The legendary KVN teams are the best of the best. Cheerful and rich

15 chosen

They played in KVN... For what? They say, to make everyone happier and more cheerful. Or maybe simply because for these people there was no entertainment more interesting than coming up with jokes and performing them in front of the audience. Or maybe because they understood: The college game is a good start for a career in television. In any case, many famous KVN players did not disappear anywhere after they left the game: some successfully implement their television projects, others write scripts for them, others host them, and others take part. A striking example of this is literature teacher and former KVN student Pavel Volya, who, I suspect, has not worked a single day in his specialty (except perhaps during compulsory student practice). Today is the famous showman's birthday. Let's see what the rest of the graduates are doing KVN schools.

But first, a little about the birthday boy. There's no point in talking about what he's doing now- Perhaps only those happy people who live without a TV do not know this. But few can remember his past, somewhat naive performances as part of the Penza team "Valeon Dasson." I remind you.

Actually The tradition of moving from KVN to television or show business is not new at all: it existed in the 70s, and in the 80s, and in the 90s. Just remember Yuliy Gusman, Arkady Inin, Leonid Yakubovich, Sergei Sivokho. All of them received a technical or natural science education and all of them fell into creativity: scripts, directing, creating and hosting show programs. The only difference is that then KVN “graduates” began to write scripts for Gaidaev’s films, and now for new Russian TV series.

Aleksey Kortnev and Valdis Pelsh once met on the MSU KVN team. As a result, Kortnev did not finish his studies at the Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics, but together with a friend he created the musical and humorous group “Accident”, which still enjoys fooling around in show business.

The programs created by KVN players are also not a fashion trend. The first such program was the already forgotten "Gentleman Show", created by team members "Odessa gentlemen". After them, the television space was conquered by the creators "OSP-Studio": The broadcast was made by people from different, sometimes opposing, teams: "Magma", NSU and "1 LMI". A former KVN opponents Tatyana Lazareva and Mikhail Shats even became spouses in their post-KVN life. And created a new show "Good jokes" inviting a former Novosibirsk KVN player there Alexandra Pushnogo, who delights the audience with his improvisations.

A famous singer once played on the same team with Pushny Pelagia –The 11-year-old girl at that time was the youngest participant in the game in its history.

However, at that time these were still one-time projects; the massive expansion of KVN talents onto television began in the middle of the last decade thanks to the well-known TV show Comedy Club. It has grown into its own production, releasing under its own label a huge number of subsidiary humorous programs that can employ almost all famous KVN players. For example, a program was created especially for KVN women Comedy Woman. Don't let your talents go to waste!

However, nothing prevents those KVN members who do not fit into the Comedy Club format from creating their own projects. For example, in a comedy show "Give You Youth!" almost entirely done by people from the team "Maximum". This program is a collection of sketches, some of which are quite successful. In one of the columns, for example, they parody activists of youth political movements.

And the team "Ural dumplings", while creating its projects, completely retained its composition and name. For example, in the show of the same name.

KVN “graduates” are increasingly crowding out the so-called “professionals” from television screens – actors, directors, producers and screenwriters. They host programs, come up with new programs, write scripts for films and TV series. Even those whom we do not often see on screen are usually present behind it in the role of screenwriters and producers of projects. "Interns", "Univer", "Daddy's Daughters" and many other series came from the pen "cheerful and resourceful."

True, I can’t say that I like all the projects of former KVN members. And some of them are downright disappointing. Maybe I've grown up, or maybe they've gotten younger. Or maybe the point is that no one can write quality jokes in a conveyor belt. What do you think?

What is your favorite KVN player? Do you like what he's doing now?

Garik Martirosyan, Pavel Volya, Andrey Rozhkov, Mikhail Galustyan, Semyon Slepakov, Ekaterina Varnava, Svetlana Permyakova - these comedians, having given up the television game “The Cheerful and Resourceful Club”, continued their careers in the entertainment industry and achieved recognition. Many of them participate in popular programs and series, others have come up with their own show, but there are also those who do not regret at all that they “broke” with the stage and humor. AiF.ru talks about the successes of former KVN players whom you have not seen for a long time.

Arman Saghatelyan

Arman Saghatelyan. Photo: Frame youtube.com Before and still popular today Garik Martirosyan became the captain of the “New Armenians” team, led by Arman Saghatelyan. He, unlike the co-founder of the Comedy Club, did not connect his life with humor, and even vice versa - today Saghatelyan is a candidate of political sciences, he has more than a dozen scientific articles and educational programs to his credit.

After leaving KVN in 1997, Saghatelyan served in the information and propaganda department of the Armenian Ministry of Defense, then worked in the Ministry of Defense as a civilian specialist, was an adviser to the director of the Center for Public Relations and Information of the Presidential Administration, and in 2013 became the press secretary of the President of Armenia. However, the former KVN player did not stay in the prestigious position for long; he left his post in 2015 to become the executive director of the Public Radio Company of Armenia.

