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Uncle Styopa ( rus, Дядя Стёпа, p=ˈdʲædʲə ˈstʲɵpɐ), also known as Dyadya Stepa, Uncle Steeple and Tom the Tower, is a series of poems written by
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 ...
n children's poet
Sergey Mikhalkov Sergey Vladimirovich Mikhalkov (; 27 August 2009) was a Soviet and Russian author of children's books and satirical fables. He wrote the lyrics for the State Anthem of the Soviet Union, Soviet and National anthem of Russia, Russian national anthe ...
. They were written in
trochaic tetrameter In English poetry, trochaic tetrameter is a meter featuring lines composed of four trochaic feet. The etymology of ''trochaic'' derives from the Greek ''trokhaios'', from the verb ''trecho'', meaning ''I run''. In modern English poetry, a troc ...
. The poems featured a brave and noble '' militsioner'' (a
policeman A police officer (also called policeman or policewoman, cop, officer or constable) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, ''police officer'' is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of ...
) who was unusual due to his extreme height. The name of the protagonist of the series was Stepan Stepanov (), or Styopa, which is a
diminutive A diminutive is a word obtained by modifying a root word to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment, and sometimes to belittle s ...
of the Russian given name Stepan. He performed various acts of good will, such as rescuing people, preventing train crashes, helping
firefighter A firefighter (or fire fighter or fireman) is a first responder trained in specific emergency response such as firefighting, primarily to control and extinguish fires and respond to emergencies such as hazardous material incidents, medical in ...
s, stopping a
school bully School bullying, like bullying outside the school context, refers to one or more perpetrators who have greater physical strength or more social power than their victim and who repeatedly act aggressively toward their victim. Bullying can be ver ...
or working as a police officer for the Soviet
Militsiya ''Militsiya'' ( rus, милиция, 3=mʲɪˈlʲitsɨjə, 5=, ) were the police forces in the Soviet Union until 1991, in several Eastern Bloc countries (1945–1992), and in the Non-Aligned Movement, non-aligned Socialist Federal Republic ...
. Styopa is a wise, brave, generous, noble, fun-loving character. He fights against injustice and serves as an inspiration to the pioneers. It was largely due to this set of poems, among others written during the 1930s in the
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 ...
, that Mikhalkov achieved fame and garnered admiration from the Soviet population. His popularity was phenomenal. Uncle Styopa's face was almost instantly associated with the face of the author. Sergey Mikhalkov himself looked like a tall athlete, and the first illustrators of the poem pictured Uncle Styopa with Mikhalkov's face. More than 250 million copies of the poems have been sold.


