- Born:
- Aug. 10 [July 29, Old Style], 1895, Poltava, Ukraine, Russian Empire
- Died:
- July 22, 1958, Leningrad [now St. Petersburg], Russian S.F.S.R., U.S.S.R. (aged 62)
- Movement / Style:
- Serapion Brothers
Mikhail Mikhaylovich Zoshchenko
-
Who was Mikhail Mikhaylovich Zoshchenko?
Mikhail Mikhaylovich Zoshchenko (1895–1958) was a Soviet satirist renowned for his comic short stories and sketches, which are considered among the best of the Soviet era. He served as an officer in World War I and later joined the Serapion Brothers literary group in 1921. His early stories, such as "The Tales of Nazar Ilyich, Mr. Bluebelly" (1922), employed skaz, depicting Russia during the Civil War through the eyes of a semiliterate soldier.
Zoshchenko's later works satirized Soviet life, targeting bureaucracy and corruption with tongue-in-cheek wit. Despite his humor, his stories painted a grim picture of Soviet Russia. Increasingly criticized by Soviet officials, he faced persecution, including expulsion from the Union of Soviet Writers in 1946, following the publication of his short story, "The Adventures of a Monkey," which led to a psychological crisis and ill health.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What country did Zoshchenko live and write in?
Mikhail Mikhaylovich Zoshchenko was a Soviet satirist born in Poltava, Ukraine, then part of the Russian Empire. He lived and wrote in the Russian SFSR, U.S.S.R. (now St. Petersburg).
Zoshchenko's works often satirized Soviet life, targeting bureaucratic corruption with humor. However, he faced increasing criticism from Soviet officials, especially after 1946, when his story, "The Adventures of a Monkey," was condemned. This led to his expulsion from the Union of Soviet Writers, severely damaging his literary career and personal well-being.
3 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What kind of stories or books did Zoshchenko write?
Mikhail Mikhaylovich Zoshchenko, a Soviet satirist, is known for his comic short stories and sketches that are among the best in Soviet literature.
His well-known works include the stories in Rasskazy Nazara Ilicha, gospodina Sinebryukhova (1922; "The Tales of Nazar Ilyich, Mr. Bluebelly"), which use a first-person narrative to depict Russia during the Russian Civil War from the perspective of a semiliterate soldier. Zoshchenko's later tales primarily satirize everyday Soviet life, targeting bureaucratic red tape and corruption with wit through the naive language of the semiliterate. In 1943, the magazine Oktyabr began to serialize his psychological series Pered voskhodom solntsa but suspended publication after the second installment.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How did Zoshchenko use humor in his writing?
Mikhail Zoshchenko employed humor as a central tool in his satirical writings, targeting bureaucratic red tape, corruption, and the disorienting effects of war and revolution on Russian society.
Zoshchenko used skaz, a first-person narrative from the perspective of a semiliterate soldier, to depict Russia during the Civil War. His later stories satirized Soviet life through tongue-in-cheek wit filtered through naive language and malapropisms. Despite the humor, Zoshchenko's stories revealed a horrifying picture of life in Soviet Russia.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What challenges did Zoshchenko face as a writer in the Soviet Union?
As a writer in the Soviet Union, Mikhail Zoshchenko faced increasing criticism from Soviet officials starting in the 1930s. Although he attempted to align with Socialist Realism, he struggled to meet its requirements.
His short story, "Adventures of a Monkey," published in 1946, was condemned as insulting to the Soviet people, leading to his expulsion from the Union of Soviet Writers alongside Anna Akhmatova. This expulsion marked a virtual end to his literary career, and further persecution followed after he stated he did not consider himself guilty. These pressures resulted in a psychological crisis and ill health during his final years. The period of persecution and control of art that Zoshchenko experienced was part of the Zhdanovshchina cultural policy during the Cold War.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How did Zoshchenko’s work influence Russian literature or society?
Mikhail Zoshchenko's satirical short stories and sketches, employing the skaz technique, stand as significant comic literature of the Soviet era. His works targeted bureaucratic red tape and corruption with tongue-in-cheek wit, using the naive language of a semiliterate persona. Despite their humor, Zoshchenko's stories depicted a horrifying picture of Soviet life.
Zoshchenko's work was subject to increasing criticism from Soviet officials, and his story, "The Adventures of a Monkey," was condemned as insulting to the Soviet people. Despite facing persecution, his works remained popular, and he is regarded as a master of the comic story focusing on everyday life.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Mikhail Mikhaylovich Zoshchenko (born Aug. 10 [July 29, Old Style], 1895, Poltava, Ukraine, Russian Empire—died July 22, 1958, Leningrad [now St. Petersburg], Russian S.F.S.R., U.S.S.R.) was a Soviet satirist whose short stories and sketches are among the best comic literature of the Soviet period.
Zoshchenko studied law and then in 1915 joined the army. He served as an officer during World War I, was wounded and gassed, and was awarded four medals for gallantry. Between 1917 and 1920 he lived in many different cities and worked at a variety of odd jobs and trades. In 1921 in Petrograd (now St. Petersburg) he joined the Serapion Brothers literary group. His first works to become famous were the stories in Rasskazy Nazara Ilicha, gospodina Sinebryukhova (1922; “The Tales of Nazar Ilyich, Mr. Bluebelly”). Zoshchenko used skaz, a first-person narrative form, in these tales, which depict Russia during the Russian Civil War (1918–20) from the point of view and in the language of a semiliterate soldier and former peasant disoriented by the long years of war and revolution. Zoshchenko’s later tales are primarily satires on everyday Soviet life. One of their main targets is bureaucratic red tape and corruption, which he attacked with a tongue-in-cheek wit filtered through the naive language of the semiliterate. The malapropisms present throughout these works make them difficult, though not impossible, to translate (notable among translations into English is Nervous People, and Other Satires [1963], trans. by Maria Gordon and Hugh McLean). Despite their extraordinary humour, Zoshchenko’s stories paint a horrifying picture of life in Soviet Russia.
Beginning in the 1930s, Zoshchenko was subjected to increasingly severe criticism from Soviet officials. He tried to conform to the requirements of Socialist Realism—notably in Istoriya odnoy zhizhni (1935; “The Story of One Life”), dealing with the construction, by forced labour, of the White Sea–Baltic Waterway—but with little success. In 1943 the magazine Oktyabr began to serialize his psychological-introspective series of episodes, anecdotes, and reminiscences entitled Pered voskhodom solntsa (“Before Sunrise”) but suspended publication after the second installment. It was only in 1972 that the series was published in full, as Povest o razume (“A Tale About Reason”).
In 1946 Zoshchenko published in the literary magazine Zvezda a short story, “Priklyucheniya obezyany” (“The Adventures of a Monkey”), which was condemned by Communist critics as malicious and insulting to the Soviet people. He was expelled (with the poet Anna Akhmatova) from the Union of Soviet Writers, which meant the virtual end of his literary career. In 1954, meeting with English students in Russia, Zoshchenko stated that he did not consider himself guilty, after which he was subjected to further persecution. These pressures led to a psychological crisis; as a result, Zoshchenko spent his final years in ill health.
After his death, the Soviet press tended to ignore him, but some of his works were reissued, and their prompt sale indicated his continuing popularity.