The future famous cartoonist was born on September 15 (28), 1900 in Kyiv in the family of artisan shoemaker Efim Moiseevich Fridland. He took the pseudonym under which he became known first to the whole country, and then to the whole world, in honor of his father. He began drawing at the age of five, but in his own words, he never thought about becoming an artist and never studied to become an artist. Drawing was just a hobby, but he mostly drew funny people.
At the beginning of the new century, the Friedland family moved to Bialystok (now located in Poland), where the future artist entered a secondary school. His older brother Mikhail, the future famous publicist Mikhail Koltsov, author of the famous “Spanish Diary,” also studied there. In August 1914, the First World War, and in the summer of 1915 the front was rapidly approaching Bialystok - there was a strategic retreat of the Russian army, which went down in history as the Great Retreat of 1915. Residents of Bialystok learned what aerial bombing was - German airplanes and zeppelins regularly appeared over the city. Following the Russian army, Bialystok was also abandoned by those residents who did not want to live under the Germans. The Fridlyand family was divided - the parents returned to Kyiv, Mikhail went to Petrograd, and Boris moved to Kharkov, where he was enrolled as a refugee in the 5th grade of the local real school.
Back in Bialystok, Mikhail and Boris published a handwritten school magazine - Mikhail wrote the texts, Boris drew the illustrations. Boris did not give up his hobby in Kharkov. He sent his drawings to his brother in Petrograd. Mikhail studied at the Psychoneurological Institute and at the same time made a career as a journalist - his feuilletons and essays were published in the capital's newspapers. In addition, he himself edits the progressive magazine “The Path of Students”. Boris, of course, did not have much hope of seeing his drawings - cartoons and caricatures on the pages of the capital's press, but in 1916, leafing through the popular magazine "Sun of Russia", he finds his drawing there - a cartoon of the Chairman of the State Duma Rodzianko occupies half of one of the pages . Under the drawing there is a signature "Bor. Efimov".
The year 1917 arrived. Boris learned that the February Revolution had taken place in the capital in the theater - someone from the theater administration came on stage and read out from a piece of paper the text about the abdication of the Tsar. Both the audience and the actors greeted this news with an ovation and a performance of La Marseillaise.
In the summer, having received documents about graduating from the next class of a real school, Boris goes to his parents in Kyiv. At the same time, the older brother also arrives in Kyiv. In February he was in the thick of things. As part of the student militia, he even took part in the arrest of a number of royal dignitaries. But the summer ended, his brother returned to the capital, and Boris remained in Kyiv and entered the third real school. After graduating, he entered the Kiev Institute of National Economy, from where he transferred to the Faculty of Law of Kyiv University. However, young people at that time had no time for studying - the authorities in the city were constantly changing - German invaders, Petlyura, Skoropadsky, Rada, Directory, Hetmanate... But such frequent changes of authorities did not in any way prevent Boris from doing what he loved - drawing. In 1918, a selection of Efimov’s cartoons appeared in the Kiev magazine “Spectator”. The series of cartoons “Conquerors” also dates back to this time - a kind of sketches from life, a kind of graphic report on modern history Kyiv.
When in the spring of 19 it is established in Kyiv Soviet authority, the young artist accepts it unconditionally. He goes to work as secretary of the editorial and publishing department of the People's Commissariat for Military Affairs of Soviet Ukraine. Boris Efimov manages the production of newspapers, posters, and leaflets. But his brother, an employee of the newspaper "Red Army", who came to Kyiv, asks him to draw a caricature for this newspaper. The first cartoon was followed by a second, a third... According to his own recollections, it was then that Boris Efimov realized that the ability to draw funny is not pampering or a “hobby”, it is a weapon that the revolution needed.
Since 1920, Boris Efimov has worked as a cartoonist for the newspapers Kommunar, Bolshevik, and Visti. Heads the visual propaganda department of YugROSTA (ROSTA - Russian Telegraph Agency) in Odessa. Kyiv, meanwhile, is in the hands of the White Poles and Petliurites. But Boris did not believe that he hometown will remain in the hands of the enemy for a long time and asked to be transferred from YugROST to the political department of the 12th Army, located not far from Kyiv. He had hoped to work in the newspaper of this army, but instead he was appointed as an instructor in visual propaganda for the Administration of Railway Propaganda Posts. In this position, he tries himself in a new genre - he takes part in the creation of a large propaganda panel at the station in Kharkov. Returning to liberated Kyiv, he became the head of the art and poster department of the Kyiv branch of UkrROST and led the campaign for the Kyiv railway junction.
At the same time, he publishes his cartoons in popular newspapers in Kyiv.
And in 1922, Boris Efimov moved to Moscow and became the youngest employee of the Izvestia newspaper. Its main genre is political satire. His works are also published in other metropolitan newspapers, including the main party newspaper Pravda. Leading Western politicians become the heroes of his cartoons. Already in 1924, the publishing house of the newspaper Izvestia published the first collection of his works. By the way, the preface to this collection and an enthusiastic review of it were written by Lev Davydovich Trotsky, at that time still a member of the Central Committee, a hero of the Civil War, one of the leaders.
Efimov also draws leaders. But, of course, he draws not caricatures, but friendly caricatures. True, these cartoons had to be shown to the leaders themselves before being published. A caricature of Stalin by Efimov has been preserved, but according to the artist’s recollection, Stalin did not approve it - he did not like the fact that he was drawn in huge soldier’s boots. However, this unsuccessful cartoon subsequently had no consequences for the artist - Stalin had nothing wrong with his sense of humor.