Publication

The first poem ''Uncle Styopa'' was published in the 7th issue of '' The Pioneer'' magazine in 1935. It introduced the character of Stepan Stepanov. In 1936 the poem was included in Sergey Mikhalkov's first collection of poems. The same year it was published as a single volume by Detizdat, with illustrations by A. Kanevsky. Boris Galanov wrote that Sergey Mikhalkov initially showed the poem to
Samuil Marshak Samuil Yakovlevich Marshak (alternative spelling: Marchak) (; 4 July 1964) was a Soviet writer of Belarusian Jewish origin, translator and poet who wrote for both children and adults. He translated the sonnets and some other of the works of Willi ...
, who approved of it and inspired Mikhalkov to continue working on the series, and it was the only reason that Mikhalkov didn't think of ''Uncle Styopa'' a passing episode in his career. The next poem ''Uncle Styopa The Militsioner'' () was released in 1954. It was published in the 20th issue of ''The Pogranichnik'', and in ''
Pionerskaya Pravda ''Pionerskaya Pravda'' (Пионе́рская пра́вда) is an all-Russian newspaper. Initially it was an all-Union newspaper of the Soviet Union. Its name may be translated as "Truth for Young Pioneers". History The newspaper was foun ...
'' (as of 10 December 1954), illustrated by E. Shcheglov. It was also published in the 12 December issues of the magazines ''Novy Mir'' and ''The Pioneer'' illustrated by V. Suteev. In 1955 it was released as a single volume by Detgiz with the illustrations of G. Mazurin. In the
preface __NOTOC__ A preface () or proem () is an introduction to a book or other literature, literary work written by the work's author. An introductory essay written by a different person is a ''foreword'' and precedes an author's preface. The preface o ...
to ''The Pioneers edition Mikhalkov revealed that he decided to come back to the character after 19 years because of an accidental meeting with some police officer in Moscow: "Fifteen years ago I got my
driver's license A driver's license, driving licence, or driving permit is a legal authorization, or the official document confirming such an authorization, for a specific individual to operate one or more types of motorized vehicles—such as motorcycles, ca ...
and since then I've been a driver. Once, while driving on the street in Moscow, I committed a traffic offence. I stopped my car in the wrong place, at the
footpath A footpath (also pedestrian way, walking trail, nature trail) is a type of thoroughfare that is intended for use only by pedestrians and not other forms of traffic such as Motor vehicle, motorized vehicles, bicycles and horseback, horses. They ...
. I was approached by a police officer. Imagine my surprise when I saw my "uncle Styopa" in the uniform. The officer was very tall, the tallest of all the officers I have seen in my life! Very politely, in a civilized manner, Uncle Styopa asked me to show my driver's license and never to violate rules of the road again. I apologized and promised to be careful next time. We got into conversation. It turned out that Uncle Styopa served in the Navy before becoming a police officer. I was amazed at this! My Uncle Styopa, the character I wrote about nineteen years ago in a fun poem for the children, served in the Navy too! <…> And now I've decided to write a sequel to my fun little book." The third poem ''Uncle Styopa and Yegor'' () was published in ''
Pravda ''Pravda'' ( rus, Правда, p=ˈpravdə, a=Ru-правда.ogg, 'Truth') is a Russian broadsheet newspaper, and was the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, when it was one of the most in ...
'' on 27 December 1968. It was released as a single volume by
Detskaya Literatura Detskaya Literatura (, lit. "Children's Literature"), formerly Detgiz and Detizdat, is a Soviet and Russian publishing house for children's literature. It was established on September 9, 1933 by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union on the basi ...
in 1969, with illustrations by Yuvenaliy Korovin. It introduced Styopa's son named Yegor, "a new
Heracles Heracles ( ; ), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a Divinity, divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of ZeusApollodorus1.9.16/ref> and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive descent through ...
" whose
birth weight Birth weight is the body weight of a baby at their birth. The average birth weight in babies of European and African descent is , with the normative range between . 15% of babies born in 2012 had a low birth weight and 14.7% in 2020. It is pro ...
was 8 kg. In the
preface __NOTOC__ A preface () or proem () is an introduction to a book or other literature, literary work written by the work's author. An introductory essay written by a different person is a ''foreword'' and precedes an author's preface. The preface o ...
Mikhalkov explained that the idea came to him when he visited the kindergarten to speak in front of the children. He was asked to read ''Uncle Styopa''. After that a boy came up to him and asked if Uncle Styopa had any children. Mikhalkov did not know how to reply, because it was "hard to say no", and he decided to write about Uncle Styopa's son. The final poem ''Uncle Styopa The Veteran'' () was published in ''Pravda'' on 1 June 1981, and in the 10th issue of ''
Murzilka ''Murzilka'' () is a popular Soviet/Russian illustrated magazine for 7-13 year old children. It has been published since May 1924. History and profile At the end of the 19th century, the Canadian illustrator and writer Palmer Cox created a cyc ...
'' (1981). It was released as a single volume by
Detskaya Literatura Detskaya Literatura (, lit. "Children's Literature"), formerly Detgiz and Detizdat, is a Soviet and Russian publishing house for children's literature. It was established on September 9, 1933 by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union on the basi ...
in 1985, with illustrations by Yuvenaliy Korovin. Also, a poem was published in 1940, called "Uncle Styopa in the Red Army" (Дядя Стёпа в Красной Армии), telling of Styopa's participation in the
Polish campaign The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak Republic, and the Soviet ...
. The poem was heavily laden with wartime propaganda, and had fallen into obscurity.


