Viktor Viktorovich Bilibin (, 2 February 1859,

Saint Petersburg 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 ...

Imperial Russia Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor/empress, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * ...

, — 25 June 1908, Saint Petersburg) was a Russian writer and

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

, one of the leading Russian humourists and

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 ...

s of the late 19th century, who used the pen name I. Grek (И. Грэк). His best-known stories were collected in the books ''Love and Laughter'' (Любовь и смех, 1882), ''Humour and Fantasy'' (Юмор и фантазия, 1897) and ''Humorous Patterns'' (Юмористические узоры, 1898).Katayev, V.B
Chekhov and His Literary Friends
// Чехов и его литературное окружение. Изд-во Моск. ун-та, 1982. After Nikolai Leykin's death he became the editor-in-chief of ''

Oskolki ''Fragments'' () was a Russian humorous, literary and artistic weekly magazine published in St Petersburg from 1881 to 1916. History From 1881 to 1906 ''Fragments'' was published by the popular writer Nikolay Leykin. From 1906 to 1908 it was run ...

'' (1906—1908). Bilibin was a friend of

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; ; 29 January 1860 – 15 July 1904) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer, widely considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his b ...

, whom he corresponded with for 15 years (since 1885). The two co-authored at least one humorous sketch "Motley Fairytales" (Пёстрые сказки, ''Novaya Gazeta'', 1886), signed The Two Ajaxes (Два Аякса). Chekhov admired Bilibin's sketches, referred to him as 'great talent'Shatalov, S. E
Antosha Chekhonte and Viktor Bilibin
// ''Шаталов С. Е.'' Два таланта (Антоша Чехонте и Виктор Билибин)] // Чехов и его время. — Чехов и его время. М.: Наука, 1977. С. 20 – 38. and cited him as an early influence. Bilibin authored several humorous plays; they were produced by

Alexandrinsky Theatre The Alexandrinsky Theatre () or National Drama Theatre of Russia is a theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The Alexandrinsky Theatre was built for the Imperial troupe of Petersburg (Imperial troupe was founded in 1756). Since 1832, the theatre ...

, as well as numerous provincial troupes, but failed to impress the critics.

Alexander Amfiteatrov Alexander Valentinovich Amfiteatrov (); (26 December 1862 – 26 February 1938) was a Russian writer, novelist, and historian. Biography Born a priest's son in Kaluga, Russian Empire, he was trained as a lawyer but became a journalist and pop ...

commented: "This man had been created for subtle, intelligent irony but in the long run chose to serve the primitive, guttural laughter. And he lost his gift of a humorist."The Triznas by A. Amfiteatrov // Амфитеатров А. Тризны.-- С. 152Bilibin's biography
at the Russian Writers. Biobibliographical Dictionary // Русские писатели. Биобиблиографический словарь. Т. 1. А—Л. — Под редакцией П. А. Николаева. — М.: «Просвещение», 1990

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bilibin, Viktor Satirists from the Russian Empire Journalists from the Russian Empire Writers from Saint Petersburg 1859 births 1908 deaths