Evgeny Petrov. Biography. Literary and historical notes of the young technician Evgeniy Petrov Kataev biography

Russian satirist writer Evgeny Petrovich Petrov (real name Kataev) was born on December 13 (November 30, old style) 1903 (according to some sources - in 1902) in Odessa.

His father, Pyotr Vasilyevich Kataev, was the son of a priest from the city of Vyatka, a teacher at the diocesan and cadet schools in the city of Odessa. Mother, Evgenia, a Ukrainian from Poltava, whose maiden name was Bachey, died shortly after the birth of her second son. The older brother is Valentin Kataev, a future writer.

The Kataevs had an extensive family library, but classic literature was not attracted to Evgeniy. He read books by Gustave Aimard, Robert Louis Stevenson and others. He dreamed of becoming a detective, he was attracted by adventures.

In 1920, Evgeny Kataev graduated from the fifth Odessa classical gymnasium. He worked as a correspondent for the Ukrainian Telegraph Agency, then as a criminal investigation inspector in Odessa.

In 1923 he moved to Moscow, where he continued his education and took up journalism.

In 1924, the first feuilletons and stories appeared in the satirical magazine "Red Pepper" under the pseudonym Petrov, also under the name of Gogol's "Foreigner Fedorov." The satirist also used other pseudonyms. He did not want another writer with the surname Kataev to appear.

Before collaborating with Ilya Ilf, Evgeny Petrov published more than fifty humorous and satirical stories in various periodicals and published three independent collections.

In 1926, while working at the Gudok newspaper, Evgeny Petrov met Ilya Ilf. Their joint work began: they processed materials for the newspaper "Gudok", composed topics for drawings and feuilletons in the magazine "Smekhach".

In the summer of 1927, Ilf and Petrov traveled to the Crimea and the Caucasus and visited Odessa. They kept a joint travel diary. Later, some impressions from this trip were included in the novel “The Twelve Chairs,” which was published in 1928 in the monthly literary magazine “30 Days.” The novel was a great success among readers, but was received rather coldly by literary critics. Even before its first publication, censorship greatly reduced it. Soon the novel began to be translated into many European languages, and it was published in many European countries.

Their next novel was The Golden Calf (1931). Initially it was published in parts in the monthly "30 days".

In September 1931, Ilya Ilf and Yevgeny Petrov were sent to Red Army exercises in the Belarusian military district; based on the materials of the trip, the essay “Difficult Topic” was published in the magazine “30 Days”.

Since 1932, Ilf and Petrov began publishing in the newspaper Pravda.

In 1935-1936, the writers traveled around the United States, which resulted in the book “One-Storey America” (1937).

In collaboration with Ilya Ilf, he wrote the short stories “Extraordinary Stories from the Life of the City of Kolokolamsk” (1928-1929), the fantastic story “Bright Personality” (1928), the short stories “1001 Days, or New Scheherazade” (1929), etc.

Ilf's death in 1937 interrupted the creative collaboration of the writers.

Petrov did a lot to perpetuate the memory of his friend. In 1939, he published Ilya Ilf's Notebooks, and later decided to write a novel called My Friend Ilf. The novel was not finished; only individual sketches and detailed versions of the plan have survived.

Evgeniy Petrov wrote a number of film scripts. In co-authorship with Ilya Ilf they created “The Black Barrack” (1933), “Once Upon a Summer” (1936), in co-authorship with Georgy Munblit - “ Musical history" (1940), "Anton Ivanovich is Angry" (1941), etc. Petrov independently wrote scripts for the films "Silent Ukrainian Night" and "Air Cabby". He worked on the script for the film "Circus", but in the end demanded that his last name from the credits.

In 1941, Petrov became a war correspondent for Pravda and the Sovinformburo. He was often and for a long time at the front.

On July 2, 1942, Yevgeny Petrov died while returning by plane from besieged Sevastopol to Moscow. The writer was buried in the Rostov region in the village of Mankovo-Kalitvenskaya.

Many films have been made based on the works of Ilf and Petrov: “The Golden Calf” (1968), “The Twelve Chairs” (1971), “Ilf and Petrov Were Riding on a Tram” (1972), etc. Based on the play “Island of the World” by Evgeniy Petrov (published in 1947) the cartoon "Mr. Walk" (1950) was filmed.

Evgeniy Petrov was awarded the order Lenin and a medal.

The writer's wife was Valentina Grunzaid. Their children: Pyotr Kataev (1930-1986) - a famous cameraman who shot almost all of Tatyana Lioznova’s films; Ilya Kataev (1939-2009) - composer, author of a number of popular songs and music for films.

The material was prepared based on information from open sources

Russian satirist writer Evgeny Petrov became famous after the publication of the books “The Twelve Chairs”, “The Golden Calf”, “One-Storey America” and “At War”, written in tandem with.

Evgeny Petrovich Kataev (real name of the publicist) was born on December 13, 1902 in Odessa. When people who are not familiar with Evgeniy’s work and life read his autobiography, they get the impression that the creator lived not in the real, but in the ideal Soviet Union. He was free, wrote what he wanted, traveled all over the world and miraculously escaped arrest and repression at a time when everyone around him was imprisoned.

True, if you dig deeper, it turns out that the journalist’s real life differed from the official biography. It is known that for a couple of years no one knew exactly the true date of birth of Eugene, so all encyclopedias indicated October 1903. Only when, in the 60s, employees of the Odessa archive found a metric book in which the date of birth and baptism was recorded, everything fell into place.

The writer's father, Pyotr Vasilyevich Kataev, worked as a teacher at the diocesan and cadet schools in Odessa. Evgeniy's mother, a Ukrainian from Poltava, died of pneumonia a couple of months after the birth of her second son (the writer has an older brother).

It is known that the Kataevs had an extensive family library, but classical literature did not attract Evgeniy. The inquisitive guy was reading books by Gustav Emar, and...

In 1920, Evgeniy graduated from the 5th Odessa classical gymnasium, where his classmate and best friend was Alexander Kozachinsky (the boys even took an oath of fraternal allegiance: they cut their fingers with a piece of glass and mixed the blood). Then the future publicist worked for a couple of months as a correspondent for the Ukrainian Telegraph Agency, and after that as a criminal investigation inspector in Odessa.

Few people know, but in 1922, during a chase with a shootout, Kataev personally detained his friend Kozachinsky, who led a gang of raiders. Subsequently, the writer achieved a review of his criminal case. As a result, Alexander was not shot, but sent to a camp.

This story later formed the basis of the adventure story “The Green Van,” the prototype of which for the main character, Volodya Patrikeev, was Petrov. Also, films of the same name were made based on the work in 1959 and 1983.

Three years later, Kataev moved to Moscow. There the young man took up self-education and journalism. Already in 1924, the first feuilletons and stories appeared in the satirical magazine “Red Pepper” under the pseudonym Petrov. During his literary career, the satirist used other pseudonyms. This was done because the writer did not want his works to be attributed to his brother.

Before collaborating with Ilya Ilf, Evgeny Petrov published more than fifty humorous and satirical stories in various periodicals and published three independent collections. In 1926, while working for the Gudok newspaper, the publicist met Ilya Ilf, with whom he initially processed materials for the Gudok newspaper, and also composed themes for drawings and feuilletons in the Smekhach magazine.

When the war began, Petrov became a war correspondent for the Sovinformburo. He wrote for Soviet printed publications and, as a result of his work, often spent long periods at the front. One day the writer returned from near Maloyaroslavets shell-shocked by a blast wave.

Despite the fact that the publicist practically did not speak, he hid his condition as best he could from his colleagues and relatives. It is known that as soon as he felt a little better, the journalist immediately began writing about the battles for Maloyaroslavets.

Who happened to be with Petrov on one of the longest front-line trips to the Northern Front, recalled that it was extremely difficult for Evgeniy to travel long distances on foot due to a weak heart. Young Simonov often offered help to Kataev, but Petrov flatly refused and was happy when there was a halt or they reached headquarters.

Literature

In the summer of 1927, Ilf and Petrov traveled to the Crimea, the Caucasus and visited Odessa. They kept a joint travel diary. Later, impressions from this trip were included in the novel “Twelve Chairs,” which was published in 1928 in the monthly literary magazine “30 Days.” The novel was a great success among readers, but was received rather coldly by literary critics. Even before its first publication, censorship greatly reduced it. Soon the novel began to be translated into European languages, and it was published in many European countries.

