Viktor Dragunsky (1913 - 1972) is known to everyone primarily as a classic of Soviet children's literature. "Deniskin's Tales", which tells the story of the adventures of a couple of bosom friends-schoolchildren, were warmly received from the very beginning by readers of all ages. Unlike many children's works published in the USSR in the second half of the twentieth century, they did not carry an obvious ideological load. Deniska Korablev (the prototype of the main character was the son of Viktor Dragunsky) and Mishka Elephants studied themselves and taught little readers friendship, mutual assistance, ingenuity, and at the same time instilled in children small useful skills.

However, the writer published his first stories at the age of 46, when he already had an eventful life behind him. Moving from continent to continent, and labor, and playing in the theater, and work as a clown, and war have already entered it. Like almost all of his peers, Viktor Dragunsky had a chance to take a dash and experience difficulties, but he did not give up and passed away as a popularly recognized writer and father of three beautiful children. Here are the key facts from the biography of Viktor Dragunsky:

1. 20-year-old future mother of the writer Rita Dragunskaya and 19-year-old future father Jozef Pertsovsky in 1913 emigrated from Gomel to the then North American United States together with Rita's father. There, on December 1, 1913, their son was born. However, in America, the young couple did not go well, Rita's father died of blood poisoning after an unsuccessful tooth extraction, and in the summer of 1914 the family returned to Gomel. Exactly to the beginning of the First World War.

New York at the beginning of the twentieth century

2. Dragunsky's father died in 1918. Victor had two stepfathers: the red commissar Ippolit Voitsekhovich, who died in 1920, and the actor Menachem Rubin, with whom the family lived until 1925. Following Rubin's touring trips, the family traveled throughout Russia. When Rubin came up with a lucrative offer, he, without hesitation, fled first to Moscow, and then to the United States, leaving his family practically without a livelihood.

3. Victor Dragunsky had a half-brother Leonid. Before the Great Patriotic War, he managed to serve in prison, and in 1943 he died at the front.

4. Dragunsky himself suffered from severe asthma, and did not get to the front. In the militia, his unit was building defensive structures near Mozhaisk. Barely not being surrounded, the militias managed to get out to their own after the breakthrough of German tanks. After that, Dragunsky went to the front many times with brigades of artists.

Moscow militia, 1941. Pay attention to clothes

5. In his spare time from school lessons, the future writer moonlighted as a boatman. Having barely finished school, Victor went to work. First, he was an assistant to a turner at the Samotochka plant, and then he became a saddler - he made horse harness at the Sport-tourism factory.

6. Childhood and adolescence, spent at the stage, took their toll, and already at the age of 17 after work, he began to study in the workshop of the outstanding Alexei Dikiy. The master was, firstly, prone to satire and sharp comicism, and secondly, literature was also taught in the workshop. This had a great influence on the work of Dragoonsky.

Alexey Dikiy as Stalin

7. Dragoonsky's theatrical debut took place in 1935 at the Transport Theater (now it houses the Gogol Center, which has become famous not for its performances, but for the high-profile criminal case of embezzlement). Victor received roles in the Theater of the Film Actor, but the work was very irregular - there were many actors, but few roles.

8. In 1944, Dragunsky surprised everyone by going to work in the circus. There he was a red-haired clown, the pier played very successfully. Children especially liked his reprises. Natalya Durova, who saw him as a little girl, remembered Dragunsky's performances for the rest of her life, although after that she saw thousands of clowns.

Redhead clown

9. Dragoonsky almost single-handedly created a parody collective, which had great success among actors and theater lovers. Officially, employment in it was not formalized in any way, but it gave good earnings. Moreover, Dragunsky was asked to create a similar small troupe in Mosestrad. Viktor Yuzefovich's literary career began with writing sketches and lyrics for parodists. Zinovy ​​Gerdt, Yevgeny Vesnik and very young at that time Yuri Yakovlev and Rolan Bykov performed in the "Blue Bird" - that was the name of the group created by Dragunsky.

"Blue Bird" is performing

10. The only experience of Dragunsky's work in cinema was filming in the acclaimed film by Mikhail Romm "Russian Question", where the actor played the role of a radio announcer.

