Several generations of Soviet people simply read the novels "12 chairs" and "The Golden Calf". Experts with good reason note that even today these books contain a lot of useful information for Russian representatives of small business. And how to minimize taxes, and how to receive subsidies from the budget. Evgeny Petrov had a hand in the creation of these masterpieces. A talented writer who died untimely in the war.
From the tribe of Odessa
According to the rules in force at all times, the biography of a creative person consists of facts, guesses and frank inventions. The biography of the famous Soviet writer Yevgeny Petrov was no exception. It is true that the child was born in Odessa, a city on the Black Sea. Father's surname is Kataev. Even many readers of our day know about the writer Valentin Kataev. But not everyone knows that Valentin is the elder brother, and Evgeny is the younger. In life, it so happened that the youngest had to work under a pseudonym in order to avoid confusion on a historical scale and in solving everyday issues.
Kataev Jr. received his education in a classical gymnasium. In the early 1920s, after the end of the Civil War, Eugene came to Moscow after his older brother. Before that, he managed to work at home in the criminal investigation department. The work left its mark in the memory for a long time, and on the basis of these "traces" the young writer wrote the story "Green Van", based on which the film of the same name was shot twice. Due to the prevailing circumstances, the career of a detective in the capital did not work out, and the newcomer from Odessa had to retrain as a journalist. He was initially good at humorous and satirical sketches.
It should be emphasized that natural data - intelligence and excellent memory - allowed Eugene to quickly get used to the literary environment of the capital. The first humoresques and sketches from nature were published on the pages of the "Red Pepper" magazine. After some time, Petrov took the position of executive secretary of this publication. At that time, a young and energetic journalist was called a "multi-lingual". He had the strength and imagination to write several texts at once and send them to different editions. A similar practice is used today, but such a load is not within the power of every subject who smudges paper.
Creativity is like life
The personal life of Evgeny Petrov was simple and even banal. In the confusion of editorial affairs, love for the girl Valentina fell on him, who turned out to be eight years younger than the groom. Husband and wife, as they say, coincided in character, upbringing and temperament. The family was formed once and for all. And each child was born as a unique work. The Petrovs had two sons. And each literary work was prepared for release, like a beloved child. Such harmony in family relationships is extremely rare.
Meanwhile, life in the country flowed and raged. Already an accomplished writer and journalist Yevgeny Petrov set himself and solved large-scale tasks. Some critics note that the novels “12 chairs” and “The Golden Calf”, created in collaboration with his pen colleague Ilya Ilf, became the pinnacle of his work. For a significant number of connoisseurs, the names of the authors - Ilf and Petrov - have become an idiom, a stable combination. Among those noticed and appreciated is their book "One-Story America". Before reading these travel notes, Soviet people knew little about how the American people live in the outback.
When the war broke out, Yevgeny Petrov began working as a correspondent for the Soviet Information Bureau, the Soviet Information Bureau. At the same time, he sent his materials from the active army to the newspapers Pravda, Krasnaya Zvezda, and the Ogonyok magazine. War correspondent Petrov was killed in a plane crash in 1942 while returning from a mission to Moscow. After his death, collections of his works "Moscow is behind us" and "Front diary" were published.