Also in 1924, Efimov’s first foreign business trip took place. The first business trip was followed by others. For example, in 1929, he and his brother Mikhail took part in the European tour of the Wings of the Soviets aircraft (ANT-9, one of the first passenger aircraft Soviet-made). The artist had the opportunity to see the heroes of his cartoons “live”. For example, he was part of the Soviet delegation, which was received by Benito Mussolini.
Throughout the twenties and thirties, the artist created a gallery of vivid and memorable images of European politicians - the thug Mussolini, the clown Hitler, the monkey Goebbels, the hog Goering. These characters were drawn by many Soviet cartoonists, but Efimov’s works, thanks to his unique style, were among the most successful. Sometimes they were so successful that they became the cause of protest notes. One after another, collections of Efimov’s cartoons “The Face of the Enemy” (1931), “Caricature in the Service of the Defense of the USSR” (1931), “Political Caricatures” (1931), “A Way Out Will Be Found” (1932), “Political Caricatures” (1935) were published. , “Fascism is the enemy of peoples” (1937), “Warmongers” (1938), “Fascist interventionists in Spain” (1938).
In December 1938, Mikhail Koltsov, the artist’s brother, was arrested. He was recalled from Spain, where he was officially listed as a Pravda correspondent, and unofficially was a political adviser, representative Soviet Union under the republican government. And, of course, he did various kinds"unofficial" assignments. The Republican government consisted of representatives of all varieties of leftist currents in Europe, and the activities of this government were directed towards the right direction and was one of Koltsov’s responsibilities. But he also coped with his correspondent work brilliantly - his “Spanish Diary” was one of the most popular books in our country. He was charged with espionage, standard for the period of the Great Terror, and on February 2, 1940, he was shot.
Boris Efimov, as the brother of an enemy of the people, was waiting for his own arrest. But no one was in a hurry to accuse him of connections with enemies of the people or espionage. True, in the first days of 1939, the editor-in-chief of Izvestia, Yakov Grigorievich Selikh, said that no one was firing Efimov, but no one would publish his work in the newspaper either. And Boris Efimov wrote a statement “on at will"It turned out to be impossible to find a job in his specialty. The only job he found was creating a series of illustrations for the works of Saltykov-Shchedrin commissioned by the State literary museum V. D. Bonch-Bruevich. But in February 1940, a call came from the editorial office of the Trud newspaper - Efimov was offered to work for this newspaper. His cartoons returned to the pages of Soviet newspapers.
And then it happened June 22, 1941. Already on the sixth day of the war, Boris Efimov took part in the creation of "TASS Windows" - the direct successor to the legendary "ROSTA Windows" from the Civil War. Posters for "Windows" are drawn in hot pursuit immediately after receiving the next front-line report and immediately go into circulation. In addition to posters, Efimov continues to draw cartoons for leading newspapers. In search of stories, he often goes on business trips to the front.
The artist’s archive contains numerous reviews from the most demanding critics - fighters from the front lines. Here are a few of these reviews:
Dear comrade. Efimov! Draw more... Caricatures are a weapon that can not only make you laugh, but also cause ardent hatred, contempt for the enemy and make you fight even harder and destroy the damned Nazis. Dukelsky Ilya. Field post 68242.
Your weapon, weapon Soviet artist, great strength in the fight against Nazi invaders. If you only knew how impatiently we, the army men, await latest number newspaper "Red Star"... P/n 24595. V. Ya. Kornienko.
Happy New Year, dear Comrade Efimov! A group of front-line soldiers from the N unit sends you greetings and wishes you a Happy New Year. We wish you success in your fruitful and great job. It’s hard to convey how impatiently we look forward to each of your caricatures of those who will soon fall under our blows. The day is not far when we will see the leaders of Hitler's Germany hanged on the German Christmas tree. Greetings and good wishes front-line soldiers Leontyev, Evseev, Tleshov and others. P/n 18868.
During the war years, there were works by Efimov that caused an international resonance - his cartoons about the second front were also published in British newspapers. Moreover, the content of these cartoons was retold on the radio. However, the Allies still delayed the opening of the second front until June 5, 1944, i.e. until the moment when the outcome of the war was already obvious to everyone.
Caricature by Efimov published in the Manchester Guardian
The famous collection of cartoons “Hitler and His Pack” also received recognition in the Allied countries (we talked about it in more detail). The famous British cartoonist David Lowe (whom Efimov knew personally) spoke of these works as follows:
"Efimov's cartoons, collected in the album, reveal a feature that should be noted Special attention: their imagination and creative method present no difficulty to British perception. Apparently Russian feeling humor is very close to the British... Russians love laughter, and, moreover, laughter that is understandable to us, the British.
It is possible that Efimov’s collection will accelerate this discovery, which in the end will have a deeper influence on the mutual understanding of the British and Russian peoples than a whole cartload of diplomatic notes.”
Efimov had the opportunity to look at those representatives of Hitler’s pack who did not commit suicide following the example of their Fuhrer in Nuremberg at the famous trial. Efimov saw Hitler only once, in the early thirties, briefly, when he was returning through Berlin from Paris to Moscow. He happened to be at the Hindenburg Palace (at that time he was still alive) just at the moment when the Fuhrer came out of the palace and hurriedly walked to his limousine. And now, Efimov, one of the accredited Soviet correspondents at the trial, had the opportunity to draw his “favorite” characters from life.
