Kozma Prutkov by Aleksey Tolstoy. Short summary

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A literary image-project by which A.K. Tolstoy and the brothers Zhemchuzhnikov published humorous poems and aphorisms. They were parodies of the stupidity, sanctimony, and well-meaningness of the country and the times.

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In the 1950s and 1960s, Alexei Tolstoy and the three Zhemchuzhnikov brothers came up with the literary image of Kozma Prutkov, which became their collective pseudonym. They published them in Sovremennik and Iskra magazines.

Works written about and on behalf of this character include:
— «Biographical Information about Kozma Prutkov,» an ironic biography of the character, telling how he rose to become director of the Assay Chamber and an obituary of his death.

— The fables are «The Unbidden and the Tramp,» «The Heron and the Running Yeast,» «The Conductor and the Tarantula,» «The Worm and the Popad,» and «The Stan and the Voice.»

— Aphorisms that have become a symbol of «innocent caseness» and demonstrate limited «worldly wisdom.»

— Plays and mysteries — «Fantasia» vaudeville, banned after the first production, «Blondes», «The Reckless Turk», «The Affinity of World Forces», «Minister of Fertility».

— Poems — «From Heine,» «Letter from Corinth,» «To My Portrait,» «Memory of the Past,» etc.

— Projects, the most famous of which is «The Project on the Introduction of Uniformitarianism in Russia.