December 22, 1937

The Russian author of children's literature, Eduard Uspensky (December 22, 1937 to August 14, 2018) was also "a playwright, poet, and engineer." But our attention was struck first by this synopsis of "Uncle Fedya, His Dog and His Cat"

'..Uspensky's first book about Uncle Fyodor, Uncle Fyodor, His Dog and His Cat, was .....published in Russian in 1974. The main character is a six-year-old boy who is called Uncle Fyodor because he is very serious. After his parents don't let him keep Matroskin, a talking cat, Uncle Fyodor leaves his home. With the dog Sharik, the three set up a home in the country, a village called Prostokvashino (Простоквашино, from the Russian for buttermilk, Простоквашa). After finding a treasure, Uncle Fyodor can afford to buy a tractor that runs on soup and potatoes, and a portable sun to do the heating during the winter...'

A biography of Eduard Uspensky informs us:

'Eduard Uspensky was born in the suburbs of Moscow in 1937. The Great Patriotic War ...[saw] his family ... leave for the Urals ...He studied in a Moscow school and was the best mathematician of the school, honored with many merit certificates.

'Upon the school graduation, he entered the Moscow Aviation Institute where he joined the student theatre. The theatre toured around the country for many times. Being a senior man, Mr Uspensky started writing for the variety artists and publishing his works.

'Upon graduation from the Institute, he was employed at a military plant. As he put it himself, his poor knowledge of the profession made a great contribution to the peace-making process.

'Mr Uspensky left the plant in 1964. He made his living with the pen: his humor stories were published in many newspapers and magazines.

'As of 1965, he ...[was considered] a children poet. ...

'In Russia, Mr. Eduard Uspensky has been the most popular and loved children's writer for many decades in succession. Circulations of his books have amounted to millions of copies. Each bookshop has a special shelf of Uspensky's books.

'Almost all of his books have been made into film and play versions. Children all over the country sing his songs and watch his highly popular TV programmes. His works have been translated into 25 languages. The books [were] published in other countries[including]: In Sweden, [where] his characters were very popular in TV programmes. There was also a children's comics magazine "Ghena and Drutten" with the same characters as in Uspensky's books.

'Mr. Uspensky has been admitted as a member of the "Toppelius" group at Finland's Union of Writers. One can find his picture and biography in the Big Finnish Encyclopedia published by "Ottawa".

'Of all the Russian writers Eduard Uspensky is the one whose books are published abroad most often. ....The books authored by him have also been published in millions of copies in all the Union republics of the former Soviet Union and socialist countries. Toys and food products from milk to chocolates were designed and manufactured after the characters of his books.'

This links to this information about Uspensky was compiled by Lenona, whose alt.obituaries posts are often very helpful.  That is where I found a last quote by Uspensky:

'As the minutes slowly are passing by, don’t expect to meet with them again. Surely, we’re sad about the past, and yet, all the best is certainly ahead!..." (verses from "Goluboi Vagon" song).'