Plot

''Uncle Styopa'' begins with the description of a "gigantic" man Stepan (Styopa), nicknamed "
Fire Tower A fire lookout tower, fire tower, or lookout tower is a tower that provides housing and protection for a person known as a " fire lookout", whose duty it is to search for wildfires in the wilderness. It is a small building, usually on the summit ...
" due to his height. The first part of the poem focuses on Styopa's struggles with his height, e.g. he cannot enjoy shooting galleries in amusement parks because he can easily touch the targets with his hand. He wears 45th size boots and always buys the trousers "of previously unheard width". He orders double portions for lunch, does not fit into a bed, and has to sit on the floor at the cinema. However Styopa is a kind person and "all children's best friend". He rescues a drowning boy and saves pigeons from a burning house by reaching for the attic and opening the window. Styopa decides that he has always wanted to serve the country, and joins the Navy. ''Uncle Styopa'' ends with his return on
shore leave Shore leave is the leave that professional sailors get to spend on dry land. It is also known as "liberty" within the United States Navy, Coast Guard, and Marine Corps. During the Age of Sail, shore leave was often abused by the members of the ...
. He tells stories "about the war, about the bombings, about the big battleship ''Marat''" to the pioneers. Children change his nickname to "
Lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...
". In ''Uncle Styopa The Militsioner'' Styopa, the former
Starshina ( rus, Старшина, p=stərʂɨˈna, a=Ru-старшина.ogg or ) is a senior military rank or designation in the military forces of some Slavs, Slavic states, and a historical military designation. Depending on a country, it had differen ...
in the Navy, joins the Soviet militsiya, because he thinks that "it is important". He's respected by adults and children alike. He continues to help people: when a small boy loses his mother at the train station, Styopa lifts the child and he sees his mother in the crowd. When one of the
traffic light Traffic lights, traffic signals, or stoplights – also known as robots in South Africa, Zambia, and Namibia – are signaling devices positioned at intersection (road), road intersections, pedestrian crossings, and other locations in order t ...
s breaks down and this creates a traffic jam, the Road Traffic Control Department (ORUD) officer asks for Styopa's advice. Styopa reaches the light with his hand and fixes it. This earns him another nickname, "Traffic Light". He also earns the first prize in a
speed skating Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in travelling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long-track speed skating, short-track speed skating, and marathon speed skat ...
competition, making the Militsiya proud. In ''Uncle Styopa and Yegor'' Styopa's wife Manya gives birth to a son named Yegor. His birth weight is 8 kg. The poem follows his childhood as he makes first steps, goes to school. Yegor is not as tall as his father, but he is exceptionally strong. He is a model student who gets good marks at school, plays sports, "eats
soft-boiled eggs Boiled eggs are typically from a chicken, and are cooked with their shells unbroken, usually by immersion in boiling water. Hard-boiled or hard-cooked eggs are cooked so that the egg white and egg yolk both solidify, while soft-boiled eggs may l ...
for breakfast", and prevents arguments among classmates. As he gets older Yegor becomes famous due to his strength. At the age of 20 he wins the European
Weightlifting Weightlifting or weight lifting generally refers to physical exercises and sports in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells, barbells or machines. People engage in weightlifting for a variety of different reasons. These can ...
competition and beats the European record by lifting 330 kg. He later wins the gold medal at the
Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...
. His dream is, however, to "fly among the stars". In the end of the poem he goes through the
cosmonaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a List of human spaceflight programs, human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member of a spa ...
training. In ''Uncle Styopa The Veteran'' Styopa is a
pensioner A pensioner is a person who receives a pension, most commonly because of retirement from the workforce. This is a term typically used in the United Kingdom (along with OAP, initialism of old-age pensioner), Ireland and Australia where someone of p ...
. He enjoys life, plays with children, and travels to France to see the
Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower from 1887 to 1889. Locally nicknamed "''La dame de fe ...
. His granddaughter (Yegor's daughter) is born. Mikhalkov concludes the poem saying that logically Styopa "has to, unfortunately, pass away sooner or later", but "every reader knows" that the character will never get old and die.


Adaptations


1939 film

A 1939 black-and-white animated film ''Uncle Styopa'' was directed by
Vladimir Suteev Vladimir Grigorevich Suteev () (5 July 1903 – 10 March 1993) was a Russian author, artist and animator who primarily wrote stories for children. He was among the founders of the Soviet animation industry. Suteev's books have been translated ...
and produced at the
Soyuzmultfilm Soyuzmultfilm ( rus, Союзмультфи́льм, p=səˌjʉsmʊlʲtˈfʲilʲm , ''Unioncartoon'') (also known as SMF Animation Studio in English, formerly known as Soyuzdetmultfilm, ''Unionchildcartoon'') is a Russian animation studio, produ ...
, with a script written by Nikolay Aduyev. The music was composed by Alexey Kamin. Among the animators were
Boris Dyozhkin Boris Petrovich Dyozhkin (; – 13 March 1992) was a Soviet animator, animation and art director, as well as a caricaturist, book illustrator and educator at Soyuzmultfilm. He was a member of ASIFA, and was named Honored Art Worker of the RSFSR i ...
,
Faina Yepifanova Faina may refer to: *Faina, Goiás, Brazil *Ukrainian ship MV ''Faina'' *Fainá, fainâ, or farinata, pancake of chickpea flour People with the given name * Faina Chiang Fang-liang, née Ipat'evna Vakhreva (1916–2004), First Lady of the Republ ...
, Lidiya Reztsova,
Fyodor Khitruk Fyodor Savelyevich Khitruk (3 December 2012) was a Soviet and Russian animator, animation director, screenwriter and pedagogue. Biography Khitruk was born in Tver into a Jewish family. He came to Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capit ...
, Anna Shchekalina. It was one of the earliest Soyuzmultfilm's animated films.


