Eduard Uspensky

Eduard Uspensky
Born	Eduard Nikolayevich Uspensky (1937-12-22) December 22, 1937 Yegoryevsk, Soviet Union
Occupation	novelist, presenter
Alma mater	Moscow Aviation Institute
Period	1960–present
Genre	children's literature

Eduard Nikolayevich Uspensky (Russian: Эдуа́рд Никола́евич Успе́нский; born December 22, 1937) is a Russian writer and author of several children's books. Among his most beloved characters are a serious but adventurous boy known, for his serious disposition, by the sardonic nickname of Uncle Fyodor (Дядя Фёдор), from Uncle Fyodor, His Dog and His Cat; and the anthropomorphic duo of Crocodile Gena (Крокодил Гена) and Cheburashka (Чебурашка), featured in a children's novel by Uspensky about the adventures of the two animal friends.

Biography

Uspensky was born in Yegoryevsk, in Moscow Oblast. After graduating as an engineer, he earned his living by writing and producing animations.

Besides writing and producing, Uspensky has enjoyed a professional role as a long-lasting figure in radio and television: he was instrumental in the creation of the popular radio programme Radio Nanny (Радионяня; Radionyanya), produced with the aim of featuring songs and humorous dialogue as integral elements of an educational radio programme explaining concepts in grammar, mathematics, scientific subjects, and courteous behaviour to children. In recent years, he has been working as host of the musical TV show V Nashu Gavan' Zahodili Korabli, dedicated to bringing old popular songs, performed by talented amateur singers, to nostalgic older audiences.

In addition to children's books, Uspensky's creative output also includes plays and poems.

Uspensky's work in literature

Uspensky's first book about Uncle Fyodor, Uncle Fyodor, His Dog and His Cat, was first published in Russian in 1974. The main character is a six-year-old boy who is called Uncle Fyodor because he is very serious. After his parents don't let him keep Matroskin, a talking cat, Uncle Fyodor leaves his home. With the dog Sharik, the three set up a home in the country, a village called Prostokvashino (Простоквашино, from the Russian for buttermilk, Простоквашa). After finding a treasure, Uncle Fyodor can afford to buy a tractor that runs on soup and potatoes, and a portable sun to do the heating during the winter. The book was made into a successful animated film, Three from Prostokvashino (and its two sequels). Uspensky continued with Uncle Fyodor in other books which have not, however, been as successful.

Selected books

• Crocodile Gena and His Friends (1966)
• Uncle Fyodor, His Dog and His Cat (1974)
• The Little Warranty People (1975)

External links

• Official website (Russian)
• Eduard Uspensky at the Internet Movie Database