Their next novel was The Golden Calf (1931). Initially, the work was published in parts in the monthly “30 days”. In September 1931, Ilya Ilf and Yevgeny Petrov were sent to Red Army exercises in the Belarusian military district. Based on the materials of the trip, the essay “Difficult Topic” was published in the magazine “30 Days”. Since 1932, Ilf and Petrov published in the newspaper Pravda.

In 1935-1936, the writers traveled around the United States, which resulted in the book “One-Storey America” (1937). Also co-authored with Ilya Ilf were the short stories “Extraordinary Stories from the Life of the City of Kolokolamsk” (1928–1929), the fantastic story “Bright Personality” (1928), the short stories “1001 Days, or New Scheherazade” (1929) and the great many other wonderful works.

The creative collaboration of the writers was interrupted by Ilf’s death in 1937. Kataev did a lot to perpetuate the memory of his friend. In 1939, he published “Notebooks” by Ilya Ilf, and later decided to write a novel called “My Friend Ilf.” True, the novel was not finished and only individual sketches and detailed versions of the plan have been preserved.

Evgeniy Petrov wrote a number of film scripts. In collaboration with Ilya Ilf, “The Black Barrack” (1933) and “Once Upon a Summer” (1936) were created. Later, in collaboration with Georgy Moonblit, “Musical History” (1940) and “Anton Ivanovich is Angry” (1941) appeared.

Kataev independently wrote scripts for the films “Silent Ukrainian Night” and “Air Carrier”. It is also known that the writer worked on the script for the film “Circus”, but in the end he demanded that his last name not be included in the credits.

Among other things, films based on the works of Ilf and Petrov were made: “The Golden Calf” (1968), “The Twelve Chairs” (1971), “Ilf and Petrov Rode on a Tram” (1972). Also based on Kataev’s play “Island of Peace” the cartoon “Mr. Walk” (1949) was filmed.

Personal life

Evgeniy’s wife’s name was Valentina, she was eight years younger than him. Petrov surprised his beloved every day and did everything to keep the smile on his beloved’s face. The young people legalized their relationship when the girl was barely nineteen. After the wedding, the writer maintained the same reverent attitude towards his wife. It is also worth noting that the fashion for open relationships, which spread in the 1920s in the bohemian environment, did not have any influence on marriage.

To this union two sons were born - Peter (named in honor of his father) and Ilya (named in honor of a friend). According to the memoirs of the writer’s granddaughter, her grandmother continued to love her husband until her death (in 1991) and never took the ring he gave her off her finger.

The eldest son of Evgeny and Valentina became a cinematographer and shot many popular Soviet films. The younger Ilya worked as a composer and wrote music for a couple of films and TV series.

Death

Petrov outlived his friend Ilya by five years. After Ilf’s death, death literally followed on Evgeniy’s heels. Once a writer in a gymnasium laboratory swallowed hydrogen sulfide, and he was barely pumped out. fresh air. Then, in Milan, the publicist was hit by a cyclist and almost fell under the wheels of a passing car.

During the Finnish War, a shell hit the corner of the house where the author of the story “Prodigal Dad” spent the night. Near Moscow, the journalist came under German mortar fire and barely survived. That same year, the screenwriter’s fingers were pinched by the door of a front-line vehicle. This happened when the writer was attacked by German aircraft, and he urgently needed to leave the car and run into a ditch.

The creator died during the Great Patriotic War. When Evgeniy was returning by plane to Moscow on July 2, 1942, the pilot, escaping the bombing, lowered his flight altitude and crashed into a mound. Of the several people on board, only Petrov, who was 38 years old at that time, died.

The writer’s remains were buried in the Rostov region in the village of Mankovo-Kalitvenskoye.

Bibliography

• 1922 – “Real Work”
• 1924 – “It didn’t burn out”
• 1926 – “The Joys of Megas”
• 1927 - “No report”
• 1928 - “Twelve Chairs”
• 1928 – “Bright Personality”
• 1929 – “Hat”
• 1931 - “Golden Calf”
• 1934 – “Recipe for a Quiet Life”
• 1936 - “One-story America”
• 1942 - “At War”
• 1942 - “Front diary”
• 1965 - “Journey to the Land of Communism” (unfinished)

According to the rules in force at all times, the biography of a creative personality consists of facts, guesses and outright fiction. The biography of the famous Soviet writer Yevgeny Petrov was no exception. It is true that the child was born in Odessa, a city near the Black Sea. Father's last name is Kataev. Even many readers today know about the writer Valentin Kataev. But not everyone knows that Valentin is the older brother, and Evgeniy is the younger. It so happened in life that the younger one had to work under a pseudonym in order to avoid confusion on a historical scale and when solving everyday issues.

Kataev Jr. received his education at a classical gymnasium. In the early 20s of the last century, after the end of the Civil War, Evgeniy came to Moscow following his older brother. Before that, he managed to work in his homeland in the criminal investigation department. The work left its mark on the memory for a long time, and on the basis of these “traces” the young writer wrote the story “The Green Van”, based on which the film of the same name was made twice. Due to the prevailing circumstances, the detective’s career in the capital did not work out, and the visiting Odessa resident had to retrain as a journalist. Initially, he was good at humorous and satirical essays.

It should be emphasized that Evgeniy’s natural gifts - intelligence and excellent memory - allowed him to quickly get used to the literary environment of the capital. The first humoresques and sketches from life were published on the pages of the magazine “Red Pepper”. After some time, Petrov took the position of executive secretary of this publication. At that time, the young and energetic journalist was called a “multi-station operator.” He had the strength and imagination to write several texts at once and send them to different editors. A similar practice is still used today, but not every subject who stains paper can handle such a load.

Creativity is like life

The personal life of Yevgeny Petrov was simple and even banal. In the turmoil of editorial affairs, he fell in love with the girl Valentina, who turned out to be eight years younger than the groom. The husband and wife, as they say, coincided in character, upbringing and temperament. The family was formed once and for all. And each child was born as a unique creation. The Petrov couple had two sons. And every literary work was prepared for release, like a beloved child. Such harmony in family relationships is extremely rare.

Meanwhile, life in the country flowed and seethed. Already an accomplished writer and journalist, Evgeniy Petrov set himself and solved large-scale tasks. Some critics note that the pinnacle of his work were the novels “12 Chairs” and “The Golden Calf,” created in collaboration with his colleague Ilya Ilf. For a significant number of connoisseurs, the names of the authors - Ilf and Petrov - have become an idiom, a stable combination. Among those noticed and appreciated is their book “One-Storey America.” Before reading these travel notes Soviet people knew little about how the American people lived in the outback.

When the war began, Yevgeny Petrov began working as a correspondent for the Sovinformburo - the Soviet Information Bureau. At the same time, he sent his materials from active army in the newspapers “Pravda”, “Krasnaya Zvezda”, and the magazine “Ogonyok”. War correspondent Petrov died in a plane crash in 1942 while returning from a mission to Moscow. After his death, collections of his works “Moscow is behind us” and “Front-line diary” were published.

On December 13 (November 30, old style), 1902, satirist, journalist and screenwriter Evgeny Petrov (pseudonym of Evgeny Petrovich Kataev) was born. In collaboration with I.A. Ilf (Ehiel-Leib Arievich Fainzilberg) created the world-famous novels “The Twelve Chairs” and “The Golden Calf”, a number of feuilletons and satirical stories; in collaboration with G. Moonblit - scripts for the Soviet films “Anton Ivanovich is Angry” and “Musical History”. Father of cinematographer Pyotr Kataev (“Seventeen Moments of Spring”) and composer Ilya Kataev (“Standing at a Stop”).

early years

ABOUT early years and the childhood of Evgeniy Petrov (Kataev) little is known. For a long time there was confusion in the Kataev family even with the year of his birth. It was believed that Eugene was six years younger than his older brother Valentin, and therefore should have been born in 1903. This date still appears in a number of literary and cinematic reference books. But quite recently, Odessa local historians discovered documents that indisputably testify that the year of birth of Evgeny Kataev is 1902. The confusion was most likely due to the fact that Evgeny was born at the end of the year (December), and his older brother Valentin in January 1897.

