Uncle Styopa

Uncle Styopa

The poem Uncle Styopa was first published in the journal Pioneer (1935, No. 7), and in 1936 it was included in the poet's first collection of poems. A separate book was first published by the Detizdat in 1936 with illustrations by A. Kanevsky . Further illustrations were created by G. Mazurin , V. Moroz, D. Dubinsky , K. Rotov , I. Kesh , V. Suteev , Yu. Korovin and others.

"Uncle Styopa" is the first work of the cycle in which acquaintance with the good, positive character Uncle Styopa takes place.

In his book about Sergei Mikhalkov, Boris Galanov writes:

He (Mikhalkov) brought the future famous “Uncle Styopa” to Marshak’s court. Marshak liked the poem ... <...> Remembering the trip to Leningrad, Mikhalkov later often repeated himself that if he did not consider his Uncle Styopa to be a random episode in literary work and continued to work after him for the young reader, this was the merit of his first “ godfather "Marshak.

- Galanov B. Sergey Mikhalkov. - M., 1972. - S. 7

"Uncle Styopa - Policeman"

The poem Uncle Styopa is a policeman was first published in the journal Border Guard (1954, No. 20), the newspaper Pionerskaya Pravda (1954, December 10) with drawings by E. Shcheglov , and also in the magazines Novy Mir (1954, No. 12), “Pioneer” (1954, No. 12) with drawings by V. Suteev . A separate book was first published in Detgiz (M., 1955) with drawings by G. Mazurin.

In the preface to the poem in the journal "Pioneer" S. Mikhalkov writes:

Fifteen years ago, I got the rights of an amateur driver and since then I have been driving a car myself. Once I made a violation on one of the streets of Moscow: I stopped my car in the wrong place, on the sidewalk on a footpath. A policeman approached me. Imagine my surprise when I saw my uncle Styopa, only in police uniform. He was a very tall policeman. Above all the policemen I've ever seen in my life!

Uncle Styopa politely, politely asked me to show my driver’s license and asked me to never again violate the rules of the road . I apologized and promised him to be more careful next time. We met and talked. It turned out that before becoming a policeman, Uncle Styopa served in the Navy. This surprised me even more. My uncle Styopa, about whom I wrote a fun poem for children nineteen years ago, also served in the Navy! <...> And now I decided to write a continuation of my funny book - a poem about Uncle Styopa, a policeman.

- J. "Pioneer" No. 12, December 1954

At the competition of works on police, announced by the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs, the poem was awarded the second prize.

"Uncle Styopa and Egor"

The poem Uncle Styopa and Yegor was first published in the newspaper Pravda (1968, December 27). In 1969 she published a separate book in the publishing house " Children's Literature " with drawings by Y. Korovin .

About the idea of ​​the appearance of the poem "Uncle Styopa and Yegor" Sergei Mikhalkov says this:

I, friends, will tell you right away:
This book is by order.
I came to kindergarten,
I speak with the guys.
- Read Uncle Styopa,
The choir asks for the first row.
I read the book to the guys
I didn’t have time to sit down,
The boy rises:
- Do Styopa have children?
What will I say to him in response?
It’s hard to answer: no.

Uncle Styopa is a Veteran

The final part of Uncle Styopa is a Veteran ^[1] was published in the newspaper Pravda (June 1, 1981), in the magazine Murzilka (1981, No. 10).

"Uncle Styopa in the Red Army"

In 1940, in the “Young Collective Farmer” (No. 5), the now-unknown part of the cycle - “Uncle Styopa in the Red Army”, in which Uncle Styopa participates in the liberation of Poland and goes into battle “at the ready” with the Soviet border pillar, appeared. ^[2]

• Wife - Manya (Maroussia)
  • Son - Egor Stepanovich Stepanov - an exemplary boy. Born in winter in the morning, very large (8 kg). He did not inherit gigantism from his father, however, he is a shoulder player and is very strong. Since childhood, he is distinguished by tremendous physical strength, he won the world championship in lifting the bar, an Olympic champion, a pilot-cosmonaut. Presumably will fly to Mars
  • Daughter-in-law, Egor's wife - not named
    • Granddaughter, daughter of Yegor - not named

• On the occasion of the 60th birthday of Mikhalkov, Nikolai Tikhonov writes in Literaturnaya Gazeta :

As a beautiful peak rises his poetic trilogy "Uncle Styopa". She has no equal, like her kind hero - a giant, with a decisive kind and fair character, able to be cheerful, wise, brave, generous, noble, loving a joke and not enduring injustice.

- Literary newspaper of March 14, 1973

• The Rossiyskaya Gazeta in an obituary S. Mikhalkov notes:

His fame among children and adults began instantly with the appearance of the kind giant Uncle Styopa , brave and generous, noble, saving people and preventing the wreck of trains with one movement of his hand. This image immediately became associated with the appearance of the author himself, a high hero: the first illustrators of the poem even portrayed her hero with the face of Sergei Mikhalkov. "Uncle Styopa" was translated into the languages ​​of all republics. The popularity of Sergei Mikhalkov as a children's writer was truly phenomenal. The total circulation of his books today is more than 250 million copies. None of today's best-selling authors can boast of such print runs.

- “ Rossiyskaya Gazeta ” - Central issue No. 4985 (161) dated August 28, 2009 ^[3]

In animation

• 1939 - Uncle Styopa ( Soyuzmultfilm studio ; scriptwriters S. Mikhalkov , N. Aduev ; directors V. Suteev , Lamis Bredis)
• 1964 - “ Uncle Styopa is a policeman ” (film studio “Soyuzmultfilm”; director I. Aksenchuk , artist L. Shvartsman )

In the theater

• 1967 - musical performance "Uncle Styopa" ( Moscow Regional Theater of Young Spectators ) ^[4]

In Fine Art

• Monument to Uncle Styopa. Sculptor - Alexander Rozhnikov ( Moscow , Locksmith Lane , in front of the traffic police department of the Moscow Region) ^[5]
• Monument to Uncle Styopa. Sculptor - Konstantin Zinich ( Prokopyevsk , Kemerovo region ) ^[6]
• Monument to Uncle Styopa. Sculptor - Zurab Tsereteli ( Samara , Leningradskaya street )

Miscellaneous

• In 1963, the filmstrip Uncle Styopa (artist E. Migunov ) was released at the Filmstrip studio ^[7] .
• In 1966, the filmstrip "Uncle Styopa - a policeman" (artist E. Migunov) was released at the "Filmstrip" studio ^[8] .
• In 1982, at the All-Union Recording Studio “Melody” , the record “Uncle Styopa” was released (read by Nikolai Litvinov , artist V. Kuzmin), which includes audio versions of all four poems.
• Confectionery factories of the USSR and Russia produced candy "Uncle Styopa" ^[9] .