Kihva Värdi

Kihva Värdi, supposedly born Ferdinand Kihv, was a well-known Estonian fictional character developed by Riho Lahi. Kihva Värdi has been cited as a possible inspiration for the later fictional character of similar genre, Kärna Ärni.

The character, active in the early decades of Soviet occupation of Estonia, regularly "wrote" editorials in a number of Estonian newspapers, commenting, in a humorous and censorship-tolerated way, on current political issues. His editorials have also been published in book form.

Writing style

Kihva Värdi practiced a characteristic, well-recognisable in his era, writing style most prominent for consistently neglecting to join compound words, which are rather frequent in Estonian language. This and other stylistic cues paint him as middle-aged and poorly educated (or, as presented by Soviet authorities, "proletarian") man. This aura of proletarianism afforded Lahi some extra leeway in manœuvring through Soviet censorship.

External links

* Postimees 27 October 2004: [http://www.postimees.ee/271004/tartu_postimees/148385.php Kuidas ma vesteid aja lehe veergudele toimetasin] by Raimu Hanson