Boris Efimov
Encyclopedia
Boris Yefimovich Yefimov was a Soviet
political
cartoon
ist best known for his critical political caricature
s of Adolf Hitler
and other Nazis produced before and during the Second World War
, and was the chief illustrator of the newspaper Izvestia
. During his 90-year career he produced more than 70,000 drawings.
as Boris Fridlyand (Friedland), the second son of a Jewish
shoemaker. His father was Yefim Moiseyevich Fridlyand (1860–1945); his mother was Rakhil Savelyevna (1880–1969). Shortly after his birth, his family moved to Białystok, where he grew up alongside his older brother Mikhail (who became the famous journalist Mikhail Koltsov
, arrested during the Great Purge
and executed in 1940). During the First World War
, his family fled the advancing German armies and returned to Kiev, where he pursued legal studies. He began to express his emotions through caricatures of politicians, the first of which were published in 1919 and circulated in the Kievian Red Army.
, finally moving to Moscow in 1922 after his brother, who worked as an editor for Pravda
, offered him a job drawing political cartoons. His artistic talent, directed mainly against the West
, gained him prominence, and his work started appearing in such titles as Izvestia, Krokodil
and Ogonyok
, a magazine founded by his brother Mikhail Koltsov (1898–1940). The year 1924 saw the publication of his first book, Political Cartoons , which included a foreword by Leon Trotsky
.
Following the war, Yefimov traveled to the Nuremberg Trials
with the task of caricaturing the Nazi defendants. He was then ordered to poke fun at the Western powers in what was transforming into the Cold War
. He went on to become the chief editor of Agitprop
, and cooperated with Pravda
until the 1980s. He published an autobiography, Moy Vek (My Century), for his centennial, and resided in Moscow
.
Yefimov received the USSR State Prize
s in 1950 and 1951 and was named People's Painter of the USSR
in 1967. In 2002 he became chief of the Political Propaganda Department of the Russian Academy of Arts.
In a 2005 interview with Russian TV, Yefimov recalled his experiences in Petrograd
during the Russian Revolution
, admitting that he had changed his real name in order to dissimulate his Jewish origins.
On September 28, 2007, his 107th birthday, he was appointed to the post of the chief artist of the Izvestia
newspaper. In 2008, Yefimov was still working, primarily writing memoir
s and drawing friendly cartoons. Also, he was active in public life: he attended memorials and anniversary meetings, soirees and other functions up until his death in Moscow on October 1, 2008, only three days after what was initially reported as his 108th birthday; his age was subsequently reported as 109 based on information from his family. Boris Yefimov is buried in Novodevichy Cemetery
.
Yefimov was a cousin of the famous Soviet photographer and journalist Semyon Fridlyand.
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
political
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
cartoon
Cartoon
A cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...
ist best known for his critical political caricature
Caricature
A caricature is a portrait that exaggerates or distorts the essence of a person or thing to create an easily identifiable visual likeness. In literature, a caricature is a description of a person using exaggeration of some characteristics and oversimplification of others.Caricatures can be...
s of Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
and other Nazis produced before and during the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and was the chief illustrator of the newspaper Izvestia
Izvestia
Izvestia is a long-running high-circulation daily newspaper in Russia. The word "izvestiya" in Russian means "delivered messages", derived from the verb izveshchat . In the context of newspapers it is usually translated as "news" or "reports".-Origin:The newspaper began as the News of the...
. During his 90-year career he produced more than 70,000 drawings.
Early life
Yefimov was born in KievKiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
as Boris Fridlyand (Friedland), the second son of a Jewish
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
shoemaker. His father was Yefim Moiseyevich Fridlyand (1860–1945); his mother was Rakhil Savelyevna (1880–1969). Shortly after his birth, his family moved to Białystok, where he grew up alongside his older brother Mikhail (who became the famous journalist Mikhail Koltsov
Mikhail Koltsov
Mikhail Efimovich Koltsov , born Mikhail Efimovich Fridlyand , was a Soviet journalist.-Biography:...
, arrested during the Great Purge
Great Purge
The Great Purge was a series of campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union orchestrated by Joseph Stalin from 1936 to 1938...
and executed in 1940). During the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, his family fled the advancing German armies and returned to Kiev, where he pursued legal studies. He began to express his emotions through caricatures of politicians, the first of which were published in 1919 and circulated in the Kievian Red Army.
Career
From 1920 to 1921, Yefimov designed posters and brochures for the communist organisation AgitpropAgitprop
Agitprop is derived from agitation and propaganda, and describes stage plays, pamphlets, motion pictures and other art forms with an explicitly political message....
