Ilya Ilf and
Yevgeny Petrov
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encyclopedia
Ilya Ilf (Ilya Arnoldovich Faynzilberg
(Russian: Илья Арнольдович Файнзильберг,
Ukrainian: Ієхієл-Лейб Арно́льдович
Файнзільберг; 1897–1937) and Evgeny or
Yevgeni Petrov (Yevgeniy Petrovich
Kataev or Katayev (Russian: Евгений
Петрович Катаев, Ukrainian: Євген
Петрович Катаєв; 1903–1942) were two
Soviet prose authors of the 1920s and
1930s. They did much of their writing
together, and are almost always referred
to as "Ilf and Petrov". They became
extremely popular for their two
satirical novels: The Twelve Chairs and
its sequel, The Little Golden Calf. The
two texts are connected by their main
character, Ostap Bender, a con man in
pursuit of elusive riches.
Both books follow exploits of Bender and
his associates looking for treasure
amidst the contemporary Soviet reality.
They were written and are set in the
relatively liberal era in Soviet
history, the New Economic Policy of the
1920s. The main characters generally
avoid contact with the apparently lax
law enforcement. Their position outside
the organized, goal-driven, productive
Soviet society is emphasized. It also
gives the authors a convenient platform
from which to look at this society and
to make fun of its less attractive and
less Socialist aspects. These are among
the most widely read and quoted books in
Russian culture. The Twelve Chairs was
adapted for popular films both in the
USSR and in the U.S. (by Mel Brooks in
the latter).
The two writers also traveled across the
Depression-era USA. Ilf took many
pictures throughout the journey, and the
authors produced a photo essay entitled
"American Photographs," published in
Ogonyok magazine. Shortly after that
they published the book Одноэтажная
Америка; literally: "One-storeyed
America", translated as Little Golden
America (an allusion to The Little
Golden Calf). The first edition of the
book did not include Ilf's photographs.
Both the photo essay and the book
document their adventures with their
characteristic humor and playfulness.
Notably, Ilf and Petrov were not afraid
to praise many aspects of the American
lifestyle in these works. The title
comes from the following description.
America is primarily a one-and two-story
country. The majority of the American
population lives in small towns of three
thousand, maybe five, nine, or fifteen
thousand inhabitants.
Ilf died of tuberculosis shortly after
the trip to America; Petrov died in a
plane crash in 1942 while he was
covering the Eastern Front.
