Krokodil (Russian: "Крокодил", "crocodile") was a satirical magazine published in the Soviet Union. It was founded in 1922, and named after Fyodor Dostoyevsky's satirical short story, The Crocodile. At that time, a large number of satirical magazines existed, such as Zanoza and Prozhektor. Nearly all of them eventually disappeared.Although political satire was dangerous during much of the Soviet period, Krokodil was given considerable license to lampoon political figures and events.