''KVN'' (russian: КВН, an abbreviation of , ''Klub Vesyólykh i Nakhódchivykh'' or ''Ka-Ve-En'', "Club of the Funny and Inventive") is a Russian (and formerly Soviet) humour TV show and an international competition where teams (usually composed of
college student
A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution.
In the United Kingdom and most commonwealth countries, a "student" attends a secondary school or higher (e.g., college or university); those in primary or elementary ...
s) compete by giving funny answers to questions and showing prepared sketches. The Club originated in the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
, building on the popularity of an earlier program, ''An Evening of Funny Questions'' ( ru , Вечер весёлых вопросов , translit = Vecher vesyolykh voprosov); the television programme first aired on
the First Soviet Channel on November 8, 1961.
[«С чего всё начиналось» на AMIK.RU]
Eleven years later, in 1972, when few programmes were being broadcast live, Soviet censors, finding the students' impromptu jokes offensive and
anti-Soviet
Anti-Sovietism, anti-Soviet sentiment, called by Soviet authorities ''antisovetchina'' (russian: антисоветчина), refers to persons and activities actually or allegedly aimed against the Soviet Union or government power within the ...
, banned ''KVN''. The show was revived fourteen years later during the
perestroika
''Perestroika'' (; russian: links=no, перестройка, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈstrojkə, a=ru-perestroika.ogg) was a political movement for reform within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the late 1980s widely associated wit ...
era in 1986, with
Alexander Maslyakov
Alexander Vasilyevich Maslyakov (russian: Александр Васильевич Масляков) (born November 24, 1941 in Sverdlovsk, USSR) is a prominent Soviet and Russian television game show host. He is a well known, iconic figure throu ...
as its host. It is one of the longest-running TV programmes on Russian television. It has its own holiday on November 8, the birthday of the game - celebrated by ''KVN'' players every year since it was announced and widely celebrated for the first time in 2001.
During the perestroika era ( 1985-1991), KVN spread to Russian expatriate communities around the world. In 1992, the Israeli team tested the waters, playing against the
CIS
Cis or cis- may refer to:
Places
* Cis, Trentino, in Italy
* In Poland:
** Cis, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, south-central
** Cis, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, north
Math, science and biology
* cis (mathematics) (cis(''θ'')), a trigonome ...
team. The game became an unquestionable success, and more international games on the highest level followed: the CIS team visited Israel, Germany and the United States. The culmination came in 1994 with the First KVN World Festival in Israel, featuring four teams (representing the United States, Israel, the CIS and Germany).
''KVN'' as a competition
Groups of ''KVN'' teams were organized into several Leagues, where they competed annually for the League Champion title. To organize the movement, the ''KVN'' Union created a structure of regional and multi-regional arrangements of Leagues. The Major League and the Premier League are regularly broadcast on Russian Channel One. Other Leagues were broadcast on local channels. The winner of the Major League (Vysshaya Liga russian: Высшая Лига) is declared the Champion of the Club. There are other ''KVN'' competitions outside the Leagues: the ''KVN'' Festival (KiViN) was held in
Sochi
Sochi ( rus, Со́чи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg) is the largest resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi River, along the Black Sea in Southern Russia, with a population of 466,078 residents, up to 600,000 residents in ...
each January and attracts hundreds of teams from around the world: this is where teams are arranged into Leagues for the Season; the Musical Festival, which is called "Singing KiViN" (Golosyaschiy KiViN, russian: Голосящий КиВиН), is held every July in
Jūrmala
Jūrmala (; "seaside") is a state city in Latvia, about west of Riga. Jūrmala is a resort town stretching and sandwiched between the Gulf of Riga and the Lielupe River. It has a stretch of white-sand beach, and a population of 49,325 in 2019 ...
,
Latvia
Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
(from 2015 in
Svetlogorsk, Kaliningrad Oblast
Svetlogorsk (; german: Rauschen; pl, Ruszowice; lt, Raušiai) is a coastal resort town and the administrative center of Svetlogorsky District of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the coast of the Baltic Sea on the Sambia Peninsula, north ...
,
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
), where teams compete to win KiViNs, which are also very prestigious prizes; the Summer Cup or Supercup is usually played in August every year in a different place, usually in Sochi, and only Major League Champions are allowed to compete (with some exceptions: in 2003, when a unique team of famous ''KVN'' players competed (and also won), and 2007, 2008 and 2010, when Finalists were invited); another game is held every year in November to celebrate KVN's birthday and is called the Specproject (pronounced "Spetsproyekt"). Many places in the CIS have Leagues independent from the KVN Union and conduct their own competitions. The same is true of KVN competitions outside the CIS which have no connection to KVN Union.
KVN as a game
KVN was a task-based team competition in front of a live audience, judged by a panel of judges. Typically, each team was asked to complete in four–five thematically connected assignments, such as:
* Mandatory
**Greeting (Privetstviye, russian: Приветствие, links=no): witty introduction of the team, humorous greeting to the jury and spectators.
**Warm-up (Razminka, russian: Разминка, links=no) (usually the second contest): rapid exchange of funny questions and improvised answers, sometimes played against the audience, jury and/or the host.
