Mikhail Mikhaylovich Zhvanetsky (; 6 March 1934 – 6 November 2020) was a Soviet writer,

satirist This is an incomplete list of writers, cartoonists and others known for involvement in satire – humorous social criticism. They are grouped by era and listed by year of birth. Included is a list of modern satires. Early satirical authors *Aes ...

and

performer The performing arts are The arts, arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which involve the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art ob ...

of Jewish origin, best known for his shows targeting different aspects of the

Soviet 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 ...

and post-Soviet everyday life.

Biography

Zhvanetsky was born in

Odesa Odesa, also spelled Odessa, is the third most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern ...

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...

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 ...

. Zhvanetsky was born into the family of doctors Mane (Emmanuel) Moiseevich Zhvanetsky and Raisa Yakovlevna Zhvanetskaya. His father was a surgeon and his mother was a dentist. With the beginning of the

Great Patriotic War The Eastern Front, also known as the Great Patriotic War (term), Great Patriotic War in the Soviet Union and its successor states, and the German–Soviet War in modern Germany and Ukraine, was a Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II ...

, his father was drafted into the army as a medical worker and received the

Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star () was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 1930 but its statute was only defined in decree of the Presidium of the ...

in 1942. The family returned to Odessa from evacuation after the liberation of the city in 1944. Mikhail Zhvanetsky studied at secondary school 118 for boys. He continued his studies at the Odessa National Maritime University. He began his literary activity by writing plays and monologues for the Odessa amateur theater “Parnas-2”, which he founded together with his friend Victor Ilchenko. In 1964 Raikin invited him to join his troupe as head of the literary section. He then began to read his works on stage, first at the Odessa Philharmonic, then at the Hermitage Theatre. He joined the

Union of Soviet Writers The Union of Soviet Writers, USSR Union of Writers, or Soviet Union of Writers () was a creative union of professional writers in the Soviet Union. It was founded in 1934 on the initiative of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (1932) a ...

in 1978 and wrote several books. In 1988, he founded the Theater of Miniatures in the

Tverskoy district Tverskoy District ( rus, Тверской район, p=tvʲɪrˈskoj, a=Ru-Тверской.ogg) is a administrative divisions of Moscow, district of Central Administrative Okrug of the federal cities of Russia, federal city of Moscow, Russia. P ...

of Moscow, where he was artistic director. In 2001, his writings were published in a four-volume collection. From 2002 to 2019, he hosted the monthly humorous program ''“Guardian of'' the Country” on the TV channel “

Russia 1 Russia-1 () is a state-owned Russian television channel, first aired on 14 February 1956 as Programme Two in the Soviet Union. It was relaunched as RTR on 13 May 1991, and is known today as Russia-1. It is the flagship channel of the All-Russia ...

”. His monologues and sketches were performed by

Arkady Raikin Arkady Isaakovich Raikin (; – 17 December 1987) was a Soviet stand-up comedian, stage and film actor, theater director, screenwriter and satirist. He led the school of Soviet and Russian humorists for about half a century. He is the father of ...

, Roman Kartsev and Viktor Ilchenko. Died in Moscow at the age of 86. Buried at the

Novodevichy Cemetery Novodevichy Cemetery () is a cemetery in Moscow. It lies next to the southern wall of the 16th-century Novodevichy Convent, which is the city's third most popular tourist site. History The cemetery was designed by Ivan Mashkov and inaugurated ...

Awards and honors

Zhvanetsky was granted the following honorary titles and decorated with the following orders: *

People's Artist of Russia People's Artist of the Russian Federation (, ''Narodnyy artist Rossiyskoy Federatsii''), also sometimes translated as National Artist of the Russian Federation, is an honorary and the highest title awarded to citizens of the Russian Federation ...

(2012) * People's Artist of Ukraine (народний артист України), 1999. * Meritorious Artist of the Russian Federation (Заслуженный деятель искусств Российской Федерации), 2001 * Merited Artist of the

Autonomous Republic of Crimea The Autonomous Republic of Crimea is a ''de jure'' administrative division of Ukraine encompassing most of Crimea that was unilaterally annexed by Russia in 2014. The Autonomous Republic of Crimea occupies most of the peninsula,Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

(заслужений діяч мистецтв Автономної Республіки Крим), 2002 *

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Order of Merit for the Fatherland Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * ...

, fourth class, by President Medvedev on Zhvanetsky's 75th birthday in 2009. * President of the International Club of Odesa *

Order of Friendship of Peoples The Order of Friendship of Peoples () was an order of the Soviet Union, and was awarded to persons (including non-citizens), organizations, enterprises, military units, as well as administrative subdivisions of the USSR for accomplishments in s ...

(1994) * Independent prize "Triumph" (1994) * Member of the Writers' Union (1978–1991) * Honorary Citizen of Odesa (1994) * Member of the Presidium of the Russian Jewish Congress * Breastplate of the Foreign Ministry of Russia "for contribution to international cooperation" Boulevard of the Arts in Odesa was renamed Boulevard Zhvanetsky (5 April 2009). A

minor planet According to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), a minor planet is an astronomical object in direct orbit around the Sun that is exclusively classified as neither a planet nor a comet. Before 2006, the IAU officially used the term ''minor ...

, 5931 Zhvanetskij, discovered on

April 1 Events Pre-1600 * 527 – Byzantine Emperor Justin I names his nephew Justinian I as co-ruler and successor to the throne. * 1081 – Alexios I Komnenos overthrows the Byzantine emperor Nikephoros III Botaneiates, and, after his tro ...

, 1976, is named after him (using different transliteration of the surname).(5931) Zhvanetskij
Minor Planet Center. International Astronomical Union.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zhvanetsky, Mikhail 1934 births 2020 deaths Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery Recipients of the title of People's Artists of Ukraine Honored Artists of the RSFSR Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples Entertainers from Odesa Odesa Jews Russian satirists Jewish Russian comedians Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 4th class People's Artists of Russia Russian male comedians