Barack Obama's image in American and Russian political cartoon

The paper investigates basic images of Barack Obama in American and Russian political satirical graphic works (cartoons, memes, demotivators, etc.). The images of a mentally challenged person, trickster, hypocrite, deceiver, crook, hustler, swindler, cheat, looser, and athlete dominate in American graphics. The basic images of Russian graphics when applied to Barack Obama are those of a wimp (stupid and aggressive), a weak and cheating partner, a petty hoodlum, a wretch, a psychopathic personality, a murderer of the universe. One of the favourite topics is connected with futile, pointless, ineffective sanctions. The methods of investigation are formed on the basis of conceptual metaphor theory, multimodal metaphor approach. These methods of study have been further changed in the process of our own research so that linguistic data could be analyzed in a more detailed way. The results of the research in question contribute to the investigations of political metaphors. Some results may also be of interest for scholars whose professional sphere is linked to cross-cultural and linguo-cultural studies.