Arthur Janibekyan

Arthur Janibekyan. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org / Maxim Tabachnov Teammate of Garik Martirosyan and Arman Saghatelyan, Arthur Janibekyan quickly left the stage, but became one of the richest and most influential people in Russian show business. In 2003, he, together with former KVN players, came up with the Comedy Club show, and then founded the production center Comedy Club Production. Thanks to him, the projects “Our Russia”, “Slaughter League”, “Laughter without Rules”, as well as “The Best Film” appeared on the screen. Janibekyan has always worked closely with Russian television channels: first he worked as a creative producer for STS, in 2015 he headed the Gazprom-Media Entertainment Television subholding, and in 2016 he also became the general director of TNT.

Janibekyan never regretted his decision to leave KVN for the sake of business: “I thank God that I stopped going on stage. Some kind of maturity came to me - I realized that this shouldn’t be done. Now I can’t imagine myself anywhere other than business. But I like to manage things...”

Zhanna Kadnikova

Everyone knows that the most striking performances of the national team of the Perm Territory “Parma” were performed by the duet “Svetka and Zhanka”. But if one of its participants - Svetlana Permyakova- became the star of the series “Interns” and continues to appear on screens in various shows, then about Zhanna Kadnikova the audience has long forgotten. Nevertheless, the graduate of the Perm Institute of Arts and Culture never left her creative profession - she simply became interested in directing and writing scripts. Thanks to the former KVN girl, viewers were able to get acquainted with the Russian adaptation of the popular American series “How I Met Your Mother” and the comedy TV hit “Real Boys”.

Shaban Muslimov

Shaban Muslimov. Photo: Frame youtube.com

The captain of the Makhachkala Tramps team, Shaban Muslimov, also chose to continue his career on the other side of the spotlight. The leader of one of the most titled KVN teams founded his own scriptwriters agency, the Guild of Authors. The comedian became the scriptwriter and director of the popular TV series “Happy Together” in the early 2000s. He worked on the RTR series “The Return of Mukhtar” and the STS “My Fair Nanny”. He also wrote scripts for such popular shows as “Star Factory”, “Song of the Year”, the “TEFI” and “Nika” ceremonies.

Elena Rybalko

Elena got into KVN back in 1996 and there she found her future husband - a participant in “Burnt by the Sun” Pavel Steshenko. Today a couple of former KVN players live in Sochi. They raise three children, are engaged in business (they have their own cafe), occasionally perform at corporate events and participate in the anniversary games of their favorite television show.

Timur Weinstein

Timur Weinstein. Photo: RIA Novosti / Alexander Natruskin

A member of the “Guys from Baku” team, champion of the KVN Major League in 1992 and winner of the 1995 Summer Cup, Timur Weinstein is better known today as a successful producer. The ideal biography of the former KVN player could be the envy of any businessman - first Weinstein became the producer and director of the Nika National Cinema Award Ceremony, then the general producer of Lean-M, and then founded the largest Russian company for the production of programs, films and TV series, White Media " In 2013, Weinstein joined the board of directors of STS Media, and currently holds the post of general producer of the NTV television company.

Svetlana Fabrikant

Svetlana Fabrikant. Photo: Frame youtube.com It turns out that from the “Club of the Cheerful and Resourceful” to politics is only one step, and the former player of the KVN Major League team “Odessa Gentlemen”, twice champion of the Club Svetlana Fabrikant is another confirmation of this. The girl became not only a television presenter, journalist, public figure, but also a deputy. Despite the lack of higher education and participation in various scandals, in 2013 Svetlana was elected head of the Strong Ukraine party. Then she wanted to become the mayor of Odessa, but it didn’t work out.

Today, the former KVN girl has many awards, including the honorary insignia of the mayor “For contribution to the development of Odessa” and the Order of St. Princess Olga of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate.

I started watching KVN fully in 1998 (I’ve seen some numbers before), and gave up in 2010. After that, I made attempts to resume watching it, but at some point I gave up, gave up and never turned it on again. I don't know what caused this. Maybe I watched Monty Python and saw what humor could really be. Maybe the reason is that KVN mainly touches on teenage topics - parties, exams, show business, which have long ceased to be close to me. Maybe the reason for this is adjustment to modern realities (clip thinking, numbers are short, fast, dynamic, you don’t have time to feel them). Or maybe KVN really is in crisis now, who knows. Although I heard “KVN is not the same anymore” during the period when I actively watched it and laughed until I cried at the jokes.

However, even though modern KVN is no longer close to me, no one takes away from me the old “tube” teams and their magnificent style, humor, and charisma. So, these are the top 11 of my favorite KVN teams! Why top 11? Because I stole the idea from the Nostalgia Critic!

A small disclaimer. At the end of each item I will indicate “favorite number”. This does not mean that he is the best or favorite. Rather, it’s just a very good number, one of the first that I remembered, and it’s also easy to find on YouTube.

