Name: Arkady Averchenko
Age: 43 years
Place of Birth: Sevastopol, Russia
A place of death: Prague, Czechoslovakia
Activity: Russian writer, satirist
Family status: unknown
Arkady Averchenko - biography
Arkady Averchenko is the author of many satirical stories. His works are also interesting to modern readers, because they contain subtle humor, with the help of which the writer managed to expose human weaknesses and vices that are invariably present in society at all times.
Arkady Averchenko - Early years
Arkady Averchenko was born on March 30, 1881. The satirist's hometown is Sevastopol. The father was a small merchant whose business was so unsuccessful that it led the family to complete ruin. The future writer, as evidenced by his autobiographical works, was forced to receive his education at home, with the help of his older sisters. At the age of fifteen, Averchenko left his hometown and entered service in the Donetsk mine as a clerk. And three years later I got a job in one of the Kharkov joint stock companies. During this period, the future writer began to write short stories.
The beginning of the work of Arkady Averchenko
The first work in the creative biography of Arkady Averchenko, which was published in the Kharkov literary magazine, was created in 1902. The story was called “The ability to live.” But another creation attracted the attention of critics. “The Righteous” is a story that was published in St. Petersburg. The revolutionary events of 1905 inspired the young writer. During this period, he created many essays and feuilletons, which for the most part were prohibited by censorship.
Arkady Averchenko - Satyricon
Since 1908, Averchenko worked as a secretary in the editorial office of one of the St. Petersburg periodicals. He was able to completely reorganize the work in this organization. First of all, he changed the name of the magazine. “Satyricon” was the name of the literary magazine, which under Averchenko was especially popular among readers. The publication paid great attention to revolutionary, political and social topics. Arkady Averchenko managed to involve not only authors working in the genre of satire, but also such outstanding prose writers and poets as Leonid Andreev and Alexander Kuprin in working on the magazine.
New Satyricon Arkady Averchenko
Of course, the main employee of Satyricon - the readable magazine in St. Petersburg at the beginning of the century - Averchenko himself appeared. But eight years after Averchenko joined the editorial staff, a split occurred in the magazine. Averchenko’s magazine became “New Satyricon”. Not a single issue of this periodical was published without a small satirical work by its founder.
Over the years, Averchenko’s literary skills have been honed, and a unique style of the writer has developed. The main and characteristic properties of Averchenko’s stories were exaggeration and depiction of some anecdotal situation, which the author often brought to the point of complete absurdity. His stories were not particularly plausible, and therefore enjoyed even greater success among the so-called intelligent public. By the way, the very word “intelligent” was introduced into everyday speech not without the assistance of the “Satyriconists.”
Arkady Averchenko - Special style
The magazine's employees, led by its editor-in-chief, extremely valued their reputation. They ignored base tastes, stupid buffoonery and direct political engagement were not inherent in them. In their essays and articles, the magazine's staff expressed a somewhat mocking disloyalty. Their position differed favorably in the literary world of that time, where there was a complete absence of censorship.
Averchenko and his comrades certainly welcomed the February revolution. But then unbridledness and “democratic” lawlessness reigned in Russia, which made the writer wary. Like many representatives of the intelligentsia, the Satyriconists perceived what was happening in the country as a monstrous misunderstanding. The works of the now Soviet writer began to contain the most acute humor, bordering on black. Such grotesqueness is inherent in the work of Bulgakov, Ilf, which indicates the influence of the greatest social change on literature and art.
Arkady Averchenko - Emigration and death
In 1918, the “New Satyricon” was banned by the new government. Averchenko fled to the South, where he continued to write and published several anti-Bolshevik essays. In 1920 he managed to leave for Constantinople. Abroad, the writer felt relatively comfortable, since he had the opportunity to communicate with Russian emigrants. Subsequently, Averchenko moved to the Czech Republic, where his works enjoyed wide popularity. Most of them have been translated into Czech. In 1925, the Russian writer passed away after a long, serious illness. Averchenko was buried in Prague.
One hundred and six years ago, on April 1, 1908, the first issue of the Satyricon magazine was published in St. Petersburg, opening new era in the history of Russian humor.
This magazine, and after it the “New Satyricon”, became a unique phenomenon in the history of Russian culture at the beginning of the twentieth century. Created by a small group of people, these publications for many years determined the main direction of domestic humor, having no equal among the humorous and satirical publications of the early twentieth century.
"Satyricon" replaced the old humorous magazine "Dragonfly" (1875-1908), which had finally lost popularity. 
N.A. Teffi wrote in her memoirs about how the magazine began:
“And then somehow the maid reports:
- Dragonfly has arrived.
Dragonfly turned out to be a short brunette. He said that he inherited a “Dragonfly”, which he wants to improve, make literary magazine, interesting and popular, and asks me to cooperate. I didn’t like our humor magazines and answered neither this nor that:
- Mercy. With pleasure, although, in general, I’m unlikely to be able to do so and probably won’t cooperate.
