Yuri. Vladimirovich. Nikulin (1921-1997), from a family of actors, was a well-known Soviet clown, theater and film actor, television host and poet, named after the first national circus in the Soviet Union, the Nikulin Circus. In 1994, Yuri. Nikurin in a book by the Soviet People's Artist Lyudmila. At a festival concert initiated and organized by Zikin, he told the veterans of the Great Patriotic War: "I serve the Soviet Union and will remain in my heart and in the memory of all people." "Yes, he was also a veteran, who fought in the Soviet-Finnish War and the Great Patriotic War, and was tested by blood and fire.
"For almost seven years, I have not taken off my uniform, boots and military coat ... Joy and Sadness - Two sisters have been with us all our lives. Recalling all the happy and sad things that happened during those difficult years — the latter accounted for most of it, but the former was even more unforgettable — I will try to tell the story of what I went through...", he wrote in his memoirs.
Yuri as a teenager. Nikurin.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > 17 years old, war</h1>
Yuri. As soon as Nikurin graduated from the 346th Secondary School in Moscow, the conscription notice was sent. On November 18, 1939, a month later, nikurin, who had only turned 18, arrived at the recruitment station, where they had been sent to Leningrad in the evening.
Yuri, who had just joined the army. Nikurin
"When it was learned that we were going to serve near Leningrad, everyone excitedly chanted 'Ulla,'" the artist wrote in his memoirs, Almost Serious. "But our enthusiasm immediately cooled: the situation on the border with Finland was tense and the city was under martial law."
At first, everything seemed extraordinary: they strolled along Nevsky Prospekt in the night, admiring the beautiful streets and palaces. However, the romance ended quickly. The recruits were given heavy backpacks and the air raid began.
"After the alarm goes off,...... I immediately wrote a statement: 'I want to fight as a member of the Komsomol.' ’”
Nikurin was assigned to the 115th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment. Troop life is a new experience. The first time he had to drink 100 grams of vodka a day, he had tried it before, but he didn't like it, so he replaced the fish with Salo, which was suitable for vodka. Life in the troops was also challenging, as Nikurin himself wrote, and he was often ridiculed in the regiment. He was thin and long, his uniform hunched over, his boots dangling. When the heavily armed soldiers first went to the bathhouse, as soon as Nikurin undressed, people began to laugh. For most people, this attitude of comrades-in-arms is a severe test. However, the future circus clown managed to turn his appearance into his advantage. He laughed at himself with everyone else, grimaced, and didn't get angry at all. Because of his cheerful, witty and determined personality, he earned respect. At one point, he won a joke contest that made his comrades happy until 4 a.m.
In the winter, Niculín suffered severe frostbite on both legs: "We were instructed to extend the lines of communication from the artillery positions to the observation post. （... Now, I'm skiing alone on the ice in the Gulf of Finland, with a heavy telephone line scroll behind me. But in half an hour, I felt very tired. I put the coil on the ice, sat for a moment, and then continued. But it's getting harder and harder to go. The skis stick to the snow. I placed the coils on my skis while I propped my heavy body forward in knee-deep snow with a wooden stick. Exhausted. I sat down again to rest and fell asleep. The temperature was minus thirty degrees, and I fell asleep as if nothing had happened. Well, border guards driving motorcycle sleighs passed by. ”
When he was woken up, he was unable to move on his own and he was taken to the hospital. Although the frostbite recovered, the memory lasted for a lifetime, and even in the slightest cold, his legs became as if they were about to freeze.
Young Warrior Yuri. Nikurin.
During the Soviet-Finnish War, soldiers were forbidden to eat food found in Finnish homes because they were said to have been poisoned. A bucket of honey sent from the observation post made the orderly warriors dumbfounded. Everyone stood looking at him in fear. The tall blond scout Valia Mettloff broke the situation. He dug out a tablespoon of honey, put it in his mouth, and then licked the spoon, declaring authoritatively: "No poisoning".
