1. Biography of Yakov Kostyukovsky
2. Early Life and Education
3. Career
4. He is buried in the Vvedenskoye Cemetery (Section 3).
5. His daughter, Inna Kostyukovskaya, is a bibliographer.
6. Recognition and Awards
7. Medal "For the Defense of Moscow."
8. Order "Peacekeeper" 1st class (2007).

Biography of Yakov Kostyukovsky

Yakov Kostyukovsky was a Soviet and Russian satirical writer, screenwriter, poet, playwright, journalist, and war correspondent. He is known as one of the authors of three famous films by Leonid Gaidai - "Operation Y and Other Shurik's Adventures," "Caucasian Prisoner, or Shurik's New Adventures," and "The Diamond Arm."

Early Life and Education

Yakov Kostyukovsky was born on August 23, 1921, in Zolotonosha, Ukraine. Shortly after his birth, his family moved to Kharkiv, where he attended school and spent his childhood and adolescence. His father, Aron Yakovlevich Kostyukovsky, was an accountant who fought in World War I and was awarded the Order of St. George. His mother, Sofia Gilevna Kostyukovskaya (nee Slepakova), came from a family that owned a mill in Zolotonosha.

Kostyukovsky began writing satirical poems and epigrams while in school and attended a literary studio at the Kharkiv Palace of Pioneers, led by the prose writer N.P. Trublaini. He studied at the Literature Faculty of the Institute of Foreign Languages (1939-1941), where he met his future wife.

Career

In 1940, Kostyukovsky served in the army in the newly annexed territories of Western Ukraine. He was published in newspapers and magazines, making his debut in 1941 with a feuilleton in "Ogoniok" magazine, after which he focused primarily on satire. He was close friends with his classmates Semyon Gudzenko and David Samoylov. At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, he began working for "Komsomolskaya Pravda" and simultaneously served as the responsible secretary for the military youth magazine "Smena," and later in the front department of "Komsomolskaya Pravda." After being conscripted into the army, he served as the responsible secretary of the divisional newspaper "For the Motherland!" and later in the newspaper "Krasny Voin" of the Moscow Military District. After demobilization, he returned to "Komsomolskaya Pravda," where he supervised the culture department and introduced the satire and humor section "Amazing, but True."

Starting from 1945, Kostyukovsky published satirical stories and feuilletons in the magazines "Krokodil" and "Perez." In 1947, while still working at the newspaper, he focused almost entirely on literary work. Together with Emil Krotky, he performed in oral almanacs called "Laughter is a Serious Matter." During the campaign against cosmopolitanism, he was dismissed from "Komsomolskaya Pravda" and devoted himself to literary work.

Since 1948, he collaborated with Vladlen Bakhnov, writing feuilletons, satirical poems, plays, scripts, and sketches for variety artists and circus performers. In December 1952, he was accepted into the Union of Soviet Writers. From 1963, he worked in collaboration with Morris Slobodsky. He published several books and co-wrote the screenplay for the operetta "Two Days of Spring" based on the works of I.O. Dunaevsky. Together with M. Slobodsky and L. Gaidai, he wrote the scripts for three most famous comedies - "Operation Y and Other Shurik's Adventures," "Caucasian Prisoner," and "The Diamond Arm."

Kostyukovsky was the author of the book of satirical poems "Men's Conversation" (1965) and a collection of comedic film scripts "It's Good to Live. And to Live Well is Even Better" (1998). On April 8, 2011, he was admitted to the Botkin Hospital in Moscow in critical condition. On April 11, he passed away due to a myocardial infarction.

He is buried in the Vvedenskoye Cemetery (Section 3).

Family

Yakov Kostyukovsky's wife was Esther Grigorievna Sukhar (1920-1999), a graduate of the History Faculty of the Institute of Foreign Languages.

His daughter, Inna Kostyukovskaya, is a bibliographer.

His first cousin is Semen Slepakov's great-grandfather.
Political Views

In 1993, Kostyukovsky signed "Letter of the 42" (an open letter in defense of freedom of speech). In 2010, he supported the appeal against posters with Stalin in Moscow.

Recognition and Awards

Order of Honor (April 27, 2002) - for many years of fruitful activity in the field of culture and art, significant contribution to the strengthening of friendship and cooperation between nations.

Medal "For the Defense of Moscow."

Medal "For Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945."

"Venets" Award (for achievements in literature, public work in the upbringing of youth, and the promotion of artistic literature) (2005).

Order "Peacekeeper" 1st class (2007).

Producer