"Hitler. Sketch from life." Efimov caught a glimpse of Hitler in Berlin in 1933
Here, for example, is Efimov’s impression of Hermann Goering, one of the main defendants in the trial:
During one of the short breaks, when the defendants were not taken out of the hall, it happened to go up to the barrier itself and, standing one and a half meters from Goering (you can reach it with your hand...), stare at him intently. So in the terrarium of the zoo you closely and intently study a fat boa constrictor moving its disgusting rings, which, by the way, was very reminiscent of Goering with his cold, evil reptile eyes, frog-like mouth, and sliding movements of his heavy body.
At first Goering pretends not to pay any attention to the annoying staring. Then it begins to irritate him, and he nervously turns away, casting a fierce glance from under his brows. Our eyes meet for a split second, and for some reason I am reminded of the captured Field Marshal Trebon from Feuchtwanger’s “The False Nero.”
Zhdanov continued:
- Comrade Stalin roughly imagines this picture: General Eisenhower with a huge army is rushing to the Arctic, and right there a simple American stands next to him and asks: “What’s the matter, General? Why such vigorous military activity in this deserted area?” And Eisenhower replies: “How? Don’t you see that we are in danger from Russia from here?” Or something like that.
- No no. “Why anything else,” I said hastily. - I think it’s very cool. Let me, Andrey Alexandrovich, I’ll draw it like that.
“Well, please,” said Zhdanov. - I will convey this to Comrade Stalin.
- Allow me, Andrei Alexandrovich, just one question.
- Please.
- When is this needed?
- When? - Zhdanov thought for a second. - Well, we're not rushing you. But there is no need to delay too much.
Already on the way home, I began to reflect on this vague answer. “We’re not rushing you” means that if I draw a cartoon in a day or two, they might say: “I was in a hurry. I didn’t take Comrade Stalin’s task seriously. I cheated...” This is oh so dangerous. And if you bring the drawing four or five days later, they may say: “Detained... Delayed. Didn’t take into account the efficiency of Comrade Stalin’s task...”. This is even more dangerous.
I decided to choose the “golden mean”: start work tomorrow, finish the next day and on the third day call Zhdanov’s secretariat that everything is ready.
That's what I did. The next morning I put it large leaf Whatman paper (I made the usual drawings for the newspaper on a quarter sheet of paper, but in this case...) and, slowly, got to work. It was not particularly difficult to depict General Eisenhower on a jeep near a stereo tube, leading a formidable armada of tanks, guns and aircraft, as well as an “ordinary American” next to him. But how can one portray in a funny way (“...This matter must be shot with laughter...”) the mythical “Russian danger” - a pretext for invasion? After thinking, I drew a small yurt, near which stands a lonely Eskimo, staring in surprise at the approaching army. Next to him is a small Eskimo holding a popular chocolate ice cream on a stick at that time, the so-called popsicle. Two bear cubs, a deer, a walrus and... a penguin, which, as you know, is not found in the Arctic, also look at Eisenhower and his army in astonishment.
Having completed this entire sketch in pencil, I decided that I had had enough for today. I put the drawing aside, stretched sweetly and... at that moment the bell rang phone call:
- Comrade Efimov? Wait by the phone. Comrade Stalin will speak to you.
I wake up. After a rather long pause, I heard a slight cough and a voice familiar to millions of people:
- Comrade Zhdanov spoke to you yesterday about a certain satire. Do you understand what I am talking about?
- I understand, Comrade Stalin.
- You are portraying one person there. Do you understand who I'm talking about?
- I understand, Comrade Stalin.
- So, this person must be portrayed in such a way that she is, as they say, armed to the teeth. There are all sorts of planes, tanks, guns. Do you understand?
For a split second, an absurd and mischievous flash flashed in the distant convolutions of the brain: “Comrade Stalin! And I already drew it! I guessed it myself!” But naturally I answered out loud:
- I see, Comrade Stalin.
- When can we get this thing?
- Uh... Comrade Zhdanov said that there is no need to rush...
- We would like to have it by six o'clock today.
- Okay, Comrade Stalin.
“They will come to you at six o’clock,” the owner said and hung up.
I looked at the clock - half past three, then looked with horror at the drawing. I still needed to clarify various details, so far only sketched in pencil, then outline this entire complex multi-figure drawing with ink, erase traces of the pencil, write the text - work for at least the whole day. And I felt like I was in the shoes of a chess player, caught in severe time pressure, when there is not a single extra second to think, search for options, correct mistakes, and you only have to make the most accurate, unique, error-free moves. But the chess player still has the opportunity to win back in another game. I didn't have such an opportunity. I knew that the Master did not like it when his instructions were not followed. When he is informed that the drawing was not received on time, he will most likely instruct Comrade Beria to “figure it out.” And it will take Lavrentiy Pavlovich Beria no more than forty minutes to get me to admit that I thwarted the mission of Comrade Stalin on the instructions of American intelligence, in whose service I have been for many years. Moreover, with Stalin’s phenomenal memory, or rather rancor, he knew very well that I brother Mikhail Koltsov, who, on his instructions, was arrested and shot as an “enemy of the people” even before the war. Who could know what this terrible, unpredictably capricious man would do in one case or another... But, apparently, it was destined for me that by some miracle I managed to finish the drawing and hand it to the courier who arrived at exactly six o’clock.
The next day passed without any events, but the next morning the phone rang: “Comrade Zhdanov asks you to come to him at the Central Committee at one o’clock in the afternoon.”