The clip from the comedy "Diamond Arm" says these words from a population that has been fighting for seven years, which is quite comic.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > short peace and new wars</h1>
Nikurin's company was stationed in Sestroletsk. In March 1940, when the Soviets broke through the Finnish defenses, part of the troops remained there. In early 1941, battalion instructors came to the artillery company and declared the presence of the threat of war, calling Germany the primary enemy.
"All of us listened to Spiridonov in amazement and disbelief. Why is that? We had just signed a non-aggression pact with Germany, and all of a sudden we were talking about an impending war. Nicullin talked about what he was thinking at the time.
He visited his distant relatives in Leningrad while on leave. They were amazed at his uniform. At one point, a guest interested in the international situation asked the young soldier:
"- I would like to know what the military thinks in this regard?" "There will be war," I said quietly, "and it's expected this year." "--Who do I want to know?" "Germany," I replied. My answer made everyone smile sarcastically, and Boris (cousin) said, "There can be no war." It is necessary to read the newspaper. We have reached an agreement with Germany. ”
Although the warriors had been informed of the threat of war, in reality, after the end of the Soviet-Finnish War in the spring of 1940 they were "happily" serving with the expectation of recovery: they listened to records (Lydia Luslova, Isabella Yurieva, Vadim Kozina, Leonid Utesov), indulged in football, attended concerts - some with their own instruments. Yuri Nicullin spent 15 roubles to buy a plywood suitcase for his journey and put his favorite books in it – including The Good Soldier Shuaike, who longed to return to his twilight mother. However, this wish waited a long time to be realized.
The Colonel lived in their observation post, and he had a maid. She and Nikulin "looked at each other with a smile at a meeting. The young soldiers considered starting to take care of her, and the next vacation was on Sunday, where they wanted to spend it together. But they could not meet on this day, because June 22, 1941 was the first day of the Great Patriotic War.
"On the evening of 22 June, at the observation post, communication with the (division) headquarters was interrupted (the soldiers checked the line, but there was no problem, the fault appeared in other areas). （... In the morning. We had a quiet breakfast. On Sunday, we (Nikulin and his friend Brunov) went to the station with three liters of cans to buy beer for everyone. We walked to the station, and an old man stopped us and asked:
'Comrades, are they saying that the war has begun?' ’
'We've heard for the first time from you,' we replied quietly. 'There is no war. You see, we went shopping for beer. What a war! We said and laughed. ”
At the station, they saw some people listening in a panic at the honking pillars of Vyacheslav Molotov. They realized what had happened and immediately returned: "We ran back to the observation post soaked wet and saw Sergeant Clapirin sitting on the porch. He smoked calmly. 'Well, where's the beer?' ''What beer?'' The war has begun! We freaked him out. ”
At dawn, they saw German Ju 88 bombers flying at low altitudes. Nikurin's artillery company was the first to fire on the enemy air force. After the baptism of battle, many soldiers laughed and recalled the details of repelling the enemy's attack, freed from the shock-like tension.
"In years of war, I have often seen people crawling out of the rubble, throwing off dirt blocks, realizing that everything is normal - no one is dead, the equipment is intact, and they start laughing out loud. The war left its mark on their faces. Nikurin recalled years later.
The dream of demobilization must be forgotten. He remembered sadly the suitcase filled with jokes, books, photographs and family letters. For the first two days, no one slept in the 115th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment.
Nicullin once wrote in his memoirs about wartime fears: "I cannot say that I belong to the brave. No, I've always been scared. It's about how to vent your fears. Some people are hysterical - they cry, scream, run away. While others are calm. ”
"We are anxiously tracking the intelligence report," Yuri said. Vladimirovich recalled. "The enemy is approaching Leningrad. One day, at dawn, we saw our infantry retreat along the road. This indicates that they have captured Viborg. "They wanted to get orders to follow the infantry to retreat to Leningrad. However, contrary to their wishes, they were ordered to stand still and hold out until the last bullet. As Yuri Vladimirovich later wrote, 3 of their 5 rifles were oldEr Belgian rifles with only 40 rounds of ammunition. However, they were lucky that at the last moment, a car picked them up. Tracer shells flew overhead, and there were explosions everywhere on the road, but they managed to evacuate.