The father of the Kataev brothers, Pyotr Vasilyevich Kataev, held the position of teacher at the diocesan school in Odessa. Mother - Evgenia Ivanovna Bachey - daughter of General Ivan Eliseevich Bachey, from a Poltava small noble family. Subsequently, V. Kataev gave the name of his father and the surname of his mother to the main, largely autobiographical hero of the story “The Lonely Sail Whitens” Petya Bachey. The prototype of Pavlik's younger brother - the victim of the first expropriation of the future revolutionary - was, of course, Evgeniy.

As it turned out later, during the period of the revolution and the Civil War, the Kataev brothers did not participate in the revolutionary movement. On the contrary, in Odessa in 1920, Valentin was a member of the officers’ underground, the purpose of which was to prepare a meeting for a possible Wrangel landing from the Crimea. In August 1919, Odessa had already been liberated from the Reds once by a simultaneous attack by a white landing force and an uprising of underground officer organizations. The main task of the underground group was to seize the Odessa lighthouse, so the Cheka called the conspiracy the “Wrangel lighthouse conspiracy.” According to one version, the idea of ​​the conspiracy could have been planted on the conspirators by a provocateur, since the Cheka knew about the conspiracy from the very beginning. The security officers led the group for several weeks and then arrested all its members. Along with Valentin Kataev, his younger brother Evgeniy, a high school student, who most likely had nothing to do with the conspiracy, was also arrested.

The brothers spent six months in prison, but were released thanks to a happy accident. A certain superior officer, whom V. Kataev called Yakov Belsky in stories to his son, came to Odessa from Moscow or Kharkov to Odessa with an inspection. Most likely, behind this “pseudonym” was V.I. Narbut, a poet, prominent Bolshevik, head of UKROST in Kharkov. Subsequently, he provided patronage to V. Kataev in Moscow, but in the 1930s he was repressed, and his name was no longer mentioned in famous literary memoirs. Be that as it may, this high-ranking figure remembered Kataev Sr. from his speeches at Bolshevik rallies in Odessa. The patron, of course, knew nothing about the future writer’s voluntary service with Denikin and his participation in the officers’ underground, and therefore managed to convince the security officers of the innocence of both Kataev brothers. The remaining participants in the “lighthouse conspiracy” were shot at the end of 1920.

From the “Double Biography” written jointly with Ilya Ilf, it is known that E. Petrov graduated from a classical gymnasium in 1920. In the same year he became a correspondent for the Ukrainian Telegraph Agency (UKROSTA). After that, he served as a criminal investigation inspector for three years. His first “literary work” was a protocol for examining the corpse of an unknown man.

While studying at the gymnasium, Evgeniy’s classmate and close friend was Alexander Kozachinsky, a nobleman on his father’s side, who later wrote the adventure story “The Green Van.” The prototype of the main character of the story - the head of the Odessa district police department Volodya Patrikeev - was Evgeniy Petrov.

Sasha and Zhenya had been friends since childhood, and subsequently fate brought their lives together in the most bizarre way.

Kozachinsky, a man of an adventurous streak and great charm, also joined the police, but soon gave up detective work. He led a gang of raiders operating in Odessa and its environs. Ironically, in 1922 it was Evgeniy Kataev, then an employee of the Odessa criminal investigation department, who arrested him. After a chase with a shootout, Kozachinsky hid in the attic of one of the houses, where he was discovered by a classmate. Evgeniy had the opportunity to shoot the armed bandit during his arrest, but he did not do so. Subsequently, Kataev achieved a review of the criminal case and the replacement of A. Kozachinsky with an exceptional punishment (execution) to imprisonment in a camp. In the fall of 1925, Kozachinsky was granted amnesty. At the exit from prison he was met by his mother and his faithful friend, Evgeny Kataev.

Journalist for the publication “Top Secret” Vadim Lebedev concludes his essay “The Green Van” with an amazing fact, once again emphasizing the inexplicability and even supernatural nature of the connection that existed between these people: “1941 separated them. Petrov goes to the front as a war correspondent. Kozachinsky was evacuated to Siberia for health reasons. In the fall of 1942, having received news of the death of a friend, Kozachinsky fell ill, and a few months later, on January 9, 1943, a modest obituary appeared in the newspaper “Soviet Siberia”: “Soviet writer Alexander Kozachinsky has died.”.

That is, in the years following Kozachinsky’s release from prison, he managed to become a “Soviet writer.” Which, by the way, was also contributed by E. Petrov. Throughout his life, he felt responsible for the fate of this man: he insisted on his moving to Moscow, introduced him to the literary environment, and gave him the opportunity to realize his talent as a journalist and writer. In 1926, he hired A. Kozachinsky as a journalist in the same editorial office of the Gudok newspaper. And in 1938, E. Petrov persuaded his friend, with whom he had once read Mine Reed, to write the adventure story “The Green Van” (interestingly filmed in 1983). Now we understand what stands behind the last lines of “The Green Van”: “Each of us considers himself obliged to the other: I - for the fact that he did not shoot me once with a Mannlicher, and he - for the fact that I planted it on time.”

Evgeniy Petrov

In 1923, the future Evgeny Petrov came to Moscow, where he planned to continue his education and start literary work. But initially he only managed to get a job as a warden in Butyrka prison. Subsequently, V. Ardov recalled his first meeting with Kataev Jr.:

“In the summer of 1923, V.P. Kataev, with whom I had known for a year - very distantly, however, - said to me one day during a street meeting:

Meet me, this is my brother...

Next to Kataev stood a young man - very young - who looked somewhat similar to him. Evgeniy Petrovich was then twenty years old. He seemed unsure of himself, which was natural for a provincial who had recently arrived in the capital. Slanted shiny black big eyes They looked at me with some disbelief. Petrov was youthfully thin and, in comparison with his brother in the capital, poorly dressed..."

It’s no secret that his older brother, writer Valentin Kataev, had a significant, even decisive influence on the fate of the aspiring journalist. He introduced Evgeniy to the literary environment of Moscow, got him a job at the editorial office of the Red Pepper magazine, and then at the Gudok newspaper. V. Kataev’s wife recalled: “I have never seen such affection between brothers as Valya and Zhenya have. Actually, Valya forced his brother to write. Every morning he started by calling him - Zhenya got up late, started swearing that they woke him up... “Okay, keep swearing,” Valya said and hung up.”

Soon Kataev Jr. no longer gave the impression of a confused provincial. In the editorial office, he showed himself to be a talented organizer, began writing feuilletons, and giving topics for cartoons. He signed his things either with the “Gogol” pseudonym “Foreigner Fedorov”, or with the surname into which he turned his patronymic - “Petrov”. “Bolivar of Russian Literature” simply could not stand two Kataev writers; confusion, suspicions of plagiarism, etc. would inevitably arise.

"ILFIPETROV"

Evgeniy Petrov met I.A. Ilf (Ilya Arnoldovich Fainzilberg) in the same editorial office of Gudok in 1926. E. Petrov did not have any special impressions from the first meeting with his future co-author. The journalists simply worked together in the editorial office, and their close literary collaboration began a year later - in 1927, when Valentin Kataev literally “threw” the plot of “The Twelve Chairs” to the authors. He wanted young people, with their characteristic enthusiasm and remarkable imagination, to write a satirical novel, which he would then “correct” and become a co-author. Speaking modern language, the eminent writer found himself literary “blacks” so that they could do all the main work for him. But it turned out differently.

In some modern publications in the media and on Internet resources, Evgeny Petrov sometimes appears as a “minor figure”, “assistant” and almost a secretary-copyist of I. Ilf’s texts. There is even an opinion that V. Kataev, who even then managed to discern great potential in the modest Ilf, deliberately “slipped” his not very talented brother into his co-author, so that he would share the future literary glory between the two. In our opinion, these statements are not only unfair, but have no basis except the deep, convinced ignorance of the authors of such statements themselves.

The process of joint creativity of these two extraordinary authors - I. Ilf and E. Petrov - has been described more than once by themselves, their contemporaries and close people who saw the writers directly at work. Everything, down to the last detail, down to every plot point, down to the last name of a minor character - everything was agreed upon and discussed several times by the authors together. And the fact that Petrov usually wrote during the creative process, and Ilf walked from corner to corner, conducting a dialogue with him or a monologue with himself, Evgeny Petrov explained by the absence of a typewriter at first and the fact that his handwriting was better than Ilf’s illegible handwriting .

But why did V. Kataev suggest that two authors write a novel at once? And there is an explanation for this.

Valentin Petrovich Kataev himself, despite his Odessa past, was a romantic author, socialist realist and lyricist at the same time, had an extraordinary sense of humor, but... he did not have the talent of a humorist-satirist. Everything written by V.P. Kataev during his long literary life does not fit well into the term “southwest” proposed by literary critic V. Shklovsky. Shklovsky’s article “South-West” appeared in the first issue of “ Literary newspaper"for 1933 and immediately caused heated discussions in the literary community. Shklovsky named Odessa as the center of the southwestern literary school, which gave rise to calling the school South Russian, and then simply Odessa. Shklovsky borrowed the title for the article from Bagritsky - this was the name of his poetry collection of 1928. But the term "Southwest" was in use before. In Kyiv, for example, at the beginning of the century the magazine “Southwestern Week” was published.

About whether there is or whether there was any special “Odessa” literary school and where to look for its roots - literary historians argue to this day. However, such authors as I. Babel, L. Slavin, I. Ilf and E. Petrov, Y. Olesha, V. Kataev, E. Bagritsky and, to some extent, the Kiev resident M.A. Bulgakov, on long years identified the main directions Soviet literature.

Undoubtedly, in 1927 I. A. Ilf was a more experienced author than the beginner E. Petrov. Kataev Sr. could not help but see in Ilf a good teacher and mentor for his brother - still the author of literature of the “small” genre - magazine humoresques and topical feuilletons in the “south-west” style. Ilf’s literary talent lay on the same plane as that of Kataev Jr., who could demonstrate his abilities much more clearly in creative tandem. According to the memoirs of contemporaries, Evgeniy often created his first feuilletons in “Red Pepper” and “Beep” in collaboration with the same Kozachinsky or other members of the editorial board.

In addition, in terms of personality and character, the members of the duet Ilf and Petrov complemented each other wonderfully.

According to the memoirs of B. Efimov, “Petrov was an expansive and enthusiastic person, able to easily light up and light up others. Ilf was of a different type - reserved, a little reserved, Chekhovian shy. However, he was also capable of sudden outbursts when vulgarity, untruth, indifference, and rudeness enraged him. And then Petrov supported him with all the strength of his stormy temperament. Their community was extremely integral and organic. It pleased not only with its literary brilliance, but also with its noble moral character, - it was a wonderful union of two pure, incorruptibly honest, deeply principled people..."(Bor. Efimov “Moscow, Paris, the crater of Vesuvius...” // Collection of memories of Ilf and Petrov)

The literary collaboration between Ilf and Petrov lasted ten years. Initially, according to E. Petrov, not everything went as smoothly as it seemed from the outside:

“It was very difficult for us to write. We worked at the newspaper and humor magazines very conscientiously. We knew from childhood what work was. But we never realized how difficult it is to write a novel. If I weren't afraid of sounding banal, I would say that we wrote in blood. We left the Palace of Labor at two or three in the morning, stunned, almost suffocated by cigarette smoke. We returned home through the wet and empty Moscow alleys, illuminated by greenish gas lamps, unable to utter a word. Sometimes we were overcome by despair..."

In the book “My Diamond Crown,” V. Kataev mentions that the agreement with the editors of the magazine “30 Days,” where the novel “The Twelve Chairs” was to be published, was concluded on his behalf, and initially there were planned to be three authors. But when the literary “master” read the seven pages of the first part of the novel, he immediately recognized that these were not literary “blacks”, but real, established writers. Subsequently, V. Kataev consciously refused any interference in creative process tandem IlfPetrov, and the novel was written by the authors completely independently.

"The twelve Chairs"

The novel “The Twelve Chairs” was published in 1928 - first in the magazine “30 Days”, and then as a separate book. And he immediately became extremely popular. The story about the adventures of the charming adventurer and swindler Ostap Bender and his companion, the former leader of the nobility Kisa Vorobyaninov, was captivating with brilliant dialogues, colorful characters, and subtle satire on Soviet reality and philistinism. Laughter was the authors' weapon against vulgarity, stupidity and idiotic pathos. The book quickly went viral with quotes:

“All smuggling is done in Odessa, on Malaya Arnautskaya Street,”

“Dusya, I am a man exhausted by Narzan,”

“A sultry woman is a poet’s dream,”

"Bargaining is inappropriate here"

“Money in the morning, chairs in the evening”

"Who needs a mare as a bride"

“Only cats will be born quickly,”

"Giant of thought, father of Russian democracy"

and many, many others. Unforgettable is the dictionary of Ellochka the cannibal with her interjection words and other remarks that have entered our lives - “darkness!”, “creepy!”, “fat and handsome,” “guy,” “be rude,” “your whole back is white! ", "don't teach me how to live!", "ho-ho." In essence, it can be said without exaggeration that the entire book about Bender consists of immortal aphorisms, constantly quoted by readers and moviegoers.

It is worth saying a few words about the possible prototypes of the heroes of this work. According to the authors themselves, Ostap Bender was conceived by them as minor character. For him, Ilf and Petrov had only one phrase prepared about “the key to the apartment where the money is.” The writers accidentally heard this expression from a billiard player they knew.

“But Bender gradually began to push out of the framework prepared for him. Soon we could no longer cope with him. By the end of the novel, we treated him like a living person and were often angry with him for the impudence with which he sneaked into almost every chapter.” (E. Petrov “From the memories of Ilf”).

One of the prototypes of Bender is considered to be an Odessa acquaintance of the Kataev brothers, Osip Benyaminovich Shor, the brother of the famous futurist poet Nathan Fioletov in Odessa. Kataev in his book “My Diamond Crown” writes: “The futurist’s brother was Ostap, whose appearance the authors preserved in the novel almost completely intact: an athletic build and a romantic, purely Black Sea character. He had nothing to do with literature and served in the criminal investigation department to combat banditry, which had reached threatening proportions. He was a brilliant operative."

Like this! It is not for nothing that the literary Ostap Bender sacredly honors the criminal code.

The main character of the novel “The Twelve Chairs” was supposed to be Kisa Vorobyaninov, the district leader of the nobility, “a giant of thought and the father of Russian democracy,” extremely similar in glasses to the leader of the Cadet Party Miliukov. Most researchers agree that Kise was given the features of the Kataevs’ cousin, but there is an opinion that the external prototype of this character was to some extent the writer I. A. Bunin - the future Nobel laureate. The Kataev family was also well acquainted with Bunin during his stay in Odessa (1918-1919), and V. Kataev always called him his literary teacher and mentor. Recently, another version was born, which has not yet been confirmed by any documentary data. Vorobyaninov’s prototype was N.D. Stakheev, a famous Elabuga merchant and philanthropist. In the mid-1920s, he returned from emigration to find hidden in his former house treasure, but was detained by the OGPU. Subsequently (according to legend) he handed over the treasure to the state, for which he was awarded a lifelong Soviet pension.

In Russian literary criticism, there is a strong opinion that official criticism did not notice the novel “The Twelve Chairs” at all. The first reviews and responses appeared only a year and a half after its publication. This is puzzling: famous critics should have written about the novel, published in the capital’s monthly, about the most popular book of the season, literally immediately “disassembled into quotes.” Their articles should have appeared in major metropolitan literary magazines(“October”, “Krasnaya Nov”, etc.), but did not appear. It turns out that a boycott was secretly declared against the Twelve Chairs. The silence turned out to be very loud. Not even silence - silence. Modern researchers believe that the deathly silence of criticism after the release of the novel is explained solely by political reasons. In 1928, there was a desperate struggle for power in the country's leadership. Stalin had already dealt with Trotsky and almost overthrew his former ally N.I. Bukharin. And the “favorite of the party” Bukharin was one of the first to praise the work of Ilf and Petrov. Cautious critics waited to see how things would end: to praise or criticize the book approved by Bukharin? When it became clear that they needed to scold, the “spitting” turned out to be somehow sluggish and did not frighten anyone. And although the old editorial office of Gudok was dispersed, the editor of the magazine 30 Days, V.I. Narbut, the longtime patron of the Kataev brothers, was arrested, Ilf and Petrov found literary name, continued to work successfully in other satirical publications and, already in 1929, were preparing their new novel for publication.

"Golden calf"

The second novel about the adventures of the great schemer Bender was published in 1931 in the magazine “30 Days”. However, the transition from magazine publication to book publication was much more difficult than in the case of The Twelve Chairs. The preface to the first edition of The Golden Calf, written by A.V. Lunacharsky, was published in 30 Days back in August 1931 (before the end of publication of the novel). But the first edition of the book turned out to be not Russian, but American. In the same 1931, fourteen chapters of “The Golden Calf” were reprinted in Paris in the emigrant magazine “Satyricon”. The novel had already been published in Germany, Austria, the USA, and England, but the Soviet publication did not take place either in 1931 or 1932. Why?

Formally, in The Golden Calf, healthy Soviet reality, of course, triumphed over the commander, but the moral winner in the novel was still Ostap Bender. It was this circumstance that was constantly reproached to the authors. It is, in all likelihood, what it was. main reason difficulties encountered during the publication of the novel. Immediately after the publication of the magazine version, conversations began about the dangerous sympathy of the authors for Ostap Bender (as we know, Lunacharsky also wrote about the same thing). According to one of his contemporaries, in those days “Petrov walked gloomily and complained that they did not understand the “great schemer”, that they did not intend to poetize him.”

Having not received permission to print the book in the USSR, Ilf and Petrov turned to A.A. Fadeev as one of the leaders of RAPP. He replied that their satire, despite its wit, “is still superficial”, that the phenomena they described are “characteristic mainly of the restoration period” - “for all these reasons, Glavlit is not going to publish it as a separate book.” Two years later, at the First Congress of Writers, M. Koltsov recalled (referring to the witnesses present) that “at one of the last meetings of the late RAPP, almost a month before its liquidation, I had to prove my right to exist in the face of very disapproving exclamations Soviet literature of writers of this kind, like Ilf and Petrov, and them personally...” RAPP was liquidated in April 1932, and back in February 1932, a group of employees of the Krokodil magazine stated that Ilf and Petrov “are in the process of wandering and, having failed to find the correct orientation, are working in vain.” The co-authors were contrasted in this regard with V. Kataev and M. Zoshchenko, who are “conscientiously trying to rebuild.” V. Ardov later recalled (with reference to Ilf) that the publication of “The Golden Calf” was helped by M. Gorky, who, “having learned about the difficulties, turned to the then People’s Commissar of Education of the RSFSR A. S. Bubnov and expressed his disagreement with the persecutors of the novel. Bubnov seemed very angry, but did not dare to disobey, the novel was immediately accepted for publication.”

The main plot of "The Golden Calf" is similar to the plot of "The Twelve Chairs": the pursuit of treasure, meaningless under Soviet conditions. This time the resurrected Ostap gained wealth, but money did not bring him happiness. The beginning and ending of the novel changed during its writing: at first it was about receiving the inheritance of an American soldier belonging to his Soviet daughter; then the underground Soviet millionaire Koreiko became the source of the extracted wealth. The ending also changed: in the original version, Ostap refused the useless money and married the girl Zosia Sinitskaya, whom he left in pursuit of the treasure. Already during printing in the magazine, Ilf and Petrov came up with new ending: Ostap runs across the border with treasures, but is robbed and driven back by Romanian border guards.

The years when The Golden Calf was written are referred to as Soviet history years of the “great turning point”. This is a time of complete collectivization, dispossession and industrialization. In the cities, the “great turning point” was expressed in periodic and massive purges of the Soviet apparatus, the processes of saboteurs (the Shakhtinsky case of 1928, the process of the Industrial Party of 1930). The “years of the great turning point” were years of general repentance and dissociation from previous views, from once close people, from one’s past.

Absolutely new meaning The problem of the intelligentsia emerged in 1929–1932. In the pre-revolutionary and early post-revolutionary years, the intelligentsia was most often considered as a subject of history - it can “make” or “not make” a revolution, recognize or not recognize it. Now intellectuals, like other citizens, became part of Soviet society. From an imaginary subject of history, the intelligentsia became its object. “Bourgeois intellectuals” educated before the revolution, or their descendants, were suspected of hidden ideological vices and secret malevolence. Intellectuals and engineers were the main heroes of sabotage processes; more and more new ideological campaigns were organized against intellectuals, writers and scientists.

Subsequent critics, attacking Ilf and Petrov for their mockery of the bourgeois intelligentsia in the person of Vasisualiy Lokhankin, unfortunately, did not always understand the subtle irony contained in this grotesque caricature. Lokhankin, with all his loud words about the “rebellion of individuality” and reflections on the fate of the Russian intelligentsia, is just a parody of the ignorance and inertia of the typically Soviet man in the street, an inhabitant of a sort of “crow’s settlement.” He is completely apolitical, and the entire rebellion of his personality is directed towards his wife, who leaves for a prosperous engineer, depriving her parasite husband of his livelihood. Lokhankin is not an oppositionist, but, on the contrary, a convinced conformist, and the position of this non-employee intellectual, in essence, corresponds to the universal stamp of his bureaucratic brother Polykhaev, who accepts in advance everything “that will be needed in the future.”

This position, indeed, has been taken more than once by Russian intellectuals. When creating Lokhankin, Ilf and Petrov probably did not think about either the Vekhi people or the Smenovekh people. But steady “Hegelianism”, a willingness to recognize the rationality of everything in the world and any change in the social climate, constantly arose among the Russian intelligentsia throughout its history (“probably this is how it should be, this is how it should be...”). Ultimately, for yesterday’s “conscience of the nation,” everything ended in general repentance, renunciation of their past and themselves, and inevitable and largely predictable death.

As for the “crow settlement”, its description accurately reproduces the atmosphere of the Moscow “communal apartment” of the 1930s, where E. Petrov’s family lived. There was also a “Georgian prince”, and “nobody’s grandmother” and other characters from “The Golden Calf”. E.I. Kataeva (granddaughter of E. Petrov) in an interview with Rossiyskaya Gazeta suggested that real prototype Vasisualiya Lokhankina could serve as her grandmother - Valentina Leontyevna Grunzaid. She came from a wealthy family of former tea traders, in her youth she was friends with Yu. Olesha (she is dedicated to fairy tale“Three Fat Men”), and then married Evgeniy Kataev. Valentina Leontyevna never worked or served anywhere, she loved to talk about the fate of the Russian intelligentsia and constantly forgot to turn off the lights in common areas. In order not to lead to hand-to-hand kitchen battles and to ensure the safety of his beloved wife, E. Petrov alone paid for electricity for all the residents of the “crow settlement”.

Ilf and Petrov became famous writers. Their novels have been translated into different languages, published and republished both in the USSR and abroad. Even a complete collection of works was published. From 1927 to 1937, in addition to two novels, the duo Ilf and Petrov wrote numerous feuilletons, the story “Bright Personality”, a cycle of short stories about the city of Kolokolamsk and fairy tales of the New Scheherazade. Essays about his stay in the United States in 1935 were compiled into the book “One-Storey America.” American impressions gave Ilf and Petrov material for another work - the long story “Tonya”.

The end of the duet

In 1937, Ilya Ilf died of tuberculosis. The death of I. Ilf was a deep trauma for E. Petrov: both personal and creative. He never came to terms with the loss of his friend until last day life. But the creative crisis was overcome with tenacity and perseverance by a man of great soul and great talent. He put a lot of effort into publishing notebooks friend, thought great work"My friend Ilf." In 1939-1942 he worked on the novel “Journey to the Land of Communism,” in which he described the USSR in the near future, in 1963 (excerpts were published posthumously in 1965).

It turned out to be impossible to finish what I started together with Ilf alone, although shortly before Ilf’s death, the co-authors had already tried to work separately - on “One-Storey America”. But then, working in different parts of Moscow and even not seeing each other every day, the writers continued to live a common creative life. Every thought was the fruit of mutual disputes and discussions, every image, every remark had to go through the judgment of a comrade. With the death of Ilf, the writer of “Ilf and Petrov” passed away.

