List of works of Ilf and Petrov
The following is a list of titles of the works written together by Ilya Ilf and
Yevgeny Petrov. I have relied largely on the notes in the
Collected Works, Terra,
2003. I will present the titles more or less in chronological order.
I have - for the time being - taken the radical choice of only including the works written by Ilf
and Petrov together. There
are two reasons for this. First, this website is dedicated to the duo of Ilf and
Petrov. Even though I have occasionally treated individual aspects (and
collaboration with other authors), especially
in the biographical sketch, my fascination is primarily directed at their works
written in collaboration, in particular the two novels and the America book. Secondly,
this list can only be more or less complete by virtue of this restriction. Many
materials written by the individual authors have not been published, or have
been published only recently, without titles. So my reasons are practical as well.
For a really comprehensive list a professional bibliographer would be needed.
I have included the year and the journal, newspaper, magazine or book of the
first publication, in a few cases with some extra information. Also I have given
a very short indication (in one sentence) of the contents for each publication, so that
this will be a list of what Ilf and Petrov have written about.
-
Двенадцать
стульев.
Роман
30 дней, 1928, No. 1-7; ЗиФ, 1928 (first book edition)
[Search for family jewels in one of twelve chairs from a family estate]
Click here for a list of film
adaptations of this novel.
- Светлая
личность.
Повесть
Огонек, 1928, No. 29-39
[Fear for an invisible person in the bureaucratic milieu of a provincial town]
-
Необыкновенные
истории из
жизни города
Колоколамска
[A small fantasy town in the NEP period]
* Синий дьявол
[Citizens of Kolokolamsk get themselves overrun by the automobile
of the Klatvian embassy.]
* Гость из Южной Америки
[Rich former citizen builds a skyscraper.]
* Васисуалий Лоханкин
[Fearing a flood, the citizens build an ark.]
* Город и его окрестности
[General description of Kolokolamsk]
* Страшный сон
[Dreaming of friendly Party members leads to distrust
of the rest of the town.]
* Пролетарий чистых кровей
[Only Proletarian of the town sells his proletarian
descent.]
* Золотой фарш
[What to do with the chicken laying golden eggs?]
* Красный калошник-галошник
[The citizens of Kolokolamsk mistake balloonists
for Klatvian attackers.]
* Собачий поезд
[Professor is looking for a fallen meteorite.]
* Вторая молодость
[A natural spring seems to be found in the town.]
* Мореплаватель и плотник
[Jubilee gets so many presnts that he becomes
a salesman.]
Чудак, 1928, No.1, 1929, No. 2-10, 45
- 1001 день,
или Новая
Шахерезада
[Storytelling in the context of an internal battle in a Soviet organization]
* Товарищ Шайтанова
[Beautiful female co-worker appears for the purges commission]
* Выдвиженец на час
[Failed attempt to trap an ambitious co-worker]
* Двойная жизнь Портищева
[Communist and good Soviet citizen, working in Moscow,
is a private farmer in the weekends.]
* Рассказ о товарище Алладинове и его волшебном билете
[A modest and good
worker is admitted into the Party and starts to misuse his membership card.]
* Рассказ о "Гелиотропе"
[Two colleagues who have nothing to do fear each other.]
* Человек с бараньими глазами
[Talentless writer makes a career by critizing
novels in no more than three lines.]
* Рассказ о "Золотом Лете"
[Two competing publishing companies keep
competing after their merger.]
* Преступление Якова
[Model citizen steals a purse in order to have time
to write a long poem.]
* Хранитель традиций
[A duel that was not properly finished]
* Процедуры Трикартова
[Man desperately fights to be treated in a sanatory.]
* Борьба гигантов
[Shaytanova's boss returns and the leadership battle
is decided.]
Чудак, 1929, No. 12-22
- Двойная
автобиография
Le Merle, 2 August 1929; Советская Украина, 1957
(first Russian-language publication)
[parody of an autobiography]
- Ваша
фамилия?
Чудак, 1929, No. 16
[Satirical column about 'ideological' Music Hall spectacle by unknown author]
-
Соревнование
одиночек
Чудак, 1929, No. 19
[Column about harmful activities by Soviet citizens and collectives]
- Кабинет
восковых
фигур
Чудак, 1929, No. 27
[Column in which some public figures in Samara, including Party members,
are compared with statues in a wax museum because of their uselessness]
- 1001-я
деревня
Чудак, 1929, No. 41
[Satirical and very critical review of Eisenstein and Aleksandrov's film
Старое и новое (Old and new).
- Три с
минусом
Чудак, 1929, No. 41
[Column about Writers' Congress where Boris Pilnyak was chastized]
-
Призрак-любитель
Чудак, 1929, No. 42
[During the purges in an organization one of the co-workers scares his colleagues
by putting a sheet over his head.]
