpage%3Btopic%3D48113.0+www.the-mainboard.com/forum/index.php%3Faction%3Dprintpage%3Btopic%3D84149.0&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=de&client=ubuntu&source=www.google.de baggage claims you]].
* [[InSovietRussiaTropeMocksYou In Soviet Russia]], [[http://www.cracked.com/article_19126_5-adorable-animals-that-are-turning-to-dark-side_p2.html Mouse trap you]]!
* When Tropes Collide: In Soviet Russia, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHtE3nuxlY8 shark jumps you]]!
* In Soviet Russia, STF U!
* Not Russian, but a while back there was an anti-smoking ad campaign proclaiming "Tobacco smokes you!"
* During the 1978 World Chess Championship match between the World Champion Anatoly Karpov of the Soviet Union and ex-Soviet Viktor Korchnoi of Switzerland, there were seemingly endless negotiations about playing conditions thanks to Korchnoi's defector status and the mutual hostility between the contestants. At one point during the negotiations, a Soviet chess official declared (I paraphrase, but this is mostly verbatim): "Since we, the Soviet Union, are the strongest country in the world, we do not accept conditions - we impose them!"
* In America, {{NASA}} fires rockets. In Soviet Russia, [[http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/11/27/russian-president-threatens-to-punish-officials-for-space-failures/?test=latestnews#comment rocket fires you!]]
* OlderThanTheyThink non-comedic example:
-->If we don't end war, war will end us. -'''HGWells'''
* In America, you can travel river by boat. In Russia, boat can travel river by YOU! [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burlak]]
* [[InvertedTrope Inverted]]: In Russia you rob bank. [[http://imgace.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/in-kapitalist-amerika-bank-robs-you.jpg In Capitalist America bank robs you.]]
* [[FlippingTheTable In Soviet Russia]] ┳━┳ ︵╯(.□.╯)
* In America, you just miss the bus. In Russia, the bus just misses [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpgSirltqaI YOU!]]
[[/folder]]

----
[[TheStinger In Soviet Russia,]] [[TVTropesWillRuinYourLife TV Tropes ruins YOU!]]
----

* One of the first examples, and a contemporary with Yakov Smirnoff's standup comedy, comes from the movie ''Film/{{Spaceballs}}'', when the henchman of galactic gangster "Pizza the Hut" warns Lone Starr...

* The {{Trope Namer|s}} is, of course Yakov Smirnoff [[note]]although in Soviet Russia the trope made him[[/note]] who made jokes about how the U.S.S.R. had a BigBrotherIsWatching regime. It's also a case of BeamMeUpScotty; his most famous line was simply "In Russia...", not "In Soviet Russia..."[[note]][[DontExplainTheJoke 'Russia' at the time, though not a country alone, all but answered for the whole Soviet Union.]][[/note]]
** Half of his jokes were this. The other half were jokes about ''being'' a FunnyForeigner (e.g he goes into a restaurant and gets asked how many are in his party, whereupon he replies "100 million")
** He shifted his comedy after starting his theater in Branson back in 1992 (where he is still playing), which means he quit using this joke long before it became an internet meme.

In Soviet Russia, [[DescribeTopicHere topic describes YOU]]''!!''

[[folder:Anime & Manga Draw YOU!!]]

** This is a glorious example from the 2004 Punisher movie. There's a scene in which a massive hitman known only as the Russian shows up at the Punisher's apartment and proceeds to kick his ass. Like the comic series from which it was adapted (Welcome Back, Frank), the Russian (played by pro wrestler Kevin Nash) is wearing a very distinctive horizontally striped red and white shirt. This prompted fans into proclaiming "In Soviet Russia, [[WheresWaldo Waldo]] finds you!"

[[folder:Western Animation Draws YOU!!]]

A type of joke, commonly called a Russian Reversal (but technically called the transpositional pun), popularized by Ukrainian comedian Yakov Smirnoff. It is based on taking a statement about capitalist United States and inverting it to describe the then communist Russia as an [[Literature/NineteenEightyFour Orwellian]] hellhole. Smirnoff later added the prefix Soviet, to indicate the jokes were meant to target the past regime, as opposed to TheNewRussia. For instance: