Yakov Kostyukovsky: biography, photos, books and scripts

Film masterpieces of the Soviet era are still today, even with the current variety of films, the most in demand among ordinary Russians. We all remember and love the tapes "Diamond Arm", "Operation Y", "Caucasian Captive" and "Incorrigible Liar", but very few people know that the script for all these paintings was written by one man, writer, playwright and co-author Yakov Kostyukovsky. Fate gave this man a literary talent and an amazing sense of humor, which saved him all his life.

Biography

The future Soviet writer was born in Ukraine in a small town called Zolotonosha of the Cherkasy region on August 23, 1921, in a Jewish family. Father participated in the First World War, where he earned an honorary military award for courage and dedication. In those years it was almost impossible for representatives of the elected people to receive the St. George Cross. This award gave a number of privileges, including the right to enter a prestigious educational institution, his father Yakov Kostyukovsky gave his medal to his brother to become a doctor.

Soon after the birth of his son, the family moved to Kharkov, where the writer's youth passed. The family did not adhere to patriarchal Jewish traditions, and the boy knew only Ukrainian and Russian. In his childhood, Yakov Kostyukovsky as well as many children of that era, admired and revered Stalin's personality. However, the mother very soon explained to him what the leader of the people is actually "famous" and why it is praised from every radio receiver. Later Kostyukovsky said in an interview that this was his first political lesson.

Development of creative abilities

In the Kostyukovsky family, very interesting educated people very often gathered, including Rabbi Sendler. Sometimes he talked to the boy, struck him with his witty, laconic statements and bold glances. Yakov Kostyukovsky learned to read the headlines of the newspaper "Izvestia", besides, his father's friends often brought interesting books and magazines for the boy. Friendly conversations about literature and history, good humor and companionship - all this contributed to the development of the creative abilities of the child.

At school, he attended a literary circle, where he learned about the genres, styles and characteristics of the writer's work. Even while studying, he composed humorous stories, poems, epigrams for the school wall newspaper, liked to share observations and argue with friends. His parents tried to develop his creative abilities and sent little Yakov to a literary studio at the city's Palace of Pioneers named after PP Postyshev. This was a unique place where novice writers were recruited from the then famous author NP Trubailin.

Training

Yakov Kostyukovsky since childhood was distinguished by perseverance and perseverance in studies, he graduated from high school with a gold medal, and for higher education the young man went to Moscow. Despite the big competition, he was accepted to the famous Institute of History, Literature and Philosophy. This university brought up a lot of talented people, however in the 30s the institution was in disfavor with the leader, Stalin believed that the students here propagandize freethinking and political liberalism. Perhaps, for this reason, in 1939 the entire first course, including Yakov Kostyukovsky, was sent to the front to support the troops that are joining Western Ukraine and Belarus.

The military service gave Yakov Kostyukovsky an invaluable experience, new impressions and friends. A year later the students returned to the institute, but fate did not allow them to complete their studies, the Great Patriotic War began.

Creative activity

Throughout the war, Yakov Kostyukovsky was on the front line, it was here, under bombs and bullets, that his humorous talent was truly born. The young man was immediately invited to the "Moskovsky Komsomolets", but the young writer touched on a topic that was very unpleasant for the top management: how the unskilled fighters are dying under bullets. By his article he provoked the wrath of his superiors, and he was sent to the front, into the thickest part, already as a military correspondent for Komsomolskaya Pravda.

Yakov Kostyukovsky did not sit out in the trenches, he actively participated in the battle for Moscow and even received a medal of distinction, more than once fell under the shelling of the fascists and was shell-shocked. In an extreme situation, the young man did not lose his unique sense of humor, so, during a dispute with one of the ideological leaders of the Komsomol, he satirically and fairly responded to the fictitious accusation, which again earned another reference.

Work in newspapers

Kostyukovsky Yakov Aronovich as the responsible secretary of the newspaper "For the Fatherland!" Once again goes to the very thick of military events, here he writes the first article, and, of course, on the military theme. Friends liked the story, and they invited the young correspondent to send his work to the magazine "Ogonyok." There, too, the feuilleton was likewise liked by the editors, and soon the passage was printed just at the time of the German offensive against Moscow. With this magazine will be associated a lot in the life of Yakov Kostyukovsky, where he later met MM Zoshchenko and SK Olesha, writers jointly created the almanac "Laughter is a serious matter."

After the war, the author returns to the editorial office of the Moscow Komsomolets, where he continued his literary career. He owns some initiatives and innovations in the newspaper, so he made a humorous rubric "Surprisingly, but a fact." Yakov Kostyukovsky's stories began to appear in other Soviet magazines, "Crocodile", "Peretz", etc., and in 1952 he was admitted to the Union of Writers of Russia.