11) “Pyramid” (Vladikavkaz)

The main problem of Caucasian teams in KVN is their one-sidedness. Almost everyone, in one way or another, tries to make jokes about the Caucasus. And it would be nice if there were a lot of topics, but no, everything depends on a certain set: long-livers, ladies' men, lawlessness, Lezginka, poor knowledge of the capital's traditions. In these five jokes, for example, “Narts from Abkhazia” emerged as champions. But there were those who were able to go beyond these stereotypes. Off the top of my head I can name two such teams – “New Armenians” and “Pyramid”. The Armenians, of course, will be more famous. They were champions, they created the Comedy Club, they gave Martirosyan to the world. But I tried to remember their best numbers... And you know, for some reason I didn’t remember anything whole. At the Pyramid, I remembered five numbers offhand. To be honest, I like the same 2008 champion “Maximum”, who beat “Pyramid” in the final, a little more. But I didn’t include it in the top purely out of respect for the Ossetians, who managed to joke not only about how a hundred-year-old grandfather cares for a girl, while his grandson, released from prison, uses his cell phone as a shoehorn, and at the end everyone dances lezginka.
Favorite number:"Clan Bolvano"

10) “Fedor Dvinyatin” (Moscow – Stupino)


And here many people will have a question: I confessed my love to KVN at the turn of the century, and then suddenly I include THIS in the top? Let me explain. "Fyodor Dvinyatin", in my opinion, were a distorting mirror of the era in which they played. In the second half of the 2000s, jokes about “substances,” about glamour, social life, and parties began to be heard more and more often on the stage. “Fyodor Dvinyatin” brought these themes to the point of absurdity. He simply did not care about all the norms of morality and decency, laughed at them and really forced himself to hate. No wonder one of the loudest scandals of the KVN Major League was associated with them, when Yuliy Gusman tore them to smithereens parody of Valery Leontiev. These guys, with their wild behavior, laughed at KVN, at the audience, at the jury. And that's great!
Favorite number:"Pushkin's Nannies"

9) “Megapolis” (Moscow)

I don’t know who first came up with the concept of “the team captain comes out and spreads rot on everyone,” but “Megapolis” was the first to take it to the absolute level. This idea did not resonate with many. I admit, at first I didn’t like it either. It was hard to watch people hate each other, even if only as a joke. But if you do not pay attention to this controversial idea, then you can only admire Megapolis. Their numbers constantly included references to classical literature and music. One of their first memorable numbers - poet-fabulist– this is generally something unimaginable. The team tore up the hall not with the fables themselves, but with their names or first lines (“one day a whale was walking along the shore. Suddenly, a camel rose from the water in amber spray”). “Megapolis,” in my opinion, was the last echo of the good old KVN - with long solid numbers and brilliant theatrical acting, and not “jumped out - joked - ran away - and all to the music.”
Favorite number:"Hussar Ballad"

8) BSU (Minsk)

The only two-time KVN champion in my era. This team was memorable because it did not have any specific style. That is, Belarusians went out not only for Lukashenko and potatoes. They took it with humor. However, none of their iconic numbers were similar to the other. Yes, in 2001 they had Galygin with parodies of the aforementioned “Alexander Khrigorievich”, but at the same time the team did not slide into endless self-repetitions. And BSU were the only ones who showed the real KVN on stage... porn film! My generation will understand what I mean. Even in those freer times, this seemed like a very bold move.
Favorite number:"Concert "Time Machine"

7) “Prima” (Kursk)


Tell me, KVN fans, what is the first association you have when you name this team? Of course, pictures. Illustrated humor was their specialty, their know-how; many generally consider it almost their invention, although, of course, they joked like that back in the sixties. And yes, their rooms were simply magnificent. At the same time, you never know where, when and on what topic they will produce a masterpiece. In principle, there is no point in talking about their drawings - all this is easily found on the Internet. But when talking about “Prima”, many miss their other feature, which is atypical for their generation. Just pay attention to their humor outside of the pictures: parliamentary debates, housing and communal services reform, “visiting the Erokhins,” apartment renovations, musical "Loaders"... The team joked about everyday topics that were close not to Muscovites, but to ordinary provincial Russians. She was not shy about incorporating political satire into her act. It’s a pity that they were remembered primarily for the pictures, and secondly for the poems. Yes, they even often used songs that some of the modern generation had not even heard. Take, for example, the remake of “My Darling” about a trip to Turkey.
Favorite number: but there will be no pictures for you! "Glue the Homewrecker"

6) DasISTfak’t (Yaroslavl)

The most unknown team in this selection. These guys spent only two seasons on television, and in the Premier League, they quietly disappeared and remained generally misunderstood. And this is easily explained - jokes about Zhanna Friske are much more understandable to the average TV viewer than, for example, "Hunting Martens with a Boomerang". It seems to me that if Sergei Kuryokhin played in KVN, his team would be somewhat reminiscent of “DasISTfak’t”. It was even clear from the reaction of the audience that sometimes they simply didn’t understand what the guys were doing on stage. But alas, the main reason that these guys were never allowed into the tower was not their non-standard humor. And it’s not even a dissonant name (at first they were called “Das Istfak”, then they were forced to add the letter “t”). The main reason is the themes for humor. Their very first speech contained the phrase “There are all these “Ours”, “Young Guard”, everyone has eyes worth five kopecks, throw them grains - they will peck.” I don’t even understand how they were allowed on TV with such killer humor during the times of real freedom of speech. Unfortunately, over the years, KVN has been increasingly used as a political platform for instilling in young people the “correct” ideology and the “correct” image of enemies. And rare social humor like remake "I want to break free" looks very inappropriate, like an attempt to show: “Look, people, we have freedom of speech!” Although in fact... but let's not talk about sad things.
Favorite number:“While everyone is at home” in Czech”

