The Adventures of Captain Vrungel

One cannot help but believe the incredible tales of Captain Vrungel. It is immediately clear that the humorous story about him and his friends was written by a person who is well acquainted with the sea. And indeed, it is true. Andrei Sergeyevich Nekrasov was born in 1907. He became a sailor at nineteen, worked as a stoker, a fur seal hunter, and a navigator, and later graduated from the Vladivostok Maritime College. He transferred his impressions from sea voyages onto paper. There was enough material. The writer recalled: "I caught cod in the Barents Sea... I endured difficult watches at the heated furnaces of the ship's stoker, I hunted walruses in the Bering Strait and caught whales in the Pacific Ocean." The first stories of Andrei Sergeyevich appeared in the pages of the magazines "Murzin" and "Pioneer." Nekrasov wrote for teenagers, telling stories about airplanes, cars, oceanography, electricity; however, all this creativity faded into the background after the publication in 1939 of his brilliant story about Captain Vrungel, who became a sort of "maritime Munchausen" for millions of readers. The prototype of Vrungel was Nekrasov's acquaintance - Andrei Vasilyevich Vronsky, who loved to tell sea tall tales about himself. Nekrasov himself possessed a similar talent. At the same time, he did not lie, but "spun yarns," as they say at sea. In this regard, one recalls the line from Tvardovsky's "Tsyorkin": "It is good when someone tells lies cheerfully and fluently." Andrei Sergeyevich possessed this talent in full measure. That is why his story about Vrungel does not become outdated.

The first book edition of "The Adventures of Captain Vrungel" was adorned with illustrations by Konstantin Pavlovich Rotov (1902-1959). They have been meticulously reproduced in this book as well. At that time, the light talented drawings of this artist, with their clear confident lines, were known to almost all reading Soviet audiences, as they regularly appeared in the pages of the magazines "Crocodile" and "Ogonёk," and in the newspapers "Pravda" and "Komsomolskaya Pravda." According to Rotov himself, he began drawing "as soon as I can remember." Konstantin Pavlovich was educated at the Rostov Art School. He began publishing his works even before graduating. Many people still remember Rotov's illustrations for the story "Old Man Khottabych," the poem "Uncle Styopa," the fairy tale "The Three Little Pigs," and the novel "The Golden Calf." Rotov worked with great dedication, deriving immense pleasure from drawing. This creative fervor helped him survive several years in camps, where the artist ended up due to a false accusation of espionage. Even under such conditions, Rotov continued to create. Upon returning to Moscow, Konstantin Pavlovich continued to draw not only for "Crocodile," but also for children's magazines "Funny Pictures" and "Young Technician."