So they decided on this. Two weeks later the maid reports again:
- The dragonfly has arrived.
This time the Dragonfly turned out to be a tall blond man. But I knew my absent-mindedness and poor memory for faces, I was not at all surprised and said in a very secular tone:
- Very nice, we already talked about your magazine.
- When? – he was surprised.
- Yes, two weeks ago. After all, you were with me.
- No, it was Kornfeld.
- Really? And I thought it was the same one.
- So you think that we are very similar?
- That’s the thing, no, but since they told me that you were also a Dragonfly, I decided that I just didn’t see it. So you're not Kornfeld?
- No, I’m Averchenko. I will be the editor and the magazine will be called “Satyricon”.
Then came a presentation of all those extraordinary prospects that Kornfeld had already told me about.”.
Teffi still did not refuse cooperation - already in the first issue of Satyricon her story “From the Diary of an Imprisoned General” appeared. M.G. Kornfeld himself recalled in 1965 his acquaintance with Averchenko: “Averchenko brought me several hilarious and excellently shaped stories, which I gladly accepted. At that time, I was finishing the reorganization of Dragonfly and the formation of a new editorial staff. Averchenko became her permanent employee at the same time as Teffi, Sasha Cherny, Osip Dymov, O. L. d'Or and others...”
A. Averchenko
By the beginning of 1908, many of the future “satiricists” Re-mi (N. Remizov), Radakov, Yunger, Yakovlev, Krasny (K. Antipov), Miss. were already collaborating in “Dragonfly”. However, the popularity of the magazine remained low - the very name “Dragonfly” for almost 30 years of the magazine’s existence determined the circle of its consumers: “officers’ libraries, restaurants, hairdressers and pubs,” as A. Averchenko wrote. “The average intelligent reader has developed the belief about the magazine that one can only read Dragonfly between soup and cutlets while waiting for a slow waiter who has gotten into an argument with the cook, or turn it over in his hands while the hairdresser soaps your happier neighbor’s cheek.”. Thus, the need to change the name became obvious.
According to Averchenko’s recollections, after “stormy debates”, a new name for the magazine was approved, proposed by A. Radakov - “Satyricon”. It soon became obvious that this decision was correct - people started talking about the magazine and a year later “the name of the magazine became firmly established in life and the expressions: “themes for Satyricon”, “a plot worthy of Satyricon”, “here is material for satiriconists” - appeared in newspaper columns and in serious political articles.” E. Bryzgalova believes that the title “Satyricon” “referred the reader to the ancient novel of Gaius Petronius Arbiter from the era of Nero’s reign, characterized by corruption and depravity, and hinted at the deplorable situation in modern Russia.”
The need for such a magazine was obvious. In 1905, after the “Manifesto of October 17”, hundreds of humorous and satirical magazines began to be published in Russia - “Hellish Mail”, “Bulat”, “Windfall”, “Wagon”, “Zhupel”, “Scythe”, “Masks”, “ Clown", "Bullets", "Arrows", "Fiscal", etc. A significant part of them were closed on the fifth or sixth issue, or even on the first. However, in the process of restoring social stability, the wave of “free laughter” began to subside and by 1907, the main directions of satire and humor in society began to again be determined by “Dragonfly”, “Alarm Clock”, “Jester” and “Fragments”. “Few people were amused by Leukin’s rude humor,- Teffi recalled, - In the newspapers on the last page there was a sad giggle with another anecdote and sharp allusions to “city fathers, feeding on the public pie”... Humorous magazines tugged at the mother-in-law, this inexhaustible topic, free from the censor’s pencil.”. Therefore, the fact that “five or six people, whose only weapons were a pencil, a pen and a smile” managed in those extremely harsh conditions to make Satyricon a leading humor magazine in a matter of months is an unprecedented phenomenon not only in the history of Russian humor, but also of Russian periodicals print and in general. 
The artists B. Anisfeld, L. Bakst, I. Bilibin, M. Dobuzhinsky, B. Kustodiev, E. Lansere, Dm. Mitrokhin, A. P. Ostroumova-Lebedeva, A. Radakov, Re-mi, A. Junger, A. Yakovlev and others. Writers A. Averchenko, Vl. Azov, I. M. Vasilevsky, L. M. Vasilevsky, K. Antipov, S. Gorodetsky, A. Izmailov, M. Kuzmin, A. Kugel, S. Marshak, O. L. D. Or, A. Radakov, Sasha Cherny, A. Roslavlev, Skitalets, A. Tolstoy , Teffi, N. Shebuev, N.I. Faleev, A. Yablonovsky and others. In addition to them, D. Moor, A.S. Green, V. Mayakovsky, V.A. collaborated in the magazine. Ashkinazi, A.S. Brodsky, A. Bukhov. The publisher of the magazine was M.G. Kornfeld, the editor until No. 9 in 1908 was A. Radakov, and after that – A.T. Averchenko.
