Yevgeny Petrov: Odessa humorist and co-author of The Twelve Chairs
Early Years

Yevgeny Petrov (born Kataev) was born on 13 December 1902 in Odessa, into the family of Pyotr Vasilyevich Kataev, a schoolteacher. He was the younger brother of the writer Valentin Kataev.

Petrov spent his childhood and youth in Odessa, attending the city's 5th Boys' Gymnasium, from which he graduated in 1920. During these years, he formed a close friendship with Alexander Kozachinsky, who would later become the inspiration for a character in the novella The Green Van.

Odessa and His First Professions

After completing his education, Yevgeny Petrov tried his hand at several professions. He worked as a correspondent for the Ukrainian Telegraph Agency and served in Odessa's criminal investigation department, taking part in the arrest of suspected criminals.

In 1922, he personally arrested his friend Kozachinsky, who had become the leader of a criminal gang. Petrov later helped secure a review of his friend's case and a reduction of his sentence.

The Beginning of His Journalistic Career

In 1923, Yevgeny Kataev moved to Moscow, where he began working as a journalist. He contributed to the satirical magazine Krasny Perets (Red Pepper) and, from 1926, to the newspaper Gudok (The Whistle).

It was during this period that he adopted the literary pseudonym Yevgeny Petrov and established himself as a feuilletonist and humorist.

His elder brother, Valentin Kataev, played an important role in encouraging his literary ambitions. Valentin's wife later recalled:

"I have never seen such affection between brothers as there was between Valya and Zhenya. In fact, it was Valya who made his brother write. Every morning he would begin by calling him — Zhenya woke up late and would start swearing because he had been disturbed... 'All right, keep swearing,' Valya would say, and hang up."

Collaboration with Ilya Ilf

In 1927, Petrov entered the most important period of his literary career when he began collaborating with Ilya Ilf. Together, they wrote one of the most celebrated novels of Soviet literature, The Twelve Chairs (1928).

The partnership continued with The Golden Calf (1931), the satirical stories set in the fictional town of Kolokolamsk, the novella A Bright Personality, and numerous other works that brought the two writers widespread recognition.

Their distinctive combination of sharp observation, absurdist humour, and social satire established Ilf and Petrov as one of the most influential literary partnerships of their generation.

Ilya Ilf and Yevgeny Petrov, 1932. Photograph by Eleazar Langman.

Mature Works and Travels

During the 1930s, Ilf and Petrov were actively involved in satirical journalism, publishing feuilletons in Pravda, Literaturnaya Gazeta, and the satirical magazine Krokodil.

They travelled extensively throughout the Soviet Union, Europe, and the United States. Their journey across America resulted in Little Golden America (1936), one of their best-known collaborative works.

Yevgeny Petrov and Ilya Ilf’s wife, Maria Nikolaevna.

Alongside his literary work, Petrov was actively involved in screenwriting, theatre, and cinema.

Bibliography of Yevgeny Petrov
● The Joys of Megas (1926)● Without a Report (1927)● At War (1942)● Frontline Diary (1942)● The Air Coachman: Screenplays (1943)● Island of Peace (1947) — play● Journey to the Land of Communism — unfinished novel● Screenplays by Yevgeny Petrov● Screenplay for a Sound Film (1933) — co-written with Ilya Ilf; never produced● Circus (1936) — co-written with Ilya Ilf and Valentin Kataev, although they were not credited; directed by Grigoriy Aleksandrov● A Musical Story (1940) — co-written with Georgy Munblit; directed by Alexander Ivanovsky and Herbert Rappaport● Anton Ivanovich Is Angry (1941) — co-written with Georgy Munblit; directed by Alexander Ivanovsky● The Air Coachman (1943) — directed by Herbert Rappaport

Final Years and Literary Legacy

In 1937, the celebrated literary partnership of Ilf and Petrov came to an end with the death of Ilya Ilf.

Petrov continued his literary and editorial career, working for the magazines Ogonyok and Krokodil, writing screenplays and wartime essays, and serving as a war correspondent during the Soviet–Finnish War and the Second World War.

Between 1939 and 1942, he worked on the novel Journey to the Land of Communism, imagining life in the Soviet Union in 1963. The novel remained unfinished, and excerpts were published posthumously in 1965.

During the Second World War, Petrov became a frontline correspondent. In the summer of 1941, after sending his wife and children to safety, he moved into Moscow's Hotel Moskva, which had become an informal residence for journalists, writers, and other members of the creative intelligentsia during the war.

His elder brother Valentin Kataev also moved into the hotel. Together, the brothers began working for the Soviet Information Bureau (Sovinformburo), preparing reports for the American news agency NANA (North American Newspaper Alliance).

Yevgeny Petrov was killed on 2 July 1942 when the aircraft carrying him from Novorossiysk back to Moscow was shot down by a German fighter over the Rostov region, near the village of Mankovo. A memorial was later erected at the crash site.

Petrov was married to Valentina Leontievna Grünseid, who came from a family of Russian Germans. They had two sons: Pyotr Kataev, who became a cinematographer, and Ilya Kataev, a composer.

Remembrance

Yevgeny Petrov's collaboration with Ilya Ilf produced some of the most enduring works of twentieth-century satirical literature.

Their novels have inspired numerous film and theatrical adaptations, while the unforgettable character of Ostap Bender and the fictional world of The Twelve Chairs have secured a lasting place in literary and popular culture.

Petrov's legacy extends beyond his celebrated partnership with Ilf. As a journalist, screenwriter, editor, and war correspondent, he helped shape the literary and cultural landscape of his time, leaving behind a body of work distinguished by wit, imagination, and a keen eye for the absurdities of human life.