5) “LUNA” (Chelyabinsk)

For many teams, it happens like this: you watch five numbers, memorize two hundred jokes, and then go around and quote them. With “LUNA” the situation was somewhat different. Off the top of my head, I only remembered two separate jokes from them, but one of them has long since become popular. First - “birch tree, I would like as many buds as you have”. Well, and the second is the legendary phrase about the film (no matter which): “The book is better. And any". “LUNA” was different – ​​the integrity of the number. No KVN team of the 21st century has ever had so many integral numbers, broken not into several pieces, but consistent with one theme. Take, for example, my favorite - "Formula of Love". In fact, there is a complete retelling of the Soviet comedy, and not the most famous one (not “The Diamond Arm”, not “Ivan Vasilyevich”). The team on stage in STEM and “Homework” was a real theatrical production, albeit compressed by time frames. Making a lot of good jokes is, of course, not easy. But making a lot of good jokes on one topic is already aerobatics.
Favorite number:“Dowry” (although I love “Formula of Love” most of all)


4) Pyatigorsk team

There were and, for sure, there are many teams in KVN that want to look like simple guys from the provinces. But alas, another joke about how Nikolai Baskov rode in the elevator all day because there was a mirror reveals that the guys, or at least their authors, are the most metropolitan citizens. The Pyatigorsk people were real provincials. From the very first performance, it seemed that they had seen KVN somewhere at the dawn of the nineties, and then lightning struck their only television in the village. Yes, they already had a lot of humor about modern realities, but sometimes it seemed that they were reluctant to joke about these topics. They did much better in numbers about the Middle Ages, Rural Romance, Chapaev... In general, they did about the same thing as “MOON”, but at the same time they had a couple of advantages over their Ural comrades. Firstly, they used even less popular films for their numbers. Secondly, their humor was sometimes so absurd that you didn’t immediately understand that they were joking like that, and you sat there, waiting for the joke to end. And then it dawns on you... Well, another important fact is that Pyatigorsk was very good in warm-ups. And this, as you understand, is the most difficult KVN competition.
Favorite number:"New Year" (with "Bohemian Rhapsody")

3) “Ural dumplings” (Ekaterinburg)

We won’t talk about what “Pelmeni” is doing on the STS channel - why talk about sad things? In general, I personally saw “Pelmeni” only have the championship season of 2000. And from it I only remember “Can’t touch this” on improvised instruments, as well as the enchanting “Delchev Somersault”. But the main thing is what they did after leaving the “tower”. Most of the Anniversary games and the short-lived project “KVN. Outside the game” they stayed on the numbers of “Pelmeni”. Plus their constant performances at Sochi festivals, including 2003, when they gave us, perhaps, the best KVN act of the last 15 years (I think you understand, what are we talking about). Their humor was based on absurdity and unexpected breaking of the fourth wall, and before it became mainstream. Once I caught myself thinking that when constructing jokes, they reminded me very much of Monty Python. And then I found out that “Dumplings” was actually inspired by “Monty Python”! And most importantly, they skillfully used the image of an inadequate person on the team (Dima Sokolov). That is, in KVN, many build almost all their humor, all their performances around a person who is, as it were, “not of this world.” “Pelmeni” used Sokolov as a kind of joker when it was necessary to finish off the audience, which was already dying of laughter.
Favorite number:“Show “Doors” (“Gladiolus” everyone has already seen a hundred times)

2) Team of St. Petersburg

The St. Petersburg team is a unique phenomenon in KVN. Perhaps, no team that did not become a champion has received such strong popular love. For many KVN fans of my age, St. Petersburg became the first true love. They took me with some kind of lightness, liveliness of humor. And they looked very youthful. While others came out in the same greetings and simply joked “in line,” these guys jumped and ran around the stage, simply blowing your mind with incredibly cool humor. They combined the lightness of modern humor with St. Petersburg intellectuality. Their humor showed respect for the viewer - just look at their number about Bob Marley's visit to the USSR. Almost no one showed such musical numbers in KVN. Except for one more team (more on them later). And how they dressed! Look - most KVN teams either wear uniforms of the same style, or players dress in certain images (for example, “County City”). And here they went on stage as if they had just come out of the dressing room and forgot to change clothes.
In 2005, Peter suddenly decided to return, although he was clearly no longer attracted to young people. And they returned completely different. They had uniforms (beige jackets), and humor was no longer so light and fast. They again, as at the turn of the century, seemed anachronistic. But anachronistic in the other direction. Have they gotten worse? No. They just changed their style and became different. These were already respectable men and a woman with more respectable humor. But they still did not become champions. In general, that season finally convinced me that KVN is won not by the team that is better, but by the one that is “necessary”. Twice - in 1999 and 2002, St. Petersburg lost in the finals to teams that should not have made it to these finals. First, they defeated BSU in the semifinals, but by Maslyakov’s decision, the Belarusians also advanced to the finals, where they performed objectively better than anyone else. Then absolutely the same story happened with “District City” (although their advantage was no longer so obvious). And in 2005, St. Petersburg fell behind the winners by 0.1 points in the semifinals. 0.1!!! (in words) One tenth! In this situation, I won’t even remind you that those estimates were clearly underestimated. Maslyakov said in a cold voice that “the numbers say the following...”, and Peter left KVN forever.
Favorite number:"Bad Radio"