The magazine's topics were very broad - literature, culture, social life. Special issues dedicated to N.V. Gogol and L.N. Tolstoy were published. Complete unanimity of the editors was observed in relation to “modern trends” in literature and art - the mediocrity and pretentiousness of the apostles of new and unconventional trends was talentedly ridiculed, but sometimes with a tinge of pity (in Averchenko’s words) for “people offended by fate and God.” A famous cartoon has become in which a persistent underground worker who has endured terrible torment (“needles were driven under his nails”), but has not betrayed his secret, is read, as a last resort, “the poems of a futurist” and he is no longer able to withstand this torture. With the outbreak of the First World War, the satirikonians decided to suspend the publication of the magazine, believing that this was not the time to have fun, but this decision was not implemented. The magazine was turned into a means of fighting the enemy. Now each issue of the New Satyricon is largely devoted to military events. 
In 1913, a conflict arose between a group of Satyricon editorial staff and the publisher M.G. Kornfeld, which led to a split in the magazine. The conflict has spilled over onto the pages of two magazines. In 1913, materials devoted to the split of the editorial board and the consideration of this case by the court of honor repeatedly appeared in the New Satyricon. The editors of the "New Satyricon" were forced to warn subscribers about the dishonesty of the former publisher, as well as about the degradation of the children's magazine "Galchonok", which was created largely by those who left the editorial board of "Satyricon" and after the split of the editorial board remained in the hands of M.G. Kornfeld . Also in the first issue of the “New Satyricon” for 1913, two cartoons appeared, reflecting the conflict in one form or another.
In mid-1914, Satyricon, having lost all its best employees and was catastrophically losing subscribers, was forced to close (in its place, the magazine Lukomorye was sent to subscribers until the end of the year). For the same reasons I stopped going out and children's magazine"Galchonok."
The New Satyricon Partnership, founded on the site of the defunct old magazine, became a publishing center that published many books by domestic and foreign humorists. Many books by Averchenko, Teffi, Bukhov went through up to 12–14 reprints. The almanacs “Satyricon” and “New Satyricon” were published. “An aspen stake on the grave of the green serpent”, “Theater encyclopedia”, “The most innovative writer”, “Who are we at war with”. Two publications have become widely known: “World and Russian history, processed by Satyricon” and “Journey of the Satyriconians to Western Europe", reprinted several times. 
The February Revolution of 1917 was enthusiastically received by Averchenko and the “satirikontsy”. What is important is that the magazine, free from censorship, managed to maintain an artistic and satirical level. Seeing the indecisiveness and weakness of the provisional government, the “satiricists” repeatedly turn to it from the pages of the magazine, calling for action and responsibility. At the end of the summer, when the situation became threatening, the New Satyricon began to be published with the subtitle “The Fatherland is in Danger.”
In October 1917, the editors of the New Satyricon split. Some of the permanent employees who accepted the October coup went over to the side of the new government and began to actively cooperate with it (V. Knyazev, O l D Or, etc.). those remaining in the magazine took a strong anti-Bolshevik position. The magazine begins to appear less and less often. In 1917, only 48 issues were published (instead of the usual 52). As for 1918, despite the subscription advertisements, which spoke of 52 issues of the magazine, by August 1918 the editors managed to publish only 18 issues (in January - two, in February - one, in March - three, in April - two, in May - three, in June - three, in July - three and in August (and actually in July) - one). Then, in August 1918, the magazine was closed. Averchenko himself wrote about the reasons for the closure of the magazine: “We drew a caricature in the Satyricon of Trotsky, who is speaking to the workers and peasants - so for this they kicked the Satyricon so hard that I and my colleagues fled from St. Petersburg for two years.”
Then, in August 1918, after the closure of the magazine, the final split of the editorial board occurred. New government accepted by A. Radakov, V. Denis, B. Antonovsky, N. Radlov and others. Some of them tried for some time to use the “capital” accumulated during their cooperation with the magazine. So, O.L.D Or released in 1919 on own funds“Russian History under the Varangians and Vorags”, adding in accordance with the new realities his piece of “Russian History”, released as part of the “General History, processed by Satyricon”. However, most of the other former “satirikonists” never again turned to this period of their work.
Another part of the editorial staff, who categorically disagreed with the new Soviet order, went into emigration (A. Averchenko, N. Teffi, Sasha Cherny, S. Gorny, A. Bukhov, Remi, A. Yakovlev, etc.). In Kyiv, former “Satyriconists” attempted to publish the weekly newspaper “Devil’s Pepper Shaker,” which was started in Petrograd immediately after the closure of the “New Satyricon.” A significant part of the former satirical writers gathered in the editorial office of the newspaper: A. Averchenko, Ark. Bukhov, Vl. Voinov, Evg. Vensky, A. S. Green, A. I. Kuprin, Willy, V. Fink, Lolo (Munshtein L. G. ), Don Aminado and many others. Vasilevsky (Not-Letter) became the editor of the newspaper. Don Aminado recalled that “The Devil’s Pepper Shaker” was “an officially humorous piece of paper, unofficially the center of collective insanity. Everything is unexpected, biting, impudent, unceremonious. There are no names, only pseudonyms, and even then, invented in an instant, right there on the spot.”