Dragoonsky in the "Russian question"

11. The first 13 "Denis's stories" were written in the winter of 1958/1959 in a cold dacha in the suburbs. According to the recollections of contemporaries, before that he complained about a certain stagnation in his career. The Blue Bird was disbanded - the Khrushchev thaw came, and the half-hints that so amused the audience in Stalin's time have now been replaced with almost plain text, leaving no room for subtle satire. And now the stagnation gave way to a sharp take-off.

12. The prototype of Denis Korablev, as already mentioned, was the writer's son. His friend Misha Slonov also had a real prototype. A friend of Denis Dragunsky's name was Mikhail Slonim, he died in a car accident in 2016.

Prototypes. Denis on the left

13. In total, Dragunsky wrote 70 "Denis's stories". Based on the stories, 10 films were shot and the plot of the Yeralash newsreel. In addition, Dragunsky wrote two stories, several screenplays and plays.

14. The dacha, or rather, a temporary house (later turned into a house) which became the birthplace of "Denis's Tales", was rented by Viktor and Alla Dragunsky from the literary critic Vladimir Zhdanov. He, at the age of 50, twisted the "sun" on the bar and always reproached Dragunsky for being overweight (Dragunsky was not obese, but he had 20 extra kilograms). The writer only chuckled good-naturedly. Zhdanov, who was two years older and survived Dragunsky by 9 years, died of complications after an optional skin operation that provoked cancer.

15. From a marriage with actress Elena Kornilova, which broke up in 1937, Dragunsky had a son who died in 2007. Born in 1937, Leonid bore his mother's surname. He became a well-known journalist and editor, and worked for the Izvestia newspaper for a long time. Several books have come out from under his pen. Leonid Kornilov founded the famous Maroseyka book publishing house. The second wife of Viktor Yuzefovich, Alla Semichastnova, was also involved in the acting world - she graduated from VGIK. In the second marriage, the Dragoonskys had a son, Denis, and a daughter, Ksenia. The story "My sister Ksenia" is dedicated to the arrival of mom and Ksenia from the hospital.

16. The second wife of the writer, Alla, grew up in a house on Granovsky Street, where many Soviet leaders lived. She was nodding familiar with many of their children. When Dragunsky had problems due to the lack of a Moscow residence permit, Alla went to see Vasily as a deputy of the Supreme Soviet, and the resolution of the leader's son removed all problems.

17. Viktor Yuzefovich collected bells. Their three-room apartment, which they received after the success of Denis's Tales, was hung with bells. Friends who knew about the writer's hobby brought them to him from everywhere.

18. Dragoonsky was a noteworthy joker. Once he was on a tour to Sweden and saw a group of Soviet tourists. Taking, as he understood it, the appearance of a Russian emigrant, the writer tried to speak to them in broken Russian. The tourists fled in fear, but Viktor Yuzefovich still managed to catch one of them. It seemed to be an old school friend of Dragunsky, with whom they had not seen for more than 30 years.

Report on Victor Dragunsky set out in this article. The Dragoon message will help you prepare for your literature lesson

The message about Victor Dragunsky

Victor Yuzefovich Dragunsky- Russian writer, author of the cycle "Deniskin Stories"

Victor Dragunsky was born on December 1, 1913 in New York, into a Jewish family. His parents, immigrants from Gomel, arrived in the United States shortly before the birth of their son.

However, in 1914 the family returned to Russia and settled in Gomel, where he spent his childhood. In 1925, the family moved to Moscow. Victor started working early to support himself. However, he did not immediately become a writer.

After leaving school he worked as a turner at a factory, saddler, boatman, beacon. From 1931-1936 he studied acting at the "Literary and theatrical workshops" studio of A. Diky. In 1935, his acting biography began: he was a theater and stage artist, for several years he directed the Blue Bird Theater (1948-1958).

His team instantly became famous. And Viktor Dragunsky also worked as Santa Claus on Christmas trees.

He was also a clown in the circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard, a red-haired clown in a shaggy red wig. And it is very difficult to be a clown, because he must be able to show tricks, do somersaults, walk on a tightrope, and dance, and sing, and be able to communicate with animals. Victor Dragunsky knew how to do it all.

During the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) he was in the militia, then performed with front-line concert brigades. Only fifty-eight years have been measured for him by fate, but it seems that he lived several lives.

