“Smart Masha. Where did the expression "Smart Masha" come from?

Smart That is, smart enough not to show off your intelligence. I’ll explain it scientifically: there are three semantic fields in which people communicate. The first is “external”. When they discuss what they see around: nature, weather, food, architecture, etc. The second is “internal”: they talk about

Smart Masha is a character who was invented in the 1930s by the creators of the famous magazines “Chizh” and “Hedgehog”, published under the Leningrad “Detgiz”. It was an era of amazing prosperity of Soviet children's literature: the publishing house was headed by Samuil Marshak, Daniil Kharms, Nikolai Oleinikov, Evgeniy Shvarts, Nikolai Zabolotsky, Mikhail Zoshchenko, Alexander Vvedensky collaborated on Chizh and Hedgehog. They became the “parents” of Smart Masha, and Bronislav Malakhovsky drew her, using his daughter as a prototype.

Smart Masha is a character who was invented in the 1930s by the creators of the famous magazines “Chizh” and “Hedgehog”, published under the Leningrad “Detgiz”. It was an era of amazing prosperity of Soviet children's literature: the publishing house was headed by Samuil Marshak, Daniil Kharms, Nikolai Oleinikov, Evgeniy Shvarts, Nikolai Zabolotsky, Mikhail Zoshchenko, Alexander Vvedensky collaborated on Chizh and Hedgehog. They became the “parents” of Smart Masha, and Bronislav Malakhovsky drew her, using his daughter as a prototype. This tireless inventor was destined to become the calling card of the Chizh magazine and the heroine of the first Russian comics. In the anniversary edition, published in the year of the 75th anniversary of Detgiz, all the unique materials about Smart Masha are collected under one cover for the first time. Even three-year-old children will enjoy humorous stories in pictures, and adults will find in the book articles about the creation of the legendary character, about the fate of “Chizh” and “Detgiz”. There are also tragic pages in this story (whether to tell children about them - each reader will decide for himself): in 1937 they stopped publishing Kharms, then the editorial office of Chizh was closed. Oleynikov, Malakhovsky, Kharms, Vvedensky die one after another. So the biography of a fictional girl with pigtails became part of the difficult history of our homeland. The book “Smart Masha” is conceived as an expression of gratitude from today’s employees of Detgiz to those who stood at its origins.

"Never in Russia, neither before nor after,
there were no such sincerely cheerful ones,
truly literary,
childishly naughty children's magazines"
(N.K. Chukovsky about the magazines "Hedgehog" and "Chizh")

The history of the expressions “smart Masha” or “like Smart Masha” goes back to the 30s of the last century. Having collected a glass of beans, which determined my level of “Machism”, I left, like smart Masha, very interested in who this resourceful girl was, who knew beyond her years how to live and make the difficult Soviet life easier. And I thought even more about the fate of those who invented this miracle with two pigtails, which became the idol of Soviet boys and girls for several decades.

In a word, having pressed the virtual button of a virtual time machine in my imagination, I am already cheerfully taking off to the fifth floor of our St. Petersburg, oh, sorry, Leningrad, “house crowned with a globe” - yes, yes, the Singer House, or the House of Books. It was here, right under the globe, that the editorial office of the children's magazines "Ezh" and "Chizh" was located, with two windows overlooking the Griboedov Canal, two on Nevsky Prospekt. Even from the third floor, I can hear how it seems even the walls of the strong Singer House are shaking with laughter - through the slightly open door to the editorial office loud voices, jokes, sparkling epigrams are heard, and all this is accompanied by bursts of laughter from the employees. What is this? Serious editing? Yes, editors. But by no means serious.

And rightly so! Should pundits write magazines for children?

Samuil Marshak in the late 20s - early 30s. of the last century rallied around itself a magnificent galaxy of talented writers and artists, adult men and women - real creators with an uncontrollable flight of children's imagination. N. Chukovsky, the son of Korney Chukovsky, who was himself one of the employees at that time, recalled: " This entire fifth floor shook with laughter every day and during all working hours. Some visitors to the children's department were so weak from laughter that, having finished their business, they went out onto the staircase, holding their hands to the walls, like drunken people.".
And this constant laughter only increased the fantasy, imagination, wit, and creative potential of children's writers. After all, books and magazines for children should be fun, not boring and academic.