E. Petrov in the book “My Friend Ilf” intended to talk about time and about himself. About myself - in in this case would mean: about Ilf and about myself. His plan went far beyond the personal. Here the era already captured in their joint works had to be reflected anew, in different features and with the use of other material. Reflections on literature, on the laws of creativity, on humor and satire. From the articles that were published by E. Petrov under the title “From the Memoirs of Ilf,” as well as from the plans and sketches found in his archive, it is clear that the book would have been generously saturated with humor. Unfortunately, Evgeniy Petrovich did not have time to complete his work, but most of archive was lost after his death, so today we can restore the text of the book about the most famous creative duet XX century is not possible.

As a correspondent for Pravda, E. Petrov had to travel a lot around the country. In 1937 he was on Far East. Impressions from this trip were reflected in the essays “Young Patriots” and “Old Paramedic.” At this time, Petrov also wrote literary critical articles and was engaged in extensive organizational work. He was deputy editor of Literaturnaya Gazeta, in 1940 he became editor of Ogonyok magazine and brought genuine creative passion to his editorial work.

According to contemporaries, the official magazine, which had already decayed by that time, seemed to have found a second life under the leadership of Petrov. It became interesting to read him again.

In 1940-1941, E. Petrov turned to the comedy film genre. He wrote five scripts: “Air Cabby”, “Silent Ukrainian Night”, “Restless Man”, “Musical History” and “Anton Ivanovich is Angry” - the last three in co-authorship with G. Moonblit.

“A Musical Story”, “Anton Ivanovich is Angry” and “The Air Cabby” were successfully filmed.

War correspondent

From the first days of the Great Patriotic War, Evgeny Petrov became a correspondent for the Sovinformburo. His front-line essays appeared in Pravda, Izvestia, Ogonyok, and Red Star. He sent telegraphic correspondence to the USA. Knowing America well and able to speak with ordinary Americans, he did a lot during the war to convey to the American people the truth about the heroic feat Soviet people.

In the fall of 1941, these were essays about the defenders of Moscow. E. Petrov was on the front line, appeared in liberated villages when the ashes were still smoking there, and talked with prisoners.

When the Nazis were driven away from Moscow, E. Petrov went to the Karelian front. In his correspondence, he spoke about the heroism and courage of the defenders Soviet Arctic. Here his path crossed with the later no less famous front-line correspondent K.M. Simonov. The latter left interesting memories of a personal meeting with Petrov, in which the author of “The Golden Calf” and “The Twelve Chairs” appears as a sociable, life-loving, very attentive to people, intelligent person.

E. Petrov achieved permission to go to besieged Sevastopol with difficulty. The city was blocked from air and sea. But our ships went there and planes flew there, delivering ammunition, taking out the wounded and residents. The leader of the destroyers “Tashkent” (it was also called the “blue cruiser”), on which E. Petrov was, successfully reached the target, but on the way back he was hit by a German bomb. The whole time the ships that came to help were taking off the wounded, children and women, the Tashkent was under fire from enemy aircraft.

Petrov refused to leave the ship. He remained with the crew until they arrived at the port, being on deck and helping the crew fight to save the ship.

“When on the day of departure I entered in the morning onto the veranda where Petrov was sleeping,” said Admiral I.S. Isakov, - the entire veranda and all the furniture on it were covered with written sheets of paper. Each one was carefully pressed down with a pebble. It was Yevgeny Petrov’s notes that were drying, which, along with his field bag, fell into the water during the battle.”

On July 2, 1942, the plane on which front-line journalist E. Petrov was returning to Moscow from Sevastopol was shot down by a German fighter over the territory of the Rostov region, near the village of Mankovo. The crew members and several passengers survived, but E. Petrov died. He was not even 40 years old.

Konstantin Simonov dedicated the poem “It’s not true, a friend does not die...” to the memory of Evgeniy Petrov.

Evgeny Petrov was awarded the Order of Lenin and a medal. Odessa, where they were born and started creative path satirical writers, there is Ilf and Petrov Street.

Persecution and prohibition affected the works of Ilf and Petrov after their death. In 1948, the publishing house "Soviet Writer" published the novels "The Twelve Chairs" and "The Golden Calf" with a circulation of seventy-five thousand in the prestigious series " Selected works Soviet literature: 1917-1947". But it immediately paid the price. By a special resolution of the Secretariat of the Union of Soviet Writers of November 15, 1948, the publication was recognized as a “gross political mistake” and the published book as “slander of Soviet society.” November 17 general secretary Union of Soviet Writers A.A. Fadeev sent to the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, comrade I.V. Stalin and comrade G.M. Malenkov, this was a resolution that described the reasons for the publication of the “harmful book” and the measures taken by the Secretariat of the MSP.

It must be admitted that the writing leadership did not show “vigilance” of its own free will. He was forced by employees of the Department of Agitation and Propaganda of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, “pointing out the error of the publication.” In other words, Agitprop officially notified the SSP Secretariat that the publishing house “Soviet Writer”, which is directly subordinate to it, made an unforgivable mistake, and therefore it is now necessary to look for those responsible, give explanations, etc. Because It was not possible to find the culprits - both authors were no longer alive, the case was actually “hushed up” (the planned devastating article in Literaturka never appeared, no one was actually imprisoned, the head of the publishing house “Soviet Writer” was only released from his post). But until Khrushchev’s “thaw,” the works of Ilf and Petrov were not republished and were considered “ideologically harmful.”

“Rehabilitation” and, one might say, “canonization” of the authors took place only in the second half of the 1950s, when “The Twelve Chairs” and “The Golden Calf” were in demand by Khrushchev propaganda as “ the best samples Soviet satire".

However, the “canonization” of Ilf and Petrov as classics required considerable effort from the liberals of that time: the novels clearly did not correspond to the Soviet ideological guidelines even of such a relatively liberal era. Traces of controversy can be found, for example, in the preface written by K.M. Simonov for the re-release of the dilogy in 1956. Literally in the second paragraph, he considered it necessary to specifically stipulate that “The Twelve Chairs” and “The Golden Calf” were created “by people who deeply believed in the victory of the bright and reasonable world of socialism over the ugly and decrepit world of capitalism.”

Similar clauses were used in the 1960s. Domestic researchers were forced to constantly explain to readers that Ilf and Petrov were not opponents political regime USSR, “internal emigrants” or dissidents. Throughout the entire period of the dominance of communist ideology, Soviet writers Ilf and Petrov needed justification and protection, because the special space they created on the pages of novels was completely free from any ideological attitudes. And this freedom ran counter to the internal lack of freedom of critics, delighting and attracting new generations of readers.

Unfortunately, today’s young reader, brought up on the works of Donetsov’s “negros” and low-grade imitations of Western fantasy, is unable to appreciate either the peculiarities of the humor of that distant time or the high literary excellence creators of novels who, despite everything, survived their harsh era.

"Envelope"

There is another story that has made a splash all over the world, connected with the name of Evgeniy Petrov.

During his lifetime, the writer had a very unusual hobby - collecting envelopes from his own letters, sent to a non-existent address and returned by mail to the sender. Apparently, he was attracted by the opportunity to get back an envelope decorated with rare foreign stamps and postmarks from different countries.

According to a widely circulated legend, in April 1939, Evgeniy Petrov allegedly sent a letter to New Zealand, to the fictional city of Hydeberdville, 7 Wrightbeach Street. The addressee was a certain Merrill Bruce Waizley (a character completely fictitious by Petrov). In the letter, the sender condoled the death of Uncle Pete and asked to kiss Meryl's daughter Hortense. Two months later, the writer received back not his envelope, but a response letter. It contained gratitude for condolences and a photograph in which a strong-built man hugged Petrov. The photograph was dated October 9, 1938 (on this day the writer went to the hospital with severe pneumonia and was unconscious).

After the writer’s death, his widow received a second letter, where a New Zealand friend asked Petrov to be careful, explaining that when Petrov was visiting them, they discouraged him from swimming in the lake - the water was cold. Petrov answered them that he was not destined to drown, but was destined to crash on a plane.

