The photo depicts the Krasnoyarsk artist Evgeny Kobytev with his daughters Irina and Vera. He was born in 1910 in Altai. In 1927 he graduated from a school with a pedagogical specialisation and became a teacher in a rural school. Soon Kobytev decided to continue his studies and entered first Omsk Art School, and then Kyiv Art Institute. He graduated from the latter with honors in 1941 and immediately volunteered for front-line duty.
At the beginning of the war, Kobytev became a soldier in a battalion, whose task was to protect the city of Pripyat. The regiment had only recently been formed and consisted of very young inexperienced men. Having suffered heavy losses, it soon ended up in an encirclement. Many were injured, including Yevgeny Kobytev. In small groups, the remaining fighters made their way to the east under German artillery fire and direct clashes with the enemy. Due to a wound in the leg, Kobytev lagged behind the main forces. Crossing a narrow but deep river with a young soldier, he was ambushed by machine gunners.
Thus, Kobytev, among other soldiers, was sent to the fascist concentration camp ‘Khorol pit’, located in the Poltava region. He was able to escape from there only in 1943. Years later, after the war, the artist wrote a book of memoirs ‘Khorol pit’ about the horrors that he and others had experienced in the camp. Having escaped from the camp, Kobytev returned to the front. He served in the 140th Reserve Rifle Regiment with the rank of junior sergeant and was also an artist at the regiment’s club. Yevgeny Stepanovich went all the way from Ukraine to Germany and ended the war in Dresden. Throughout the entire time, the artist made sketches. In June 1945, Junior Sergeant Kobytev was presented with the Order of the Red Star by the command of the Military Council of the 1st Ukrainian Front, and even earlier, in May of the same year, he was awarded the medal ‘For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945’.
That was also when Kobytev left for Krasnoyarsk — the city he connected his entire future life with. There he created paintings and monumental works. The works ‘Reichstag fell’, ‘Satellite over the city’ belong to him. He also worked on illustrations for the novel ‘The Young Guard’ by Alexander Fadeev and made a mosaic on the building of the Rodina (Homeland) cinema with a group of art school students.
Throughout his life, Yevgeny Kobytev devoted a lot of time to public work: he was elected a city council deputy, was the main artist of Krasnoyarsk. He also taught at the Krasnoyarsk State Art Institute for a long time.
His daughter Vera Kobyteva (Polynskaya) chose her profession when she was still a child. Like her parents, she wanted to become an artist. After graduating from the Krasnoyarsk Art School named after V. I. Surikov, she continued her education at the Russian State University of Cinematography named after S. Gerasimov, and after graduation returned to Krasnoyarsk. Since 1975, she has presented her graphic works at exhibitions of various levels, and from 1984 to 2000, she worked at Krasnoyarsk Silk Factory, where she created several hundred drawings for curtain and furniture jacquard fabrics.
At the beginning of the war, Kobytev became a soldier in a battalion, whose task was to protect the city of Pripyat. The regiment had only recently been formed and consisted of very young inexperienced men. Having suffered heavy losses, it soon ended up in an encirclement. Many were injured, including Yevgeny Kobytev. In small groups, the remaining fighters made their way to the east under German artillery fire and direct clashes with the enemy. Due to a wound in the leg, Kobytev lagged behind the main forces. Crossing a narrow but deep river with a young soldier, he was ambushed by machine gunners.
Thus, Kobytev, among other soldiers, was sent to the fascist concentration camp ‘Khorol pit’, located in the Poltava region. He was able to escape from there only in 1943. Years later, after the war, the artist wrote a book of memoirs ‘Khorol pit’ about the horrors that he and others had experienced in the camp. Having escaped from the camp, Kobytev returned to the front. He served in the 140th Reserve Rifle Regiment with the rank of junior sergeant and was also an artist at the regiment’s club. Yevgeny Stepanovich went all the way from Ukraine to Germany and ended the war in Dresden. Throughout the entire time, the artist made sketches. In June 1945, Junior Sergeant Kobytev was presented with the Order of the Red Star by the command of the Military Council of the 1st Ukrainian Front, and even earlier, in May of the same year, he was awarded the medal ‘For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945’.
That was also when Kobytev left for Krasnoyarsk — the city he connected his entire future life with. There he created paintings and monumental works. The works ‘Reichstag fell’, ‘Satellite over the city’ belong to him. He also worked on illustrations for the novel ‘The Young Guard’ by Alexander Fadeev and made a mosaic on the building of the Rodina (Homeland) cinema with a group of art school students.
Throughout his life, Yevgeny Kobytev devoted a lot of time to public work: he was elected a city council deputy, was the main artist of Krasnoyarsk. He also taught at the Krasnoyarsk State Art Institute for a long time.
His daughter Vera Kobyteva (Polynskaya) chose her profession when she was still a child. Like her parents, she wanted to become an artist. After graduating from the Krasnoyarsk Art School named after V. I. Surikov, she continued her education at the Russian State University of Cinematography named after S. Gerasimov, and after graduation returned to Krasnoyarsk. Since 1975, she has presented her graphic works at exhibitions of various levels, and from 1984 to 2000, she worked at Krasnoyarsk Silk Factory, where she created several hundred drawings for curtain and furniture jacquard fabrics.
