Yuri Olesha，Yuri Karlovich Olesha was born on March 3, 1899, in Elizavetgrad, Russian Empire (now Kirovograd, Ukraine). His father, named Karl Olesha, belonged to Polish Shlachta and was a government officer. His mother was a devoted Catholic. In 1902 the family moved to Odessa. There young Olesha went to a Classical Gymnazium from which he graduated in 1916.