The popular and beloved by many Soviet and Russian writer Viktor Dragunsky was born in the United States - in New York - on the thirtieth of November one thousand nine hundred and thirteen in the family of Jewish emigrants from the city of Gomel.
Youth and family
The mother of the future writer, Rita Dragunskaya, and her father, Yuda Pertsovsky, met in Gomel and got married there. Fearing Jewish pogroms, shortly before the birth of a son emigrated to the United States. However, they did not manage to settle down in a foreign land, and in 1914 they returned to their homeland. In 1918, Victor Dragunsky, whose biography is full of tragic events, experienced the first blow - his father died of typhus.
After some time, Victor had a stepfather - Ippolit Voitsekhovich - the red commissar. While still very young, he died in 1920. Two years later, the boy had another stepfather - theater actor Menachem-Mendl Rubin. With him, the family traveled half the country, accompanying him on tour. In 1925 they moved to a permanent place of residence in Moscow, but this move brought no happiness to anyone. After some time, the stepfather left his family and moved to the United States, where he became theatrical director.
Novice actor
Victor Dragunsky, whose biography is inextricably linked with creativity,
a seventeen-year-old boy became a frequent guest at the
Alexei Dikogo Literary and Theater Workshops
. In less than five years, his acting debut on the stage of the Theater of Transport took place. Today it is the Theater named after N.V. Gogol. It was at this time, surrounded by talented people, Dragunsky, whose biography is full of unusual transformations, became interested in literary activity.
For a while he worked in a circus at the same time. It should be noted that a healthy and creative atmosphere reigned in the theater. Victor was surrounded by the same young, talented, full of strength and desire to work actors. It is here that the writer Dragoons appears.
In a large acting collective, where many famous stars worked, a novice artist could hardly count on frequent and permanent employment in performances. Therefore, pretty soon, a talented young man began to think about creating a small collective of actors inside the theater.
"Blue Bird"
Work on the creation of a small studio did not drag out, and very soon Dragunsky, whose biography again made a sharp turn, became the leader of a group of actors who showed literary and theatrical parodies. The team was called "Blue Bird". He was destined to live from 1948 to 1958.
The troupe “Birds” was not limited to working with the actors of the native theater, and gradually artists from other Moscow institutions began to come to it. Time passed, and the group came in popularity. They were often invited to perform at the Actor’s House. Merry parodies and talented artists were successful with the public, so after some time Dragunsky was offered to create a similar team in Mosestrad, but certainly with the same name.
Victor Dragunsky, whose biography gave him a meeting with Lyudmila Davydovich, thought up texts for musical compositions for the performances of the newly created troupe. After a short time, they became very popular and found their second life on the stage.
Since 1940, Dragoonsky published his feuilleton and humorous stories, and in 1960 his book "Iron Character" was published, in which a brief biography of Dragoonsky was first published. So readers got acquainted with the life and work of the author.
Dragunsky - children's writer
Since 1959, Viktor Yuzefovich has been writing a series of fun and funny stories about Denis Korablev, a handsome boy, and his friend Mishka Slonov. The whole cycle is called "Deniskins Stories." It is no accident that the name of the protagonist was chosen - that is the name of the writer’s son. At the center of these stories is an inquiring and gullible Denisk and his antipode - comrade Mishka, a little inhibited and dreamy. All friends' stories are fun and dynamic.
Dragunsky - writer and screenwriter
Victor Yuzefovich successfully worked not only for the children's audience. Unlike works for children, stories and stories for adults pay particular attention to the details and certainty of the situation. They give the work rigidity. Their drama almost always turns into a difficult tragedy.
Despite the fact that during the war Dragunsky was in the militia, he was always worried about the military theme. In 1951, the story “He fell into the grass,” dedicated to the first days of the war and the heroes who took the blow on themselves, was presented to the readers' court. The main character of the story, despite the fact that due to health reasons he was not drafted into the army, went to the militia.
In his works, Dragunsky does not give any assessments and does not criticize social reality, he simply describes human characters by which the history of an entire generation can be restored.
In 1964, Dragunsky, whose biography includes a little experience working in the circus, released the novel Today and Every Day, whose main character works in the circus. A magnificent carpet Nikolai Vetrov can save the weakest program, make good gatherings even in the smallest provincial circus, but in real life he is embarrassed and uncomfortable. The story was twice filmed.
Personal life, family
Elena Kornilova is an actress who became the first wife of the writer. She gave birth to a son, Leonid, who later graduated from the Economics Department of Moscow State University. For a long time he worked as a journalist in Izvestia and Nedelya. He became the author of such works as “Lifestyle - Soviet!”, “Fairytale Power”, “Remain in Memory” and others. Isaak Lvovich Dragunsky - the writer’s uncle, was the prosecutor of the Azov-Black Sea Territory. He was later shot.
The second wife of the writer was Alla Vasilievna Dragunskaya (Semichastnova). Two children were born in the marriage: daughter Ksenia and son Denis.
Ksenia Viktorovna Dragunskaya
In 1966, Viktor Yuzefovich and Alla Vasilievna had a daughter, Ksyusha. Today she is a famous Russian playwright, screenwriter, children's writer, art critic. Ksenia Viktorovna is the author of plays directed by the most eminent directors in the world. They can be seen in academic theaters and underground cellars, at student shows and in amateur studios.
The plots of her works are filled with sincerity, unbearable love and wonderful and subtle humor. Ksenia Viktorovna’s works are used to educate students and prepare actors at the Moscow Art Theater School, RATI, VGIK, GITIS, University of Iowa (USA), at the im. Schukin.
Denis Viktorovich Dragunsky
On the fifteenth of December, one thousand nine hundred and fiftieth, Denis Dragunsky was born, who became a prototype of the Deniski Tales in childhood. In nineteen seventy-third, he graduated from Moscow State University, Faculty of Philology. Until 1979, he taught Greek at the Academy of Diplomacy. Then he became a freelance writer, creating a script for film and television films.
One of the writer's plays was on the stage of the Moscow City Council for 18 years. Denis Viktorovich wrote about 80 scientific articles and reviews, more than 400 articles on political topics. They are translated into German, English, Japanese and Italian. He wrote several scripts for films based on the works of his father.
Today you learned a little what kind of person and writer Viktor Dragunsky was. A biography (a short version of it) is presented in this article.