Arshak Babov

The man pictured is Arshak Babov, who was a mechanical engineer and the head of the Technical Institute of Tbilisi. The Technical Institute of Tbilisi was established in 1917, while this issue of Devil’s Whip was published in 1915, so we can assume that Arshak Babov is being depicted as a social figure instead of the head of the Institute.

In the caption, Babov criticizes the idleness of government officials and advises them to follow his lead. However, this illustration depicts Babov laying on the sofa, with a bottle beside him, so we can assume the caricature, as well as the caption, is satirical criticizism of Arshak Babov's idleness.

Source: The National Parliamentary Library of Georgia