Noteworthy is the fact that the New Satyricon turned out to be one of the most durable satirical anti-Bolshevik publications. Thus, the magazine “Trepach” was closed in the fall of 1917, “Drum” - on the third issue in February 1918, the weekly “Beach” - on the fifth (June 1918), “Machine Gun” - on the 18th ( March 1918. The numbering of the issues was continuous starting from 1905. In 1905-1906, 5 issues were published, the rest - in 1917-1918). For obvious reasons, only publications published in Ukraine lasted longer than the “New Satyricon,” in particular the magazine “Zhalo” (Echo of Socio-Political Humor), published in Kharkov and closed only in 1919 at the ninth issue). Therefore, we can cautiously assume that the reason for the closure of the magazine was other materials published in the last summer issues or the general harsh anti-Bolshevik position of the magazine.
In 1917, the New Satyricon partnership began publishing the magazine Drum. Its first issue was published in March 1917. The editor of “Drum” was M.S. Linsky (Schlesinger), an artist who worked in many publications in Odessa, author of sketches, parodies, film scripts, journalist, art critic, theater entrepreneur. Since 1915, Linsky collaborated in the magazine “New Satyricon”. In February 1918, the magazine "Drum" was closed (only three issues were published). “I drew a caricature of the Brest-Litovsk Peace in my magazine “Drum”,” recalled A. Averchenko, “bang!” They moved their foot on the “Drum” so much that only a gaping hole remained.”. M.S. Linsky emigrated through Constantinople to Paris and was shot by the Nazis during the occupation of Paris.
In the same 1917, the New Satyricon partnership undertook the publication of another magazine. It became the “Scaffold” - “the organ of pamphlets. It will be published on the name days of stupidity and dishonor,” as stated on the covers. Its editor was P.M. Pilsky (1876(?)-1941), a writer, critic and feuilletonist who worked in dozens of central and peripheral periodicals. In 1918, Pilsky fled from the Bolsheviks to the Baltic states, where he worked for the Segodnya and Ezhednaya Gazeta newspapers, gave lectures on various topics in the cities of Latvia and Estonia, and was engaged in social and political activities. P. Pilsky later recalled about the emergence of the “organ of pamphlets”: “Many people owe a lot to Averchenko. It was not without his help that my first magazine of pamphlets in Russia, “Scaffold,” appeared, because it was also published in the edition of the same “Satyricon,” with the blessing and consent of Averchenko.”
In 1931 in Paris, the former publisher of Satyricon M.G. Kornfeld decided to relaunch the magazine. Kornfeld recalled: “if you look at the lists of writers and artists of this magazine who ended up in Paris<…>It is not surprising that this synchronicity led to the publication of a magazine that was not at all different from its prototype.”(Satyricon. 1931.№1.С.1.) Don-Aminado took Averchenko’s place in the magazine. The magazine was an undoubted success among readers. 
The first issue of the Parisian Satyricon was published on April 4, 1931. This date was most likely chosen deliberately, since the first issue of the St. Petersburg Satyricon was published almost twenty years earlier. Design of the Parisian "Satyricon" and its internal structure were also designed in the style of the previous edition. Thematic numbers were released in the same way. However, the main coincidence - in spirit - did not work out, despite the brilliant composition of the employees announced in the subscription announcement. With minor amendments, the magazine was very reminiscent of Satyricon in the second half of 1913 after the departure of Averchenko and almost the entire editorial board. However, the matter, obviously, was not only this - the general semi-impoverished atmosphere of emigrant life, the difficult moods that reigned in it, the unrelieved pain from forced separation from their homeland - all this made the Parisian “Satyricon” not so much a humorous as a satirical publication. A notable phenomenon was the publication in the Parisian “Satyricon” of the novel “The Golden Calf” by Ilf and Petrov, printed according to the old spelling. The Paris Satyricon lasted less than a year and closed due to financial circumstances. Only 28 issues were released.
Several years ago, a group of enthusiasts made an attempt to recreate the magazine “New Satyricon”, but only a control copy was made, which was never approved for publication. Unfortunately, the reason turned out to be simple - the level of the works proposed by the authors was so low that collecting them under this historical name was simply unacceptable. Moreover, it was planned to reprint old materials from Satyricon in each issue, which would have made the contrast even more striking. Maybe this problem will be solved in the future, because such a publication is necessary. After all, satire and humor (and not foolishness and antics, which today usually replace these concepts) are one of the best means understanding reality and understanding “what is good, what is bad, and what is mediocre.”
