Mikhail Alexandrovich Drizo, born on July 15, 1887, in Odessa and died on September 23, 1953, in Paris, was a renowned graphic artist and caricaturist who worked in Russia and France. He created the caricature book "So It Was..." (1918), which reflected the events of World War I and the Civil War, as well as the February and October revolutions. Drizo is also known for his caricatures of figures from the first wave of Russian emigration and politicians such as Lenin, Stalin, and Hitler.

Born into the family of Odessa doctor Alexander Akimovich Drizo, Mikhail graduated from a real school and in 1908 entered the law faculty of Novorossiysk University. That same year, he began publishing caricatures in the "Odessa Leaf" and collaborated with other Odessa publications such as "Odessa News," "Southern Review," as well as magazines like "Scorpion," "Crocodile," "Bomb," and "Life." His first drawings, signed as "Mikh. Dr." and "M. D.," appeared in the weekly "Nachalo" in 1907. By the time he graduated from university in 1912, Drizo was already a well-known caricaturist, which explains his choice to pursue a career in journalism rather than law. His works continued to appear in the Odessa press until the end of 1919.

In 1919, Drizo went to Constantinople but soon returned to Odessa, where he gave a farewell interview for the "Odessa Leaf," describing the hardships of emigration life. He soon left Odessa for good, first moving to Berlin and then to Paris.

Before the occupation of France, Drizo collaborated with various émigré and French publications, creating caricatures of Nazi leaders. In 1942, he was arrested, but the military court found no grounds for charges due to drawings made before France's capitulation, despite his Jewish heritage. After being released on May 25, 1943, he soon received a summons to the prefecture, which was a signal from the Gestapo. Drizo and his wife urgently left Paris and lived under false names in a small village in southern France until the end of the war.

After the war, he continued to work as a caricaturist, mainly for French publications, and died in 1953.