Kataev Mikhail Yurievich, professor, doctor of technical sciences.

Valentin Petrovich Kataev is a world-famous writer. But these are dry, general words. It is especially dear to Odessa residents. Who else could describe our city with such sincere love as Valentin Petrovich in the story “The Lonely Sail Whitens”? Without whom there would not be not only everyone’s favorite books, but even the image of Ostap Bender, without whom Odessa would not be Odessa?

Valentin Kataev's granddaughter's name is Tina. This petite woman is the deputy. editor of the Moscow magazine “In the World of Science”, famous journalist.

Catching bandits is easier than writing:
- According to the memoirs of Valentin Petrovich, it was he who came up with the idea of ​​\u200b\u200b“12 chairs”. Is this really true?

Yes. The situation developed like this. Evgeny Kataev came from Odessa to Moscow to visit his older brother. And he decided to show how independent he was - he got a job in the criminal investigation department. Grandfather’s main task was to come up with anything he could to get him to leave there voluntarily. Firstly, it was life-threatening, and secondly, Evgeniy was very young and emotional. Grandfather began to encourage him to write. He says: “Well, is it really easier for you to catch bandits than to write?” At first, Kataev Jr. composed feuilletons for Gudok. Later he met Ilf, they came to his grandfather. (So ​​that there would not be two writers, the Kataevs, they decided that the younger brother - who seemed to have not grown up to become the elder - would have a pseudonym, and took Petrov in honor of their father.) Together they discussed what they could write. And the grandfather says: “Guys, I’m your master, and you can be called auxiliary workers, I’ll now tell you the topic, give you an idea, you write everything to me, and I’ll walk through it with the master’s hand. Dumas has a brilliant idea. Let's say there is a certain treasure, value or something that is hidden in a certain number of objects. Let's write to me about this topic. Will watch later". Kataev forgot about this, and they went and wrote “Twelve Chairs”. And when they brought the novel so that he could go through it with the hand of a master, he said: “Guys, why do you need me? You did everything wonderful."

So the idea was actually his. Grandfather managed to connect two people who had complementary gifts.

Moreover, he said: “That’s it. I’m taking off my last name, I’m not passing through the master’s hand, I’m charging you only for giving me the idea - a golden cigarette case!” Well, they were upset - it would be a little expensive, but they gave him a cigarette case. Gold, but small, feminine.

So, it was Valentin Petrovich who introduced Ilf and Petrov?

It was a definite literary environment, where everyone knew each other. Naturally, when Petrov arrived in Moscow, his grandfather introduced him to everyone he knew, but then he got to know each other himself.

Game of Ears and “Collected Works”

Did Valentin Petrovich tell you anything about his childhood spent in Odessa?

Grandfather’s childhood memories are, in fact, “The Lonely Sail Whitens” and “Waves of the Black Sea.” This is all natural fiction, but it's very clearly based on childhood memories.

And the fisherman's hut, and..?

Yes. The fictional characters had a real basis.

The images are collective, but there were similar people. Moreover, from this work you can study the history of Odessa at that time. Let's say the history of the costume. Or, for example, playing with ears is an absolutely clear sign of that time. Even the description of the button is identical.

Did your grandfather know Bunin?

Literary career Kataeva began when, at the age of seven, he started a stack of notebooks and wrote “Collected Works” on it.

At the age of sixteen he came to Bunin.

Bunin was greatest writer recognized at that time, but he was famous for his complex character and was poorly received by young authors. Grandfather brought him a notebook with poems and left him. And when he came to find out the result, Bunin accepted it. In principle, Kataev did not count on this. This is how their creative communication began. When grandfather was already an accomplished writer, Bunin immigrated. He lived in Paris, wrote " Dark alleys“And they didn’t communicate because it was Soviet times, and it was simply dangerous for my grandfather’s fate. Bunin was very worried about him, was afraid to hand over letters, and when delegations of Soviet writers came to Paris, he said, “No, no, no, no, no, I don’t want to know anything.” Later, my grandparents were in France, they visited Bunin’s wife. This was a few years after his death. His wife greeted them with meringues. She remembered that when her grandfather came to visit them at the age of sixteen, he said that these were his favorite cakes.

My coffin will hit the staircase railing

What are Kataev’s impressions of Bulgakov?