, finally moving to Moscow in 1922 after his brother, who worked as an editor for Pravda
Pravda
Pravda was a leading newspaper of the Soviet Union and an official organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party between 1912 and 1991....
, offered him a job drawing political cartoons. His artistic talent, directed mainly against the West
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
, gained him prominence, and his work started appearing in such titles as Izvestia, Krokodil
Krokodil
Krokodil was a satirical magazine published in the Soviet Union. It was founded in 1922. At that time, a large number of satirical magazines existed, such as Zanoza and Prozhektor...
and Ogonyok
Ogonyok
Ogoniok is one of the oldest weekly illustrated magazines in Russia, issued since . It was re-established in the Soviet Union in 1923 by Mikhail Koltsov....
, a magazine founded by his brother Mikhail Koltsov (1898–1940). The year 1924 saw the publication of his first book, Political Cartoons , which included a foreword by Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky , born Lev Davidovich Bronshtein, was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and theorist, Soviet politician, and the founder and first leader of the Red Army....
.
Following the war, Yefimov traveled to the Nuremberg Trials
Nuremberg Trials
The Nuremberg Trials were a series of military tribunals, held by the victorious Allied forces of World War II, most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political, military, and economic leadership of the defeated Nazi Germany....
with the task of caricaturing the Nazi defendants. He was then ordered to poke fun at the Western powers in what was transforming into the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
. He went on to become the chief editor of Agitprop
Agitprop
Agitprop is derived from agitation and propaganda, and describes stage plays, pamphlets, motion pictures and other art forms with an explicitly political message....
, and cooperated with Pravda
Pravda
Pravda was a leading newspaper of the Soviet Union and an official organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party between 1912 and 1991....
until the 1980s. He published an autobiography, Moy Vek (My Century), for his centennial, and resided in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
.
Yefimov received the USSR State Prize
USSR State Prize
The USSR State Prize was the Soviet Union's state honour. It was established on September 9, 1966. After the breakup of the Soviet Union, the prize was followed up by the State Prize of the Russian Federation....
s in 1950 and 1951 and was named People's Painter of the USSR
People's Artist of the USSR
People's Artist of the USSR, also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to citizens of the Soviet Union.- Nomenclature and significance :...
in 1967. In 2002 he became chief of the Political Propaganda Department of the Russian Academy of Arts.
In a 2005 interview with Russian TV, Yefimov recalled his experiences in Petrograd
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
during the Russian Revolution
Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...
, admitting that he had changed his real name in order to dissimulate his Jewish origins.
On September 28, 2007, his 107th birthday, he was appointed to the post of the chief artist of the Izvestia
Izvestia
Izvestia is a long-running high-circulation daily newspaper in Russia. The word "izvestiya" in Russian means "delivered messages", derived from the verb izveshchat . In the context of newspapers it is usually translated as "news" or "reports".-Origin:The newspaper began as the News of the...
newspaper. In 2008, Yefimov was still working, primarily writing memoir
Memoir
A memoir , is a literary genre, forming a subclass of autobiography – although the terms 'memoir' and 'autobiography' are almost interchangeable. Memoir is autobiographical writing, but not all autobiographical writing follows the criteria for memoir set out below...
s and drawing friendly cartoons. Also, he was active in public life: he attended memorials and anniversary meetings, soirees and other functions up until his death in Moscow on October 1, 2008, only three days after what was initially reported as his 108th birthday; his age was subsequently reported as 109 based on information from his family. Boris Yefimov is buried in Novodevichy Cemetery
Novodevichy Cemetery
Novodevichy Cemetery is the most famous cemetery in Moscow, Russia. It is next to the 16th-century Novodevichy Convent, which is the city's third most popular tourist site. It should not be confused with the Novodevichy Cemetery in Saint Petersburg....
.
Family
Yefimov was married twice. His first wife was Rosaliya Borisovna Koretskaya (1900–1969). After his death he left one son, Efimov Mikhail Borisovitch (born in 1929), a grandson, and two great grandchildren.Yefimov was a cousin of the famous Soviet photographer and journalist Semyon Fridlyand.
See also
External links
- 1998 Interview for Red Files, a PBS Documentary
- Three days before his death (video at his 108th birthday)
- Picture at 107
- Picture at 106
- At his 107th birthday (video 1)
- At his 107th birthday (video 2)
- Photos through his life 1 (1908–present)
- Photos through his life 2 (1908–present)
- Stalin Thought of You—2009 motion picture about Boris Yefimov