One of the most beloved magazines in St. Petersburg at the beginning of the twentieth century was Satyricon. It originated in the bowels of the editorial office of the old humorous magazine "Dragonfly", which at one time was also loved by readers, but by 1905 it was already quite boring. The young satirist Arkady Timofeevich Averchenko, who published the Beach magazine in Kharkov and moved to St. Petersburg, was invited to the editorial meeting of Dragonflies. His appearance at first caused general discontent and grumbling - why invite an outsider to discuss internal editorial affairs? But within a week, Averchenko, who proposed several poignant and funny topics for cartoons, became indispensable and began working as the editorial secretary.
At that time, a number of talented young artists collaborated with Dragonfly: Re-Mi (N.V. Remizov-Vasiliev), A. Radakov, A. Yakovlev, Miss (A.V. Remizova), poet Krasny (K.M. Antipov). Under the influence of Averchenko, the editorial office decided to publish a new magazine, Satyricon. This name was proposed by Radakov - by analogy with the famous novel “Satyricon” by the ancient writer Gaius Petronius Arbiter. The direction of the new magazine was supposed to be ironic and poisonous, but the irony was supposed to be graceful and calm, without anger and rage - as in the above-mentioned novel.
"Satyricon" began publication in April 1908. In June, both editorial offices – “Dragonfly” and “Satyricon” – united under a new name. In addition to the named artists and poets of Dragonflies, the best satirists and humorists of the capital were involved in the work in “Satyricon” - Pyotr Potemkin, Sasha Cherny, Teffi.
The new magazine arose in difficult conditions, when despondency and decline were intensifying, and laughter was turning from accusatory and impudent into a means of oblivion, distraction from troubles and pain. The Satyriconists themselves felt this. No wonder Sasha Cherny, one of the magazine’s most prominent poets, wrote:
And laughter, magical alcohol,
In spite of earthly poison,
Ringing, pain rocks,
Like the waves of a dead naiad.
But by some miracle “Satyricon” remained sharp and caustic for a long time; Later, the Satyriconists began to skillfully use Aesopian language.
In the first issue of the magazine, the editors addressed readers: “We will bitingly and mercilessly scourge all the lawlessness, lies and vulgarity that reign in our political and public life. Laughter, terrible, poisonous laughter, similar to the stings of scorpions, will be our weapon." "Satyricon" was a kind of anomaly and allowed itself quite bold antics. The objects of its satire were the State Duma, its individual deputies and parties, the government and local authorities, including governors general, reactionary journalists.
For example, it featured cartoons with captions like this:
Lucky: Sorry, I'm not wearing a tie.
- Well, thank the Creator.
This was a transparent allusion to “Stolypin ties” - as gallows nooses were ironically called at that time - a type of execution so widespread during the era of Stolypin’s premiership.
Another caption under the cartoon parodied Chichikov’s famous conversation with the men about the location of the village of Zamanilovka:
– Where is your constitution, brothers?
– Not a constitution, but an execution?
- No, the constitution.
- Execution, it will be to your disadvantage, but there is no constitution! It is called that, that is, its nickname is execution, but there is no constitution at all.
The work methods of A.S. Suvorin’s friend and colleague, the unprincipled journalist V.P. Burenin, were ridiculed in the poems of P. Potemkin:
Siskin rides in a boat
In the rank of admiral,
Should I drink some vodka?
For this reason?
The vodka has been purchased
Splashing in the decanter...
Should I scold Kuprin?
For this reason?
Stolypin’s statement: “The government and the state will steadily guard the people’s representation, protecting the Duma from the powerless attacks of the black crow” - was accompanied by a caricature: a black double-headed eagle claws the Duma.
The Satyriconians were very friendly with each other: they were united by youth, talent, common satirical goals, and the ability to laugh. “The employees of Satyricon,” recalled Chukovsky, “a young magazine, at one time were inseparable from each other and walked everywhere in a crowd. Having seen one, you could say in advance that you would now see the rest. In front stood the chubby Arkady Averchenko, a portly man, very prolific a writer who filled almost half of the magazine with his humor. Walking next to him was Radakov, an artist, a laugher and a bohemian, picturesquely shaggy..."
But times became increasingly harsh. It became necessary to publish satires “on the Turkish Sultan” more and more often, and to introduce the heading “Persian Affairs.” The magazine increasingly began to appear with “blank spots” and editorial announcements about materials removed from the issue by censorship. Satire became smaller, turning its edge on the average person and his vices. In "Satyricon" the laughter became bitter, it sounded tragic, hopeless notes.
In 1913 it was introduced new law about the press, to which the magazine responded with a cartoon by Re-Mi “Sad Note” with the caption: "Editor (standing over the black coffin). I, of course, knew that the printing bill would be shelved, but I did not think that this box would be of this shape." The death of Foma Opiskin was immediately reported - this was the pseudonym of Averchenko, which stood under the most sensitive materials. In the same year, a final split occurred in the editorial office of Satyricon: a group of employees led by Averchenko began publishing the New Satyricon, which lasted until the beginning of 1918.