1) “Children of Lieutenant Schmidt” (Tomsk)

The Pyatigorsk national team on stage looked like a kind of “greetings from the past.” Peter looked ahead of his time. “Children of Lieutenant Schmidt” is a team out of time. Their numbers (except for the realities of the era) would have looked great in the eighties and look great now. Tomsk residents were not pioneers of any genre or symbols of any era. They simply produced humor of the highest quality. As they say, they came out and tore the hall apart. At the same time, it made no difference to them in which competition they did it - “homework” or “warm-up”. I have never seen a single team that was so cool in the warm-up. At the same time, their main trick was to run out to answer before the required time had expired - the resourcefulness of Grigory Malygin (R.I.P.) and the company in those years was simply amazing. And DLSH also had incredibly cool singers. There is a team from RUDN University that showed off their ability to sing. For "Children" this was a given. At the same time, having Gasaev and Vince on the team, they could not bother with the lyrics at all, but simply take over the audience with their bare hands thanks to their powerful voices. At the same time, they not only made hilarious alterations ( “how disgusting it is in Russia in the morning”), but the song performance was also turned into a small performance.
But the most important contribution of “Children” to KVN, and indeed to the history of our country, was the ability to easily joke about the situation that developed in Russia in those years. The crisis, the devastation, the always drunken president, the closure of NTV - all these topics were easily turned into a joke by DLSH, mocking the current government, but at the same time leaving in the hearts of people the hope that everything would eventually settle down, everything would be fine. And as confirmation - their indispensable final songs with a rural-folk slant. In modern KVN, in order to raise the spirit of patriotism, for some reason it is considered necessary to throw a stone at America. The “Schmidts” made the Russian soul open up and feel proud of itself without pseudo-pathetic phrases, without Zadornov’s “Russian savvy”. And it was incredibly cool!
I have already written a lot about “DLSh”, but I have to highlight one more paragraph about “Siberian Siberians”. In 2001, almost all Tomsk residents performed under a new name and new registration. Yes, they received reinforcements from the NSU team, but still the same people set the tone. With the only exception - Alexander Pushnoy. And that year they seemed to have decided not to fight for the championship, but to show the people what they themselves liked. Just think about it: in 2001, a parody of "PINK FLOYD". And not even on Another brick in the wall, but on Shine on your crazy diamond! Pushnoy was a pioneer of the rock-KVN style. It’s a pity that this style has largely ended at Pushnoye.
Favorite number:"Happy Accident"

P.S. Just in case, let me remind you: this top is purely my subjective opinion. Be sure to write yours in the comments. Which KVN teams did you love and love? Is KVN “cake” now? If not, when do you think it became “not a cake”? In general, we are waiting!

KVN is one of the oldest programs on Russian television. 55 years have passed since the first release on November 8, 1961; in total, KVN has been on the air for 41 years. If it were not for the forced break (the program was closed in 1972, and the show was resumed only in 1986), KVN would have been ahead of the Travelers Club program, listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest program on domestic TV.

Fragments of the finale of one of the first seasons 1964/65:

For the first seven years of its existence, KVN was broadcast live and involved direct communication with the public, which was rare on Central Television.

KVN very quickly grew from a simple youth program into a real “club of interests.” Today there are more than 80 official leagues united in the International KVN Union, more than 200 teams compete in them, and more than five million people attend the games annually. In total, there are thousands of student and school teams in Russia and abroad.

One of the symbols of KVN is the presenter Alexander Maslyakov. Meanwhile, he got into the program by chance. After one of the founders and first presenter of KVN, Albert Axelrod, left the project, a competition was held for the vacant position - each team nominated its own candidate.

Bella Sergeeva director of Central TelevisionThey wanted to take Sasha Zatselyapin to replace Axelrod. It was the captain of the Physics and Technology Institute. But it was inconvenient to just take him, and we decided to organize a competition: let each of the 12 teams nominate its own candidate. And there was Pasha Kantor, captain of MIIT. And then Pasha comes and some boy with him. Pasha: “Bella Isidorovna, you know, I can’t. Well, what kind of presenter am I, take this - Sasha Maslyakov, he is so good, he is talented.” I looked, my God, the hairs were sticking out, the eyes were running, he was so nondescript, sad, looking around. And the program begins, everyone conducts their own competition. Well, first, Zatselyapin. Then the second one is some kind of presenter. Horrible! “Well, that’s it,” I say. “We died.” Then Sashka. “Well, there’s no need to watch this. I’d rather go for a walk somewhere.” And suddenly, he became so poised, combed his hair and was so lively. Svetka (Svetlana Zhiltsova - editor's note) faded away. He helped her with something else. That is, this is truly a gift from God (from the book by Mikhail Shchedrinsky “We are starting KVN”).

1963, Alexander Maslyakov and Svetlana Zhiltsova start KVN:

What do KVN players become?

