Evgeny Lvovich Schwartz (, ,

Kazan Kazan; , IPA: Help:IPA/Tatar, ɑzanis the largest city and capital city, capital of Tatarstan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka (river), Kazanka Rivers, covering an area of , with a population of over 1. ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

, January 15, 1958,

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

) was a Soviet writer and playwright, whose works include twenty-five plays, and screenplays for three films (in collaboration with Nikolai Erdman).

Life

Early life

Evgeny Schwartz was born in

, Russia, into a physician's family. His father was

baptized Baptism (from ) is a Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by sprinkling or pouring water on the head, or by immersing in water either partially or completely, traditionally three ...

and was of Jewish origin and his mother Russian. In 1910 he studied law at

Moscow University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, and six branches. Al ...

, where he also became involved in theater and poetry. He was drafted into the army at the end of 1916 to serve on the front. After the

Bolshevik Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of two revolutions in Russia in 1917. It was led by Vladimir L ...

he joined the

Whites White is a racial classification of people generally used for those of predominantly European ancestry. It is also a skin color specifier, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, ethnicity and point of view. De ...

and served under general Kornilov. He suffered injuries and shell-shock during the storming of Yekaterinodar in 1918, lost several teeth and acquired a tremor of the hands that plagued him for the rest of his life. After the end of Russian Civil War, Schwartz studied theater in

Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East European Plain on the Don River, from the Sea of Azov, directly north of t ...

. In 1921 he moved with the theater troupe to

Petrograd Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

, becoming involved with the " Serapion Brothers," a literary group including Ivanov, Zoshchenko and Kaverin. In 1923 he moved to Bakhmut and began to publish satirical verse and reviews in the local newspaper. With Mikhail Slonimsky and Nikolay Oleynikov, he organized the literary magazine ''Slaughter'' in 1925.

Career

In 1924, Schwartz returned to Leningrad to become an employee of Gosizdat, Children's Department of State Publishing House, under the administration of Samuil Marshak. He became an author of the children's magazines ''Hedgehog'' and ''Siskin''. He also wrote children's books, including ''The Story of Old Balalaika'' (1924), ''The Adventures of Shura and Marousi'' (1937), ''Alien Girl'' (1937) and ''First Grader'' (1949). During this time, he also became associated with members of the avant-garde literary group OBERIU. In 1929 Evgeny Schwartz began collaborating with Nikolay Akimov at the Leningrad Comedy Theater, writing contemporary plays based on the folk and fairy tales of

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogue (literature), travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fai ...

. These included ''Golyi korol'' (''The Emperor's New Clothes'') (1934), ''Krasnaya Shapochka'' (''Little Red Riding Hood'') (1936), ''Zolushka'' (''Cinderella'') (1938), ''Snezhnaya Koroleva'' (''The Snow Queen'', after

) (1938), ''Tyen'' (''The Shadow'', after Hans Christian Andersen) (1940), ''Drakon'' (''The Dragon'', an original) (1944), and ''Obyknovennoye Chudo'' (''An Ordinary Miracle'') (1956). At the beginning of World War II, Schwartz wrote ''Under the Linden Trees of Berlin'' (1941) with Zoschenko. During the war, he wrote ''One Night'' and ''The Far Country''. After the war, Schwartz wrote ''An Ordinary Miracle'' and ''The Tale of the Brave Soldiers''. Schwartz's adaptations of ''

The Snow Queen "The Snow Queen" () is an 1844 original fairy tale by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. It was first published 21 December 1844 in ''New Fairy Tales. First Volume#New Fairy Tales. First Volume. Second Collection, New Fairy Tales. First Vo ...

'' and ''The Shadow'' were adapted as movies in 1966 and 1971. He also completed film scripts for ''

Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...

'', ''First Grader'', ''Don Quixote'' and ''Ordinary Miracle''. During

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

's campaign against the so-called " rootless cosmopolitans" (Jews), from 1952 to 1954 his plays were not accepted for production by theatres. After 20th Congress of the CPSU baseless criticism has ceased. He died in Leningrad.

Plays

''The Dragon''

In 1944, Schwartz completed the satirical play ''The Dragon'', which was seen as subversive in the political climate of post-war Russia. The play tells the story of the knight

Lancelot Lancelot du Lac (French for Lancelot of the Lake), alternatively written as Launcelot and other variants, is a popular character in the Matter of Britain, Arthurian legend's chivalric romance tradition. He is typically depicted as King Arthu ...