Russian emigrants in the 30s tried to revive Satyricon. In 1931, M. Kornfeld in Paris gathered a group of satiricalists and again began publishing the magazine. The first issue of the revived Satyricon was published in April 1931. It was attended by V. Azov, I. Bunin, V. Goryansky, S. Gorny, Don-Aminado (A.P. Shpolyansky), B. Zaitsev, A. Kuprin, Lolo (Munshtein), S. Litovtsev, A. Remizov, Sasha Cherny, S. Yablonovsky. The art department was composed of A. Benois, I. Bilibin, A. Gross, M. Dobuzhinsky, K. Korovin and others. The revived Satyricon did not have much success (only about 20 issues were published). The lack of ties with his homeland harmed him much more than the lack of funds.
Sasha Cherny in 1931, in memory of the magazine dear to his heart, composed the following nostalgic poems:
Above the bluish-gray Fontanka
In good old Petersburg
In low, cozy rooms
"Satyricon" flourished.
Barges were colorful outside the window
With white-trunked firewood,
And opposite the Apraksin Courtyard
Stared ocher into the sky.
In low, cozy rooms
It was noisy and free...
Crazy drawings
Spread out on all the tables...
(Based on the book: Muravyova I.A. Bygone Petersburg. The Century of Art Nouveau. – St. Petersburg: Pushkin Fund Publishing House, 2004)
>>Magazine "Satyricon"
Writers smile
Magazine "Satyricon"
How many forgotten pages in the history of Russian literature! And how I want to delay the movement of time! Readers of the “General History, processed by Satyricon” have this opportunity.
This is an amazing publication. The history of mankind - from ancient times to the beginning of the 19th century - is not told by pundits drawing on knowledge from ancient books, students of writings and manuscripts, and cheerful and witty people - satirical writers.
For the authors, turning to long-gone events and people was only a reason to humor take a look at modern life. The solution itself was not original. In 1868 A.K. Tolstoy created satirical work“The History of the Russian State from Gostomysl to Timashev,” where he told the reader that “Our land is rich, / There is just no order in it.” True, the author did not manage to see the poem published; apparently, such historical parallels were not to the taste of the publishers.
The creators of “General History...” were luckier. Their brainchild was published in 1910. Book was released as a free supplement to the Satyricon magazine.
Despite its young age, three years, “Satyricon” was famous and had its reader. And it was not easy, since many humorous magazines appeared in Russia in the first decade of the 20th century. “In that troubled, unstable, disastrous time, Satyricon was a wonderful outlet from which Fresh air"- recalled A. Kuprin.
The magazine brought together young talented writers: Ark. Averchenko, Sasha Cherny, Teffi, O. Dymova, A. Bukhova and others. A. Kuprin, L. Andreev, A. N. Tolstoy were published in it... In 1913, after the split of the editorial board, Satyricon ceased to exist. There was another birth of his - about Paris. Were invited to participate in the publications I. Bunin, Sasha Cherny. B. Zaitsev, A. Kuprin, artists A. Benois, M. Dobuzhinsky, K. Korovin. In the third “Satyricon” the novel by L. Ilf and E. Petrov “The Golden Calf” was reprinted, and this was noted by readers. Soon, due to a lack of funds and sharp satirical materials, the magazine ceased publication. Thus, another page of the Russian literary chronicle was closed.
In 1911, “General History, processed by Satyricon” was published. It would seem that what is funny can be found in coups d'etat, in numerous wars, epidemics and similar events of the past, information about which has reached us?
Read an excerpt from “General History, processed by the Satyricon,” prepared by Teffi (1372 -1952), nee Nadezhda Alexandrovna Lokhvitskaya, a prose writer, poet, and playwright.
Teffi's author owns the "Ancient History" section that opens the book. She enthusiastically joins in the general “clownery”, creating a witty story Ancient world. Teffi ironically plays with the logical constructions of pseudoscientific works (“The upbringing of children was very harsh. Most often they were killed outright. This made them courageous and persistent”); exaggerates cliches (“Ancient history is a history that happened an extremely long time ago”)...
Literature, 8th grade. Textbook for general education institutions. At 2 o'clock/automatic state. V. Ya. Korovin, 8th ed. - M.: Education, 2009. - 399 p. + 399 pp.: ill.
Among the satirical magazines, of which there were a great many in Russia at the beginning of the last century, Satyricon occupies a special place. Without a doubt, he enjoyed the greatest fame of all of them, since he was the most prominent spokesman of his time: he was even quoted at meetings of the Duma.
Main authors
The Satyricon group took shape by 1908; The first issue of the magazine was published on April 3. Humorous drawings and caricatures signed by Radakov (1879-1942), Remi (pseudonym of Remizov-Vasiliev), Benois, and Dobuzhinsky began to appear on the pages of the new weekly magazine. These drawings were often accompanied by short poems; in addition, the magazine devoted a lot of space to satirical poetry. Among the permanent employees of Satyricon one should name Pyotr Potemkin (1886 - 1926), Vasily Knyazev (1877 - 1937 or 1938), acmeist Sergei Gorodetsky (1884 - 1967), Vladimir Voinov (1878 - 1938), Evgeny Vensky (pseudonym of Evgeny Pyatkin, 1885 - 1943), Krasny (pseudonym of Konstantin Antipov, 1883 - 1919), Samuil Marshak (1887 - 1964), Arkady Bukhov (1889 - 1946), Vladimir Likhachev (1849 - 1910), Dmitry Censor (1877 - 1947), Nikolai Shebuev (1874 - 1937).
