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Humor and satire within the socialist regime in Bulgaria are a large and very poorly studied topic, which can be considered to fit into the issue of art during socialism in general, but also goes beyond this field with the specific characteristics of this art. The proposed article aims to trace the conflicting existence of humor and satire during the country's communist past, their various uses their various uses by the communist government, but also their critical potential directed against it. The article hypothesizes that the ambivalent situation of humor and satire during the communist regime is due to the nature and goals of this type of work, which are perceived in a similar way by both the authors themselves and the government - just like criticism. Such criticism, even if not directly directed at politics, is usually associated with certain social ills and human vices. These characteristics of humor and satire make their adaptation to the regime a particularly interesting topic.
In order to analyze how humorous creativity is influenced by the various processes that affect the country during the period, the objects of the study were selected newspaper "Starshel" (Hornet) and the House of Humor and Satire in Gabrovo, which will be considered as specific spaces for humor and satire, testifying to the attitude of the authorities towards humorous creativity in the different periods of the regime. The choice of objects of research presupposes a focus on two directions of humorous creativity: literature and especially the genres of humorous epigrams and feuilletons, as well as the fine arts - mainly caricatures, but also some plastic works.
Keywords: humor, satire, socialism in Bulgaria, criticism, mockery, denial, validation