A few days later, Yuri. Nikurin was promoted to non-commissioned officer and was in charge of commanding reconnaissance units.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > alive, miraculously</h1>
He witnessed the sight of the city during the Siege of Leningrad. He walked to the city to replenish food for the artillery company. Supplies for 120 people (received within three days) were all loaded on a small sleigh. Five heavily armed soldiers escorted the valuable supplies along the way.
"The tram is frozen. The houses are covered in snow and ice. The walls are covered with stripes. Neither the city's drainage nor water supply systems function. There are snowdrifts everywhere," - this is the scene of this besieged city described by the artist. - "Between the snowdrifts are paths. People slowly step on the path, instinctively saving energy. All the people were bent over and hunched over, and many were stumbling with hunger. Some reluctantly towed sleighs filled with water and firewood. Sometimes the remains wrapped in sheets were placed on a sleigh. I know that in January 1942, about five to six thousand Leningrads died of starvation. ”
Yuri, who sings himself in "Operation Y and Other Adventures of Shulik". Nikurin, who would have thought that playing the guitar he learned in the spare time of wartime.
In 1943, he was in the 72nd Independent Air Defense Division in the Kolpino area. The young scout grew a beard, which made the childish face more manly. During a short break, he learned to play the guitar. This year, Nikurin went to the hospital again for pneumonia. He had just recovered and returned to the front when he was hit by German shells. I woke up and saw myself in a hospital bed again.
After 1943, Nicullin grew a beard.
Note that the bearded person in the upper row is Nikurin.
On 14 January 1944, the troops continued their offensive. Two hours later, German long-range artillery bombarded Nikurin's location. They had to leave the bunkers. They ran a little distance, and the bunker was blown away: a shell hit directly. So, they were lucky enough to survive again.
In the summer of 1944, the reconnaissance team traveled to liberated villages near Izbolsk (around Pskov) to build communication lines. They drove directly into the village, only to find the Germans still in the village. To make matters worse, the careless soldier placed the rifle under the cable reel in the back and did not have time to pick it up. The German machine guns had begun to turn to their cars. Nikurin and his comrades(including Yefim Lebovich) saw the nearby rye field, and the entire platoon rushed out of the car. Astonished, the Germans watched calmly as they left. Yuri Nikulin later recalled: "What saved me? Maybe the Germans didn't understand what was going on, and they probably mistook us for being their own and therefore didn't chase us. They would not believe that there were idiots like us in the Russians who drove into their villages without weapons. One of the Germans stood at the edge of the ground for a long time and shouted in our direction - Hans, Hans!.. We lay in the rye, and I tried my best to hold my breath and watched involuntarily as the bugs crawled around, and I thought, 'Ah, how stupid I am going to die now.' ’......”
Surprisingly lucky – the Germans were soon gone, and the warriors could leave safely. As soon as they arrived at the truck, they took out their rifles. It turned out that they had been mistakenly sent to the village. Just because I got it in the wrong place. The battalion commander was happy to learn that they were all unscathed, because he thought they were all dead.
On May 3, 1945, Nikulin's regiment arrived at the Latvian village of Juxta and began to anticipate the full-scale attack that was told on May 8. The next morning, he and seven other soldiers sleeping in the bomb shelter were awakened by the frantic shouts of Scout Boroztinov.
"We looked at him and thought to ourselves - is he crazy? It was later learned that Boroztinov called out "Ulla" because he was the first person to learn from the telephone operator on duty that the surrender agreement of the fascist army had been signed. So victory came," Nicullin wrote in his memoirs.