Relationships changed throughout life. But Bulgakov was a close person to him. Grandfather in his old age recalled how sensitive Bulgakov was, a brilliant artist, because he said, “When I die, when they take me out of the house, my coffin will hit the railing of the stairs there.” In addition to some human things, spiritual connections were very strong.

70 percent of the sixties

I believe that in our time and in our literature this is not the case.

Maybe there was some kind of surge among the sixties, but in principle now we have reached a timelessness in this regard. Our lives must be shaped somehow differently for a new surge to occur. The foam should settle.

As for the sixties, Valentin Petrovich was the editor of the magazine “Yunost” and he was the first to publish them? Yevtushenko, Akhmadulina and everyone else?

Yes, he was the editor-in-chief of the magazine for six years (from 1955 to 1961) and his main task was to find young talented writers. He pulled out Aksenov - Vasily Aksenov and Anatoly Gladilin, whom he simply adored. He found Voznesensky, Yevtushenko, Bella Akhmadulina and others.

Rozhdestvensky too?

Rozhdestvensky was famous himself, but, nevertheless, yes. In principle, 70 percent of the sixties were taken out by my grandfather. And he had an absolutely amazing assistant, comrade-in-arms - Maria Lazarevna Ozerova. She is still alive. The two of them fought. And this situation happened - they started tightening the screws on him. They started saying, “But this shouldn’t be printed,” a certain amount of pressure. He resigned as editor-in-chief at will. Khrushchev was completely furious, he said, “None of my editors-in-chief has the right to submit an application of their own free will.” They couldn’t really persecute him, he was too famous, but his works were no longer mentioned in the press. He left gracefully and said that he only wanted to do creativity. Didn't let anyone down, but it still caused rage. And he actually left because he could no longer do what he considered necessary.

Mayakovsky and a runny nose

Very a good relationship were with Yesenin. This is youth, and the atmosphere of the inseparability of life from art, one circle, one impulse.

He was also on very close terms with Mayakovsky. Before perestroika, there were different versions of Mayakovsky’s death. Someone said that it was the Cheka that provoked his murder, and his beloved...

Lilya Brik?

No, not Lilya Brik, but the second one. Polonskaya. They said she could have shot him. Grandfather saw him the day before his death, or rather in the evening. He said that Mayakovsky had a runny nose and a disgusting mood. This is what happens when the last straw is missing. He said that Mayakovsky tried to commit suicide several times. Moreover, he inserted one cartridge and left notes.

The only Russian writer

Valentin Petrovich was a corresponding member of the Goncourt Academy, how was this possible in those days?

Whatever the times, no matter how closed the country is, there are still international literary academies and communities. And since a person’s works are still published, for certain works he is elected an honorary member. At the Goncourt Academy at that time, Kataev was the only Russian writer. Very often Lano and Bazin came to our home and received them all.

They accepted and accepted, but Kataev was released abroad?

Yes, my grandfather was released, because whatever the real dictatorship in the country, in order to exist in the international community, it has several positions, especially related to culture and science. It seems like we are still close to the normal human community and open. Therefore, a number of Soviet writers always had the opportunity to travel.

In order to take out a group of writers about whom no one in the world knew, one name was needed that everyone knew. They took grandfather and took ten more unknown writers.

"You don't have to know someone to love someone"

Kataev was also involved in the film “Circus”...

He and his brother wrote the film script. But when the film came out, they put too many pro-Soviet things in there, and they took off their names. Although “Circus” is a very good film in my opinion. I can imagine how good it could be if they...

Didn't they fix anything?

How did Valentin Petrovich feel about the fact that Madame Storozhenko was played by Ranevskaya?

He adored Ranevskaya.

They knew each other, right?

You don't have to know someone to love someone. For him, this was an actress of the highest level.

Vanya Solntsev never existed

Where did Valentin Petrovich live in Odessa as a child, in what area?

Kulikovo field. Not where the lane is named after him. On the other side. Now this house no longer exists. Therefore, we can only roughly say where it was. In principle, the Kataevs lived in three houses in Odessa and always in rented apartments.

On Kulikovo Field - this was the first apartment where he lived when he was very young. As was described in “The Lonely Sail Whitens.”

Valentin Petrovich worked during the Great Patriotic War as a war correspondent for Red Star?

In the Sovinformburo. This was the main thing, and publications could go to both Pravda and Red Star.

- “Son of the Regiment” is to some extent the result of work at the front?