“Why might I be needed?” I thought. “If you didn’t like the drawing, then why would they call me? To inform about it? Such ceremonies are hardly possible. They would simply call another artist, most likely Kukryniksy. And if you liked it ? Then, in the best case, they would have informed him by telephone. No, there could obviously be some amendments. First, Stalin found that the Eisenhower I recently saw was not very similar. came to Moscow and stood next to the Boss at the parade of athletes. Second: the northern lights I depicted in the picture do not look like. I carefully redrew it from the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, but Stalin saw it personally in Turukhansk exile.”
Zhdanov kindly came to meet me from the depths of his huge office and, friendlyly supporting me by the waist, led me to a long conference table standing perpendicular to the monumental desk. It was on the conference table that I saw my drawing.
“Well,” he said, “we looked at it and discussed it.” There are amendments. They were made by the hand of Comrade Stalin,” Zhdanov added, looking at me meaningfully. I bowed my head silently.
“By the way,” he continued, “half an hour ago Comrade Stalin called and asked if you had arrived yet.” I said that you are already here and waiting in my waiting room.
“Phantasmagoria,” I thought. “A nightmare. Stalin asks Zhdanov about me... Well, well... Tell me about this - who will believe it?..”
Looking at my drawing again, I said:
- Andrey Alexandrovich! As far as I can see, the amendments, in general, relate more to the text, but according to the drawing, it seems...
“Yes, yes,” said Zhdanov, “in general there are no objections to the drawing.” True, some members of the Politburo expressed the opinion that Eisenhower’s butt was too accentuated. But Comrade Stalin did not attach any importance to this. Yes, according to the drawing everything is in order.
What amendments were made to my drawing “by the hand of Comrade Stalin”? First of all, on the top of the sheet was written in red pencil in block letters"EISENHOWER DEFENSE" and emphasized with a light wavy line. Below, somewhere under the feet of the surprised Eskimo, “Se” is written in the same red pencil... But then the red pencil apparently broke, then in simple (black) - “... the right pole”, and lower down, along the edges drawing - "Alaska" and "Canada".
“Comrade Stalin said,” Zhdanov explained to me, “it must be absolutely clear that this is the Arctic, not Antarctica.”
Then the Owner took up the text I had written under the drawing. He replaced the words “violent activity” with “combat activity,” and “in this peaceful area” with “in this deserted area.” In what I wrote, “... what are the enemy forces concentrated here,” he, like a real literary editor, rearranged the words with one decisive stroke, so that it turned out - “... what enemy forces are concentrated here.”
The Leader crossed out the phrase “One of the opponents has already swung a grenade at us” (with this I wanted to humorously “beat” the chocolate popsicle in the Eskimo’s hand) and wrote instead: “This is exactly where the threat to American freedom comes from.” The Leader and Teacher, however, was not satisfied with this: when he called Zhdanov and asked about me, he at the same time ordered to cross out initial words“exactly” and instead write “exactly”, which is what Zhdanov did.
With these amendments, the cartoon “Eisenhower Defends” was published two days later in Pravda. It must be said that the penguin depicted among the inhabitants of the Arctic did not escape the attention of readers. Sad remarks rained down, but when it became known that the drawing was approved by the Boss, the critics bit their tongues and the presence of penguins in the North Pole region was thus highly legitimized. And the caricature went down in the history of many years " cold war"as one of the first satirical arrows launched at former allies in the anti-Hitler coalition."
After the Great Patriotic War, Boris Efimov worked fruitfully for more than half a century. Listing the titles and awards that this artist was awarded would take too much space - and State awards, and Hero Star Socialist Labor, and three Orders of Lenin, and three Orders of the Red Banner of Labor... One of the artist’s last awards was the Order of Peter the Great, 1st degree. After his 107th (!) birthday, he was appointed chief artist of the Izvestia newspaper.
Yes, he also had numerous critics - he was reproached for serving the authorities all his life. For example, he was friends with Bukharin, and then exposed him in his cartoons, he was one of those who accompanied Trotsky into exile, and then exposed him too. And during the years of perestroika, he drew caricatures of Stalin. But, read the responses of front-line soldiers given above. In our opinion, they “outweigh” any criticism. In addition, his cartoons are a vivid chronicle, reflecting all the main events in the history of our country for almost a century.
He died at the age of 109 on October 1, 2008. He happened to catch last days nineteenth century, live through the entire twentieth century and see the new millennium.
One of last people who saw Old Russia. A young man from an intelligent family, even before Great War- student of the Bialystok Real School, in 1917 - student of the Kyiv Institute of National Economy.
In 1919 in Kyiv - sketches of combatants of all stripes:
1918
2opena
wrote very well.
Written literally on the eve of death, but everything is true (the title of this post is his):
Boris Efimov. One hundred and eight years without remorse.
“While we are here growing spiritually and improving intellectually, the cartoonist of all times and peoples Boris Efimov celebrated his 108th birthday. But we didn’t notice (that is, we noticed, but a few days later). And the president noticed in time and said:
“You not only reflected, but also shaped the history of the 20th century. You always honestly and devotedly defended the interests of our country and its citizens. And millions of people answer you with sincere gratitude for the joy of meeting with your wonderful creativity.”
As a close friend of mine, whose opinion I respect, once told me: “Maybe God gives talented but unscrupulous people a chance to repent during their lifetime - and that’s why they live so long?”