N. Gernet, editor-in-chief of Chizh, recalls: “ The editors were funny. Writers and artists came as if they were at home, sat all day, told stories, read, invented, staged literary pranks and hoaxes. It was almost impossible for us, the editorial staff, to deal directly with the magazine. But we caught poems, topics, thoughts that could be useful to the magazine; worked when the hungry writers went to lunch".

Yes, and what creators gathered then under the globe of the House of Books on Nevsky! Just unbelieveble! Gold list: N. Oleinikov, E. Schwartz, I. Andronikov, D. Kharms, A. Vvedensky, B. Zhitkov, V. Bianki, M. Ilyin, E. Vereiskaya. Both M. Zoshchenko and N. Zabolotsky favored the editors and wrote for children. In those years there was simply a boom in children's literature and children's periodicals! No, of course, there were other magazines for children. But, in fact, the competitors of “Chizh” and “Hedgehog” were not even close! For example, the St. Petersburg “Young Comrades” and “Drum”, which published in 1923-24. were too academic, agitational, and, despite the topic of the day - dedication to organizational issues of the pioneer movement - they died out within a year. Also, such publications as “Young Spartak”, “Lenin Sparks”, “Pioneer” were extremely boring and politicized. In short, "Chizh" (1930-1941) and "Hedgehog" (1928-1935) were beyond competition. " Children must be trusted!", Nina Gernet loved to say. And the children, indeed, distinguished the wheat from the chaff.

Yes, by the way, “Hedgehog” stands for “Monthly Magazine”; it was addressed to schoolchildren of pioneer age. Later, "Chizh" ("Extremely Interesting Magazine") appeared, initially published as a supplement to "Hedgehog", its main audience were young readers.

A little about subscribing to these magazines. Even she couldn’t be serious if such “frivolous” people work in the editorial office! In Leningrad, along Nevsky and other streets, even in areas remote from the center, a huge Hedgehog moved and addressed passersby in a squeaky hedgehog voice: “Read the best magazine in the world for children! Subscribe to the magazine “Hedgehog”!” At the same time, a door opened in the side of the hedgehog, and anyone could immediately, without leaving the spot, subscribe to the best children's magazine in the world. This is how Alexander Etoee recalls this in his article “The Return of Makar the Fierce”; .

And to subscribe to “Chizh” you had to follow the following instructions (same source):
1. As soon as you get up, brush your teeth. (For how to clean, see “Chizh” No. 10.)
2. After brushing your teeth, tidy up the room. (How to clean the room, sweep, wash the floor, see “Chizh” No. 3 and No. 4.)
3. After tidying the room, pour yourself some milk. (For how to pour milk, see “Chizh” No. 1.)
4. After drinking milk, look at the clock. (How to look at the clock, published in Chizh No. 2.)
5. If it is already nine o'clock, go to the post office. (How to walk down the street, see “Chizh” No. 5.)
6. When you arrive at the post office, sharpen your pencil. (How to fix pencils, published in Chizha No. 7-8.)
7. Having sharpened your pencil, ask where subscriptions are accepted, and write: “Please send me “Chizh” with all the attachments for the whole next year. “Chizh” is my best friend. He taught me all last year, told me interesting stories, showed wonderful pictures. And next year it will be even more interesting and, in addition, will provide six applications."
8. However, don’t write this. Think about this to yourself.
9. After thinking about it, sign up for the whole year.
10. Subscriptions to "Chizh" are accepted at any postal and telegraph office.

I think it's funny. Now let's move on to the story about Masha. Clever Masha, who appeared on the pages of Chizh, became, perhaps, the main heroine of the first Soviet children's comics. This is what writer G. Levashova remembers about Smart Masha: " This was what all children's magazines dreamed of: a permanent hero, loved by readers. It is very difficult to create such a living image; Most of these heroes, after several appearances in the magazine, died of natural causes. And Smart Masha immediately began to live in the magazine, became almost its owner, forced the entire editorial staff to take care of her affairs: it was no longer possible to publish an issue without new adventures of Smart Masha, who was constantly supposed to have difficult situations, from which she had to extricate herself with the help of unexpected , always witty invention".

And many funny situations happened. The magazine published the phone number. Any child could call this number at a certain hour of the day. The role of Masha was usually played by Tatyana Gurevich, the owner of a thin voice, ready to answer any, even the most tricky children's questions. Then the questions and answers were published in the magazine.