Sasha Cherny, undoubtedly the most gifted of the group's authors, left the magazine in 1911, having published many works there.
Among the prose writers of the group, it is necessary to name, in addition to Averchenko, Teffi (pseudonym of Nadezhda Lokhvitskaya, married to Buchinskaya, 1872 - 1952), Osip Dymov (pseudonym of Osip Perelman)...
"New Satyricon"
In 1913, a crisis occurred in the magazine, most of of its authors left Kornfeld and founded the New Satyricon, the first issue of which was published on June 6. The old magazine still continued to be published: Knyazev, Valentin Goryansky (pseudonym of Valentin Ivanov, 1888 - 1944) and several other writers remained there, but in 1914, after the release of the 16th issue, the magazine ceased to exist. “New Satyricon” flourished for some time and attracted a number of young writers, among whom were Alexey Budishchev (1867 - 1916), Georgy Vyatkin (1885 - 1941), Chuzh-Chuzhenin (pseudonym of Nikolai Faleev, 1873-30s) and Mayakovsky, who published poems of 1915-1916 and his “hymns” in it.
Contents and focus of the magazine
The Satyricon magazine was very diverse in content and focus: it reflected the tastes of the public and certain literary trends of its time. The public wanted it to be satirical. Responding to this wish, the magazine was revived and became strengthen the old tradition of Russian literature. He proclaimed Saltykov-Shchedrin his teacher, as evidenced by the issue specially dedicated to his memory (New Satyricon, No. 17), published on the 25th anniversary of the writer’s death in 1914. Bukhov mentions this in his poem “Remember!”, published in the issue:
...There are many of you...
Picks up drops of caustic bile,
Dropped by a smart old man.
However, after the revolution of 1905, this tradition became completely special character. In the period 1905-1906, many satirical publications began to be published: “Hammer”, “Machine Gun”, “Bugbear”, “Masks”, “Gadfly”, “Zarnitsa”, “Red Laughter”, etc., in which they appear, alternating with each other friend, caricatures and poems, often signed by illustrious names from the “World of Art” or from the Symbolist school. Satire was usually extremely harsh and harsh, excluding any humor, in most cases painted in tragic tones: it was a time when images of death, blood, and murder filled both painting and literature.
The Satyricon group, responding to the tastes of the time (close to Leonid Andreev), picked up this tradition and made its own contribution to it. Many times the magazine carried hints of repression against the opposition in very dark tones, for example under the guise of descriptions of executions by impalement in Persia.
Thus, on the one hand, Satyricon develops themes that a priori exclude laughter. In his works there is a sound of despair, both political and moral, which sometimes really becomes a commonplace. Some poems openly fall into revolutionary pathos. Knyazev is especially inclined towards it.
“Now,” writes Averchenko, “all Great Rus' writhing in her sleep, immersed in mortal boredom.” This phrase was designed for a comic effect: boredom and vulgarity were considered shameful, and it was customary to constantly remind that they were opposed by ideals, enthusiasm, noble spiritual impulses; but this almost obligatory recommendation has long become more of a rhetorical formula than a real source of inspiration.
Who did Satyricon write about?
In fact, the only social layer that fills the pages of Satyricon is precisely the petty bourgeoisie, that philistinism whose presence is felt among both the readers and authors of the magazine. Krasny's poem, dated 1908, demonstrates, perhaps not entirely consciously for the author himself, that the old Russian myths are losing their power. The poem is built on the contrast between the topics of conversations in society (freedom, homeland, indignation, sacrifice) and their material basis - a restaurant, a party, etc. (No. 10, 1908):
Oh, what could be more beautiful?
Than walking into the world of quest,
Where the path is glorious only through sacrifice...
But much more interesting
Read about it in the novel
And take a breath over coffee...
Perhaps the poet's intention was to ridicule the softness of the average intellectual, but the effect produced by the poem is completely different, because the polarity of these ideas is too funny.
Parody in a magazine
The magazine's output was rich in both old and new techniques. The first place among them was occupied by parody - a genre that is satirical in itself. The authors of “Satyricon” did not neglect the opportunity to ridicule new literary movements, such as symbolism, futurism (for example, Bukhov’s poem “The Legend of the Terrible Book” (1913) presents the poems of the futurists as the most terrible torture for the reader imaginable). Egofuturism (Igor Severyanin) has become a favorite target for parody. The archaic style was readily used, with the help of which the most striking effect of the grotesque was created (for example, Shebuev’s ode to universities, designed in the style of the Russian XV111 century, No. 37, 1913).