( bumblebeat notes:
“These people knew how to survive. Molotov died at the 97th year of his life, Kaganovich at the 98th, Malenkov at the 87th, Voroshilov at the 89th, Budyonny at the 91st, ..."
Only in all the listed cases - including Efimov - we have to talk about talent in a very specific sense - in the sense of talent to do great meanness - approx. )
No answer. Talented but unscrupulous people are in no hurry to chain themselves. They prefer to rewrite words national anthems(under which he cannot stand, but wants to lie down in shame) and portray as enemies those whom those in power point out to him.
The young almost artist Boris Fridland draws dashing anti-anarchist pictures. But, as soon as the wind of change corrects the direction of its blowing, Judas Trotsky appears in the pictures (who, by the way, before turning into Judas, wrote the preface to the first book of Efimov’s cartoons):
(But recently he was not only the patron of Bor. Efimov, but also an icon and a good chemist - approx. tapirr)
The fight against enemies continues - you just need to be equipped with ironclad gloves:
Does the government not like capitalists? Get this, fascist nannies:
Has a second front opened? Yes, please – let’s immediately cry over the apotheosis of friendship between peoples of different systems:
Is the leader in charge? Let's draw:
How did life become? Correct, better, correct, more fun:
You can even very, very carefully draw something like... no, not a caricature, but such a pleasant portrait:
And when everything becomes completely permissible, in order not to lag behind the times, let us draw crushed tender beauty under the boot of the executioner and tyrant:
Have the capitalists disappeared? It's OK! The oligarchs remain! So now the clawed paws will belong to them:
And let’s project sweet, kind humor onto all the rulers at once:
Why not “honest and dedicated defense of interests”? Depending on the line and directive. Whatever you order, I will defend. Whoever you order, I’ll shit on him.
It seems disgusting to attack an old man who is over 100 years old - well, we won’t do that.( written, let me remind you, 1 day before death - approx.. ) If an old man for a hundred and eight years has not understood what conscience is, he will never understand. But a state that rewards low sycophancy... uh-uh... let's not talk about the state..."
What's the humor? Who is depicted? (Apparently there was also a signature)
stanis_sadal
“He managed to live 95 days in the 19th century, lived through the entire 20th century and found the 21st...
He saw Nicholas II, Lenin, drew Trotsky, Bukharin, with whom he was familiar. He was present at the cremation of Mayakovsky, with whom he was friends. I saw how his hair caught fire in the oven... He said about himself: “I am a citizen of three centuries. Fate was favorable to me, I shook hands with Mussolini, dined with Tito, saw Trotsky into exile, talked to Stalin on the phone and saw off Lunacharsky.”
Famous artist Mikhail Zlatkovsky I decided to change the rule - the dead are either good or not at all. This is not the case, he believes:
“Efimov actively participated in all provocative campaigns of the Soviet regime - his pen nailed right and left during all the trials of the Bukharins-Zinovievs-Pyatakovs in the 30s, he mocked Trotsky (once his patron) with particular sophistication.
And then the “Weismannists-Morganists”, “fly lovers and murderers”, the independent policy of Yugoslavia with the “executioner of the communists” Joseph Tito, “murderers in white coats” were “sealed” and printed in the central press.
For young artists Soviet caricature and poster, he wrote denunciations to the KGB, VAAP and wherever possible. Such vigorous activity is easily explained - Efimov painted very mediocrely.
His father Efim Moiseevich Fridland was a shoemaker. Boris began drawing at the age of five, and after his parents moved to Bialystok, he entered a secondary school, where his older brother Mikhail also studied. There they published a handwritten school magazine together. My brother (future publicist and feuilletonist Mikhail Koltsov) edited the publication, and Boris illustrated. In 1915, he ended up in Kharkov, after Russian troops were forced to leave Bialystok during the war.
In Kharkov, Boris Efimov studied at a real school, and later moved to Kyiv. In 1918, the first cartoons by Boris Efimov of Alexander Blok, Vera Yureneva and Alexander Kugel appeared in the Kiev magazine “Spectator”. In 1919, Efimov became one of the secretaries of the editorial and publishing department of the People's Commissariat for Military Affairs of Soviet Ukraine.
Since 1920, Efimov worked as a cartoonist in the newspapers Kommunar, Bolshevik, Visti and was the head of the visual propaganda department of YugROST in Odessa.
Since 1922, the artist moved to Moscow, where he collaborated with the newspapers Pravda and Izvestia, with the magazine Krokodil, and since 1929 with the magazine Chudak.
After the arrest of Mikhail Koltsov at the end of 1938, the artist was fired from the Izvestia newspaper and began illustrating the works of Saltykov-Shchedrin. In 1940, under the pseudonym V. Borisov, he returned to political caricature and, after the direction of Vyacheslav Molotov, was again included in the circle of masters of Soviet political caricature, with the resumption of publications in Pravda, Krokodil, Agitplakat and other publications.
From 1966 to 1990, Efimov was the editor-in-chief of the creative and production association “Agitplakat”, and the author of many political topical cartoons on international topics.
Together with Denis, D.S. Moore, L.G. Brodaty, M.M. Cheremnykh and Kukryniksy, he created a unique phenomenon in world culture - “positive satire”.
In August 2002, Efimov headed the department of caricature art of the Russian Academy of Arts, and in 2006 he took part in the preparation of the publication of the book “Autograph of the Century.”
On September 28, 2007, on his 107th birthday, he was appointed to the position of chief artist of the Izvestia newspaper, and at the age of 107 he continued to work. He wrote memoirs and drew friendly cartoons, took an active part in public life, speaking at all kinds of memorable and anniversary meetings, evenings and other events.