Yes, and Viaduct. But the most common misconception is associated with “Son of the Regiment”. Vanya Solntsev never existed. This collective image. Grandfather saw at least ten to twenty such sons of the regiment. He assembled Vanya Solntsev from the image of all these children. And thanks to the fact that “Son of the Regiment” became popular, the “sons of the regiment” movement began. That is, although Vanya Solntsev was not there, each of these people thought that it was about him. For Kataev this was very important. That everyone should be recognized, if any of them are still alive, they should be treated as heroes.

A funny incident happened to my friend. In the fifth-sixth grade we went through “Son of the Regiment” and she was given the task of writing what the writer Kataev was thinking about, what he wanted to put into the character of Vanya. Naturally, living two dachas away from us, she came to my grandfather and asked him to tell me what he meant. He said. She was given a C minus for her essay - she and Kataev were wrong. And this is a very common misconception associated with well-known literary works.

They often say that my grandfather received Stalin prizes and was awarded many state awards - this is not true. Despite the fact that his name was used for international affairs, he was awarded only once, for “Son of the Regiment” with the Stalin Prize, but of the second degree.

Circle in the round

But “The Embezzlers” became a bestseller in the United States.

Sometime in the twenties, the play ran on Broadway. “The Embezzlers” and “Squaring the Circle”, two things were on there. When we were in America, the Americans showed us a theater called “Circle in the round”. They said it was in honor of the “Squaring the Circle” that was staged here. This is how the theater was named, and it still exists.

Actually, a very funny thing is connected with “Squaring the Circle” and “Embezzlers”. Kataev was paid a staggering fee for those times - twenty dollars for the right to use the work for the rest of his grandfather's life. He had other performances there, and Petrov traveled to America (as a result of which “Multi-Storey America” appeared) and somehow received his grandfather’s fees. And by the time my mother was born, a Blue Washington Ford was delivered to Moscow from America. My grandmother stood at the window with my newborn mother, and this luxurious car was brought to her.

In 1965, the story “Dear, Dear Grandfather” was written - is it about you?

Not exactly about me, but again he doesn’t have things that are written exactly about someone or exactly based on something. But it was actually me who inspired him. We watched “Eugene Onegin”; I hated opera and periodically commented on everything that was happening on stage. Based on my comments, he created a work.

Didn’t Kataev want to return to live in Odessa?

I wanted to. But I was very worried about the fact that in Odessa there would never be hot water…

Valeria BURLAKOVA, Odessa

Kataev Valentin Petrovich (1897–1986), Russian writer. Hero of Socialist Labor (1974). Born on January 16 (28), 1897 in Odessa in the family of a teacher, a teacher at a diocesan school.

Pyotr Vasilievich Kataev; came from among the clergy. Mother, Evgenia Ivanovna Bachey - daughter of General Ivan Eliseevich Bachey, from the Poltava small estate noble family. Subsequently, Kataev gave the name of his father and the surname of his mother to the main, largely autobiographical hero of the tetralogy “Waves of the Black Sea” - Petya Bachey.
Valentin lost his mother early. The family did not live well, but the children studied at the gymnasium and even traveled abroad with their father, across the Mediterranean Sea. There was no strict supervision over them, and they managed to join the vibrant and unique life of different districts of Odessa. Kataev’s work was strongly influenced by the uniqueness of this southern, multinational, Mediterranean-Europe-oriented city, where the psychology of the inhabitants still retained features characteristic of the inhabitants of a free port. Odessa jargon influenced the writer's style. Valentin Kataev is the elder brother of the writer E. Petrov, who became famous satirist, co-author I. A. Ilf. Valentin published his first poem “Autumn” as a high school student in 1910 in the newspaper “Odessa Bulletin”. He also published in “Southern Thought”, “Odessa List”, “Awakening”, “Lukomorye”, etc. He did not pay too much attention to the aesthetic and political direction of his works, and sometimes published essays on the pages of warring newspapers. Speaking at poetry evenings, Kataev quickly met famous Odessa writers and joined the group of young poets “Green Lamp”. The young man was patronized by the famous Russian poet and writer A. M. Fedorov,

