''Pikker'' was an

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

n magazine of satire and humor published between 1943 and 2001, named for the Estonian lightning god Pikker. During 1943–1944 ''Pikker'' existed as satire and humor supplement to the Soviet Estonian newspaper ''

Rahva Hääl ''Rahva Hääl'' (lit. ''The People's Voice'') was the official daily newspaper of the Communist Party of Estonia during Soviet occupation of Estonia. It was founded shortly after the first Soviet takeover in 1940 based on offices and resources ...

'' and printed in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

and

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. In 1945 its editorial office was moved to

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

Estonian SSR The Estonian SSR,, russian: Эстонская ССР officially the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic,, russian: Эстонская Советская Социалистическая Республика was an ethnically based adminis ...

. In 1973 Pikker published two articles which criticised the

planned economy A planned economy is a type of economic system where investment, production and the allocation of capital goods takes place according to economy-wide economic plans and production plans. A planned economy may use centralized, decentralized, part ...

which were censored by the authorities soon after the publication. In 1987, on

April Fools' Day April Fools' Day or All Fools' Day is an annual custom on 1 April consisting of practical jokes and hoaxes. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fools!" at the recipient. Mass media can be involved in these pranks, which may ...

the magazine issued a humor award,

Meie Mats Meie Mats, named after an Estonian folk song, is a prestigious yearly humour award issued since 1987 and originally initiated by Edgar Spriit, the chief editor of '' Pikker'', a long-time Estonian humour magazine.Maaleht 18 January 2001Kellest ...

References

1943 establishments in the Soviet Union 2001 disestablishments in Estonia Defunct magazines published in Estonia Magazines published in the Soviet Union Eastern Bloc mass media Estonian-language magazines Estonian humour Magazines established in 1943 Magazines disestablished in 2001 Mass media in Tallinn Newspaper supplements Satirical magazines published in Europe Magazines published in Moscow Censorship in the Soviet Union {{entertainment-mag-stub