Boris Efimov died on October 1, 2008 in Moscow at the 109th year of his life and was buried in the columbarium of the Novodevichy Cemetery.
"TO GRANDFATHER'S VILLAGE."
Boris Efimovich Efimov was interesting personality Always. The world-famous cartoonist, who was friends with Mayakovsky and Trotsky, saw Nicholas II, talked with Stalin and was a personal enemy of Hitler, cannot be a boring person. Today Boris Efimov, who has every conceivable award and title and has created more than 40 thousand caricatures during his life, hardly draws, but he is already curious about another side of his personality: on September 28, the satirist turned 107 years old. Editor-in-Chief of Afisha D. met with Efimov and talked to him about the longevity, modern humor and gold teeth of Comrade Stalin.
Half an hour by minibus from Moscow, a bus, another bus, and then on a rain-wet highway, the actress of the Pushkin Theater Vera Leskova, the wife of Efimov’s grandson from his second marriage, picks me up in a jeep. We are driving towards Zhokhovo - here, in an inconspicuous village 70 kilometers from Moscow, Boris Efimov lives today. The apartment of the long-living satirist, which previously belonged to Tvardovsky, is located in the center of the capital, on Kutuzovsky Prospekt, but in Lately Boris Efimovich loves countryside peace more.
Since the morning, water has been pouring from the sky; deep puddles are bubbling under the impact of cold drops. Confidently turning the steering wheel, Vera asks me to “write about the fact that they have power outages” (apparently, no other methods have any effect on the local authorities), complains that in the last six months the old man’s health has deteriorated - he doesn’t hear very well. But since he had surgery on one eye and the lens was replaced, he can read again.
While I'm warming up with tea in the kitchen of a beautiful village house Efimov, completely hung with the works of the satirist and his famous colleagues, you can hear Vera waking up her grandfather behind the wall. Soon he himself appears, leaning on a cane. Legs in thick wool socks Efimov places it very carefully - he says that he is afraid of falling and breaking something. IN last years, he complains, is increasingly being used as a reference book on 20th-century history. But now you can say whatever you want - there’s still no one to check.
“I’ll tell you frankly - I had a very good memory,” he declares, adjusting his thick glasses on his nose. “But the older I get, the worse my memory is, not better!” Now my memory is not good, I’ll tell you straight.”
Being next to Efimov is like looking at a living mammoth: it is impossible to get rid of the feeling of awe. As Panikovsky would say: “A man from an earlier time, there are no such people anymore, and soon there won’t be any.” Trotsky handed him his coat! Ilf, Petrov and Kukryniksy accepted him as a friend! He was the last to see Mayakovsky being taken to the crematorium oven!..
Efimov, Ilf, Petrov, 1933.
I'm wondering if Mayakovsky was as interesting in life as in his poems. Efimov thinks for a couple of seconds, then begins to mint words, simultaneously tapping his cane on the floor: “You see, this is such a scholastic, I would say, question. It is difficult to separate Mayakovsky the poet from Mayakovsky the man. Everyone knows Mayakovsky as a poet. It’s more difficult with Mayakovsky the man. In his own way, he was a rare personality, separate, unlike others. Even the way he ended his life is also beyond my comprehension: what happened to him, why such a tragedy suddenly happened... There are many questions. I may say it unoriginally, but in general he was a complex, unusual, outstanding person who deserves to be studied and tried to understand.”
Boris Efimov was born in Kyiv at the end of the nineteenth century and after 95 days entered the twentieth century. Already at the age of 5-6, he tried to draw others and various funny situations from life. And when his parents moved to Bialystok (at that time still Russian city), went to a real school, where he and his brother made a handwritten magazine, being responsible for the illustrative part of it. With the outbreak of the First World War, Bialystok ceased to be a calm city: super-powerful bombs were exploding on the streets, one of which almost killed Efimov’s older brother, the journalist Mikhail Koltsov, who was later known throughout the union. The family separated: Koltsov went to study in Petrograd, his parents returned to Kyiv, but Boris chose Kharkov, where he entered the fifth grade. He read the press with interest and once tried to draw several cartoons on politicians that time. Koltsov, already familiar with Petrograd journalism, immediately added a cartoon of the Chairman of the State Duma Rodzianko to the popular magazine “Sun of Russia”. So at the age of 16, Efimov became a cartoonist. Since then, he began drawing for the publications “Spectator”, “Kommunar”, “Red Army”, “Bolshevik” and many others, gradually moving into the genre of political caricature. In 1922, without finishing his studies at the Kiev Institute of National Economy, Boris followed his brother to Moscow to stay there forever.
“I am essentially a Kievite, I was born in Kyiv and I can consider myself one of the oldest, and maybe even the oldest Kievite. Living in Moscow, I continue to be interested in events in Ukraine. But I haven't been there for a long time. Now Ukraine is a different country, right? You could say it's next door. She now has her own face, her own character, her own history and some character traits, which Russia does not have. But I won’t be able to express my attitude towards Ukraine in a nutshell - the processes taking place with it cannot be easily characterized... Could the Union not have collapsed? – Efimov smacks his lips, collecting his thoughts. - Probably could. But... serious reasons accumulated, and something happened that could not be avoided. “Many events happened, each of which influenced the overall outcome.”
