Russian Cartonist Boris Efimov 1900-2008
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Boris Efimov
Boris Efimov
Born September 28 [O.S. September 15] 1900
Kiev, Russian Empire
Died October 1, 2008 (aged 108)
Moscow, Russia
Occupation Political cartoonist and propaganda artist
Boris Efimovich Efimov (Russian: Борис Ефимович Ефимов) (28 September
[O.S. 15 September] 1900 - 1 October 2008) was a Soviet and Russian
political cartoonist and propaganda artist best known for his
political caricatures of Adolf Hitler and other Nazis produced before
and during the Second World War, and currently the chief artist of the
newspaper Izvestia.
Contents [hide]
1 Early life
2 Career
3 Gallery
4 References
5 External links
[edit] Early life
He was born in Kiev as Boris Fridlyand, the second son of a Jewish
shoemaker. Shortly after his birth, his family moved to Białystok,
where he grew up alongside his older brother Mikhail. During the First
World War, his family fled the advancing German armies and returned to
Kiev, where he pursued legal studies, only to be interrupted by the
October Revolution when he was drafted into the Kievian Red Army
dealing with subsequent turmoil.[citation needed] He began to express
his emotions through caricatures of politicians, the first of which
were published in 1919 and circulated in the Kievian Red Army.
[edit] Career
From 1920 to 1921, Efimov designed posters and brochures for the
communist organisation Agitprop, finally moving to Moscow after his
brother, who worked as an editor for Pravda, offered him a job drawing
political cartoons. His artistic talent, directed mainly against the
"capitalist west", gained him prominence, and his work started
appearing in such titles as Izvestia, Krokodil and Ogonyok, a magazine
founded by his brother Mikhail Koltsov (1898-1940). 1924 saw the
publication of his first book, Politicheskiye Karikatury, which
included a foreword from Leon Trotsky, a risky move considering
Stalin's antipathy. It therefore met with initial disapproval from the
publisher, Yuri Steklov, who would later pay with his life for not
having Trotsky's words removed. As the 1920s waned, Efimov managed to
avoid Stalin's wrath by portraying Trotsky as a traitor and fascist,
despite their friendship.
Following the war, he traveled to the Nuremberg Trials with the task
of caricaturizing the Nazi defendants. He was then ordered to poke fun
at the Western powers in what was transforming into the Cold War. He
went on to become the chief editor at Agitprop, and cooperated with
Pravda until the 80s. He published an autobiography, Moi Vek, for his
centennial, and currently resides in Moscow.
He received USSR State Prizes in 1950 and 1951 and was named People's
Painter of the USSR in 1967.
In a 2005 interview with the Russian TV Yefimov, recalled his
experiences in Petrograd during the Russian Revolution, admitting that
he had changed his real name in order to dissimulate his Jewish
origins. While his name seems to be best known in English as "Efimov",
an alternative transliteration of "Yefimov" is also sometimes used
(and is much closer to the true sound of his name in Russian).
In 2008, at 108 years old, Boris Efimov is still working, primarily
writing memoirs and drawing friendly cartoons. Also, he still accepts
active participation in public life: he acts at whatever possible
memorials and anniversary meetings, soirees and actions there are. On
September 28, 2007, his 107th birthday, he was appointed to a post of
the chief artist of the Izvestia newspaper.
J.D. Baldwin
In the previous article, <jayp...@aol.com> wrote:
> Occupation Political cartoonist and propaganda artist
> Boris Efimovich Efimov
I really admire a lot of WW II and Cold War era Russian propaganda
poster art. Efimov's stuff doesn't do a whole lot for me, but judge
for yourself:
http://www-cvr.ai.uiuc.edu/~slazebni/personal_page/scrapbook/images/chained_apollo_boris_efimov_1947.jpg
http://www.iisg.nl/today/en/02-08.php
http://www.vor.ru/culture/cultarch138_eng.html
http://www.michaelnelsonbooks.com/b_5.htm
http://www.russianamericanculture.com/Galleries/Virtual_Exhibitions/Boris_Efimov/
--
_+_ From the catapult of |If anyone objects to any statement I make, I am
_|70|___:)=}- J.D. Baldwin |quite prepared not only to retract it, but also
\ / bal...@panix.com|to deny under oath that I ever made it.-T. Lehrer
***~~~~----------------------------------------------------------------------
Charlene
wrote:
> In the previous article, <jaypay...@aol.com> wrote:
>
> > Occupation Political cartoonist and propaganda artist
> > Boris Efimovich Efimov
>
> I really admire a lot of WW II and Cold War era Russian propaganda
> poster art. Efimov's stuff doesn't do a whole lot for me, but judge
> for yourself:
>
> http://www.iisg.nl/today/en/02-08.php
> http://www.vor.ru/culture/cultarch138_eng.html
> http://www.michaelnelsonbooks.com/b_5.htm
> --
> _+_ From the catapult of |If anyone objects to any statement I make, I am
> _|70|___:)=}- J.D. Baldwin |quite prepared not only to retract it, but also
> ***~~~~----------------------------------------------------------------------
His name is often rendered as "Yefimov", since that's how it's
pronounced.
wd44
Louis Epstein
: On Oct 1, 7:06?am, INVALID_SEE_...@example.com.invalid (J.D. Baldwin)
: wrote:
:> In the previous article, ?<jaypay...@aol.com> wrote:
:>
:> > Occupation Political cartoonist and propaganda artist
:> > Boris Efimovich Efimov
:>
:> I really admire a lot of WW II and Cold War era Russian propaganda
:> for yourself:
:>
:> ? ?http://www-cvr.ai.uiuc.edu/~slazebni/personal_page/scrapbook/images/c...
:> ? ?http://www.iisg.nl/today/en/02-08.php
:> ? ?http://www.vor.ru/culture/cultarch138_eng.html
:> ? ?http://www.michaelnelsonbooks.com/b_5.htm
:> ? ?http://www.russianamericanculture.com/Galleries/Virtual_Exhibitions/B...
:> --
:> ? _+_ From the catapult of |If anyone objects to any statement I make, I am
:> _|70|___:)=}- J.D. Baldwin |quite prepared not only to retract it, but also
:> ***~~~~----------------------------------------------------------------------
:
: His name is often rendered as "Yefimov", since that's how it's
: pronounced.
:
: wd44
That's how it appeared on my ever-dwindling List of the Prominent Aged.
-=-=-
The World Trade Center towers MUST rise again,
at least as tall as before...or terror has triumphed.