Kuznetsov Konstantin Konstantinovich

April 16, 1895 (St. Petersburg; according to other sources, Voronezh) - March 9, 1980 (Los Angeles, USA) Graphic artist, painter From the family of a teacher and a gymnasium teacher. Member of the First World War. In 1920, after his father was shot by the Bolsheviks (according to some sources, the murder was criminal in nature), he fled to the south of Russia, where he joined the Volunteer Army. At the end of 1920, he was evacuated along with its units from Crimea to the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. For some time he lived in the city of Pancevo near Belgrade; attended painting and drawing courses. He made posters for the Matic department store in Belgrade. He was engaged in book graphics, creating caricatures and posters. He gained wide European fame as an author of comics: in 1937–1941 he created 26 comics for the Belgrade magazine “Mika Mis” (“Mickey Mouse”) by A. Ivkovic; among them are comics of the mystical-adventure genre: “Countess Margot”, “The Vampire Baron (both 1939), “Three Lives” (1940), “The Mark of Death” (1941); based on Russian literature: “Hadji Murat” according to L. N. Tolstoy (1937–1938), “The Night Before Christmas” according to N. V. Gogol, “The Queen of Spades” according to A. S. Pushkin (both 1940) and others. In 1940–1941, he published the comic book “Peter the Great” and comics based on the fairy tales of A. S. Pushkin “The Tale of Tsar Saltan” and “The Tale of the Golden Cockerel” in the magazine “Politicin Fun”, which were influenced by the style of book graphics by I. Ya. Bilibin. Author of comics “Sinbad the Sailor”, “Descendant of Genghis Khan”, “Orient Express”, “Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves” and others, which were published not only in Serbia, but also in the French magazines “Gavroche”, “Jumbo”, “Aventures”, “Le journal de Toto”, “Les grandes aventures”. He used the pseudonyms Steav Doop, K. Kulig, Kistochkin, Kuzya, K. During the fascist occupation of Belgrade (1941–1944), he made anti-Semitic and anti-communist posters for the publishing house "South-East". Collaborated in the propaganda department "S"; illustrated propaganda brochures. He published a political comic book “The Story of the Unfortunate King”, the main characters of which were the kings of Yugoslavia Alexander I Karadjordjevic (Old King) and Peter II Karadjordjevic (Young King), W. Churchill (Nobleman of the Evil Overlord), I. Broz Tito (Robber), I. Stalin (Northern Bloody Overlord). As a cartoonist, he collaborated in the humorous magazine "Bodljikavo prase" ("Porcupine"), "Mali the Funniest". In the fall of 1944 he fled Yugoslavia; ended up in a displaced persons camp in Austria. In 1946 he ended up in a camp on the outskirts of Munich, where he designed the cover for the magazine “Lights” (1946, No. 1). He drew cartoons for the humorous magazine “Petrushka”. Compiled and illustrated the publication “Ice March”, dedicated to the 1st campaign of the Volunteer Army of General L. G. Kornilov to Kuban (1949). Around 1950 he left for the USA. He continued to work as an illustrator, painted easel paintings and icons. He painted watercolors on Russian themes for Christmas cards and calendars of the New York publisher Martyanov. In 1970, the publication “The Baptism of Rus'” with its illustrations was published in Canada (reprint - M., 1988). Creativity is presented in the Historical Archives of Belgrade, the Russian Cultural Center in San Francisco.