In the gymnasium, Kataev had the nickname “Chinese”, due to his slightly slanted eyes. In 1915, without graduating from high school, he went to the front as an 18-year-old volunteer. He began his service near Smorgon as a junior rank in an artillery battery, then was promoted to ensign. He was wounded and gassed twice. In the summer of 1917, after being wounded in the Kerensky offensive on the Romanian front, he was admitted to a hospital in Odessa. Kataev was given the rank of second lieutenant, but he did not have time to receive shoulder straps and was demobilized as an ensign. Awarded two Crosses of St. George and the Order of St. Anne IV degree (better known in Russian army entitled "Anna for Bravery"). With military rank and awards he received personal nobility, which is not inherited. At the front he wrote articles and essays about the “trench” life of soldiers, full of sympathy for the ordinary person in the war (Letters from there, Our everyday life, Ilya Muromtsy, and others). The growing protest against the war in the mindset of the fighting parties of those years is expressed in the story At Night (1917), banned by censorship.

In 1918, after being cured in a hospital in Odessa, Kataev joined the armed forces of Hetman P. P. Skoropadsky. After the fall of the hetman in December 1918, when the Bolsheviks appeared north of Odessa, Kataev volunteered in the Volunteer Army of A.I. Denikin in March 1919, automatically receiving the rank of second lieutenant. As an artilleryman, he was appointed commander of the first turret on the light armored train "Novorossiya" Armed Forces South of Russia (VSYUR). The armored train was assigned to the volunteer detachment of A.N. Rosenschild von Paulin and opposed the Petliurites, who declared war on the All-Soviet Union of Socialist Republics on September 24, 1919. The fighting lasted throughout October and ended with the Whites occupying Vapnyarka. The detachment advanced in the Kiev direction as part of the troops of the Novorossiysk region of the AFSR of General N. N. Shilling. The actions of the troops of the Novorossiysk region of the AFSR were part of Denikin’s campaign against Moscow. The armored train "Novorossiya" fought on two fronts - against the Petliurists entrenched in Vinnitsa, and against the Reds stationed in Berdichev. At the very beginning of 1920, even before the whites began to retreat, Kataev fell ill with typhus in Zhmerinka and was evacuated to an Odessa hospital. At the beginning of February 1920, still sick with typhus, his relatives took him home. On February 7, 1920, Odessa was finally occupied by the Reds.

Already in mid-February 1920, Kataev was cured of typhus. At this time, he joined the officer underground, which developed a plot to meet a possible Wrangel landing from the Crimea. (In a similar way - with a simultaneous attack by the landing detachment and the uprising of the officers' underground organizations, in August 1919 Odessa was liberated from the Reds. The main task of the conspirators was to capture the lighthouse to support the landing. The Odessa Cheka knew about the conspiracy from the very beginning and the “idea of ​​the conspiracy” itself was planted conspirators provocateur of the Cheka. In the Odessa Cheka, the conspiracy was called the “Wrangel conspiracy at the lighthouse." One of the conspirators, Viktor Fedorov, a former officer of the All-Soviet Union of Socialist Republics, who escaped persecution from the Reds and got a job as a junior officer in the searchlight team at the lighthouse, was associated with the lighthouse. And he was the son of the Russian writer A. M. Fedorov, who in turn was friends with the Kataev and Bunin families. The Cheka provocateur offered Viktor Fedorov a large sum of money for disabling the searchlight during the landing. Fedorov agreed to do it for free. The Cheka led the group for several weeks and then arrested its participants: Viktor Fedorov, his wife, his brother-in-law, projectors, Valentin Kataev and others. Together with Valentin Kataev, he was also arrested younger brother Evgeniy, who had nothing to do with the conspiracy.

Grigory Kotovsky stood up for Viktor Fedorov before the chairman of the Odessa Cheka, Max Deitch. Victor's father A.M. Fedorov in 1916 influenced the abolition of the death penalty by hanging in relation to Kotovsky. It was Kotovsky who took Odessa in February 1920 and thanks to this he had big influence on what was happening in the city at that time. Viktor Fedorov and his wife Nadezhda, at Kotovsky’s insistence, were released by Deitch.

And Valentin Kataev was saved by an even more fantastic accident. From the Moscow Cheka to the Odessa Cheka, a security officer came with an inspection, whom Kataev later called Yakov Belsky in his memoirs. In the summer of 1919, Belsky happened to be present during a conversation between Bunin and Kataev during the Bolshevik uprisings that were then taking place in Odessa. Bunin, not knowing that at that time Kataev was in the White Guard underground, reproached him in a conversation:

- “After all, if I’m talking to you after everything that you’ve done, then it means that I have an overpowering good feeling for you, because now I don’t bow to Carmen and I won’t bow…”

For Belsky, just like the Odessa security officers, who did not know about Kataev’s voluntary service in the All-Russian Socialist Republic, this was a sufficient reason to let Kataev go. In September 1920, after six months of imprisonment in an Odessa prison, Valentin Kataev and his brother were released from it. The remaining conspirators were shot in the fall of 1920.

