Happy Anniversary, "Ivan Vasilievich"! L. I. Gaidai's comedy-film (it's funny, but not only ... )

This article is about L. I. Gaidai's film "Ivan Vasilievich changes his Profession". The author brings to light the similarities and differences between L. I. Gaidai's film adaptation and the original work: M. A. Bulgakov's play "Ivan Vasilievich" - those two famous works of Soviet literature and art of the 30's and 70's of the 20th century. This article shows that these works are satirical with political overtones. Special attention is given in this article to a comparison of Bulgakov's vision of Moscow and Soviet citizens in the 1930s and Gaidai's Soviet reality in the 1970s. The author demonstrates especially notable differences between Bulgakov's and Gaidai's heroes, and considers the attitudes of soviet citizens to the 17th century and the medieval Russian world in which they find themselves. The author gives a wide comparative analysis of the Soviet era and the reign of Ivan the Terrible, primarily through demonstrating the desire of the Soviet censorship board to portray the reign of the medieval autocrat in idyllic tones. The article shows the obstacles faced by the crew of Leonid Gaidai in the creation and promotion of the film: the author describes the story lines which were cut from the film by the decision of the Soviet ideological censors. This perfectly showcases the "tastes" of party workers of the Soviet Union. Special focus is given to the reaction of the Soviet viewer to this film, especially at those moments which found wide public response, and reveal the most pressing social problems in the Brezhnev era.