The creative personnel of most domestic and not only television channels are largely composed of former KVN players. They become successful screenwriters (Vitaly Kolomiets, Leonid Kuprido, Andrey Rozhkov), producers (Semyon Slepakov, Sangadzhi Tarbaev), TV presenters (Leonid Yakubovich, Mikhail Marfin, Tatyana Lazareva, Garik Martirosyan, Dmitry Khrustalev) and actors (Dmitry Brekotkin, Natalya Gromushkina, Vladimir Zelensky, Natalia Medvedeva). Basically, they continue to work in the humorous genre one way or another. However, there are famous people in whom it is not always possible to recognize former KVN players.

Alexander Filippenko, theater and film actor, People's Artist of Russia

MIPT KVN team, champions of the 1962/63 season

“It was a pleasure to participate in KVN. It was there that Alik Axelrod, the first presenter and creator of KVN, saw me and invited me to the “Our House” studio - it was the famous theater studio at Moscow State University. Khazanov, Farada, Filippov, Slavkin and many now famous people started there. I continued to study at MIPT, but every evening I went to rehearsals and performances. This determined my future life. After the studio closed, Yuri Petrovich Lyubimov invited me to his theater. I became an actor in that “great” Taganka and at the same time entered the correspondence department of the Shchukin School” (from an interview with the Los Angeles city portal).

Boris Burda, expert on “What? Where? When?”, participant in the show “Own Game”, journalist, writer

KVN team of the Odessa Institute of National Economy, champions of 1972

“Our KVN was the most courageous program of the era of unfreedom, and the revived one was the most cowardly program of the era of glasnost. When the KVNs of the late 60s were on, the streets were empty, and after each performance of the Odessa residents, Demichev (Minister of Culture of the USSR in 1974-86 - editor's note) called our regional committee and reprimanded us for something, in his opinion, inappropriate. We were never told why exactly. And in the KVNs of the 80s they even cut out what Pravda had already published. The funny thing is that this was done by his editors, my colleagues in KVN of the 60s, who also suffered from censorship and cursed it, like me. When at the very first KVN they cut out the question: “What happens if the superstructure collapses onto the base?” and the answer: “The stratum will suffer the most,” I realized that I had correctly decided not to return to KVN” (from an interview with the “Purely Odessa site”).

Timur Weinstein, producer (produced, in particular, the television series “Soldiers”, “Happy Together”), general producer and founder of the WeiTMedia group of companies (series “Ashes”, “Motherland”, show “One to One”), Deputy General Director - general producer of NTV television company

KVN team "Guys from Baku", champions of 1992

“KVN led me astray. I graduated from medical university and am a psychiatrist by profession. But then I went into creativity, which influenced my entire future path. Now KVN helps me have a constant vitality and, probably, react with irony to everything that happens around me” (in an interview with the newspaper “Vzglyad”).

Pelageya, singer, Mentor in the TV project “The Voice”

NSU KVN team (took part in the games of the 1997 season, becoming the youngest KVN player at that time), champion of 1988, 1991 and 1993

“I lived in Novosibirsk then. KVN members saw a singing girl on TV, called and invited her. This was just the first season of their game. I took part in a music competition and went to Jurmala. I was nine years old at the time, and a new life was beginning - we were offered to move to Moscow, write an album, and so on. In general, my carefree childhood, when I could do whatever I wanted, was ending, and the team played the next season without me. Of course, all this was interesting! They are adults, they are all so talented, their energy is overflowing! And they loved me very much there, I was like the daughter of the regiment. A lot of interesting people came from there: Tanya Lazareva, Alexander Pushnoy, Garik Martirosyan... Now, 10-11 years later, when I communicate with them, it’s like I’m immersed in childhood” (in an interview with Novye Izvestia).

Vyacheslav Murugov, General Director of the media holding "STS Media"

KVN team of BSU, champions of 1999 and 2001

“I served in Brest in the Belarusian Army with the rank of lieutenant, then I met Valentin Karpushevich (at that moment the captain of the BSU team - editor's note), who lived and still lives in Brest. Actually, we met at some wild drinking party, I woke up on the KVN team, where he brought me and recommended me. In front of the team, I then came up with a joke about the fact that “when Belarus bows to Russia, Poland is offended...”. They asked if this joke could be taken to the team? I asked: which one? It was at that moment that I learned about the existence of the BSU team. I learned about KVN a day earlier... Actually, my career as an author began with this joke.<…>I didn’t set myself the goal of achieving heights on television, but it turned out that way. KVN simply became a catalyst that revealed my creative abilities” (from a questionnaire on the website of the International KVN Union).

How to celebrate the birthday of KVN on the First

For several years in a row, KVN players celebrated their main holiday as part of the Moscow Mayor's Cup, the winners of which automatically qualified for the finals of the Major League. In 2013, six teams took part in the holiday game.

KVN players after KVN - what was their fate? Which pop stars came out of this game? We will try to list at least the most famous ones.

KVN is a game that has taken a strong place in the hearts of many people from the very first day of its foundation. Incomparable humor, an interesting format and consistently good presenters ensured the popularity of the Cheerful and Resourceful Club for many years and even decades. It is not surprising that for many players, participation in KVN became the impetus for gaining fame and starting a solo career.

