November 8 — International KVN Day: history, traditions, interesting facts

Every year on November 8, Russia celebrates the International Day of the Funny and Resourceful Club, dedicated to the anniversary of the launch of one of the most recognizable humorous TV shows in the post-Soviet space. In 2025, the holiday falls on a Saturday. Read about the history of KVN, interesting facts and modern traditions of the movement that has become the "forge of cadres" of Russian show business in the Izvestia article.

International KVN Day – 2025: the history of the holiday

The day of the Funny and Resourceful Club embodies not only a popular show, but also a whole "cultural trend" of the USSR and Russia. The holiday was established in 2001 on the initiative of Alexander Maslyakov, President of the International KVN Union. The date was not chosen by chance: it was on November 8, 1961, that this game was first broadcast live on Soviet television.

The "predecessor" of KVN was the television quiz show "Evening of Funny Questions" (BBB), shown in 1957. The format, inspired by the Czech show "Guess, Guess, Fortune Teller", was developed by Sergey Muratov, Albert Axelrod and Mikhail Yakovlev. The program became an instant hit thanks to the unusual tasks, but only three episodes managed to air.

However, the idea itself was preserved and four years later transformed into a Club of fun and resourceful. The opening TV battle was held by students of the Moscow Institute of Foreign Languages and the Moscow Institute of Civil Engineering. There were no strict regulations at first, contests were born spontaneously, and the show itself was broadcast live until 1968.

Gradually, a recognizable set of competitions took shape: "warm-up", STEM (student theater of variety miniature), BREEZE (bureau of rationalization and inventions), captain's competition, homework. Intellectual issues have receded into the background, giving way to theatricalization, plastics, music and directing miniatures. In 1964, the program found its legendary presenter, Alexander Maslyakov, who worked in this role until 2022.

In 1971, the USSR State Television and Radio Station took KVN off the air: Sergey Lapin, the chairman of the department, did not like the sharpness of the jokes. However, in 1986, the show was revived by the former participants. Alexander Maslyakov became not only the presenter, but also the project manager. The updated version received a clear structure, rating system and new formats, and the game itself turned into a multi-level ecosystem of leagues.

KVN nowadays

Today, the International KVN Union includes leagues of various levels. The main venue is the Major League, and the Premier League is the "training institute" for it. Since 1993, the First League has been operating with a priority right to enter the Highest.

Since 2013, about two dozen teams have been competing in the International League. The composition of the television leagues is formed based on the results of the International Festival in Sochi — the teams go through to the second round, which are then approved by the president of the union.

A separate direction is the Junior League. It has existed since 2001, and since 2005 it has the status of the only official children's league of the International KVN Union. Since 2017, a TV version called "Children's KVN" has been broadcast on the Carousel channel. Tournaments are held with the support of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation and the government of Moscow. Teams in which all players are under 18 years old can participate.

Today, there are more than 7 thousand teams in the database of the International Union. KVN remains a platform for people of different ages and professions, and the list of its graduates is impressive: Leonid Yakubovich, Mikhail Zadornov, Mikhail Galustyan, Sergey Svetlakov, Timur Batrutdinov, Yuli Gusman and many others. And the geography of the games has long gone beyond Russia.

International KVN Day – 2025: how it is celebrated in Russia

The members of the Funny and Resourceful Club celebrate the holiday by doing what they know and love the most — they go on stage and joke.

Concerts and league matches, finals and semi-finals of regional seasons, anniversary and national team projects with an unusual team layout are taking place all over Russia on November 8. Participants of different generations, veterans and young debutants are invited to the venues, official congratulations are heard.

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The main cultural events of the week in the Izvestia collection

Also on this day, the leagues publish collections of rare photographs and video chronicles, recall key seasons and legendary jokes. This "assemblage point" of history and live performances emphasizes the continuity of the movement and its constant main resource — talent and a sense of humor.

Congratulations on the KVN Day

On the International KVN Day, congratulations are sent to current and former players, presenters and jury members, organizers of leagues and festivals, as well as fans of the movement. Izvestia has prepared several examples of how this can be done.:

• "Congratulations on the International KVN Day! Let's say that not only in the game, but also in life, any "warm-up" cleverly turns into applause, and homework always comes out with an "A plus!";
• "Happy International KVN Day! Let there be no filmed jokes in your season, the final notes sound like an encore, and even the strictest judges often give the highest scores!";
• "Congratulations on the International KVN Day! We wish you a dream team of like—minded people and inspiration. Let every rehearsal lead to inspiration, every miniature to success, and there is always a place in the calendar for a "marathon of creativity and victories!";
• "Congratulations on the International KVN Day! Don't let the ideas end like jokes in a breeze, and the audience appreciates your talent from the first second! Happy holiday of wit and resourcefulness!";
• "Congratulations on the International KVN Day! May you have the captain's answer to any question of fate — accurate, kind and funny! We wish the Kiwi of good luck to settle in your house forever."

Interesting facts about KVN

• The abbreviation "KVN" goes back to the name of the first mass-produced Soviet TV KVN—49 (1949-1962) - the creators deliberately emphasized the television nature of the project.;
• The longest matches were held in 2001 and 2006, in honor of the 40th and 45th anniversaries of the program, they lasted 24 hours.;
• in the name of Alexander Maslyakov named asteroid 5245 Maslyakov, discovered by the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory;
• shortly before the temporary closure of KVN in 1971, the participants were forbidden to go on stage with a beard, the censors saw in it a mockery of the image of one of the founders of Marxism, Karl Marx;
• The official KVN mascot is the merry bird Kivin;

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