Example of real dialogue:
- My dad gave me a globe and said that the Earth is the same as this globe.
I wanted to know what kind of Earth was in the middle, so I pierced it with scissors. And there is nothing there, just a black hole. Masha! You're smart, tell me, is the Earth empty in the middle?
- Dear Oleg, you needlessly ruined the globe. The globe was made not in order to study the inside of the Earth, but in order to know what the Earth is like on the outside...

They also say that Masha appeared out of envy. Maybe so! The fact is that in "Hedgehog", the older brother of "Chizh", there already existed its own hero, a kind of Batman of those times - Makar the Fierce (similar to N. Oleinikov), he walked across the expanses of the whole world and fought for universal justice: then he signs on the magazine "Hedgehog" of wild African natives, then he defeats bad policemen from some bourgeois country, or something else... The children watched with bated breath his brave adventures. But “Chizh” didn’t have its own hero! This is unfair! One can also envy. They say that the idea was suggested by D. Kharms himself. And the artist Bronislav Malakhovsky drew Masha from a model that was spinning in front of his nose every day - from his daughter Katya. This is how the image of Masha was fixed - a girl with pigtails and a stubborn chin.

Who wrote the comics about Masha themselves? Often it was a collective creativity. Irakli Andronikov recalls: “Everyone, covering his hand, wrote his own, laughed and threw it to the right. On the left he received a sheet, laughed even louder, added his own, threw it to the right, on the left he received a sheet. When all the sheets went around the table, they were read, they died of laughter, we chose the best option and started processing it all.”

Still, an amazing, free, creative atmosphere reigned in the editorial office then! Keyword " Then", that is, for the time being. And then 1937 began... The arrest of N. Oleinikov. Following him - a whole wave of repressions. A group of employees who remained at large were asked to write statements of resignation of their own free will. N Gernet leaves editorial work forever. S. Marshak is close to arrest, the well-known so-called notorious “trial” will take place, where they demanded that he renounce the “enemies of the people.” Marshak does not renounce, but leaves Leningrad and his beloved editorial office.

Do you remember Kharms’ famous “A man came out of the house”? Kharms dared to publish it in the fateful year of 1937 in a magazine.

A man left the house
With a baton and a bag
And on a long journey,
And on a long journey
I set off on foot.

He walked straight and forward
And he kept looking forward.
Didn't sleep, didn't drink,
Didn't drink, didn't sleep,
Didn't sleep, didn't drink, didn't eat.

And then one day at dawn
He entered the dark forest.
And from then on,
And from then on,
And from then on he disappeared.

But if somehow he
I'll happen to meet you
Then hurry up
Then hurry up
Tell us quickly.

The authorities issued a verdict: “ In a Soviet country, a person cannot disappear!“What else can people in power say? It was a terrible year in 1937! And then Kharms was arrested. Then - Vvedensky.

As a result. "Chizh" sang other songs. Now the magazine contains classic fairy tales, poems about good boys and girls. In a word, boring. Laughter and laughter have long ceased to sound in the editorial office; the seething stream of new wonderful ideas has turned into a barely noticeable trickle of a drying stream. And no one needs these ideas anymore!

Before the Khrushchev thaw, the inventive inventor Clever Masha fell silent. The child of her creators, she could not exist without them. In the 60s books about Masha are being republished, grandmothers voraciously read to their grandchildren about her perseverance, smart rationalization decisions and, together with their grandchildren, click their tongues: " Wow, how smart this Masha is!"

In 2009 To mark the 75th anniversary of the publishing house "Detgiz" the book "Smart Masha" was published. It contains not only color illustrations of the smart and funny antics of a girl with pigtails, but also stories for adults, not always rosy - just about the creation of Masha, about the editors of "Chizh", about the terrible 1937.

Let's look at the actual pictures about Masha. And we will smile, looking at this inventor.

P.S. To write this post I used the following articles:
- Olga Kanunnikova

- Hello! Who's speaking?

- Smart Masha.

- And I’m Lyusya Nevolkovskaya. I want to ask why you call yourself that - Smart?

- It’s not me, that’s what they call me at the Chizh editorial office.

- And why?

- Because I make everything up.

- A-ah-ah, okay, goodbye.

Little subscribers of the “Extremely Interesting Magazine”, better known as “Chizh” (it was published in 1930-1941), perceived Smart Masha as a real, living person - they wrote to her, called her, asked questions, consulted, and offered all sorts of interesting ideas.