- Душа
вон
Чудак, 1929, No. 43
[Column about apathy - or rather unwillingness to get involved - among the public,
in the cases of a street beating and the
attempt to purge a bureaucratic director from a financial institution]
- Бледное
дитя века
Чудак, 1929, No. 43
[Talentless poet tries to captitalize on the Revolution anniversary but makes
an elementary arithmetic mistake.]
-
Авксентий Филосопуло
Огонек, 1929, No. 44
[Man takes part in meetings only for the food and drinks offered there and gets his
due reward.]
- Под
знаком Рыб и
Меркурия
Чудак, 1929, No. 44
[Fortune-telling parrot makes man unhappy by predicting pre-Soviet happiness.]
- Великий
лагерь
драматургов
Чудак, 1929, No. 44
[Large quantity of low-quality drama writers]
-
Праведники и
мученики
Чудак, 1929, No. 45
[Film directors complaining about 'taboos' in Soviet cinema; positive review
of Обломок империи by Ermler and Турксиб by Turin]
-
Московские
ассамблеи
Чудак, 1929, No. 46
[Boring parties of well-to-do Moscow citizens]
- Театр
на улице
Чудак, 1929, No. 46
[Street scenes described as theatre spectacles]
- Шалуны
и шалуньи
Чудак, 1929, No. 48
[Film previews are visited by 'principled non-payers', therefore there is too little
control on which foreign films are bought by Sovkino.]
- Когда
улетают
птицы
Чудак, 1929, No. 49
[Various theater issues]
-
Полупетуховщина
Чудак, 1929, No. 50
[Renovation of Soviet theatre, doomed to fail]
-
Волшебная
палка
Диспут о совеской сатире в Политехничесуом музее
Чудак, 1930, No. 2
- Мала
куча - крыши
нет
Чудак, 1930, No. 4
[Strange behaviour of literary critics]
- Пьеса в
пять минут
Чудак, 1930, No. 6
[Absurdities in the theatre world]
- Золотой
телёнок.
Роман
30 дней, 1931; Федерация, 1933 (first Russian-language book edition)
[Hunt for a million and the difficulty of living the life of a millionaire]
-
Халатное
отношение к
желудку
Огонек, 1931, No. 27
[Bureaucracy, stupid slogans and incompetence in cantines and other eating
institutions]
- Секрет
производства
Киногазета, 1931, No. 56
[Writing a bad film scenario]
- И снова
ахнула
общественность
Советское искусство, 1931, No. 56
[The sad situation of Soviet grammophone record business]
-
Любители
футбола
Огонек, 1931, No. 30
[Football fans before, during and after a match]
-
Король-солнце
Советское искусство, 1931, No. 57
[Bad poet writing verses for October celebration]
- Так
принято
Советское искусство, 1931, No. 59
[Circus keeping to ancient, bad traditions]
-
"Несчестьалмазоввкаменных"
Советское искусство, 1931, No. 63
[Theatre administrators, claiming to know what the public wants, create tasteless
and unoriginal programmes]
- В
золотом
переплёте
Советское искусство, 1932, No. 4
[Literary reviews useless to reader who wants to know what book he is buying]
- Мне
хочется
ехать
Огонек, 1932, No. 3
[Satire about train rules]
- Сделал
своё дело и
уходи
Советское искусство, 1932, No. 6
[All too zealous slogans and photo captions]
- Человек
в бутсах
Советское искусство, 1932, No. 9
[Man organizes a very cheap theatrical performance.]
- Пятая
проблема
Киногазета, 1932, No. 11
[Film journals are much needed and wished for, but somehow no one makes them.]
- Горю - и
не сгораю
Крокодил, 1932, No. 10
[Only pre-revolutionary furniture available in post-revolutionary Russia]
- Здесь
нагружают
корабль
Крокодил, 1932, No. 11
[Sametsky makes 'wall journals' and fulfills all kinds of other 'socially important
tasks', but does no 'real' work.]
- Когда
уходят
капитаны
Литературная газета, 1932, No. 18
[Literature 'to order' attracts opportunistic non-writers]
- Сквозь
коридорный
бред
Огонек, 1932, No. 11
[Inefficient activities and conservations in film studio]
- Детей
надо любить
Литературная газета, 1932, No. 19
[Complaint about the low quality of childrens' literature]
- Четыре
свиданья
Крокодил, 1932, No. 12
[Great changes in Moscow prevent dear provincial Mr. Aue from meeting
his Moscow friends.]
-
Бронированное
место
Крокодил, 1932, No. 24
[Posidelkin does not believe in buying railway tickets at the train station.]
- Великий
канцелярский
шлях
Литературная газета, 1932, No. 20
[Samooblozhenksy, instead of writing his novel, does everything for a paid holiday.]