Mikhail Zadornov

Mikhail Zadornov

The famous comedian was born in Riga, but received his higher education at the Moscow Aviation Institute. While studying at the university, he became a KVN member and decided on the direction of his future activity.

Mikhail Zadornov managed to start his solo career on stage only in 1982. Since that day, the comedian has been drawing entire audiences to his concerts, and some of his jokes are firmly entrenched in people’s minds, because he always talks about “sore issues.”

Gennady Khazanov

Gennady Khazanov

The man who is the head of the Moscow Variety Theater was a former KVN player and played for the IISS team at about the same time as Mikhail Zadornov. The popular game, as well as the activities of Arkady Raikin, had a direct impact on the development of Gennady Khazanov as a humorous pop figure. Today he is known not only as a successful pop artist, but also as one of the jury members of the Major League of the Cheerful and Resourceful Club.

Yuliy Gusman

Yuliy Gusman

Every fan of the Fun and Resourceful Club knows the name of Yuli Gusman, since he is a permanent member of the jury in the game. However, few people know that young Julius himself once stood on stage as the capital of the Baku national team.

In addition to being a member of the jury, Yuliy Gusman is known for his film roles, directorial works, as well as political and social activities.

Leonid Yakubovich

Leonid Yakubovich and Maslyakov

Since 1991, Leonid Yakubovich became known as the host of the popular show “Field of Miracles”. But for many it remains a mystery what such a famous TV presenter did before the appearance of the famous program. It turns out that while studying at the Moscow Institute of Civil Engineering, young Yakubovich played on the institute’s team.

Despite the fact that the team did not achieve significant results, Leonid did not part with the Cheerful and Resourceful Club forever, and since 2000 he has become a frequent member of the jury evaluating the Major League.

Participants 1980 - 2000

These two decades saw the revival of the Club of the Cheerful and Resourceful. The game was not taken seriously, and the situation in the country was not conducive to continuing a humorous career. However, some participants of these years were still able to gain universal recognition and became very popular.

Vadim Samoilov

Vadim Samoilov

A new generation that is not into rock music may not know who Vadim Samoilov is. But probably everyone has heard about the Agatha Christie group. Vadim founded it with his comrades while still a student at the Ural Polytechnic Institute, and took part in the life of Agatha Christie until the very last performance. He managed to be a musician, soloist, author, producer, etc. And young Vadim managed to combine studying at a university and creating a rock band with participation in the KVN UPI team.

Today Vadim Samoilov continues his musical career, but as a solo performer. His debut album is expected to be released soon.

Sergey Svetlakov

Sergey Svetlakov

Svetlakov began his career as a student at the Ural State University of Transport. Then he first became a member of the university team of the Cheerful and Resourceful Club. It is not known exactly which KVN team Svetlakov played for at that time, but there is no doubt that this two-year experience became fundamental for his participation in the Ural Dumplings.

Collaboration with a well-known team began with authorship, and then grew into direct participation. “Ural Dumplings” - the KNV team, from which Svetlakov emerged already quite famous, performed with an almost unchanged lineup for 9 years. At the same time, a show of the same name was born, which is still successful today.

Svetlakov’s KVN team included such famous comedians as Dmitry Sokolov, Sergei Netievsky, Sergei Isaev, Dmitry Brekotkin. Some of them have been in “Ural Pelmeni” since the very first day of its foundation, and many still perform as a single team.

Garik Martirosyan

Young Garik Martirosyan

Showman, TV presenter, Comedy Club resident, producer - it is for this type of activity that Garik Martirosyan is known today. However, he began his career while studying at medical university. The Yerevan University team offered Garik a place on their roster, and he took a risk. Participation in KVN as part of the “New Armenians” began in 1993 and lasted for almost 10 years. The KVN team, in which Martirosyan played, won KiViN several times, and also became the champion in 1997.

Today, the face of Garik Martirosyan can be seen on the Russia-1 channel in the project “Dancing with the Stars,” as well as on the TNT channel in Comedy Club episodes.

Alexander Pushnoy

Alexander Pushnoy

The unique image of Alexander Pushnoy on television appealed to viewers back in 1997, when he became a member of the team of the Cheerful and Resourceful Club at the institute. A little later, he joined the “Siberian Siberians”, and then continued his humorous activities in “Children of Lieutenant Schmidt”. With his participation, the KVN team of Alexander Pushnoy did not achieve significant results, but this did not prevent the artist from winning everyone’s favor.

Today he is known as the host of the scientific and educational program “Galileo”, the author and performer of humorous songs, and also for his participation in many TV series as a composer. This is probably one of the few famous KVN participants who was able to remain on television and not directly connect his activities with the humorous direction.

Participants 2001 - 2010

Perhaps this decade was the most successful for the participants of the Club of the Cheerful and Resourceful, because it was during this period that a large number of humorous programs with famous KVN players began to appear and flourish the most famous KVN teams. Many of them are still popular and perform on various television shows and as solo performers.

Timur Batrutdinov

Timur Batrutdinov

Timur began his career as a comedian as a student at the University of Economics in St. Petersburg. After graduation, he tried to get a job in his specialty, and he even succeeded - for some time he was among the employees of PSA Peugeot. However, as soon as he was offered participation in the team of the Cheerful and Resourceful Club, he immediately forgot about his career as a financier and devoted himself entirely to performances in the Club.