An editorial employee, Tatyana Gurevich, who was naturally endowed with a “childish” voice, answered the phone, and the kids did not have the slightest doubt that the same Smart Masha was talking to them. Readers and “lookers” of the magazine fell in love with her immediately, as soon as drawn stories featuring this character began to appear on the pages of “Chizh”.

Unlike “Ezh” (“Monthly Magazine”), intended for middle-aged children, “Chizh” was a magazine for little ones, and it sorely lacked its hero. Or, at worst, heroines. In “Hedgehog” there was Makar the Fierce, invented by Nikolai Oleinikov, but in “Chizh” there was no through-and-through hero.

Two people were involved in the birth of Smart Masha - the poet Daniil Kharms and the artist Bronislav Malakhovsky. Malakhovsky copied Masha from his daughter Katya, and Kharms came up with signatures for his drawings. This is how the very first story about Smart Masha appeared - “How Masha made a donkey carry her to the city” (the story was published in the February issue of Chizh for 1934).

The idea was great: to make something like a comic book with the participation of a girl who is not only independent, but also inventive - one who will definitely find a witty and non-trivial way out of any situation. In fact, why carry a heavy goose on yourself if you can make holes in the bottom of the basket, thread the crow's feet through them, tie a string to the handle, and let the goose go on its own! The artist only needed four pictures to tell the story.

“Smart Masha and the heavy goose”, “Smart Masha and the barrel”, “Smart Masha and the flies”, “How Smart Masha saved the calf”, “Smart Masha and the fox”... - some of these stories were accompanied by short explanatory captions, some not at all required no explanation, but with truly incredible force they forced the mind and imagination of a small child to work. Need I say that from the baby who met Clever Masha in time, over the years he probably grew up to be either Clever Petya, or Clever Lyusya, or Clever Seryozha?..

The artist Bronislav Bronislavovich Malakhovsky (1902-1937) was an architect by profession and a caricaturist by vocation. “Hippopotamus”, “Laughing Man”, “Eccentric”, “Cannon”, then “Crocodile” - in any of these satirical magazines one could find dynamic and very sarcastic drawings by Malakhovsky, whom K.I. Chukovsky called "merciless mocker".“...In every drawing I heard his loud, mocking laugh.”, wrote Korney Ivanovich many years later.

At first, Malakhovsky was influenced by A. Radakov, also a famous cartoonist, but soon found his own artistic style, which was based on a quick and precise stroke, turning into an energetic contour line. Malakhovsky’s drawings leave the impression of improvisation; they seem to have been created instantly, this very second, “not in the eye, but in the eye.” Experts say that the transition from “adult” caricatures to drawings for children was very difficult for the artist. However, despite the fact that his sharp caricature style did not undergo significant changes, over time, evil sarcasm was replaced by soft irony. This was largely facilitated by the artist’s work on a series about Smart Masha for the magazine “Chizh”.

In book graphics, Malakhovsky gave preference to satirical subjects - in particular, he illustrated the works of M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin (“Spoiled Children”) and M.M. Zoshchenko (“Funny Stories”). His first experience in a children's book dates back to 1925 - “Pishchik's Songs” by N. Aseev, which he designed together with the artist N. Snopkov. And the most significant work - “The Golden Key, or the Adventures of Pinocchio” by A.N. Tolstoy - dates back to the mid-1930s. It was Malakhovsky who became the first illustrator of this well-known fairy tale.

The fate of the artist is sad; The year of his death testifies to this better than any words. Like many other creators of "Chizh" and "Hedgehog", Bronislaw Malakhovsky was arrested and died in custody.

The book about Smart Masha, published in 2009 by St. Petersburg "DETGIS", is cleverly designed. It can be read and viewed with equal interest by both very young children and very large adults. “Children will find their own pages in the book; this is not difficult to do,- the publishers write in a short introduction. - And for adults we offer pages of history. The history of our country, just like the history of DETGIZ, “Chizh” and Smart Masha, is filled with different “pages” - funny and sad, dramatic, and sometimes tragic. As they say, you can’t erase words from a song, but you can’t erase facts from history.

Whether or not to tell children about the tragic pages of the story “about Smart Masha” - the adult reader of the book will decide for himself.”.

Alexey Kopeikin