Without alcohol to celebrate the victory, ecstatic soldiers with submachine guns, pistols and rifles fired into the sky, leaving "the whole sky covered with flashing tracer bullets." ”
"There was a dilapidated barn not far from us. Burn it! A lot of people made this decision at the same time... We lit the barn and jumped around it - like crazy. Jumping around, elated..."
The joy of the day is also recorded in the battle log, at the end of which the surrender of the enemy army is spoken of, and the ammunition consumed by the salute to celebrate the victory is recorded. If the joy of their regiment is measured by strict military data, it is eight salvos and 32 shells.
Yuri Vladimirovich did not return home until a year later, as the demobilization work was carried out in multiple phases. The war lasted for 7 years, first in Sufn and then in the Great Patriotic War, the future actor received three medals of honor: "Courage", "Medal for the Defence of Leningrad", "Victory over Germany".
Comedians' war movies
After the war, Yuri. Nikurin became a brilliant clown, starring in comedy and becoming a well-known comedian in the Soviet Union. But he not only has a deep knowledge of comedy, but also creates characters in war movies that come from the depths of the soul. Together with Shukshen, Tikhonov and Mordyukova, he starred in an epic film, "They Fight for the Motherland." But one of his best roles was the war correspondent Lopatin in Alexei Germain's Twenty Days Without War. By then he had already starred in a series of successful works such as Babos, Racing Driver, Schulik's Adventure, etc., and the Arts Council refused to let a comedian play such a complex role.
Nikulin, who once sang "The Rabbit's Song" in "Diamond Arm", his image is closely linked to the rabbit.
Nikulin - arguably the most famous clown of the Soviet Union.
Nikurin himself did not want to participate in the filming. It was only after a long private conversation with the screenplay's author, the famous Konstantin Simonov, that led him to agree to star. The reality shows that they are not wrong, and the film picture of that year became one of the most realistic portrayals of the war. Nicullin, who had tasted the sorrows of war, called for not to dwell on troubles and problems, remembering that kindness and laughter were panacea for all kinds of adversity, as he proved by his own example.
Yuri in "They Fight for the Motherland" Nikurin.
Yuri in Twenty Days Without War. Nikurin.
On August 21, 1997, Yuri. Nikurin died of complications after heart surgery, and then Russian President Boris Yeltsin personally announced the bad news on television, announcing a two-day farewell ceremony for his body, followed by a state funeral at the New Virgin Cemetery, ending the life of a great artist who brought laughter to people.
Yuri. Photographs of Nikurin in his later years
Yuri. Nikurin's cemetery towers with sculptures made according to the image of his clown performance.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > digression: letters found by homeless people</h1>
After Nikurin's death, his story with Yefim Lebovich came back into view. In November 2008, a homeless man came to the Circus Museum of the City of Fontanca. At first, people didn't want ragged people to step on the threshold. But when he pulled out the items he found, the staff was taken aback. The homeless man found Yuri Nicullin's letter to his comrades in a trash can and took it to the museum. Each letter begins with a cordial greeting: "Hello, dear Yefim". This is a letter written by Yuri Vladimirovich to his comrade-in-arms Yefim Lebović during several years.
In addition, it is clear from the correspondence that they fought together and, in order to boost morale, dressed up as clowns in front of their comrades.
Unfortunately, little is known about Yefim Lebovich. His artistic career was not successful. He lived his life in a house at 37 Decembrist Street in St. Petersburg. The new owner stayed in the apartment and threw away all the documents, including a letter from Yuri Nigulin, without even looking at it. The homeless Eugene arrives at the museum with the letter and says it was found in a trash can. The homeless man who was snubbed was immediately rewarded with money. In the homeless shelter, he was also given all the necessary documents so that he could return to his hometown of Lipetsk and start a new life. Maxim. Nikurin, the son of the Great Clown and the general manager of the circus on Zvinoi Avenue, was deeply moved and wanted to contact the tramp personally. However, the noble tramp was lost.