Today, Timur's main activity is related to participation in the Comedy Club. In addition, he manages to play episodic roles in films and participates in the project “Dancing with the Stars.”

Ekaterina Varnava

Ekaterina Varnava

Probably, few people remember that a regular participant in the television show “Comedy Woman” and a sex symbol, according to many magazines, Ekaterina Varnava began her career as a member of the “Own Secrets” team and the “Small Nations Team” of the Cheerful and Resourceful Club. KVN Varnava teams took part in the Major League, but were unable to achieve significant results.

A little later, Ekaterina began to develop as a presenter, but she gained all-Russian popularity thanks to Comedy Woman, where she still realizes her humorous potential.

Pavel Volya

Pavel Volya

“A simple guy from Penza,” as Pavel Volya says to himself, today is widely known as a pop artist, comedian, singer, presenter, as well as an excellent husband of master of sports in rhythmic gymnastics Laysan Utyasheva and the father of two wonderful children.

Little is known about the beginning of Pavel’s career, so many people are interested in which KVN team Volya played in. It turns out that he was not only a participant, but also the captain of the Valeon Dasson. The highest achievement of the Penza team is participation in the Major League. However, in the eighth final, the KVN team, in which Pavel Volya played, dropped out of the game and did not perform again.

Few people know that the life of a famous comedian can be seen as an example of dedication and faith in what he loves. Before rising to the pinnacle of his fame, Pavel managed to work as a radio presenter, a DJ, and even a construction foreman. But, strictly following his dream helped him become what he is now - a famous comedian and simply a successful man.

Mikhail Galustyan

Mikhail Galustyan

KVN with the participation of Galustyan began to sparkle with new colors, because it was this man who came up with a special image and performance style in the image of “Grandma Seranush,” which was then used by many other teams. Mikhail began his career as a member of the “Burnt by the Sun” team while still studying at a medical school. A little later, he entered college and became a member of Start, and then returned to Burnt by the Sun.

Thus, it is impossible to unambiguously answer the question of which KVN team Galustyan played in, however, it was “Burnt by the Sun” that brought him fame. While Galustyan was captain, the young people managed to reach the top of the Major League and several times earn the Summer Cup of the Cheerful and Resourceful Club.

After this, Mikhail became known as a talented actor and producer. He was involved in such projects as Our Russia, Comedy Club, Comedy Woman, etc. In addition, Galustyan is an active social and political figure and is a member of the headquarters of the Yunarmiya movement.

Igor Kharlamov

Igor Kharlamov

Comedian, better known as Garik "Bulldog" Kharlamov- this is another example of climbing to the Olympus of fame through a very thorny path. Igor spent his youth in America, where he worked as a cashier at a popular food chain and also sold phones. After moving to Moscow, twins were born into the family, and money became sorely lacking. Igor, in a duet with his brother, went out onto the street and worked part-time on Arbat as a street singer and comedian.

The true beginning of his career takes place within the walls of the State University of Management. Garik Kharlamov’s participation in the KVN teams “Moscow MAMI Team” and “Ungolden Youth” made him stand out from the crowd for the first time. Next comes the work of a TV presenter, and then the continuation of a career in a duet with Timur Batrutdinov. It was this experience that helped Kharlamov become mega-popular.

Participants 2010 - 2017

Igor Lastochkin

Igor Lastochkin

For several seasons, “Team of Dnepropetrovsk” showed the audience the inimitable duet “Igor and Lena”. Vladimir Borisov played the role of Lena, and Igor Lastochkin, the captain of the Dnepropetrovsk national team, played the role of Igor. The duet was very popular with TV viewers, as the young people allowed them to look at everyday life situations from a different, humorous perspective.

Today, Igor Lastochkin participates in several humorous shows, among which are “Sense of Humor” and “Once Upon a Time in Russia,” is an active coach of League of Laughter teams, and also hosts the popular TV show “Make a Comedian Laugh.” Such versatile activities allow Igor not only to maintain his popularity, but also to earn the reputation of an excellent humorous actor and a good mentor for aspiring comedians.

Andrey Skorokhod

Andrey Skorokhod

Born in Belarus, Andrei Skorokhod became interested in KVN at school age. A little later, he entered the university and, together with another student, created the Lost Thoughts team. Unfortunately, these extracurricular activities greatly affected Andrei's academic performance, and he was soon expelled from the university. However, by this time “Lost Thoughts” had become a member of the Major League and had already gained popularity.

In Russia, Andrey Skorokhod became known as one of the members of the “Triod and Diode” team. His schtick is a student who is trying to pass his exams but is unable to do so due to extreme anxiety. There is a note of self-irony in this, because Skorokhod himself was never able to pass all the necessary exams at the university.

Since 2013, the Russian comedian has been busy participating in the popular show on the TNT channel “Comedy Club”.

Of course, after KVN, many KVN participants return to their normal lives - they find work in their specialty or preference. However, the Club of the Cheerful and Resourceful never leaves their hearts. This is probably why the anniversary editions of the program easily bring together old teams and allow adults who have already achieved success in life to plunge into the years of their youth for a few moments and again take part in their favorite game.