KVN today is not only an abbreviation of the popular TV show. This is a game connecting several generations and a huge number of representatives of different countries and cultures. After the clubâs next birthday, letâs recall the history of KVN, the founders and how it all began.
In the beginning it was BBB
Although the official history of KVN dates back to 1961, the basis of the popular program was laid a little earlier. In 1957, on the eve of the World Festival of Youth and Students, the center of which Moscow was chosen for, at the Komsomol meeting it was decided to introduce the humorous program âEvening of Fun Questionsâ into the television program. It is worth noting that the Czech TV show "Guess, Fortuneteller, Fortuneteller" became the prototype of this program. The creators of this game were Sergey Muratov, Alber Axelrod and Mikhail Yakovlev, and the composer Nikita Bogoslovsky and the beginning actress Margarita Lifanova were chosen as the hosts of the program.
The format of the television program âEvening of Happy Questionsâ was significantly different from the KVN, to which we are accustomed. First of all, the game was released only live, and its participants were directly spectators. Unfortunately, despite the great popularity, the broadcast went on the air only three times, because of the overlap in the live broadcast of the project was withdrawn.
The birth of a fun and resourceful club
Only four years after the closing of the program âEvening of Fun Questionsâ did the idea of ââcreating a humorous television game âClub of the Fun and Quick-Wittedâ (or simply KVN) was born. The authors of the games of the humorous club were the same people who were involved in the BBB games. "Evening of Happy Questions" was closed due to overlays with viewers who wished to participate in the program. In this regard, the founder of KVN Sergey Muratov decided to make the game purely television. And the name of KVN suited very well: in those days the brand of KVN-49 TVs was called that. It was at this time that the format of the game-competition that we knew from childhood was witty between the various teams.
The debut of the new TV show took place in November 1961, and Albert Axelrod and Svetlana Zhiltsova turned out to be the leading KVN some time after the start of the broadcast of the games.
Participants in the first games of the club
Unlike the current teams, the first members of the club were students of institutes and universities. In the debut game, the participants were teams from IISS (Moscow Civil Engineering Institute) and the Institute of Foreign Languages. The first programs went on the air in the same way as the program "Evening of Happy Questions" once. And although there was originally no script as such, and part of the contests were thought up on the go, and the rules were improved in the process, the popularity of KVN grew at an amazing speed.
The KVN movement quickly spread throughout the country. Games began to be held not only among students, but also among schoolchildren and vacationers in pioneer camps, in enterprises. To get into the game, which was released on television, the teams had to go through a serious selection, which only the best of the best managed to overcome.
Leading KVN - Alexander Maslyakov
Until 1964, Albert Axelrod was the main presenter of the program, but he left the project together with other founders - Sergei Muratov and Mikhail Yakovlev. Instead of Axelrod, the student of the Moscow Institute of Transport Engineers Alexander Maslyakov was appointed to the post of game manager, who to this day is the host of the clubâs major league games.
However, the program was not destined to go on television for a long time. Players often sneered at the ideology of the Soviet regime, so records of club games began to be censored. Over time, censorship became more stringent, and even sometimes reached the point of absurdity. So, KVN participants could not go on stage with a beard - the censors saw this as a mockery of Karl Marx. And in 1971, due to overly sharp jokes of the teams, the program was closed by decision of the head of the central television, Sergey Lapin.
We start KVN
Thanks to the efforts of one of the participants of the first KVN, the telecast was again aired. The new founder of KVN Andrey Menshikov, captain of the IISI team, left the transmission format and the presenter (Alexander Maslyakova). But it was not without innovations: there was a invited jury (in the first issues it was the founders of the game), new contests and a score system. Among other things, the host of the program had to take on the role of editor.
So, in 1986, on the TV screens of the country, they showed the first game of the revived club of cheerful and resourceful. It was at that moment that the anthem of the club âWe Begin KVNâ appeared, and past games began with a song performed by Oleg Anofriev.