1964 film

''Uncle Styopa The Militsioner'' was adapted into the popular animated film with the same name in 1964, also known as ''Uncle Stiopa the Militiaman''. It was directed by Ivan Aksenchuk and art director Leonid Shvartsman with the music composed by Aleksandr Lokshin. Among the animators were Anatoly Abarenov, Boris Butakov, Mikhail Botov, Yury Butyrin,
Alexander Davydov Alexander Davydov or Aleksandr Davydov may refer to: * (1937–2012), Soviet and Russian animator *Aleksandr Davydov (footballer) *Alexander Davydov (physicist), Soviet and Ukrainian physicist *Alexander Davydov (singer) (1872–1944), Russian and ...
, Sergey Dyozhkin Lidiya Reztsova, and
Konstantin Chikin The first name Konstantin () is a derivation from the Latin name '' Constantinus'' (Constantine) in some European languages, such as Bulgarian, Russian, Estonian and German. As a Christian given name, it refers to the memory of the Roman emperor ...
. Voice cast: * Valentina Sperantova as Narrator *
Vladimir Troshin Vladimir Konstantinovich Troshin (; 15 May 1926 – 25 February 2008) was a Soviet and Russian film and theater actor and singer. In 1951, at the age of 25, for his portrayal of a rural inventor in the play ''Second Love'' at the Moscow Art Theat ...
as Uncle Styopa *
Sergey Tseits Sergey may refer to: * Sergey (name), a Russian given name (including a list of people with the name) * Sergey, Switzerland Sergey is a municipality in the district of Jura-Nord Vaudois in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. History Sergey is f ...
as the Road Traffic Control Department officer; the school bully; crowd *
Klara Rumyanova Klara Mikhailovna Rumyanova (; 8 December 1929 – 18 September 2004) was a Soviet and Russian actress, voice actress and singer. She was active from 1951 to 1999. Her childlike and endearing voice was easily recognized by generations of Soviet ...
as children; shop assistant; the woman on the street * Yulia Yulskaya as the old woman * Margarita Korabelnikova as children


Other adaptations

Two
filmstrip The filmstrip is a form of still image instructional Media (communication), media, once widely used by educators in primary and secondary schools (K–12) and for corporate presentations (e.g., sales training and new product introductions). ...
s were released by the Diafilm (Диафильм) studio. The first, ''Uncle Styopa'', was created by Yevgeniy Migunov in 1963. The second, ''Uncle Styopa The Militsioner'', was created by Migunov and released in 1966. There was a candy named "Uncle Styopa" in the USSR and Russia. There are three sculptures of the character, in
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
by Alexander Rozhnikov, in
Prokopyevsk Prokopyevsk ( rus, Прокопьевск, p=prɐˈkopʲjɪfsk) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Kemerovo Oblast, Russia. Population: History It was founded in 1918 as the settlement of Prokopyevsky () from the existing vill ...
by Konstantin Zinich and in
Samara Samara, formerly known as Kuybyshev (1935–1991), is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast in Russia. The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara (Volga), Samara rivers, with a population of over 1.14 ...
by
Zurab Tsereteli Zurab Konstantinovich Tsereteli ( ka, ზურაბ კონსტანტინეს ძე წერეთელი, tr'';'' 4 January 1934 – 22 April 2025) was a Georgian painter, sculptor and architect known for large-scale and at ti ...
. The video game '' Militsioner'' is loosely based on the Uncle Styopa story. It features a fictional dystopian Soviet town guarded by a gigantic policeman that the player character has to evade and escape from the town.


References


External links

* {{commons category-inline, Uncle Styopa Children's poetry Russian poems Fictional police officers Characters in children's literature Characters in poems Male characters in literature Fictional Russian people in literature Fictional Soviet Army personnel Fictional Soviet Navy personnel Literary characters introduced in 1935 1935 poems 1935 in Russia Russian children's literature Fictional characters with gigantism Fictional World War II veterans Olympic Games in fiction Poems adapted into films