-
Идеологическая
пеня
Литературная газета, 1932, No. 21
[Authors dissociating themselves from their work]
-
Рождение
ангела
Крокодил, 1932, No. 13
[Creating a film scenario with a stereotype positive hero]
- Пытка
роскошью
Крокодил, 1932, No. 14
[Haircutters overdoing their jobs]
- Отдайте
ему курсив
Литературная газета, 1932, No. 24
[Fierce satire on literary critics]
-
Маленькая
Ху-Ху
Литературная газета, 1932, No. 25
[Low-quality folkloristic literature]
- Я, в
общем, не
писатель
Крокодил, 1932, No. 15-16
[Incompetent writers still managing to publicize their work]
-
Хотелось
болтать
Крокодил, 1932, No. 18
[Cultural activities about recycling of cork - but no recycling of cork]
-
Литературный
трамвай
Литературная газета, 1932, No. 36
[Short conservations about literature, in particular about Zoshchenko]
- Под
сенью
изящной
словесности
Литературная газета, 1932, No. 38
[Self-interview]
-
Королевская
лилия
Огонек, 1932, No. 25
[conservatism in 'applied visual arts']
- Мы уже
не дети
Литературная газета, 1932, No. 47
[Complaint about lack of critical attitude in Soviet literature]
-
Саванарыло
Литературная газета, 1932, No. 48
[Magazines and theatres afraid of showing female beauty]
- Как
создавался
Робинзон
Правда, 1932, No. 298
[Writer is commissioned to write a Soviet version of Robinson Crusoe.]
- На
зелёной
садовой
скамейке
Литературная газета, 1932, No. 49
[Conversation of writers about literary criticism]
- Их бин с
головы до ног
Крокодил, 1932, No. 31
[Writing a politically correct text for a circus dog]
-
"Зауряд-известность"
Советское искусство, 1932, No. 50-51
[Writer with a certain reputation is forced to write a play.]
-
Веселящаяся
единица
Правда, 1932, No. 312
[Is it worthwile avoiding group during holidays?]
-
Равнодушие
Правда, 1932, No. 331
[True story of husband trying in vain to get a lift for his wife who is about to give
birth.]
- Клооп
Правда, 1932, No. 339
[Organization of which no one knows the purpose.]
- Урок
словестности
Необыкновенные
истории из
жизни города
Колоколамска,
Книжная палата, 1989 (written end 1932, beginning 1933)
[Literature students read too much contemporary authors instead of studying
the classics.]
- Барак.
Кинокомедия
Искусство кино, 1963, No. 7. The film appeared on the screen in April
1933.
- Головой
упираясь в
солнце
Литературная газета, 1933, No. 3
[The ephemerity of a writer's fame]
- Человек
с гусем
Правда, 1933, No. 18
[The phenomenon of 'blat']
-
Кандидаты
Огонек, 1933, No. 4
[Struggle for an apartment]
- Листок
из альбома
Литературная газета, 1933, No. 14
[Various issues from the world of literature]
-
Необыкновенные
страдания
директора
завода
Правда, 1933, No. 84
[Director of automobile factory is bothered by people and organisations who want
to exchange their goods for automobiles.]
- Чаша
веселья
Литературная газета, 1933, No. 16
[Irritating number of writers' anniversaries]
- Честное
сердце
болельщика
Крокодил, 1933, No. 14
[All-consuming passion of football lovers]
- Бродят
по городу
старухи
Комсомольская прада, 1933, No. 140
[Writers invited to contribute to country life journals]
- Сильное
чувство.
Водевиль в
одном
действии
30 дней, 1933, No. 5
- Техника
на грани
фантастики
Крокодил, 1933, No. 17
[Public money disappearing to non-existent organization]
- Для
полноты
счастья
30 дней, 1933, No. 6
[Mismanagement of new trade-union club
-
Счастливый
отец
Крокодил, 1933, Extra edition between Nos. 29 and 30
[Father trying to arouse interest for his newborn son among his colleagues]
-
Сценарий
звукового
кинофильма
Искусство кино, 1961, No. 2; written end 1933 (the film was not
made)
-
Журналист
Ошейников
Литературная газета, 1937, No. 25 (written 1933)
[Journalist mixing up his sketch about an anniversary with his own wishes for
a better life]
-
Директивный
бантик
Правда, 1934, No. 77
[On the ugliness of clothes in the Soviet Union.]
- Уберите
ваши котлеты
Правда, 1934, No. 83
[On the pampering of writers]
-
Осатаневший
драмкружок
Крокодил, 1934, No. 11
[Extreme negative review of play 'The Trickster of Seville' by Tirsa de Molina,
directed by Nikolay Volkonsky]
- Рецепт
спокойной
жизни
Крокодил, 1934, No. 13
[Lecturer advises his public to bring to court any conflict, however insignificant.]
