OpenAI on Tuesday released its most advanced image generator to date, allowing users to create incredibly detailed and accurate images. Users, including OpenAI founder Sam Altman himself, were quick to notice that ChatGPT is very good at mimicking Studio Ghibli’s iconic animation style.
As usual, the internet wasted no time in Ghiblifying some of the most famous — and infamous — moments in Russian and Soviet history.
For his part, Studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki has in the past called AI image generation “an insult to life itself.”
Here's a look at some of our favorite Ghiblified moments from Russia:
Here, we have the famous set of images of Stalin walking along the Volga Canal flanked by NKVD head Nikolai Yezhov, who oversaw the Great Purge. The bottom image shows a doctored version of the image created for Stalin’s 70th birthday, in which Yezhov has been removed.
The now-infamous RT interview with Ruslan Boshirov and Alexander Petrov, who had returned to Russia after attempting to poison former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Britain in March 2018.
In the interview, the two men claimed they wanted to visit the “wonderful town” of Salisbury and see its Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which they said is “famous not just in Europe, but in the whole world.”
The heavily memed March 2022 clip of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko telling Vladimir Putin: “And now I will show you where the attack on Belarus was prepared from.”
Wagner mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin's many disguises.
Russian Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina's signature brooch has also been reimagined into a Studio Ghibli-style gnome.
In February 2023, pro-war blogger and convicted war criminal Igor Strelkov had writer Yuri Mukhin on his show to discuss politics and the war in Ukraine. The discussion, which was filled with pessimism and disagreement, spawned several screenshots of the two men looking less than thrilled with each other.
Russian soldiers trapped in an elevator somewhere in Ukraine, March 2022.
Last, but certainly not least, the photo of the late Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky in the pool with a group of young activists — which only fueled the widespread rumors that he was gay despite his frequent deployment of homophobic rhetoric.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.