"In 1919 he was mobilized into the Red Army, commanded an artillery battery on the Don Front." .... ]

After leaving prison, Valentin Kataev began writing again and collaborating with the YugROST association; attends various literary circles. He becomes close to E.G. Bagritsky, with whom he composes propaganda texts for posters. In 1921, he worked in the Kharkov press together with Yuri Olesha, edited the magazine "Kommunarka of Ukraine" and published in many other publications.

From 1922 he lived in Moscow; a permanent employee of the Gudok newspaper (since 1923), as a “topical” humorist, he collaborates and publishes humoresques and feuilletons in Pravda, Rabochaya Gazeta, Truda (pseudonyms: Old Man Sabbakin, Ol. Twist, Mitrofan Gorchitsa). IN early work Kataev’s peculiar fusion of realism, keen everyday observation, irony, reaching the point of sarcasm, romantic elation and daring fantasy manifested itself in stories about the Civil War (Krantz Experience, 1919; Golden Pen, 1920; Notes on the Civil War, 1924, where there is a tendentious-contrasting “ black and white" image of what is happening, with a sublime description of the "red" heroes and a satirical depiction of the White Guards), as well as in adventurous-utopian novels about the world revolution (Ehrendorf Island, Lord of Iron, both 1924) and in the social-critical phantasmagoria of "small" genres (Sir Henry and the Devil, 1920; The Iron Ring, 1923).

At the same time, Kataev moved from a mocking play on anecdotal incidents (collections of stories The Bearded Baby, 1924; The Funniest Thing, 1927) to the accusatory pathos of debunking the cult of profit and “beautiful” life. The writer’s first significant success was brought to him by the story The Embezzlers (1926; play of the same name, 1928), where the “archetypal” rogue heroes of new Russian literature, from Gogol’s Khlestakov and Chichikov to Ostap Bender, I. Ilf and E. Petrov, travel in search of great fortune (“ happiness") and as a result they discover both the falsity of their own ideals and the wretchedness of the surrounding reality. The acuteness of social and psychological satire, directed against philistine vulgarity and the bourgeois cult of property, also marked the stories of the 1920s by Ignatius Pudelyakin (1927), Child, Things (both 1929), and the comedy Squaring the Circle (1928). In those same years, Kataev also defined his other main themes: historical and revolutionary, combined with autobiographical (stories Father, 1925; Rodion Zhukov, 1926; The Sea, 1928, etc., continued with the story The Lonely Sail Whitens, 1936; film of the same name, 1937 , directed by V.G. Legoshin), and the theme of building a new life (the play Avangard, 1929, about the creation of collective farms; written after a trip to Magnitogorsk and strengthening the popularity of the writer, the chronicle novel Time, Forward!, 1931, full of dynamism, free pathos labor and optimistic faith in the creative energy of the masses, consonant with the joyful marching tonality of the then poems by V.V. Mayakovsky, who suggested the name of the work to Kataev).

The story The Lonely Sail Whitens, the main characters of which were Odessa boys - high school student Petya Bachey, named after maiden name Kataev's mother, and the fisherman's son Gavrik Chernoivanenko, find themselves in the whirlpool of the revolutionary events of 1905, together with adults (sailor from the battleship "Potemkin" Rodion Zhukov, Petya's father - teacher Vasily Petrovich Bachey, trader from the Odessa Privoz Madame Storozhenko, Gavrik's grandfather, etc.) experiencing the seriousness of the ongoing processes and at the same time, poeticizing with the sharpness of a fresh, romantic perception the world. The fascinating plot, the picturesque objectivity of the description of the “background” of what is happening - the bustle of Odessa streets, the market, the port, the beach, the incessant sea, school life, etc., the fusion of humor, lyricism and heroic pathos made this work one of the favorite children's books. The story was part of the tetralogy Waves of the Black Sea (story Khutorok in the Steppe, 1956, film of the same name, 1971, directed by B.A. Buneev; novels Winter Wind, 1960; Catacombs, 1948; 2nd version - 1951; other titles. For the power of the Soviets, film of the same name, 1956, directed by Buneev).