, who sets out to slay the dragon. However, in his quest, he stumbles on a community governed by a bureaucratic hierarchy using the dragon to cover their own use of power. In 1985 an opera based on the play was composed by the Swiss composer Jost Meier and a filmed version, '' To Kill a Dragon'', was produced in 1988. This play, the most "mature" of Schwartz's plays, is a political satire aimed at

totalitarianism Totalitarianism is a political system and a form of government that prohibits opposition from political parties, disregards and outlaws the political claims of individual and group opposition to the state, and completely controls the public s ...

in all forms. The plot is based on the attempt of the hero, Lancelot, to liberate people in a land suffering under Dragon's brutal rule. But his efforts meet with resistance, since most of the people have gotten used to the Dragon and considered his methods, though harsh, the only possible way; their souls become, in a way, crippled with this inability and unwillingness to resist. Says the Dragon in the play: "You see, the human soul is very resilient. Cut the body in half — and the man croaks. But tear the soul apart — and it only becomes more pliable, that's all. No, really, you couldn't pick a finer assortment of souls anywhere. Only in my town. Souls with no hands. Souls with no legs. Mute souls, deaf souls, chained souls, snitch souls, damned souls." Lancelot killing the Dragon in a fight did not free the people; all that changed was the Burgomaster acceding to the position formerly occupied by the Dragon and demanding that Elsa, the same girl who was destined to be sacrificed to the Dragon, become his wife. When Lancelot returns to the town a year later, he realizes that his task is much more complex: "This is going to be a very meticulous job... We have to kill the dragon in each one of them."

''An Ordinary Miracle''

This is a romantic and philosophical parable on love and relationship between the creator and his creation. This play was made into films in

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

and in

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

Filmography

Written by Schwartz

* '' Doctor Aybolit'' (1938) * '' A Winter Tale'' (animated, 1945) * ''

'' (1947) * '' First-Year Student'' (1948) * ''

Don Quixote , the full title being ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'', is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, the novel is considered a founding work of Western literature and is of ...

'' (1957) * '' The Magic Weaver'' (1960)

Based on Schwartz's works

* '' Cain XVIII'' (1963) * '' An Ordinary Miracle'' (1964) * '' Tale About the Lost Time'' (1964) * ''

'' (1967) * ''

The Shadow The Shadow is a fictional character created by American magazine publishers Street & Smith and writer Walter B. Gibson. Originally created to be a mysterious radio show narrator and developed into a distinct literary character in 1931 by Gibs ...

'' (1971) * '' An Ordinary Miracle'' (1978) * '' Tale About the Lost Time'' (animated, 1978) * '' Die verzauberten Brüder'' (TV, 1978) * '' To Kill a Dragon'' (1989) * '' The Shadow, or, Maybe It's All Right'' (1991) * "The Two Brothers", an episode of ''

Animated Tales of the World ''Animated Tales of the World'' is a 2001 animated cartoon, animated series that aired on HBO and S4C. It was produced by Children's Television Trust International and Christmas Films for S4C and Channel 4. The series is an anthology series ada ...

'' (animated, 2001) * '' A New Year Adventure of Two Brothers'' (animated, 2004)

Famous quotations

From ''The Emperor's New Clothes'': :Lady of the Court: "Yesterday I was so anxious, my husband fainted." From ''The Dragon'': :Heinrich: "It's not my fault, I was taught that way." :Lancelot: "Everyone was, but why did you have to be first in class?" From ''Cinderella'': :Cinderella: "It's bad for your health not to go to the ball when you deserve it." From ''Cinderella'': :Young Page: "I'm not a wizard yet, I am only a pupil." From ''The Snow Queen'': :Chieftainess of the highwaymen gang: "Children ought to be spoiled. Only then do they grow up into true bandits." From ''The Ordinary Miracle'' :King: "Why? Why? Because I'm a foolish despot, that's why!"

References

External links

* Rea
''The Dragon''
*
Biography
*
''The Dragon'' by Contemporary Art Theater, Minsk, 2021
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schwartz, Evgeny 1896 births 1958 deaths Writers from Kazan Moscow State University alumni Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Russian male screenwriters Eastern Orthodox Christians from Russia Russian people of Jewish descent Russian children's writers Russian male dramatists and playwrights Russian male novelists Russian satirists Soviet children's writers Soviet dramatists and playwrights Soviet male poets Soviet novelists Soviet screenwriters Soviet male screenwriters Burials at Bogoslovskoe Cemetery