- Любовь
должна быть
обоюдной
Правда, 1934, No. 108
[Writers uttering empty phrases praising the country and its authorities,
instead of writing literature.]
- Нервные
люди
Крокодил, 1934, No. 19
[Play about doctor and patient complaining about apartment troubles]
-
Костяная
нога
Правда, 1934, No. 136
[Moscow doctor falls in love with woman from Odessa, but their marriage is
prevented by bureaucracy.]
-
Разговоры за
чайным
столом
Правда, 1934, No. 138
[A father and his son competing in political correctness and knowledge.]
-
Любители
просят слова
Вечерняя Москва, 1934, No. 149
[Complaint about bad football match Moscow-Kharkov]
-
Чудесные
гости
Правда, 1934, No. 176
[Two newspapers fighting for a visit by Russian heroic pilots]
- Дух
наживы
Правда, 1934, No. 189
[Complaint about wholesalers giving too little value for the buyers' money]
- У
самовара
Правда, 1934, No. 263
[Complaint about bad service and chaos at railway stations]
- Черное
море
волнуется
Правда, 1934, No. 272
[Director of oil tanker fleet knows nothing better to do than renaming his
ships]
- Дневная
гостиница
Правда, 1934, No. 291
[On lack of cleanliness and the wish for a 'day hotel' with various
services for personal care]
-
Разносторонний
человек
Правда, 1934, No. 305
[Two men judge cuktural and scientific progress by the quality of the related
sanatories.]
-
Безмятежная
тумба
Правда, 1934, No. 330
[Bureaucracy and low-quality service in various spheres of life]
- Кипучая
жизнь
Парад бессмертных, Правда, 1934
[Numerous, too large Editors' Boards of literary journals fail to do
their jobs.]
- Россия-го
Директивный бантик, 1934, Журнально-газетное объединение
[Satirical column about the boring life of White Russians in Paris.]
- Начало
похода
Молодая гвардия, 1935, No. 1
[]
- Собачий
холод
Правда, 1935, No. 9
[Very cold Moscow and exaggerating citizens]
- Как мы
работаем
Рабочая Москва, 10 January 1935
[The difficulties of writing together.]
- На
купоросном
фронте
Правда, 1935, No. 17
[Bad work of house painters]
-
Последняя
встреча
Правда, 1935, No. 33
[Manager is not interested or competent in the activities of the organization
he manages.]
- "М"
Правда, 1935, No. 38
[In praise of the Moscow underground.]
- Широкий
размах
Правда, 1935, No. 101
[Factory director organizes a very luxurious banquet, but does not want to
spend money on birthday party of his wife.]
- Лентяй
Крокодил, 1935, No. 12
[Lazy office worker]
- Театральная
история
Правда, 1935, No. 119
[Theatre tickets annulled because of visit by foreign diplomats]
- Дело
студента
Сверановского
Правда, 1935, No. 133
[True story of a student receiving an absurd punishment for a meaningless
accident in a streetcar.]
- Старики
Правда, 1935, No. 135
[Lack of respect for aged people]
- Чувство
меры
Правда, 1935, No. 144
[Exaggerated measures, applied without thinking]
- Мать
Правда, 1935, No. 155
[Lack of respect for marriage and motherhood]
- Интриги
Крокодил, 1935, No. 26-27
[Comrade Babashkin not re-elected as secretary of local Party committee]
- В
защиту
прокурора
Правда, 1935, No. 194
[Several true stories from the world of justice; insufficient attention for
the work of courts]
-
Регулирование
уличного
веселья
Правда, 1935, No. 243
[Overregulation of festivities]
- Отец и
сын
Правда, 1935, No. 250
[Student is excluded from Transport Institute because of small crime of his
father]
- День в
Афинах
Поездки и встречи, 1936, Журнально-газетное объединение
[]
-
Одноэтажная
Америка.
Путевые
очерки
Знамя, 1936, No. 10-11; as separate book edition in 1937 in the
Роман-газета, and with Гослитиздат and Советский писатель.
[Ilf and Petrov travel through the United States of America.]
- Колумб
причаливает
к берегу
Крокодил, 1936, No. 20
[Christopher Columbus arrives in 20th centure America and has to deal with
the phenomenon of 'publicity'.]
-
Добродушный
Курятников
Правда, 1936, No. 341
[Completely incompetent manager fired from several high positions]
- Часы и
люди
Правда, 1937, No. 81
[American punctuality and business mentality as an example for Soviet
organizations.]
-
Писатель
должен
писать
Литературная газета, 1937, No. 18
[Speech at the General Writers' Conference by Petrov on behalf of both writers,
just a few days before Ilf's death; about writers and critics who do not do what they are
supposed to do - write good books and useful reviews]
- Тоня.
Рассказ
Знамя, 1937, No. 12
[Russian girl unhappy in Washington]