Dragoonsky lived one, but extremely diverse, eventful, intense and whole life. He had a rare fate - to be like no one else, to create his own style both in life and in creativity.

Victor Yuzefovich Dragunsky was born on December 1, 1913 in New York. The parents of the future writer were Belarusian emigrants. The life of the Dragunsky family in America did not work out, so in 1914 they returned to Belarus in Gomel. Here Viktor Yuzefovich spent his childhood. In 1918, a tragedy occurred in Dragoonsky's short biography - his father died of typhus.

In 1925, the boy with his mother and stepfather moved to Moscow.

The beginning of creative activity

The family of Viktor Yuzefovich was in a difficult financial situation, so he had to go to work early. Since 1930, Dragunsky began attending A. Diky's Literary and Theater Workshops. In 1935 he was admitted to the troupe of the Theater of Transport (now the Theater named after N.V. Gogol). Later Dragoonsky worked in a circus, for some time he played in the Theater of Satire.

In addition to the theater, Viktor Yuzefovich was attracted by literary activity, he wrote humoresques, interludes, feuilletons, scenes, circus clownery, etc. In 1940, Dragunsky's works first appeared in print.

In 1945, Viktor Yuzefovich was invited to work at the Film Actor's Studio Theater. In 1947, Dragunsky, whose biography was not motley for film roles, starred in the film "Russian Question" directed by M. Romm.

"Blue Bird"

In the theater, roles were mainly distributed among eminent actors, so Dragunsky as a young artist could not count on constant employment in performances. In 1948, Viktor Yuzefovich created a parody "theater within a theater", calling it "Blue Bird". Soon L. Davidovich, Y. Kostyukovsky, V. Dykhovichny, M. Gluzsky, M. Slobodskoy, L. Sukharevskaya, R. Bykov, V. Bakhnov, E. Morgunov and others joined the troupe. For some productions, Dragunsky wrote lyrics.

The Blue Bird Theater became famous in Moscow. The troupe was repeatedly invited to perform at the House of the Actor. In 1958 the theater ceased its activity.

Mature literary creation

In 1959, the works of the writer Dragunsky for children from the series "Deniskin's Stories" appeared for the first time in print. They brought great popularity to the author. Many of the stories have been filmed.

On May 6, 1972, Viktor Yuzefovich Dragunsky died in Moscow. The writer was buried at the Vagankovsky cemetery.

However, already in 1914, shortly before the start of the First World War, the family returned and settled in Gomel, where Dragunsky spent his childhood. The formation of his personality was influenced not so much by his father who died early from typhus, but by two stepfathers - I. Voitsekhovich, who died in 1920 as a red commissar, and the actor of the Jewish theater M. Rubin, with whom the Dragunsky family traveled to the south-west of Russia. They moved to Moscow in 1925, but this marriage ended dramatically for the mother: Rubin went on tour and never returned. Dragoonsky had to earn his living on his own. After school, he enrolled as an apprentice turner at the Samotochka plant, from where he was soon fired for a labor offense. He got a job as a saddler's apprentice at the Sport-Tourism factory (1930).

He entered the "Literary and theatrical workshops" (headed by A. Dikiy) to study acting. After completing the course, he was admitted to the Theater of Transport (now the Theater named after N.V. Gogol). Later, the actor who performed at the young talent show was invited to the Theater of Satire. In 1940, his first feuilletons and humorous stories were published.

During the Great Patriotic War, Dragunsky was in the militia, then performed with front-line concert brigades. For a little over a year he worked as a clown in a circus, then returned to the theater. Appointed to the newly created Theater-Studio of the film actor (1945) Dikiy invited Dragunsky there too. Having successfully played in several performances, starring with M. Romm in the film Russian Question, Dragunsky nevertheless was looking for a new field: in the studio theater with its huge troupe, which included eminent movie stars, young and not very famous actors did not have to count on constant employment in performances.