The TV show took only a few issues to reach the same level of popularity as previous projects. The Kvnov movement also revived; moreover, it spread not only in Russia, but also in some countries of Western Europe and the United States of America.
KVN today
Today, KVN is one of the highest rated television programs. The Kwnov Games are held not only in schools and universities, but also in various enterprises. This humorous club unites participants not only in Russia and neighboring countries, but also in many European countries. Since the gameâs return to television screens, more than 100 different teams have participated in the Major League alone.
And although the rules of the game can change even during the competition, regardless of the level of the league (including in the major league of KVN), there are several basic, mandatory conditions. Firstly, KVN is a team game, one participant will not be allowed to enter the stage. The team must have a captain or front-man, representing it at the captainâs competition, if such is included in the program. Secondly, testing teams for the ability to joke is necessarily carried out in several competitions, for example, it can be a warm-up, homework or biathlon. Moreover, each game has a thematic name that sets the direction.
On television now you can see the games of the major league, premieres, international and issues of children's KVN.
The most famous kvnschiki
In the very first KVN games, held from 1961 to 1971, the participants were such celebrities as Boris Burda, Mikhail Zadornov, Gennady Khazanov, Leonid Yakubovich and Julius Gusman (who has long been a permanent member of the jury of major league games).
In addition, almost all the founders of the comedy TV show "Comedy Club" left the KVN. So, Garik Martirosyan led the team âNew Armeniansâ, Mikhail Galustyan - âBurnt by the Sunâ, which included Alexander Revva, Semyon Slepakov - the national team of Pyatigorsk, Pavel Volya and Timur Rodriguez were members of the âValeon Dassonâ team.
In addition, over the years, Alexey Kortnev, Vadim Samoilov, Alexander Pushnoy, Pelageya, Alexander Gudkov, Vadim Galygin, Ekaterina Barnava and many other famous people took part in the clubâs games.
The KVN team âUral dumplingsâ releases a show of the same name, in which, like in KVN, Andrey Rozhkov, Dmitry Sokolov, Dmitry Brikotkin, Maxim Yaritsa participate. The first team that continued to joke on television in their own show was Odessa Gentlemen, by the way, with their light hand, or rather, a joke made in one of the games, Alexander Vasilyevich Maslyakov was proclaimed president of the fun and resourceful club.
The best KVN teams. What are they like?
To earn the title of the best KVN team, the participants needed to win the games of the highest league. Over the long history of television broadcasts, the winners cup has received many teams, each of them can be called the best.
In different years, the best became the participants of one of the most titled teams âChildren of Lieutenant Schmidtâ, the team of the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia, the Tomsk team âMaximumâ, âCounty Cityâ, âJuiceâ, âTriode and Diodeâ, âUNIONâ, âAsia MIX "and many others.
Who was on the jury of the major league of KVN?
The jury of KVN invited celebrities - stars of show business, former participants of KVN, producers, actors or television presenters. And although the composition of judges regularly changes, there are never less than 5 people in it. So, let us recall the most eminent members of the club's refereeing team.
Throughout the history of the KVN game, a huge number of celebrities have visited the role of judges. So, at the first games in the jury was attended by the founder of KVN Andrey Menshikov. As mentioned earlier, a regular member of the jury of the major league games is Julius Guzman. He appreciates the ability of participants to joke for the past 30 years. Konstantin Ernst - the chairman of the referee board of the major league game - is present at almost all games of this level. The regular members of the jury can also include Leonid Yakubovich, Ekaterina Strizhenova, Valdis Pelsh and Mikhail Galustyan.
In addition, at different times, media personalities participated and continue to participate in the KVN as the jury members: Alexander Abdulov, Igor Vernik, Semen Slepakov, Vladislav Tretyak, Ivan Urgant, Andrey Malakhov, Pelageya, Leonid Yarmolnik, Andrey Mironov, Vladislav Listyev, Larisa Guzeeva and many others.