It must be said that the above legend does not have a single reliable source. The letters and photographs, of course, have not survived. And if we call on common sense to help, then it is worth remembering that in the 1930s and 40s, free correspondence between Soviet citizens and foreign correspondents was simply impossible. The writer’s strange “hobby” would inevitably attract the attention of the NKVD to him, and this institution, due to the nature of its activities, was not prone to jokes or practical jokes in the style of E. Petrov himself.

Today this story may be perceived as a joke or an entertaining hoax by the author of The Twelve Chairs. And there is nothing surprising in the fact that it was she who was used as the basis for the script of the short film feature film“Envelope”, filmed in 2012 in the USA.

Lurie Y. S. In the land of unafraid idiots. A book about Ilf and Petrov. – St. Petersburg, 2005. – 129 p.

“Each of us considers himself obligated to the other...”

Let us observe: this person reveals himself to us mainly in tandems. Every reader knows famous couple co-authors, sounding as a whole, inextricably: Ilya Ilf and Evgeny Petrov. This writing duo remained in Russian literature, first of all, as the creator of the incredibly popular, witty, satirical-grotesque, adventurous aphoristic novels “The Twelve Chairs” and “The Golden Calf”. In miniature " Double biography“Ilya Ilf and Evgeny Petrov wrote in 1929: “It is quite difficult to compile an autobiography of the author of The Twelve Chairs...

Much less people, even those who read, know about another couple - Evgeny Petrov and Valentin Kataev. The fact is that the famous Petrov, being younger brother The author, already well-known at that time, Valentin Kataev, took a pseudonym after his own patronymic, rightly assuming that “Bolivar of Native Literature” could not stand two Kataevs, and confusion would arise.

Evgeniy Petrovich Kataev was born on December 13, 1903. Of course, in Odessa. It was this city that gave readers the galaxy of the so-called “southwestern” school of writing. These are world-class writers - Valentin Kataev, Isaac Babel, Yuri Olesha, Eduard Bagritsky, Evgeny Petrov, Ilya Ilf, Semyon Kirsanov, Vera Inber. The term “southwest” in a literary sense was introduced in an article of the same name in 1933 by the famous literary scholar, critic, writer, journalist, screenwriter and film theorist V. Shklovsky. However, this was also the name of E. Bagritsky’s first collection of poetry, published in 1928.

Evgeny Petrovich Kataev, aka Evgeny Petrov

Literary scholars are still debating whether this is a school or, perhaps, a series of independent talents, but the facts are inexorable: many of the above-mentioned writers, having moved to Moscow and working in the editorial office of the newspaper Gudok (where, by the way, Kiev resident Mikhail Bulgakov also worked), became famous Soviet writers.

In Odessa, the Kataevs lived on Kanatnaya Street, and by 1920 Evgeniy had graduated from the 5th Odessa classical gymnasium. During his studies, his classmate was Alexander Kozachinsky, a nobleman on his father’s side, who later wrote the adventure story “The Green Van”, the prototype of which for the main character - the head of the Odessa district police department, Volodya Patrikeev - was Evgeniy Petrov.

It should be said about this third pair, in which Evgeniy Petrov is convincingly presented. Only a few fans of the domestic adventure genre know about it. This story is romantically enchanting, dramatic, with a crime plot, even with a blood oath of brotherhood that Zhenya and Sasha swore to each other during their school years. And in fact, their friendly and brotherly ties remained throughout their lives, although they were subjected to serious tests.

Correspondent of the Ukrainian Telegraph Agency Evgeniy Petrov

The fact is that fate brought two friends together in a bizarre way: Alexander Kozachinsky, a man of an adventurous disposition and enormous charm, from the age of 19, having given up his detective work in the Bolshevik criminal investigation department, led a gang of raiders operating in Odessa and the surrounding area. Ironically, in 1922 it was Evgeniy Kataev, then an employee of the Odessa criminal investigation department, who arrested him. After a chase with a shootout, Kozachinsky hid in the attic of one of the houses, where he was discovered by a classmate. Subsequently, Evgeniy achieved a review of the criminal case and replaced Kozachinsky with an exceptional punishment, execution, with imprisonment in a camp. Moreover, in the fall of 1925, Kozachinsky was granted amnesty. At the exit from prison he was met by his mother and faithful friend, Evgeny Kataev...

Columnist for the publication “Top Secret” Vadim Lebedev concludes his essay “The Green Van” with facts that surprise us, emphasizing the inexplicability, supernatural nature of the connection that existed between these people: “1941 separated them. Petrov goes to the front as a war correspondent. Kozachinsky was evacuated to Siberia for health reasons. In the fall of 1942, having received news of the death of a friend, Kozachinsky fell ill, and a few months later, on January 9, 1943, a modest obituary appeared in the newspaper “Soviet Siberia”: “Soviet writer Alexander Kozachinsky has died.”

That is, in the years following Kozachinsky’s release from prison, he managed to become a “Soviet writer.” Which, by the way, was also facilitated by Evgeniy Petrov. In 1926, he hired Kozachinsky as a journalist in the same editorial office of the Gudok newspaper. And in 1938, Petrov persuaded his friend, with whom he had once read Mine Reed, to write the adventure story “The Green Van” (interestingly filmed in 1983; some echoes of the biography of Alexander Kozachinsky are also visible in the image of the gang leader in Nikita Mikhalkov’s 1974 film “One among strangers, a stranger among one’s own”). But now we understand what stands behind the last lines of “The Green Van”: “Each of us considers himself obliged to the other: I - for the fact that he did not shoot at me once with a Mannlicher, and he - for the fact that I I planted him on time.”

Alexander Kozachinsky

In Petrov’s biography, we note his work as a correspondent for the Ukrainian Telegraph Agency, as well as his service for three years as an inspector of the Odessa criminal investigation department. Ironically, in the style we know, this page of life is reflected in the autobiography of Ilf and Petrov (1929): “His first literary work was a protocol for examining the corpse of an unknown man.”

Directories report that in 1923 Petrov came to Moscow, where he became an employee of the Red Pepper magazine. His elder brother Valentin Kataev (1897-1986) had a significant influence on Evgeniy. Kataev’s wife recalled: “I have never seen such affection between brothers as Valya and Zhenya have. Actually, Valya forced his brother to write. Every morning he started by calling him - Zhenya got up late, started swearing that they woke him up... “Okay, keep swearing,” Valya said and hung up.”

In 1927, the creative collaboration of two Odessa residents, Evgeny Petrov and Ilya Ilf, began with the joint work on the novel “The Twelve Chairs” (1928). Subsequently, in collaboration with Ilya Ilf, he wrote the novel “The Golden Calf” (1931), the short story “Extraordinary Stories from the Life of the City of Kolokolamsk” (1928), the fantastic story “Bright Personality” (filmed), the short story “1001 Days, or New Scheherazade" (1929), etc.

Ilya Ilf and Evgeny Petrov

The books of Ilf and Petrov have been repeatedly dramatized and filmed. The creative collaboration of the writers was interrupted by the death of Ilf in Moscow on April 13, 1937.

Ilf and Petrov, living in Odessa, attended the literary circle “Collective of Poets”, in which Kataev, Olesha, Bagritsky started, but they met already in the Moscow “Gudok”, where the entire 4th page of the newspaper was devoted to satire. In the story “My Diamond Crown,” Valentin Kataev wrote: “My younger brother, who served in the Odessa Criminal Investigation Department, came to Moscow and got a job at Butyrka as a warden. I was horrified and forced him to write. Soon he began to make decent money writing feuilletons. I proposed to him and a friend (Ilf. - Author) a story about the search for diamonds hidden in the upholstery of chairs. My co-authors not only developed the plot perfectly, but also invented new character- Ostap Bender."

Ilf and Petrov wrote enthusiastically, after finishing their working day at the editorial office, they returned home at two in the morning. In 1928, the novel “The Twelve Chairs” was published - first in a magazine, and then as a separate book. And he immediately became extremely popular. The story about the adventures of the charming adventurer and swindler Ostap Bender and his companion, the former leader of the nobility Kisa Vorobyaninov, was captivating with brilliant dialogues, colorful characters, and subtle satire on Soviet reality and philistinism. Laughter was the authors' weapon against vulgarity, stupidity and idiotic pathos.