Dragoonsky created a parody "theater in a theater" - the "Blue Bird" (1948-1958) invented by him played something like funny skits. The instantly famous team was invited to the House of the Actor, to research institutes. At the suggestion of the leadership of Mosestrada, Dragunsky organized a pop ensemble, which was also called "Blue Bird" and staged concert programs. Here E. Vesnik, B. Sichkin played, texts were written by V. Mass, V. Dykhovichny, V. Bakhnov. For these programs, Dragunsky invented sideshows and scenes, composed couplets, pop monologues, circus clownery. In collaboration with the poetess L. Davidovich, he composed several popular songs (Three waltzes, Miracle song, Motor ship, Star of my fields, Berezonka). Admittedly, Dragunsky was a very talented person, but hardly anyone imagined that he would become a prose writer - it happened as if overnight.

Dragoonsky had a special flair for the little things in life. Memoirists recall that he found some wonderful Moscow corners unknown to others, knew where wonderful bagels were sold or that you could see something interesting. He walked around the city and absorbed colors, sounds and smells. All this was reflected in Denisk's stories, which are good not only because they convey the psychology of a child with extraordinary accuracy: they reflect a fresh, not distorted perception of the world - the very sounds, smells, sensations seen and felt as if for the first time. The fact that songbirds are shown in the "Pig Breeding" pavilion (story White finches) is not just an unusually sharp turn that makes it possible to look at events with irony; ), and the sign of space (Deniska lives near Chistye Prudy, and the Exhibition of Achievements of the National Economy is located far from the city center), and the psychological characteristics of the hero (he went so far instead of going to the Bird Market on Sunday).

The stories are tied to a specific time (the first appeared in 1959), and although there are not so many signs of the time themselves, the spirit of the 1950s-1960s is conveyed here. Readers may not know who Botvinnik is or what kind of clown Pencil is: they perceive the atmosphere recreated in the stories. And in the same way, if Deniska had a prototype (the son of the writer, the namesake of the main character), the hero of Deniska's stories exists on his own, he is a completely independent person, and he is not alone: ​​next to him are his parents, friends, comrades in the court, just acquaintances or not yet familiar people.

In the center of most of the stories there are, as it were, the antipodes: the inquisitive, trusting and active Deniska - and his friend Mishka, dreamy, slightly inhibited. But this is not a circus pair of clowns (red and white), as it might seem - the stories are often funny and dynamic. Clownery is also impossible because, with all the purity and definiteness of expressive means, the characters drawn by Dragunsky are rather complex and ambiguous. The adaptations made later showed that the main thing here is the tonality, which exists only in the word and is lost when translated into the language of another art.

The exact details and certainty of situations in those few stories and stories written by Dragoons for adults, on the contrary, give these works a harshness. Their drama almost turns into a tragedy (during the life of the author, the story of the Old Woman was not published, which was highly appreciated by the editor-in-chief of the magazine "New World" AT Tvardovsky). However, the author does not give assessments, much less criticizes social reality: he draws human characters, according to which, as if by scattered details, a whole life can be restored. The story He fell on the grass (1961) tells about the very first days of the war. Her hero, a young artist who was not taken into the army by disability, joined the militia and died. The story of Today and Every Day (1964) tells about a man who exists in spite of time, at least not in all agreement with him. The clown Nikolai Vetrov, a wonderful carpet, capable of saving any program, making camps even in a provincial circus, is out of tune with himself - and in life he is uncomfortable, awkward. The story was filmed twice, in 1980 and 1993.

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Indecisive handsome man

Victor Dragunsky is one of the famous children's writers. He gained the greatest fame thanks to "Denis's stories". Dragunsky's stories are mainly aimed at children, with the exception of such stories as "He Fell on the Grass" and "Today and Daily."

Dragoonsky was born on December 1, 1913 in the city of New York into a family of Belarusian emigrants. However, the family did not take root in the United States, so a year later they returned to their homeland in Gomel, where the writer spent most of his childhood. After the loss in the person of his father and stepfather, the family moved to Moscow. Then Victor's second stepfather disappears without a trace, so the child is forced to earn his own living from an early age.

Dragoonsky tries himself in a variety of professions, from a clown in a circus to an assistant turner at a factory. However, Dragoonsky's love for art, which accompanied him throughout his childhood, when he first performed on the stage of the theater with his stepfather, the artist Menachem Rubin, pushed the future writer to perform at the Theater of Transport. Dragoonsky's liveliness and vivid play soon attracted figures from the Theater of Satire, where he was soon invited. Then Victor showed the full scope of his own imagination: he wrote skits, humorous monologues, jokes, clownery and humoresques. The invaluable experience gained while working in the circus inspired him in the future for "Today and Daily". Dragoonsky's further creative activity was prevented by the sudden outbreak of the Second World War, where his younger brother Leonid dies. The Second World War had a great influence on the writer and subsequently prompted him to write the story "He Fell on the Grass."

