Putin jokes apparently not funny to some

NOVOSIBIRSK, Russia, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- A security service investigation was launched in the Russian city of Novosibirsk after a newsletter made simple jokes about Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In what represented the most recent aggressive response to jokes about the Russian president, a Communist Party leader was targeted by the investigation after placing the comedic material in a party newsletter, The Independent said Saturday.

Prior to the party official's faux pas, an online report describing Putin as a "phallic symbol" landed a reporter in court and a regional newspaper was criticized for portraying the Russian leader adorned in a Nazi uniform on its front page.

Political analyst Dmitry Oreshkin said such ill-advised humor against Putin or his United Russia party is clearly not acceptable to some.

"You can't criticize Putin on television or in the mainstream media, so now you can't criticize United Russia either," he said.

The British newspaper said such censorship is similar to the occasionally fatal results that befell those who chose to make " Trotskyite jokes" in Russia during the 1930s.