Ilya Ilf and Evgeny Petrov

The book quickly sold out with quotes: “All smuggling is done in Odessa, on Malaya Arnautskaya Street”, “Dusya, I am a man tormented by Narzan”, “A sultry woman, a poet’s dream”, “Bargaining is inappropriate here”, “Money in the morning - chairs in the evening” , “To Whom a Mare is a Bride,” “Only Cats Will Be Born Quickly,” “Giant of Thought, Father of Russian Democracy” and many, many others. Unforgettable is the dictionary of Ellochka the cannibal with her interjection words and other remarks that have entered our lives - “darkness!”, “creepy!”, “fat and handsome,” “guy,” “be rude,” “your whole back is white! ", "don't teach me how to live!", "ho-ho." In essence, it can be said without exaggeration that the entire book about Bender consists of immortal aphorisms, constantly quoted by readers and moviegoers.

The prototype of the great schemer Ostap Bender was an Odessa acquaintance of the writers - Osip Shor, an adventurer with a special sense of humor and a wonderful storyteller, episodes of whose adventures are included in the book (marriage to Madame Gritsatsueva, arrival in the province under the guise of a famous artist).

Odessa was present in “The Twelve Chairs” in Bender’s character and humor, and in the next book “The Golden Calf” (the famous phrase “golden calf” is amusingly parodied in the title) it becomes the scene of action, recognizable in the port city of Chernomorsk, where Ostap and Panikovsky and Balaganov on the Wildebeest. And again, a lot of quotes that have gone to the people: “The ice has broken, gentlemen of the jury!”, “A saucer with a silver lining”, “A car is not a luxury, but a means of transportation”, “Let’s hit the roads and sloppiness with a motor rally!”, “Load oranges in barrels” ", "Distributing elephants", "Don't make a cult out of food", "I will command the parade."

Monument to Ellochka the cannibal on Petrovsky Street in Kharkov. The prototype is actress Elena Shanina, who played the role of Ellochka in the film by Mark Zakharov

Evgeny Petrov remarked about the main character of his picaresque novel: “Ostap Bender was conceived as a minor figure, almost an episodic person. For him, we had prepared a phrase that we heard from one of our billiardist acquaintances: “The key to the apartment where the money is.” But Bender gradually began to push out of the framework prepared for him. Soon we could no longer cope with him. By the end of the novel, we treated him like a living person and were often angry with him for the impudence with which he sneaked into almost every chapter.”

Ilf and Petrov found themselves at the peak of popularity: their feuilletons were successfully published in the Pravda newspaper, collections of their short stories were published, and after a trip to the USA in 1932-1935, the story “One-Storey America” (1937) was published. “How do we write together? Yes, that’s how we write together. Like the Goncourt brothers. Edmond runs around the editorial offices, and Jules guards the manuscript so that his acquaintances do not steal it,” the co-authors joked.

As Valentin Kataev predicted, two novels by Ilf and Petrov became classics of humor and satire and were translated into many world languages. They became even more popular after the cult film adaptations with their loved ones Soviet actors: “The Golden Calf” with Sergei Yursky, Zinovy ​​Gerdt and Leonid Kuravlev, “The Twelve Chairs” with Andrei Mironov and Anatoly Papanov. In Odessa there is a monument to the Chair, a monument to Ostap Bender and Kisa Vorobyaninov (in the City Garden). The monument to Ilf and Petrov is unveiled in the Sculpture Garden of the Literary Museum.

Monument to Ilya Ilf and Evgeny Petrov in Odessa

One of the streets of Odessa is named after the writers. There are monuments to Kisa, Osya and Ellochka the cannibal in Kharkov, near the Rio cafe. And the monument to Father Fedor, who ran out in Kharkov for boiling water, was erected on the platform of the Kharkov South Station. “Kharkov is a noisy city, the center of the Ukrainian Republic. After the province, it seems like I’ve gone abroad,” wrote Fr. Fedor to his wife.

In 1937, Ilya Ilf died of tuberculosis. Petrov put a lot of effort into publishing his friend’s notebooks and conceived a large work, “My Friend Ilf.” In 1939-1942 he worked on the novel “Journey to the Land of Communism,” in which he described the USSR in the near future, in 1963 (excerpts were published posthumously in 1965).

The writer Evgeniy Petrov has two wonderful sons. We know the cameraman Pyotr Kataev (1930-1986), who shot the main films of Tatyana Lioznova. These are the well-known “Seventeen Moments of Spring”, “Three Poplars on Plyushchikha”, “We, the Undersigned”, “Carnival”. And we are familiar with the composer Ilya Kataev (1939-2009) from the song “I’m Standing at a Stop” from the Soviet television series “Day by Day.” Ilya Kataev is the author of music for Sergei Gerasimov’s films “By the Lake” and “Loving a Man.”

Monument to Ostap Bender in Kharkov. Opened on August 22, 2005 on Petrovsky Street. Sculptor Eduard Gurbanov. Prototype - actor Sergei Yursky

Let's not ignore the mystical page of life extraordinary person Evgenia Petrova, who, according to existing legend, completes his earthly destiny.

They say the writer had a strange and rare hobby: all my life I have been collecting envelopes... from my own letters! He sent a letter to some country, but he made up everything except the name of the state - the city, the street, the house number, the name of the addressee. Therefore, after a month and a half, the envelope was returned to Petrov, but already decorated with multi-colored foreign stamps, with the indication “The addressee is incorrect.”

But in April 1939, the writer sent a letter to New Zealand, inventing a town called "Hydebirdville", the street "Wrightbeach", house "7" and the addressee "Merilla Ogin Wasley". In the letter itself, Petrov wrote in English: “Dear Merrill! Please accept my sincere condolences on the passing of Uncle Pete. Brace yourself, old man. Sorry I haven't written for a long time. I hope Ingrid is okay. Kiss your daughter for me. She's probably quite big already. Yours Evgeniy.”

Monument to Father Fedor on the first platform of the Southern railway station in Kharkov. year 2001. Inscription on granite: “The first capital of Ukraine - to Father Fedor”

This story goes that by August he unexpectedly received not his envelope, as usual, but a real answer, the return address read: “New Zealand, Hydebirdville, Wrightbeach, 7, Merrill Ogin Waizley.” And - blue stamp "New Zealand, Hydebirdville Post Office".

The contents of the letter horrified Petrov: “Dear Evgeniy! Thank you for your condolences. The ridiculous death of Uncle Pete threw us off track for six months. I hope you will forgive the delay in writing. Ingrid and I often remember those two days that you were with us. Gloria is very big and will go to 2nd grade in the fall. She still keeps the teddy bear that you brought her from Russia.” Petrov, who had never traveled to New Zealand, was completely amazed that in the photograph he saw a strongly built man who was hugging... himself, Petrov! On back side The photograph was written: “October 9, 1938”...

Amazingly, it was on the day indicated in the photo that the writer was admitted to the hospital in an unconscious state, with severe pneumonia. Then, for several days, doctors fought for his life, believing that he had almost no chance of survival. Petrov wrote another letter to New Zealand, but did not receive an answer: the Second World War had begun. From the first days of the war, the writer became a war correspondent for Pravda and Informburo. His colleagues did not recognize him - he became withdrawn, thoughtful, and stopped joking altogether...

Evgeny Petrov on the leader “Tashkent” broke into the besieged Sevastopol. From left to right - Evgeny Petrov and Tashkent commander Vasily. Eroshenko

Here is the documentary truth: on July 2, 1942, the plane on which front-line journalist Yevgeny Petrov was returning to Moscow from Sevastopol was shot down by a German fighter over the territory of the Rostov region, near the village of Mankovo...

But an amazing story has been written finishing touches: they say that on the day the news of the plane’s disappearance was received, a letter from Merrill Wasley was sent to Petrov’s Moscow address. Wasley admired the courage of the Soviet people and expressed concern for the life of Evgeni himself. In particular, he wrote: “I was scared when you started swimming in the lake. The water was very cold. But you said you were destined to crash on a plane, not drown. I ask you to be careful and fly as little as possible.”...

A monument was erected at the site of the plane crash...

Angelina DEMYANOK, “One Motherland”