Kozma Petrovich Prutkov () is a fictional author invented by

Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy Count Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy (; – ), often referred to as A. K. Tolstoy, was a Russian poet, novelist, and playwright. He is considered to be the most important nineteenth-century Russian historical dramatist, primarily on account o ...

(1817-1875) and his cousins, the brothers Alexei Zhemchuzhnikov (1821–1908), (1830–1884) and (1826–1896), during the later part of the rule (1825–1855) of Emperor

Nicholas I of Russia Nicholas I, group=pron (Russian language, Russian: Николай I Павлович; – ) was Emperor of Russia, List of rulers of Partitioned Poland#Kings of the Kingdom of Poland, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 18 ...

. The four distinguished satirical poets used this

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

as a collective

pen-name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

to publish parody

aphorism An aphorism (from Greek ἀφορισμός: ''aphorismos'', denoting 'delimitation', 'distinction', and 'definition') is a concise, terse, laconic, or memorable expression of a general truth or principle. Aphorisms are often handed down by tra ...

fable Fable is a literary genre defined as a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals, legendary creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that are anthropomorphized, and that illustrates or leads to a parti ...

s, and

epigram An epigram is a brief, interesting, memorable, sometimes surprising or satirical statement. The word derives from the Greek (, "inscription", from [], "to write on, to inscribe"). This literary device has been practiced for over two millennia ...

s, as well as satire, satiric, humorous and nonsense verses in the 1850s and 1860s, most notably in the literary magazine ''

Sovremennik ''Sovremennik'' ( rus, «Современник», p=səvrʲɪˈmʲenʲːɪk, a=Ru-современник.ogg, "The Contemporary") was a Russian literary, social and political magazine, published in Saint Petersburg in 1836–1866. It came out f ...

'' (The Contemporary). According to the (fictional) ''Biographical data on Kozma Prutkov'', Prutkov, allegedly born on April 11, 1803, died on January 13, 1863. He worked for the government of the

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 ...

his entire adult life, and in 1820 entered military service as a

hussar A hussar, ; ; ; ; . was a member of a class of light cavalry, originally from the Kingdom of Hungary during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely adopted by light cavalry ...

only for the uniform. He worked at the Assay Office (Пробирная Палата) from 1823 until his death, ending up as its director.

Quotations

These are some of the best-known and most cited quotations from Prutkov: * "Throwing pebbles into the water, look at the ripples they form on the surface. Otherwise this activity will be an empty amusement." * "If you have a fountain, shut it down. Let even a fountain have a rest." * "If you see a "buffalo" sign on an elephant's cage, do not trust your eyes." * "If ever asked: What's more useful, the sun or the moon, respond: The moon. For the sun only shines during daytime, when it's bright anyway, whereas the moon shines at night." ** This aphorism is usually associated with Mullah Nasruddin. * "If you want to be happy, be so." ** Frequently misattributed to Count

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy Tolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; ,Throughout Tolstoy's whole life, his name was written as using Reforms of Russian orthography#The post-revolution re ...

. * "If you want to be handsome, enroll in the

Hussars A hussar, ; ; ; ; . was a member of a class of light cavalry, originally from the Kingdom of Hungary during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely adopted by light cavalry ...

." * "How pathetic is any constitution at sight of well-kept ammunition!" * "Even an oyster has enemies" ** Often quoted as "Even oysters have enemies" ** E.g. Barbara Heldt Monter: Kozma Prutkov - the Art of Parody. Mouton 1973, p. 58 or

Jack Nicholson John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American retired actor and filmmaker. Nicholson is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of the 20th century, often playing rebels fighting against the social structure. Over his five-de ...

at the 2010

AFI Life Achievement Award The AFI Life Achievement Award was established by the board of directors of the American Film Institute on February 26, 1973, to honor a single individual for their lifetime contribution to enriching American culture through motion pictures and ...

ceremony for

Mike Nichols Mike Nichols (born Igor Mikhail Peschkowsky; November 6, 1931 – November 19, 2014) was an American film and theatre director and comedian. He worked across a range of genres and had an aptitude for getting the best out of actors regardless of ...

(without naming the author Kozma Prutkov)youtube.com
** (Original Russian: И устрица имеет врагов! - No. 86 in: Плоды раздумья - Мысли и афоризмы), ru.wikisource.) * "One cannot hatch the same egg twice." * "Many things are incomprehensible to us, not because our concepts are weak, but because these things are not in the circle of our concepts."

References

External links

Kozma Prutkov's ''Fruits of Reflection'' (1853-1854)

Neck by Kozma Prutkov

To friends after marriage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prutkov, Kozma Collective pseudonyms Fictional Russian people Fictional writers Russian parodists Russian satirical poets Russian male writers Writing groups and collectives