**Musical Competition (Muzykalnyy Konkurs, russian: Музыкальный конкурс, links=no): a competition in which the competing teams show musical sketches and acts involving singing, playing musical instruments and dancing. Sometimes an alternate shorter version called One Song-Contest (Konkurs Odnoy Pesni, russian: Конкурс одной песни, links=no) is played. In this competition the players must use only one melody throughout the competition.
* Optional
**STEM ("students' variety miniature theater") (russian: СТЭМ, links=no): a contest in which only three performers from a team are allowed to be on stage simultaneously (the rule didn't apply at the 2008–2009 seasons).
**Captains' contest (Kapitanskiy Konkurs, russian: Капитанский конкурс, links=no): individual competition between the team captains.
**Homework (Domashneye Zadaniye, russian: Домашнее задание, links=no): comedy theatre sketches on a given topic, sometimes a Musical Homework is played when there is no Musical Competition.
**BRIZ (Bureau of Rationalization and Invention) (russian: БРИЗ, links=no): In this contest the teams need to present something such as an invention, a brief historical survey, movies, photo-albums or any type of new idea. It is also called a literature contest because it mainly consists of textual jokes.
**News Contest (Konkurs Novostey, russian: Конкурс новостей, links=no): similar to the BRIZ, but focuses on strange and funny "news".
**Biathlon (russian: Биатлон, links=no): a contest in which a representative of each team "shoots" one joke or more at the audience. The jury decides who leaves the "shooting range" until only two contestants remain and the jury picks one winner who gets 1 point. In case of a draw the finalists receive 0.9 points each.
**Freestyle (russian: Фристайл, links=no): a more modern and free version of the Greeting in which the teams have no restrictions of genre.
**Cinema Contest (Kinokonkurs, russian: Киноконкурс, links=no): a contest which involves making a movie, making a clip to a song, making a clip consisting of different video and audio pieces or dubbing a well-known movie.
Rarely, other activities were assigned.
A panel of judges, usually well-known celebrities, actors, and writers, evaluates performances on wit, humour, production values, and spectators' reaction and declares a winner by awarding points to the teams. In the Premier League the jury usually consists of famous KVN players.
KVN as a social phenomenon
KVN's reach is impressive. According to the official site of KVN Union:
*over 5 million live spectators annually watched
*more than 40,000 participants organized into
*more than 3,000 regularly competing teams from
*more than 100 cities play game of KVN.
For more than 20 years TV broadcasts of KVN games received the highest ratings in Russia. The popularity of the game is so high that even politicians use it as an opportunity to gain extra points:
Boris Yeltsin
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin ( rus, Борис Николаевич Ельцин, p=bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈla(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈjelʲtsɨn, a=Ru-Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin.ogg; 1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician wh ...
,
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
and
Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev ( rus, links=no, Дмитрий Анатольевич Медведев, p=ˈdmʲitrʲɪj ɐnɐˈtolʲjɪvʲɪtɕ mʲɪdˈvʲedʲɪf; born 14 September 1965) is a Russian politician who has been serving as the dep ...
attended games played before the elections. The game of KVN helps in interstate relationships. The
CIS
Cis or cis- may refer to:
Places
* Cis, Trentino, in Italy
* In Poland:
** Cis, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, south-central
** Cis, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, north
Math, science and biology
* cis (mathematics) (cis(''θ'')), a trigonome ...
–
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
game broadcast on September 19, 1992 helped in warming up relationships between the two countries (mostly on Russia's side). KVN became part of the culture, illustrated by the fact that it became a game of choice in Russian-speaking communities around the globe.
In 2006, the president of the club, Alexander Maslyakov, received one of the highest awards from
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
, the
President of Russia
The president of the Russian Federation ( rus, Президент Российской Федерации, Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the head of state of the Russian Federation. The president leads the executive branch of the federal ...
, for hosting the game for so many decades, at the end of the game dedicated to KVN's 45th anniversary.
KVN around the world
Since perestroika opened former Soviet borders for emigrants, KVN has reached
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
,
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
,
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
and the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. Many countries created their own teams, leagues and competitions. In 1992 the Israel team tested the waters playing against the CIS team. The game was an unquestionable success and more international games on a highest level followed: the CIS team visited Israel, Germany and the United States. The culmination was in 1994 with the First KVN World Festival in Israel with 4 teams (the United States, Israel, CIS and Germany). This event attracted a new generation of players to KVN. Currently, the American League includes more than 30 teams from different universities, including such prominent ones as
Harvard
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
,
Berkeley
Berkeley most often refers to:
*Berkeley, California, a city in the United States
**University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California
* George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher
Berkeley may also refer ...
and
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
(NYU) (the very first League Champion). KVN Israel comprises two Leagues with about 30 teams from different towns. The
UK also has a prominent KVN community, with teams from a number of universities.
Notable KVN alumni
*
Yuli Gusman
Yuli Solomonovich Gusman (russian: Юлий Соломонович Гусман) (born 8 August 1943, Baku) is a Soviet, Russian and Azerbaijani film director and actor. He is the founder and CEO of the prestigious Nika Award.
Life and career
Y ...
, captain of the ''
Guys from Baku'' team (1967—1971, Major League) and a long-time jury member (since 1986).
(1960s).
, captain of the CPTU No.30 team, a famous singer, comedian and dancer that won second place