Often parody coexisted with a serious tone so hidden that contemporaries did not even always notice it. For example, Goryansky gave his collection “My Fools” the subtitle “Lyrical Satires.” Sasha Cherny uses this technique almost everywhere, and one of the letters to Kranichfeld proves that the poet used it completely consciously. He writes: “Humor, satire and lyricism are combined in the same poem...” Some of Bukhov’s poems could be mistaken for being written by one of the Symbolists (“To the Poets”).
Potemkin especially shone in this crafty genre. He was associated with the symbolist environment, often visited the Stray Dog cabaret, and staged some of his plays at the Crooked Mirror miniature theater. His collection “Funny Love” (1908) also contains themes typical of Russian romantics and symbolists - masks, dolls, and it is not clear whether one should look for the funny in the serious or the serious in the funny. Later, namely in his collection of poems “Geranium” (1912), the poet would move away from this genre and come to a purely comic, more sincere and simpler.
Techniques of fairy tales and folk art in "Satyricon"
Another favorite technique of Satyricon is a fairy tale. Here its authors willingly followed Kozma Prutkov, in whom they recognized their predecessor. In 1913, a special issue (No. 3) was dedicated to his memory. One of the Satyricon employees, Boris Vladimirovich Zhikovich, signed the name Ivan Kozmich Prutkov, as the son of a fictional writer. Nevertheless, his fairy tales, as a rule, are satirical; they do not contain absurdity, like Kozma Prutkov’s. Thus, the fable “Brains and Night” (1914) ridicules spiritualism, although it was written in the style of Prutkov.
“Satyricon” also willingly used sources of folk art: fairground comedy, quatrains in the style of ditties, which Potemkin and Knyazev collected from villages. If Knyazev’s ditties serve to “simplify” poetry, then Potemkin, especially in “Geranium,” introduces very lively comic motifs in descriptions of the life of the St. Petersburg common people (“Groom”) with the help of folk style.
He didn’t drink fusel,
But I drank little by little
Copper in the ear
He wore an earring.
Here the comic is achieved by introducing into poetry the language and habits of the common people: clerk, artisan, worker, small trader, etc. Such poetry, typically urban and comically good-natured, anticipates the genres that would develop in the 1920s.
Pseudo-children's poetry
And finally, the authors of Satyricon willingly used the form of pseudo-children's poetry. Thus, Chuzh-Chuzhenin’s “Children’s Song” (1913), written in response to new restrictions on the press, depicted censors as obedient children:
Like Vanya-Vanyushka
The nannies got busy
Nannies are sad people,
Strict bosses...
But this literary device, created at first as a satirical one, gradually grows into a special genre, into a style that loses its original orientation. Subsequently, many of the poets of “Satyricon” write specifically for children and influence future authors of this genre (the most famous of them is Samuel Marshak). They often imitate English children's poems and songs, such as Vyatkin, who wrote a poem about the python “Fifth.”
English style of humor
Some authors adopted the style of English humor, and the first among them was Teffi, whose stylistic devices and turns are examples of a purely English manner. Such, for example, is “the captain who looked around with round eyes with the look of a man just taken out of the water” (“Instead of Politics”). Teffi's plots reproduce the technique of English humor, which achieves a comic effect by introducing absurdity into everyday situations - for example, the plot about a petty official who won a horse in the lottery and found himself in a hopeless situation, since it quickly brought him to complete ruin ("Gift Horse" ). In addition, Satyricon often published foreign humorists, in particular Mark Twain.
Play on words
However, the humor of Satyricon was not only borrowed. Its best authors managed to continue the Russian comic purely verbal direction, based not only on a pun, but also on a semantic collision of words, on a joke originating from a sound play on words, going back to Gogol.
Teffi's play on words is often carried to the point of absurdity; it causes laughter, as it introduces a whole family of words that sound like nonsense. So, for example, a boy, coming home from school, asks the adults: “Why do they say “Anthem-Asia” and not “Anthem-Africa”?” (“Instead of Politics”) Kulikov picks up Kozma Prutkov’s play on words on the sound of “villa” and “fork” in order to make a poem with a “social” sound from this material: the rich man’s dream of “villa” is contrasted with the peasant’s dream of new forks (“Two Dumas”, 1908). But here social content pales next to the comic absurdity of the pun.
The Satyricon group, thus, in its work stands, as it were, on two stilts, on two traditions - satirical and humorous, which at that time were not too sharply divided, since humor was often mistaken for satire. This confusion prevented the magazine's authors, at least most of them, from reaching the heights of humor (in the metaphysical sense), while satire, in turn, lost its liveliness, degraded, fell into didactics and lost significance.
Nevertheless, Satyricon remained the legal heir of Kozma Prutkov and prepared the ground for the flourishing of humorous literature that came later, in the 20s.
Materials used from the book: History of Russian Literature: 20th Century: Silver Age / Ed. J. Niva, I. Serman and others - M.: Publishing house. group "Progress" - "Litera", 1995
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