One of the collections of Efimov’s cartoons dedicated to Nuremberg trials(the artist was sent there by Stalin together with the Kukryniksy), called “History Lessons”. Indeed, the artist has the most careful attitude towards history. He answers questions mostly evasively and streamlinedly, thinks about each question for a long time and, by his own admission, tries to say only what he is completely sure of, without making any far-reaching conclusions.
“So you’re asking if I understand something about life. This is an unexpected question. Well, of course, I learned some lessons, learned something, understood something that I didn’t know before. But life is always rich in some changes, some, so to speak, new events, unforeseen sensations that are difficult and even, I would say, impossible to avoid... - The satirist sighs heavily. - You are a young man, and you must come to terms with the idea in advance - I don’t know how to formulate it - that the laws of life are unpredictable. It is difficult to be guided by them. One does not necessarily depend on the other; often the accompanying circumstances decide everything. And the same thing said or done by different people can have very different consequences. And this is how we live..."
Upon his arrival in Moscow, the cartoonist immediately joined newspaper life - his works are published in Rabochaya Gazeta, Krokodil, Pravda, Izvestia, Ogonyok, Prozhektor, and are published in the form of collections... And in the mid-30s x Efimov happened to visit Berlin. And it so happened that on the street he managed to see Adolf Hitler and his retinue. Later, during the war, when the cartoon image of the Fuhrer with a swastika under his nose firmly settled on the pages of the Soviet press, and leaflets with his image began to be scattered behind the front line, Hitler put Efimov on a special list of personal enemies - with the stamp “find and hang.”
“But, as you can see, he didn’t hang me,” Boris Efimovich smiles. - Did not have time. Maybe he would have hanged me if he had caught me. But he disappeared much earlier than he received such an opportunity. This was a threat, of course, quite real, because at that time Hitler was in great power and could afford such things. But it didn’t work out.”
Cartoonists Herluf Bidstrup, Jacques Effel and Boris Efimov.
Behind a short time Efimov’s brother Mikhail Koltsov, as they say, has soared high. The first editor-in-chief of the Krokodil magazine, the editor-in-chief of Ogonyok, where his things that were too bold for those times were often published, the initiator of the creation of many magazines (including Za Rulem) and the construction of the city of Zelenograd near Moscow, he was included in many offices, incredibly popular and loved by readers. At the end of the 30s, Koltsov visited military Spain, where he even took part in the storming of the Toledo fortress, and wrote famous book"Spanish Diaries". Hemingway made him the prototype for the Russian journalist in his novel For Whom the Bell Tolls. Mikhail's fame had no analogues. In December 1938, when Koltsov went to the theater, Stalin invited him to his box and invited him to make a report on the anniversary of the publication of “A Short Course in the History of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks).” The Generalissimo was very friendly and smiled a lot, flashing his gold teeth. Koltsov, who sincerely, deeply and almost fanatically believed in the wisdom of Stalin, took on the task with delight. Five days later, on December 12, he spoke at the Central House of Writers in front of the intelligentsia, and the report was a huge success. That same evening, Koltsov, then already the editor-in-chief of Pravda, was arrested in his own office. On February 2, 1940, after long interrogations and torture, he was shot.
Boris Efimov and Mikhail Koltsov at military maneuvers near Kiev.
“There was no reason for the arrest, and there could not have been,” recalls Efimov. - But a reason was found. The then owner disliked him. It began to seem to him that he imagined too much about himself, that he was too smart, too popular. And Stalin, a capricious man, decided: “Well, actually, why keep him? I can do without him!” I think he considered himself the master of the country, and, in general, he was. And I was almost sure that I would follow Koltsov. But the owner did not agree. He didn’t need it... As for the gold teeth, I didn’t see them myself. Koltsov saw them and told me about it. Maybe Stalin was annoyed that his brother noticed his gold teeth... The devil knows..."
While working at Ogonyok, Koltsov undertook an unprecedented experiment - he offered 25 popular Soviet writers write a collective detective novel. Whole year the project “Big Fires” with its sequels was published in Ogonyok, however, the writers (among whom were Green, Babel, Zoshchenko and Novikov-Priboy) turned out to be a people not very adapted to collective work - everyone pulled the plot on themselves. Therefore, in order to correct all the flaws, Koltsov had to write final chapter with his own hand.
“It happened, yes,” says Efimov. – But whether it was later published in book form, I don’t know. Well, at least I didn't come across it. Well, who could publish it then if Koltsov was arrested... Nevertheless, his arrest did not affect me, and Stalin even sent me to Nuremberg. He specifically said: take this one too, let him go. He generally liked my cartoons. And I think he expected that they would be useful. That’s it – fate was decided.”
The story of how Stalin ordered Efimov over the phone for an anti-American political cartoon is widely known. After Zhdanov’s words “Comrade Stalin will speak to you,” the satirist stood up. “My legs lifted me up,” he later said in his book.
Stirring tea in a cup, I wonder what people had more towards Stalin - love or fear. "This interest Ask! Of course, they were afraid of him, and at the same time they had some kind of - here Efimov switches to a hoarse whisper - a feeling of awe, respect... How did I myself feel about him? Hard to say. I owe him a lot - first of all, life and freedom. He could well have rotted me and my brother then. And no one would ask him..."
I remind you of the story when in 1949, on the day the 10,000th issue of Izvestia was published, Efimov once again did not find himself on the list of awarded employees and, upset, wrote a letter to Stalin asking him to sort out the mistake. True, I immediately regretted it. But the Owner suddenly showed generosity - he did not waste time on trifles and soon, instead of an order, awarded the cartoonist the Stalin Prize. It turned out that Efimov - a Jew, the brother of an enemy of the people - actually beat the award out of him, which was an insolence unheard of at that time.
