Veliky Guslyar or Veliky Gusliar ( is a fictional Russian town created by the Russian writer Kir Bulychev for his humorous science fiction stories. It is a place where various wonders and fantastic encounters with aliens happen to ordinary people.
The prototype of Veliky Guslyar is Veliky Ustyug. However, the names of the recurring characters, such as Korneliy Udalov, Nikolay Lozhkin, or Aleksandr Grubin, were taken from the address book of Vologda for 1913. On the other hand, the name of the absent-minded professor ÃÂõò ÃÂ¥ÃÂøÃÂÃÂþÃÂþÃÂþòøàÃÂøýàwas taken from Bulychev's friend, , upon his request.
The introduction to the second part of the 1972 collection çÃÂôõÃÂð ò ÃÂÃÂÃÂûÃÂÃÂõ (Guslyar Wonders) gives a (fictional) detailed description of the town, its history, economy, demography, and an explanation why aliens when visiting the Earth, of all places, pick Veliky Guslyar.
The first story of the cycle is ("Svyazi Llichnogo Haraktera", translated as "The Personal Touch" in 1983) published in Znanie-Sila magazine, 1970, no 6, pp. 47-48. There is an apocryphal story that it was first published in 1967. In fact, in 1967, while in Bulgaria, Bulychev wrote a "potboiler" short story, translated in Bulgarian as ("Irrefutable evidence") published in magazine . Returning to the Soviet Union, Bulychev wrote "Svyazi Llichnogo Haraktera", a different story with the same plot idea.
Eight stories from the Veliky Guslyar cycle (and 8 others) were published in English in the collection Gusliar Wonders
There is a "crossover" story, in which Alisa Seleznyova, a girl from the future, decided to travel to the 20th-century Veliky Guslyar. First published as a short story "Alisa in Guslyar" (ÃÂûøÃÂð ò ÃÂÃÂÃÂûÃÂÃÂõ, 2000), it was soon expanded into a novel Alesa in the Land of Fantasies (ÃÂûøÃÂð ò ÃÂÃÂÃÂðýõ ÃÂðýÃÂð÷øù, 2000).
The 1981 short ' is based on the story "ÃÂþÃÂÃÂÃÂÿøûø ò ÿÃÂþôðöà÷þûþÃÂÃÂõ ÃÂÃÂñúø" ("Goldfish Are on Sale"). The local pet store starts selling goldfish and it turns out that they can grant three wishes.
The 1984 comedy film Chance is based on the novel "". 300 years ago an alien gifted an elixir of youth to a resident of Veliky Guslar. For a long time he kept this secret, but eventually Guslyarites learn about the "Martian potion".
The 1988 comedy TV film ' is losely based on the elements from short stories "ÃÂõôþÃÂÃÂþùýÃÂù ñþóðÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ" ("The Unworthy Bogatyr") and "àðùþýýÃÂõ ÃÂþÃÂõòýþòðýøàÿþ ôþüøýþ" ("District Dominoes Competition"). The portagonist Kuzma accidentally finds a sleeping beauty Marya and kisses her. However the local bureaucrats turned their bliss into a nightmare and eventually into a tragedy unhappy Marya eats a poison apple (a hint to the premedication of Pushkin's "speeping beauty"). Bulychev was unhappy with the adaptation and even wanted his name removed from the credits.
In 2024, a TV series ' was released, loosely based on Guslyar stories. The title is a pun on the Soviet popular science TV program '. While it is based on Bulychev's stories, the action in Guslyar happens in the modern times, with smartphones, drones, and all. The characters have different names and appearances, the stories were retold "modernized", and this has become a quiz for Bulychev's fans to guess who (in film) is who (in originals) and what episode was made from what. The series received mixed reviews.
A number of short stories were made into animated cartoons: ëÃÂûðôõ÷àüÃÂôÃÂþÃÂÃÂøû, ëÃÂþÿøûúðû, ëáÿÃÂÃÂýøú øúÃÂÃÂû (based on ëÃÂÃÂþÃÂõôÃÂõõ òÃÂõüÃÂû), ëáòþñþôýÃÂù ÃÂøÃÂðýû, ëïñûþýÃÂû ø ëçÃÂôõÃÂð ò ÃÂÃÂÃÂûÃÂÃÂõû (based on ëÃÂðÃÂþòþ÷ ôûàÃÂðÃÂÃÂû), criticized for poor puppet animation quality.