Cinema masterpieces of the Soviet era remain today, even with the current variety of films, the most popular among ordinary Russians. We all remember and love the films “The Diamond Arm”, “Operation Y”, “The Caucasian Captive” and “The Incorrigible Liar”, but few people know that the scripts for all these paintings were written by one person, writer, playwright and songwriter Yakov Kostyukovsky. Fate gave this man literary talent and an amazing sense of humor, which helped 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, representatives of the chosen people to get the George Cross was almost impossible. This award gave a number of privileges, including the right to enter a prestigious educational institution, father of Yakov Kostyukovsky gave his medal to his brother to become a doctor.
Soon after the birth of a 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. As a child, Yakov Kostyukovsky, like many children of that era, admired and reverence for the personality of Stalin. However, his mother very soon explained to him what the Leader of the people really was “famous for” and why he was praised from every radio receiver. Kostyukovsky later said in an interview that this was his first political lesson.
Creativity development
Interesting educated people, including Rabbi Sendler, very often gathered in the Kostyukovsky family. Sometimes he talked with the boy, struck him with his witty, laconic statements and bold glances. Yakov Kostyukovsky learned to read the headlines of the Izvestia newspaper; moreover, 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 features of the writer. While still in school, he composed humorous stories, poems, epigrams for the school wall newspaper, he liked to share observations and argue with friends. Parents tried to develop his creative abilities and sent little Jacob to a literary studio at the city Palace of Pioneers named after P.P. Postyshev. It was a unique place where novice writers gained experience with the then-famous author N.P. Trubailin.
Training
Yakov Kostyukovsky from childhood was distinguished by perseverance and perseverance in study, he graduated from high school with a gold medal, and the young man went to higher education for Moscow. Despite the big competition, he was accepted into the famous Institute of History, Literature and Philosophy. This university brought up many talented people, but in the 30s the institution was out of favor with the leader, Stalin believed that students here promote free-thinking 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 carrying out the annexation of Western Ukraine and Belarus.
The military service gave Yakov Kostyukovsky invaluable experience, new experiences and friends. A year later, the students returned to the institute, but fate did not give the opportunity to finish their studies, the Great Patriotic War began.
Creative activity
Throughout the war, Yakov Kostyukovsky was at the forefront, it was here, under bombs and bullets, his humorous talent was truly born. The young man was immediately invited to Moskovsky Komsomolets, but the young writer touched on a topic that was very unpleasant for senior management - about how untrained fighters die under bullets. With his article, he aroused the wrath of his superiors, and he was sent to the front, in the midst, already as a war 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 Nazi shelling and was shell-shocked. In extreme situations, 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 answered the fictitious accusation, which again earned another link.
Newspaper work
Kostyukovsky Yakov Aronovich as Executive Secretary of the newspaper "For the Fatherland!" again sent to the thick of military events, here he writes the first feuilleton, and, of course, on military subjects. Friends liked the story, and they invited the young correspondent to send their work to the magazine "Spark". There, the feuilleton also fell to the taste of the editorial office, and soon the passage was printed just during the German offensive on Moscow. Much will be connected with this magazine in the life of Yakov Kostyukovsky, where he later met with M. M. Zoshchenko and S. K. Olesha, the writers jointly created the almanac "Laughter is a serious matter."
After the war ended, the author returned to the editorial office of Moskovsky Komsomolets, where he continued his literary work. He owns some initiatives and innovations in the newspaper, so he made the humorous heading "Amazing but true." The stories of Yakov Kostyukovsky began to appear in other Soviet magazines Crocodile, Pepper, etc., and in 1952 he was accepted into the Writers' Union of Russia.
Work with other authors
After leaving journalism, mainly due to growing anti-Semitic sentiments in Soviet society, Yakov Aronovich Kostyukovsky and another well-known and established writer V.E. Bakhnov began to work together. From under their pen come couplets, satirical poems, feuilletons, 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 Kostyukovskgo’s pen that owns several performances of the famous Tarapulka and Plugs, numbers of the artist A. S. Belov, etc.
The result of their creative duet were several multi-act plays “Random Encounters” (1955), “A Book Without Fables” (1960), and others. The last joint work was the film “Penalty Kick” (1963).
Work with L. Gaidai
The peak of the writing career of Kostyukovsky Yakov Aronovich came in the 60s, when he met the satirist M.R. Slobodsky and the famous director Leonid Gaidai. This creative trio presented the Russian people with their favorite films that have long become classics: Operation Y and Shurik's Other Adventures (1965), Caucasian Captive (1967) and Diamond Hand (1969).
The phrases from these paintings are remembered by the inhabitants of the entire former USSR, short, funny and informative, they quickly went to the people. Laconicism was the hallmark of Yakov Kostyukovsky. The scripts, prose, poems and feuilleton of this writer became the real property of Russian culture of the XX century.
Style features
His humor was called the sage’s humor, so good and vivid the images of Shurik, hooligans or unsuccessful smugglers turned out. Kostyukovsky was raised on the laughs of Ilf and Petrov, and his direct teachers were Emil Korotky and Nikolai Erdman, the masters of Soviet humorous literature. The writer himself was rather critical of his work as a screenwriter, noted that while in the theater you can still edit a failed piece and try it in the next performance, then everything is written in the movie once and for all.
Yakov Aronovich emphasized that all the famous phrases from famous films were invented again, and not taken from jokes or other sources. Together with Slobodsky and Gaidai, they tried to identify the formula of ideal laughter, for this it was necessary to understand what was funny for one, and the other might not like it. And, most importantly, the joke should be “lively”, tied to a real psychological situation.
Books
Yakov Aronovich did not work for prizes and recognition of merits, then the goal was one - to realize oneself, write what you want about everything in the world. He early felt the joy of creative activity, because he was composing from school. I was lucky with the institute, a rather free spirit, poetic mood and friendly communication reigned in IFLI. But the war helped Kostyukovsky to finally determine his creative path. Here, in conditions of fear and pain, salvation was found precisely in humor.
The writer began with small reprise, feuilletons, skits and jokes, later, in co-authorship with V. E. Bakhnov, Yakov Kostyukovsky’s books “You Can Complain” (1951), “A Book Without Fables” (1960), “Take Your Place” (1954)) But usually his works were small in size, where sometimes very deep thoughts were reflected in a few words. Such were the famous “Mamuarazm” by Yakov Kostyukovsky, these notes reflected different aspects of life of the outgoing era, here the writer drew his accurate observations, and also reflected the conclusions of his long life. He himself called them "an alloy of unpretentious memoirs and light senility."
Censorship issues
Despite the atmosphere of freedom and simplicity in all his films and books, Yakov Aronovich suffered greatly from censorship of the Soviet supervisory bodies. Even at school, his bold satirical chuckles displeased the school’s leadership, during the war he described with humor the shortcomings of the organization of the army, which also constantly led to conflicts. However, zealots of socialist values did not stop Jacob Kostyukovsky. The "diamond pen" of the king of comedies, as the writer was sometimes called, never stopped literary activity.
All of Gaidai’s paintings had difficulty overcoming state censorship, usually each tape went through several instances, where the actors were approved first, then the script, editing, etc. They found fault with it stupidly and absurdly, for example, in Diamond Hand in Nonna Mordyukova’s phrase “I won’t be surprised, that your husband is attending the synagogue! ”, the“ synagogue ”was replaced by a“ mistress ”. The regulatory authorities, they say, did not like the propaganda of the Jewish question. And Shurik’s famous phrase “It is necessary, Fedya, it is necessary!” was perceived as the writers' desire to denigrate the leader of the Cuban revolution, Fidel Castro, who in some circles was called "Fedya".