Work with other authors

After leaving journalism mainly because of the growing anti-Semitic sentiment in Soviet society, Kostyukovsky Yakov Aronovich, along with another well-known and established writer VE Bakhnov begin joint work. Out of their pen come out couplets, satirical poems, satires, skits and reprises. Their work was distinguished by a high level of artistic language, witty twists, they collaborated with the most famous artists of the Soviet stage. For example, it is the pen of Kostyukovskiy that owns several speeches of the famous Tarapulka and Shtepsel, the numbers of the artist AS Belov, and so on.

The result of their creative duet was several multi-act plays "Accidental Encounters" (1955), "The Book Without Fables" (1960), etc. The last collaboration was the film "Penalty" (1963).

Work with L. Gayday

Peak writer's career Kostyukovsky Yakov Aronovich fell in the 60 years, when he met satirist MR Slobodsky and the famous director Leonid Gayday. This creative trio gave the Russian people their favorite films, long ago become classics: Operation Sh and Other Adventures of Shurik (1965), The Caucasian Captive (1967) and The Diamond Arm (1969).

Phrases from these paintings are remembered by residents of the entire former USSR, short, funny and informative, they quickly went to the people. Laconism was the distinctive creative feature of Yakov Kostyukovsky. Scenarios, prose, poems and feuilletons of this writer became the real property of Russian culture of the XX century.

Features of style

His humor was called humor of a sage, Shurik, hooligans or unsuccessful smugglers turned out to be so kind and lively. Kostyukovsky was raised on the laughter of Ilf and Petrov, and his immediate teachers were Emil Korotky and Nikolai Erdman, masters of Soviet humorous literature. The writer himself was critical about his work as a screenwriter, pointing out that if in the theater you can still edit a failed piece and try it out in the next play, then everything is written in the movie once and for all.

Yakov Aronovich stressed that all the famous phrases from the famous films were invented again, and not taken from anecdotes or other sources. Together with Slobodsky and Gaydai they tried to find out the formula for an ideal laughter, for this it was necessary to understand that it was ridiculous by one, and others might not like it. And, most importantly, the joke should be "live", tied to a real psychological situation.

Books

Yakov Aronovich worked not for awards and recognition of merits, then the goal was one - to be realized, to write what you want, about everything in the world. He soon felt the joy of creative activity, because he composes from the school bench. Lucky and with the institute, in IFLI reigned quite free spirit, poetic mood and friendly communication. But to determine his creative path to Kostyukovsky was helped by the war. Here, in conditions of fear and pain, salvation was found in humor.

The writer began with small reprises, feuilletons, scenes and anecdotes, and later Yakov Kostyukovsky's books "You Can Complain" (1951), "The Book Without Fables" (1960), "Take Your Places" (1954), co-authored with VE Bakhnov. ). But usually his works were small in size, where in some words very deep thoughts were sometimes reflected. Such were the famous "Mamuarazmy" by Yakov Kostyukovsky, these records reflected different aspects of the life of the passing epoch, here the writer brought out his accurate observations, and also reflected the conclusions of his long life. He himself called them "an alloy of unpretentious memoirs and easy marasmus."

Problems of censorship

Despite the atmosphere of freedom and simplicity in all his films and books, Yakov Aronovich suffered greatly from the censorship of the Soviet watchdog bodies. Back in school, his bold satirical laughter aroused dissatisfaction with the leadership of the school, during the war he described with humor the shortcomings of the army organization, which also led to conflicts. However, the zealots of socialist values did not stop Yakov Kostyukovsky. The "Diamond Hand" of the King of Comedies, as the writer was sometimes called, never stopped writing.

All the pictures of Gaidai had difficulty overcoming state censorship, usually each tape passed several instances, where first the actors were installed, then the script, montage, etc. Nailed foolishly and absurdly, for example in "Diamond Hand" in the phrase Nonna Mordyukova "I will not be surprised, That your husband visits the synagogue! ", The" synagogue "was replaced with a" mistress. " Supervising authorities, they say, did not like the propaganda of the Jewish question. And Shurik's famous phrase "We must, Fedya, it is necessary!" Was perceived as the desire of writers to denigrate the leader of the Cuban revolution, Fidel Castro, who in some circles was called "Fedya."

Interesting Facts

For many young people, the photo of Yakov Kostyukovsky does not say anything at all, this person is not in the public eye, but the fruits of his work are familiar to any Russian person. After all, we need to know our heroes in person, so almost everyone can easily quote "Diamond Arm" or "Operation Y", but not everyone can name the author of these movie masterpieces.

The writer grew up in a non-patriarchal Jewish family, but over the years began to notice a desire to get acquainted with the history and pain of his people. Yakov Aronovich joked that every year he feels more and more Jewish in himself.

In addition to feature films, Kostyukovsky wrote scripts for several animated films, including The Time Machine (1967), The New Great Troubles (1976) and The Forest of the Pine (1974).

The writer had three awards for military merit, among which was the medal "For the defense of Moscow" and the medal "For victory over Germany". The playwright passed away in 2011. He was buried at the Vagankovskoye cemetery.