The desire to show the history of the country through the fate of a person is also marked by Kataev’s story I, Son of the Working People (1937), the action of which takes place during the German occupation of Ukraine in 1919, the main characters are folklore characters - the brave soldier Semyon Kotko and the beautiful maiden Sophia, a narrative that unfolds in the style of folk tales, full of descriptions of Ukrainian landscapes, rituals and customs, sounds of Ukrainian speech (the plot of the story was based on the opera by S.S. Prokofiev Semyon Kotko, 1939).

During the Great Patriotic War participated in the battles on the Kursk Bulge, near Orel. War correspondent Kataev wrote feuilletons, essays, stories (The Third Tank, Flag, Viaduct, Our Father, the story Wife, 1943, plays Father's house, Blue scarf). The story Son of the Regiment (1945; Stalin Prize 2nd degree, 1946), a story about the fate of an orphan boy adopted by a combat regiment. The institution of “sons of the regiment” has since become established in the Russian army; Based on the story, a play of the same name was written and a film was made (1946, directed by V.M. Pronin). The play Day of Rest (1947) was distinguished by its precise sense of modernity, authenticity of details, witty plot, fusion of lyricism and grotesque, like his other dramatic works.

After the war, Kataev was prone to multi-day drinking bouts. In 1946, Valentina Serova told the Bunins that Kataev “sometimes drinks for 3 days. He doesn’t drink, he doesn’t drink, and then, having finished a story, an article, sometimes a chapter, he goes on a spree.” In 1948, this almost led Kataev to divorce his wife.

The romantic love story of a soldier for a general’s daughter, which has become almost archetypal in the literature of modern times, is described by Kataev in a sentimental novel in letters, A Youth Novel by My Old Friend Sasha Pchelkin (1982).

Kataev’s second marriage was to Esther Davydovna Kataeva (1913-2009). “It was an amazing marriage,” Daria Dontsova, a close friend of the Kataev family, said about him. There were two children in this marriage - Evgenia Valentinovna Kataeva (named in honor of her grandmother, mother of Valentin Kataev, b. 1936) and children's writer and memoirist Pavel Valentinovich Kataev (b. 1938).

Kataev's son-in-law (husband of Evgenia Kataeva) is a Jewish Soviet poet, editor and public figure Aron Vergelis (1918-1999).

Kataev's nephews (sons of Evgeny Petrov) are cinematographer Pyotr Kataev (1930-1986) and composer Ilya Kataev (1939-2009).

Kataeva’s granddaughter (daughter of Evgenia Kataeva) is journalist Tina (Valentina) Eduardovna Kataeva.

Kataev died in Moscow on April 12, 1986. He was buried in Moscow on Novodevichy Cemetery(site no. 10).

Valentin Petrovich Kataev was awarded two St. George's crosses, the Order of St. Anne, IV degree, Stalin Prize second degree (1946) - for the story “Son of the Regiment” (1945), Hero of Socialist Labor (1974), three Orders of Lenin, medals. Corresponding member of the Mainz Academy (1973, Germany), member of the Goncourt Academy (1976, Paris).

On the facade of house No. 4 on Bazarnaya Street in Odessa, where Valentin Kataev was born, there is a memorial plaque. One of the alleys in Odessa is named after Valentin Kataev. In the Odessa Museum, a separate museum exhibition is dedicated to Kataev.

An Odessa journalist who interviewed the writer at the end of his life in 1982 spoke about him like this:

• “...He had an ineradicable Odessa accent.”

Creative heritage of Valentin Kataev:

The most important and most famous works

• Tetralogy "Waves of the Black Sea".
  • The Lonely Sail Whitens (1936)
  • Farm in the steppe (1956)
  • Winter Wind (1960)
  • For the power of the Soviets (Catacombs) (1949-1951)

Novels

• Lord of Iron (1924)
• Erendorf Island (1924)
• The Embezzlers (1926)
• Time forward! (1932)
• I am the son of the working people (1937)
• Broken Life, or Oberon's Magic Horn (1972)
• Cemetery in Skulany (1975)
• My Diamond Crown (1977)

