Doctor Aybolit (russian: Доктор Айболит, ''Doktor Aibolit'') is a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...

from the children's poems ''Aybolit'' (1929) and ''Barmaley'' (1925) by

Korney Chukovsky Korney Ivanovich Chukovsky ( rus, Корне́й Ива́нович Чуко́вский, p=kɐrˈnʲej ɪˈvanəvʲɪtɕ tɕʊˈkofskʲɪj, a=Kornyey Ivanovich Chukovskiy.ru.vorb.oga; 31 March NS 1882 – 28 October 1969) was one of the most p ...

, as well as from the children's fantastic novella ''Doctor Aybolit'' (1925) by the same author. The name may be translated as "Ouch, thurts!" The origins of ''Aybolit'' can be traced to

Hugh Lofting Hugh John Lofting (14 January 1886 – 26 September 1947) was an English American writer trained as a civil engineer, who created the classic children's literature character Doctor Dolittle. The fictional physician to talking animals, based in a ...

's 1920 character

Doctor Dolittle Doctor John Dolittle is the central character of a series of children's books by Hugh Lofting starting with the 1920 ''The Story of Doctor Dolittle''. He is a physician who shuns human patients in favour of animals, with whom he can speak in the ...

. Like ''

Buratino Buratino (Russian: Буратино) is the main character of Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy's 1936 book ''The Golden Key, or the Adventures of Buratino'', which is based on the 1883 Italian novel ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' by Carlo Collo ...

'' by Aleksey Tolstoy or ''

The Wizard of the Emerald City ''The Wizard of the Emerald City'' (russian: Волшебник Изумрудного Города) is a 1939 children's novel by Russian writer Alexander Melentyevich Volkov. The book is a re-narration of L. Frank Baum's ''The Wonderful Wizard ...

'' by Alexander Volkov, ''Doctor Aybolit'' stems from a loose adaptation by a

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

author of a foreign book. For example, the adaptation includes a

Pushmi-pullyu This is a list of characters from the ''Doctor Dolittle'' series of children's books by Hugh Lofting and movies based on them. Most of the characters were introduced in the first book, the 1920 novel ''The Story of Doctor Dolittle''. Humans Docto ...

, (tyani-tolkay) in Russian. The prose adaptation always credited Lofting in the subtitle, while the Aybolit poems are original works. The character became a recognizable feature of

Russian culture Russian culture (russian: Культура России, Kul'tura Rossii) has been formed by the nation's history, its geographical location and its vast expanse, religious and social traditions, and Western culture, Western influence. Russian ...

. The poems found their following in the films ''Doktor Aybolit'' (black and white, 1938), '' Aybolit 66'' (

Mosfilm Mosfilm (russian: Мосфильм, ''Mosfil’m'' ) is a film studio which is among the largest and oldest in the Russian Federation and in Europe. Founded in 1924 in the USSR as a production unit of that nation's film monopoly, its output incl ...

, 1967, English title: ''Oh How It Hurts 66''), and ''Doctor Aybolit'' (

animated film Animation is a method by which image, still figures are manipulated to appear as Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent cel, celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited ...

Kievnauchfilm Kievnauchfilm (russian: Киевнаучфильм), also Kyivnaukfilm ( uk, Київнаукфільм, translit=Kyïvnaukfil′m), translated as Kyiv Science Film, was a film studio in the former Soviet Union located in Kyiv, Ukrainian SSR. Alt ...

, 1985). The doctor's appearance and name appear in brand names, logos, and slogans of various medical establishments, candies, etc. Barmalei postage stamp

Aybolit's antagonist, the evil

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

Barmaley, became an archetypal

villain A villain (also known as a "black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a character a ...

in Russian culture. Barmaley debuted in Chukovsky's book ''Barmaley'' in 1925, 13 years before the first film appearance of Aybolit. The poems ''Aybolit'' and ''Barmaley'' generated a number of Russian

catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...

s such as "Nu spasibo tebe, Aybolit!" (''Thanks to you, Aybolit''), "Ne hodite, deti, v Afriku gulyat" (''Children, don't go to Africa for a stroll''). They were also the inspiration for the

Barmaley Fountain The Barmaley (Russian: Бармалей) is an informal name of a fountain in the city of Volgograd (formerly known as Stalingrad). Its official name is Children's Khorovod (Round Dance). The statue is of a circle of six children dancing the khor ...

Stalingrad Volgograd ( rus, Волгогра́д, a=ru-Volgograd.ogg, p=vəɫɡɐˈɡrat), geographical renaming, formerly Tsaritsyn (russian: Цари́цын, Tsarítsyn, label=none; ) (1589–1925), and Stalingrad (russian: Сталингра́д, Stal ...

. In 1967 Richard N. Coe published a loose English adaptation in verse entitled ''Doctor Concocter''.A review of ''Doctor Concocter''
''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...

'', 1967, v. 219, p. 540 It starts: "Doctor Concocter sits under a tree, He's ever so clever, he has a degree!" A living prototype of the character was Chukovsky's acquaintance, the Vilnian

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

doctor

Zemach Shabad Zemach Shabad ( he, צמח שאבאד, pl, Cemach Szabad, russian: Цемах Шабад, Tsemakh Shabad; 5 February 1864, Vilnius, Russian Empire (now Vilnius, Lithuania) — 20 January 1935, Vilnius) was a Jewish doctor and social and poli ...

(1864–1935), to whom a monument was dedicated in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...

on 16 May 2007. In Lithuanian language, Doctor Aybolit is called ''Daktaras Aiskauda''.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * . Extracts of ''Aybolit'' and ''Barmaley'

https://archive.today/20070423070235/http://www.litera.ru/stixiya/authors/chukovskij/i-malenkie-deti.html] {{Authority control Fictional physicians Characters in children's literature Works by Korney Chukovsky Russian poems Children's poetry Characters in poems Literary characters introduced in 1929 1929 poems 1929 in Russia Russian children's literature Children's novellas Fictional Soviet people