“Knocked out? “Well, why do you formulate it like that,” the satirist grunts slightly offended, but then begins to smile. – Although there is some truth in this. Indeed, he knew that I drew very well, and understood that I would be needed and useful someday. That's why he decided not to touch me. He even rewarded me. But, of course, I was on the verge of death.”
I ask if, after 107 years of life, he is tired of journalism. “Well, I’m quite satisfied,” Efimov answers. – I have enough journalists. Mainly, they want to understand the reasons for my age. You know my age. Many people are interested in why a person actually lives so long. Is he doing anything about it? But I don't have a recipe. And it can't be. Although, of course, this is not a typical case for a person to live that long.”
Efimov happened to write letters not only to Stalin. For example, on the eve of his 100th birthday, he congratulated the Queen of England. And I even received an answer. “Yes, we are the same age,” Boris Efimovich nods. - And they corresponded. But then it somehow dried up. She seems to have died. In general, I’m not very good at communicating with peers. I don’t meet people my age very often... I don’t know how much longer I will live, but no matter how long I live, thank you! A lot has fallen to my lot - I didn’t just, so to speak, lie on the stove and gradually grow old. I’ve seen a lot in 107 years, and not everything was good; I didn’t always understand what was happening. But I understood something else: that human life is unstable, and I was not surprised if it should have been this way, but it turned out differently.”
However, there was also something that can be called stability in Efimov’s life: from 1965 and for almost 30 years, he worked as the editor-in-chief of the Creative and Production Association “Agitplakat” at the Union of Artists of the USSR, while remaining one of its most active authors.
We are talking about modern humor. “I’m not delighted with the humor that comes to us from TV - from Zhvanetsky and others,” Efimov thinks out loud. “But in the absence of anything else, let there be such humor.” I ask who he would say is the best joker. “We need to figure this out. Many people joked. Mayakovsky joked well! I wanted to name someone else... In general, if a person has humor, he somehow finds a common language with people, you know.”
Lately, Boris Efimovich has not been drawing satirical drawings, admitting that satire has lost its sharpness. Prefers cartoons. But he takes the question of the future of caricature seriously: “I think that caricature is an eternal art, it will never disappear, because laughing is a natural human desire.” I assume that it was his laughter that prolonged his life. “Hehe! Well, you attribute a lot of this to me. Although this is an interesting thought, by the way. I’ll write it down, so to speak, here,” Efimov taps his finger on his temple. - How long I will live - only God knows, if there is one. Wait and see. I can still live, heh! - for some time. And I can cook quickly, so to speak. – His tone becomes confidential. “Although, to be honest, I don’t think there’s anything beyond that.”
Efimov’s grandson Viktor, a stern-looking man with a receding hairline, enters the kitchen. “Ver! - he says. “Will you give the cat something to eat?” “I already gave,” Vera responds, busy washing the dishes. Victor spreads his hands: “He came again. It interferes with work."
Boris Efimovich, tired from a long conversation, expresses himself in the sense that it would be nice for him to sleep again. Victor switches to him: “Why do you need to rest, sit down! You've already had enough rest, that's enough. You need to rest... You rest all day. Show me here better for the guest his books,” he pulls out from somewhere two beautifully published volumes – “My Century” and “10 Decades.” Seeing the last book, Efimov perks up: “I didn’t know it was here.” “We literally brought it from Moscow the other day,” explains Vera, wiping the plate with a towel.
The rain continues outside the windows. The tea has already finished, now we eat the cake and look at the photographs in the books. In addition to Efimov, they depict Mayakovsky, Zoshchenko, Mikhalkov Sr., Ilf and Petrov, Kukryniksy, Ranevskaya, Tsereteli, Tvardovsky, Gorbachev, Yeltsin... Separately, a caricature of Stalin is shown - in it he is with a huge mustache and in shining boots. “From nature! – Boris Efimovich comments. – 24th year. It was still possible then. Then no longer..."
I point to a photo where the famous cartoonists Herluf Bidstrup and Jean Effel are depicted hugging Efimov. Efimov confirms: “I was friends with Bidstrup, and with Effel too. True, not for long. Effel died early. Look, there are many more illustrations there. In general, I don’t like to be photographed, my appearance is uninteresting.”
I ask how he feels about alcohol. Efimov doesn’t hear - he has already slowly begun to nod off. “Sometimes he likes to have a glass,” Vera prompts. “He prefers cognac.”
“I was sleeping when you came,” the satirist apologizes with a sleepy grin. – I must say that my longest activity is sleeping. And dreams - ohh! This is my most treasured pastime. I see dreams all the time, and such interesting dreams! Now I'll go watch them again. So thank you for your interest in my humble person,” he extends his hand to me. Efimov’s palm is dry and strong.
When I, having finished reading the books, go out onto the glassed-in terrace to go back to Moscow, Boris Efimovich is indeed already snoring, curled up on the sofa. Due to his thinness, from a distance he can be mistaken for a child. But this impression is deceptive, and I know that in reality a true giant of spirit is hiding in a fragile body. The wisdom that emanates from this man in waves will fall like gold powder off me for at least two more weeks.
About Boris Efimov was filmed documentary"Three centuries of one man."
Your browser does not support the video/audio tag.
Text prepared by Artyom Yavas
