Doctor Aybolit is a fictional character

Fictional character

A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...

 from the children's poems Aybolit and Barmaley by Korney Chukovsky

Korney Chukovsky

Korney Ivanovich Chukovsky was one of the most popular children's poets in the Russian language. His poems, Doctor Aybolit , The Giant Roach , The Crocodile , and Wash'em'clean have been favourites with many generations of Russophone children...

. The name may be translated as "Ouch, [it] hurts!"

The origins of Aybolit can be traced to Doctor Dolittle

Doctor Dolittle

Doctor John Dolittle is the central character of a series of children's books by Hugh Lofting starting with the 1920 The Story of Doctor Dolittle. He is a doctor who shuns human patients in favour of animals, with whom he can speak in their own languages...

 by Hugh Lofting

Hugh Lofting

Hugh John Lofting was a British author, trained as a civil engineer, who created the character of Doctor Dolittle — one of the classics of children's literature.-Personal life:...

. Like Buratino

Buratino

Buratino is the main character of the book The Golden Key, or the Adventures of Buratino by Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy. Based on the 1883 novel The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi, Buratino originated as a character in the commedia dell'arte. The name Buratino is derived from the...

by Aleksey Tolstoy or The Wizard of the Emerald City

The Wizard of the Emerald City

The Wizard of the Emerald City is a 1939 children's novel by Russian writer Alexander Melentyevich Volkov. The book is a loose translation of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...

by Alexander Volkov

Alexander Volkov

Alexander Volkov may refer to:*Alexander Volkov , Russian mixed martial artist*Alexander Volkov , Israeli pianist and pedagogue, member of the Israel Piano Trio, father of Ilan Volkov....

, Aybolit is a loose adaptation of a foreign book by a Russian author. For example, the adaptation includes a Pushmi-pullyu, (tyani-tolkay) in Russian. The prosaic adaptation always credited Lofting in the subtitle while the Aybolit poems are original works.

The character became a recognizable feature of Russian culture

Russian culture

Russian culture is associated with the country of Russia and, sometimes, specifically with ethnic Russians. It has a rich history and can boast a long tradition of excellence in every aspect of the arts, especially when it comes to literature and philosophy, classical music and ballet, architecture...

. The poems found their following in the films Doktor Aybolit (black and white, 1938), Aybolit 66 (Mosfilm

Mosfilm

Mosfilm is a film studio, which is often described as the largest and oldest in Russia and in Europe. Its output includes most of the more widely-acclaimed Soviet films, ranging from works by Tarkovsky and Eisenstein , to Red Westerns, to the Akira Kurosawa co-production and the epic Война и Мир...

, 1967, English title: Oh How It Hurts 66), and Doctor Aybolit (animated film, Kievnauchfilm

Kievnauchfilm

Kievnauchfilm , sometimes translated as Kiev Science Film in English, was a film studio in the former Soviet Union located in Kiev, Ukrainian SSR, established in 1941.-Description:It was the largest European studio for non-fiction films...

, 1985)). The doctor's appearance and name are used in brand names, logos, and slogans of various medical establishments, candies, etc.
Aybolit's antagonist, the evil pirate Barmaley, became an archetypal villain

Villain

A villain is an "evil" character in a story, whether a historical narrative or, especially, a work of fiction. The villain usually is the antagonist, the character who tends to have a negative effect on other characters...

 in Russian culture. Barmaley debuted in Chukovsky's book Crocodile in 1916, 13 years before the first appearance of Aybolit.

The poems Aybolit and Barmaley generated a number of Russian catchphrases such as "Nu spasibo tebe, Aybolit!" (Thanks to you, Aybolit), "Ne hodite deti v Afriku gulyat" (Children, don't go to Africa for a walk). They were also the inspiration for the Barmaley Fountain

Barmaley Fountain

The Barmaley was a fountain in the city of Stalingrad, installed in front of the Museum of Defense of Tsaritsyn. Its official name was Children's Khorovod. The statue was of a circle of six children dancing around a crocodile...

 in Stalingrad.

A loose English adaptation in verse was published by Richard N. Coe in 1967, entitled Doctor Concocter. It starts "Doctor Concocter sits under a tree, He's ever so clever, he has a degree!"

A living prototype of the character was Chukovsky's acquaintance, Vilnian Jewish

Ashkenazi Jews

Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim , are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities along the Rhine in Germany from Alsace in the south to the Rhineland in the north. Ashkenaz is the medieval Hebrew name for this region and thus for Germany...

 doctor Zemach Shabad

Zemach Shabad

Zemach Shabad was a Jewish doctor and social and political activist...

 (1864-1935), to whom a monument was dedicated in Vilnius

Vilnius

Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...

on 16 May 2007.