Boris Yefimov

Boris Yefimovich Yefimov (; ; , – 1 October 2008) was a Soviet and Russian political cartoonist best known for his critical political caricatures of Adolf Hitler and other Nazis produced before and during the Second World War, and was the chief illustrator of the newspaper Izvestia. During his 90-year career he produced more than 70,000 drawings.

Early life Yefimov was born in Kyiv as Boris Fridlyand, the second son of a Jewish shoemaker.

In 1937 Boris Yefimov covered the Show Trials and drew cartoons against people like Nikolai Bukharin and Leon Trotsky. During this period Yefimov drew political cartoons against those he had previously admired within the Soviet leadership.

Following the war, Yefimov traveled to the Nuremberg trials with the task of caricaturing the Nazi defendants. He was then ordered to poke fun at the Western powers in what was transforming into the Cold War. He went on to become the chief editor of Agitprop, and cooperated with Pravda until the 1980s. He published an autobiography, Moy Vek (My Century), for his centennial, and resided in Moscow.

Yefimov received the Stalin Prizes in 1950 and 1951 and was named People's Painter of the USSR in 1967. In 2002 he became chief of the Political Propaganda Department of the Russian Academy of Arts. In his old age, his vision began to deteriorate. In 1999, he underwent cataract surgery, which at least partially restored the vision in his right eye.

In a 2005 interview with Russian TV, Yefimov recalled his experiences in Petrograd during the Russian Revolution, admitting that he had changed his real name in order to conceal his Jewish origins.

On 28 September 2007, his 107th birthday, he was appointed to the post of the chief artist of the Izvestia newspaper. In 2008, Yefimov was still working, primarily writing memoirs and drawing friendly cartoons. Also, he was active in public life: he attended memorials and anniversary meetings, soirees and other functions up until his death in Moscow on 1 October 2008, only three days after what was initially reported as his 108th birthday; his age was subsequently reported as 109 based on information from his family. However, records back up that he was born in 1900.

Family Yefimov was married twice. His first wife was Rosaliya Borisovna Koretskaya (1900–1969). He was survived by his son Mikhail (born in 1929), a grandson, and two great grandchildren.

Yefimov was a cousin of the famous Soviet photographer and journalist Semyon Fridlyand.