After the Russian Revolution, he began working as a journalist, editing several humor magazines, and joined the Odessa Union of Poets.

In 1928, they were both let go, due to staff reductions, but they were able to find work at Chudak [ru], a literary journal that provided a start for many Soviet writers and artists.

Days later, a Nazi propaganda newspaper, Der Angriff, published an article claiming that Ilf committed suicide following a scathing critique from the Soviet government during a writers' convention.

Petrov immediately published a denial in Pravda called "An Answer to Fascist Slanderers", pointing out that his death was caused by illness and that nothing extraordinary happened during the convention, with a full transcript of the proceedings.

In 1929, Yevgeni Petrov lent him 800 rubles for a camera, and then jokingly regretted that he had lost not only his money but also a friend and co-writer, as Ilf stopped writing and spent most of his time on photography.