Our goal for this thesis was to find out how the political cartoonists Juha Sihto and Ville Ranta have depicted Vladimir Putin in their cartoons between 2018 and 2023, what meanings the cartoons contain and what things are behind them. We also reflected how political cartoons convey an opinion and whether they can have an influence to the society. We analyzed the cartoons using semiotic and rhetorical analysis.

The material for the thesis was the cartoons that had appeared in Iltalehti, Aamulehti and Demokraatti. We chose the material based on the fact that they had to feature Putin and that they inspired for the analysis. We went through the material in different ways, using analysis methods mentioned above. We also went through a lot of news and phenomena behind the cartoons and added these observations to our analysis.

As a conclusion to our analysis, we can say that the political cartoons are complex descriptions of current topics, phenomena, and news. With the cartoons, Sihto and Ranta try to say truthfully what otherwise one would not necessarily dare to bring to the public. The images also contain verbal and non-verbal rhetoric and many different metaphors. The cartoonists have a different approach to Putin and his preconceptions, with Ranta being a bit bolder in his opinions. The way Vladimir Putin is portrayed in caricatures has changed after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. Before the war, Putin appears stronger than today.

It is impressive how news and opinions can be described without words. As an information broker and a social influencer, political cartoons could cross language barriers and state borders. This thesis could be expanded by studying how, for example, in Germany or France, Putin has been presented in political cartoons and comparing these with the Finnish catalog.