The very peak of the writer's fame was marked by a collection of children's stories called "Deniskin's Tales", the protagonist of which was the cheerful boy Denis Korablev, the prototype of which was the writer's son from Alla Semichastnova. Later, Dragunsky's stories were filmed and enjoyed more love from the audience.

The writer died on May 6, 1972 from a chronic illness in Moscow. His grave is located at the Vagankovsky cemetery.

Biography 2

Victor Yuzefovich Dragunsky was born in 1913 into a family of immigrants. The writer's parents left Belarus for the USA, where they could not live. In 1914, after the birth of Viktor, they returned to their native Belarus. The writer grew up in Gomel. But in 1918 the father of Victor Dragunsky dies. In 1925, the boy with his mother and stepfather went to conquer Moscow.

Viktor Yuzefovich began working early to help his parents feed his family. Since 1930, the writer became interested in the drama club. In 1935, he already worked part-time in the theater of transport and performed with numbers under the dome of the circus. At the same time, he began to write humorous scenes, funny little stories. In 1940 he published his first book. During the difficult war years, Dragunsky served in the reserve. He performed with his works in hospitals in front of wounded soldiers.

In 1945, Viktor Yuzefovich was invited to work in a theater studio. In 1947, for the first time in his life, Dragunsky took part in the filming of the film "Russian Question". But for the young actor, there were no roles in the theater and cinema.

In 1948 Viktor Yuzefovich created his own "theater in the theater" of imitations of famous people and gave it the name "Blue Bird". Many famous actors of that time began to work in the troupe. In many musical performances, Dragunsky became a songwriter. The Dragunsky Theater has been invited many times to perform at the House of the Actor. In 1958 the theater of parodies ceased to exist.

Already in adulthood, the humorist began to write for the smallest listeners. In 1959, humorous works about a boy named Denis Korablev appeared for the first time in print. "Deniskin's stories" quickly glorified Dragoonsky throughout the country. They were reprinted a lot and became the basis for film scripts and theatrical performances. For the image of the boy Deniska, the writer took his son.

The collection "Iron Character", published in 1960, was imbued with the author's humor. In 1961 the war story "He Fell on the Grass" was published. In this work, the young artist enrolled in the militia in the early days of the war, as he was not taken to the war due to his disability. In 1964, the story "Today and Daily" was published, in which the author wrote about his work in the circus art.

Creativity and life

We all know the famous children's writer Dragunsky. His wonderful and exciting stories will not leave any little reader without attention. Like most creative people, it so happened that fate did not spoil the boy from an early age. He was born in New York, but the dramatic changes in his life forced the family to move repeatedly.

When Dragunsky was still a child, his dad died. After a certain time, my mother again met a man in her life, who advised the whole family to move to another place. The parents of the little dragoon were not rich, so they constantly faced financial difficulties. Due to the fact that his stepfather and mother could barely make ends meet, the young man got a job. He worked both in the theater and in the circus, trying to bring at least some penny into the house.

After a while, the writing talent also began to manifest itself. The boy began to constantly write various scenes, come up with ridiculous and exciting stories. Despite the fact that he could not be called an established writer, his works always found a response, and several scenes were even published in the magazine.

Later, Dragunsky was offered to take part in a theatrical production. He became interested in such a proposal and began to actively contribute to the life of the theater until its closure.

An interesting fact is that Dragunsky took part in hostilities.

But by the time Dragunsky reached adulthood, the first significant stories appeared, which we still read with great pleasure. A whole block was created, which is known to us as "Deniskin's stories." The main hero of all the adventures was the writer's son. Of course, most of the events and stories are fictional, but despite this, they are really incredibly exciting and unusually interesting.

After that, more and more new works began to appear. The topics of these books were completely diverse: he wrote about the war, and about the circus and about many other things.

Biography by dates and interesting facts. The most important thing.

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