Stories

• Rodion Zhukov (1928)
• Electric Machine (1943)
• Wife (1943)
• Son of the Regiment (1945)
• Trip South (1951)
• Small iron door in the wall (1964)
• Holy Well (1965)
• The Grass of Oblivion (1967)
• Cube (1969)
• Already written Werther (1980)
• A youth novel by my friend Sasha Pchelkin. Written by Himself (1980)
• Sleeper (1984)
• Dry Estuary (1985)

Collections of stories

• In a city under siege (1923)
• Sir Henry and the Devil (1923)
• Slacker Edward (1925)
• Bearded Little One (1926)
• New Stories (1926)
• Stories (1926)
• The Funniest Thing (1927)
• Solyanka team (1927)
• Father (1928)
• Birds of God (1928)

Some individual stories

• Child (1929)
• On the Margins of a Novel (1931)
• Sonya Buzuluk (1933)
• Two Hussars (1934)
• At Night (1934)
• Gases (1935)
• Namesake (1935)
• Paradox (1935)
• Death of Starodubtsev (1935)
• Dream (1935)
• Surprise (1935)
• Theater (1935)
• Meeting (1935)
• Black Bread (1935)
• Flowers (1936)
• Shadows (1937)
• Near Smorgon (1939)
• Flower-seven-flower (1940)
• The pipe and the jug (1940)
• Two Castles (1940)
• In passing (194)
• At the dacha (1941)
• Transcript (1942)
• Third Tank (1942)
• Partisan (1942)
• Lieutenant (1942)
• Photographic Card (1942)
• Flag (1942)
• 1918 (1943)
• Operational Zagrebukhin (1945)
• Pearl (1945)
• Stump (1945)
• Our Father (1946)
• Viaduct (1946)
• New Year's story (1947)
• Baby Soul (1947)
• Happy New Year!.. (1947)
• Last Night (1948)
• Damn Wind (1949)
• Little Dove (1949)
• Port (1951)
• Eternal Memory (1954)
• Memory (1961)
• Dear Sweet Grandfather (1965)
• Sorrento (1966)
• Monkey (1970)
• Violet (1973)
• Demyan talks (1977)

Poems

• Autumn (1910)

Non-genre works

• Sukhoi Liman (1986)

Kataev's works in theatre, cinema and television

Drama Theater

• 1927 - “Embezzlers” - Moscow Art Theater, staged by K. S. Stanislavsky.
• 1928 - “Squaring the Circle” - Moscow Art Theater, staged by N. M. Gorchakov under the direction of V. I. Nemirovich-Danchenko. The play is still staged in theaters in Russia, Europe and America.
• 1934 - “Road of Flowers” ​​- Moscow Modern Theater

1940 - “House” - Comedy Theater, staged by N. P. Akimov. The performance was banned; in 1972 (?) restored by director A. A. Belinsky.

• 1940 - “A soldier was walking from the front” - Vakhtangov Theater.
• 1942 - “The Blue Handkerchief” - theater (?).
• 1948 - “Crazy Day” (“Where are you, Monsieur Miussov?”) - Moscow academic theater Satires.
• 1954 (?) - “It happened in Konsk” (“House”) - Moscow Academic Theater of Satire.
• 1958 (?) - “Time for Love” - Mossovet Theater.

Opera theatre

• 1940, June 23 - “Semyon Kotko” (1939), opera by S. S. Prokofiev in 5 acts, 7 scenes based on the story “I, Son of the Working People...” by V. P. Kataev. Libretto by V. P. Kataev and S. S. Prokofiev. Moscow Academic Musical Theatre named after K. S. Stanislavsky and Vl. I. Nemirovich-Danchenko under the direction of M. Zhukova.
• 1970s - “Semyon Kotko” (1939), an opera by S. S. Prokofiev in 5 acts, 7 scenes based on the story “I, Son of the Working People...” by V. P. Kataev. Libretto by V. P. Kataev and S. S. Prokofiev. Grand Theatre, director B. A. Pokrovsky, conductor F. Sh. Mansurov

Filmography: scripts

• Circus (Scriptwriter with Ilya Ilf and Evgeny Petrov; all three removed their names from the film credits due to changes made to the script) (1936)
• The Motherland is calling (together with A. Macheret) (1936)
• Pages of Life (together with A. Macheret) (1948)
• The Lonely Sail Whitens (1937)
• Son of the Regiment (1946)
• For the power of the Soviets (together with S. Klebanov) (1956)
• Mad Day (1956)
• Poet (1957)

Maria Tereneva-Kataeva

"How it was" - autobiographical memory