Which Ostap Bender is the best? The Great Schemer: Who was the prototype of Ostap Bender.

Name: Ostap Bender (Ostap-Suleiman-Bertha-Maria Bender Bey)

A country: USSR

Creator:

Activity: adventurer, "great strategist"

Family status: not married

Ostap Bender: character story

The “ideological fighter for banknotes”, who dreams of walking through the sultry Rio de Janeiro in white pants, decorated Russian literature. Ostap Bender captivates with his thirst for life, his ability to deal with defeats with humor and his iron-clad perseverance in achieving his desired goal.

Story

In the early spring of 1927, employees of the newspaper "Gudok" received the position of "literary blacks" - the writer, who also worked in the publication, instructed a couple of novice reporters to put on literary form the idea of ​​jewelry hidden in chairs. Journalists got down to business with enthusiasm.

Having looked around, we chose heroes for the new work from our immediate circle and just acquaintances. Among the episodic characters appeared the adventurer and swindler Ostap Bender. But from the very beginning he turned out to be so bright and charismatic that he constantly strove to come to the fore. The authors resigned themselves and decided to give the hero the right to fully realize himself.

It took a little more than four months to write the future legendary book. Having received the first manuscripts, Valentin Kataev was surprised - there was almost no trace left of the idea. However, he admitted that the guys did a brilliant job and have the right to consider themselves mature writers. At the beginning of 1928, the novel was put to rest, and the editor of 30 Days magazine approved it for publication.

The book “12 Chairs,” consisting of three parts, had a triumphant future ahead of it. Still would! The picaresque novel not only captivates with the adventures of Ostap Bender and (aka Kisa Vorobyaninov), who went in search of treasures stored in furniture. He attracts with sparkling humor - the book was immediately stolen for quotes suitable for any occasion.

The value of the work is also in the scattering of characters, each more colorful than the other. Just look at the wife of engineer Shchukin, who easily parted with her chair in exchange for a tea strainer. The heroine's vocabulary is limited to 30 words. The authors collected these phrases and expressions from their notes in notebooks and took them from the languages ​​of their friends. Ellochka, symbolizing the consumer society, does not age. And today you can meet many women of narrow minds who strive to live for their own pleasure in a man’s bosom.

The story of Ostap Bender's adventures begged for continuation. Ilf and Petrov began working on their next novel in 1929, and a couple of years later, the same magazine “30 Days” began publishing chapters of “The Golden Calf.” It's interesting that separate publication The book was first published in the USA, but Russian readers received it a year later.

In the drafts of Gudok reporters, which were collected in a folder labeled “Case No. 2,” the work bore whatever title: “Calves,” “Burenushka,” “Half-Heifer,” and even “ Great schemer" The authors admitted:

“It was difficult to write, there was little money. We remembered how easy it was to write “12 Chairs” and envied our own youth. When we sat down to write, there was no plot in my head. It was invented slowly, persistently.”

The torment was not in vain - the second novel turned out even better than the debut work. In The Golden Calf, Ostap Bender, in company with the “children of Lieutenant Schmidt” Shura Balaganov and Panikovsky and with the owner of his own car, Adam Kozlevich, hunts for the money of the “real Soviet millionaire” Alexander Koreiko.

With the inconspicuous and modest, but very rich employee of the accounting and financial department, Ostap is connected by two passions - the love of money and tender feelings for the girl Zosia Sinitskaya. This time, luck smiled on Bender, or, as he accurately noted: “An idiot’s dreams came true!” The hero managed to get the savings of the underground schemer Koreiko, however, his dreams of Rio de Janeiro still did not come true...

According to rumors, Ilf and Petrov were going to write a third book about the “great schemer”; an announcement of a novel under the working title “Scoundrel” was even leaked to the press, but the authors did not please the fans.

Image

Ostap Bender appears before readers as a 27-year-old attractive young man and immediately captivates with his intelligence, ingenuity and sense of humor. A charismatic liar, endowed with acting talent, a favorite of women... In “The Golden Calf” Ostap reaches age, here the character is deeper, and the jokes and phrases are more sophisticated.

The clothes of the tramp, unpretentious in food and shelter, from the first book indicate that he has just left places not so distant - the plot of “12 Chairs” begins in early spring, and the man has neither a coat nor socks. But he is wearing smart shoes and a fashionable suit. The scarf and cap become integral attributes of the character, which Bender does not part with until the end of the second book.

Every phrase of Bender is a pearl, and every decision is brilliant. It is not surprising that he takes the place of leader in a company of petty swindlers. However, colleagues in the search for treasures and banknotes are not burdened with intelligence, and it is not difficult to lead them. Ostap is sincerely in love with life and remains an optimist even in the most disastrous situations. The main passion of the energetic scoundrel has always been and remains money.

The character’s past is vague, only occasionally do details of his life slip through: supposedly a graduate of the private Illiad gymnasium, during the Civil War he lived in the Ukrainian Mirgorod, traded in smuggling, and also amused the audience of fairs by showing a bearded woman (in fact, he dressed a full monk in a lady’s outfit). An enterprising young man would have been able to make a “legal” career, but he preferred to wander in the hope of getting a “plate with a golden border.”

The name Ostap Bender is not so simple. The hero introduces himself in an original way - in “The 12 Chairs”, upon meeting, he calls himself none other than the Turkish citizen Ostap-Suleiman-Bertha-Maria-Bender Bey, and in “The Golden Calf” he turned into Bender-Transdunaysky. The authors gave the character the patronymic Ibrahimovic, which Eastern fans took as one of their own, attributing Turkic roots. However, Ilf and Petrov, most likely, simply wanted to show the internationality of the hero - every nation has its own brilliant adventurer.

The character has many prototypes - from Kataev himself to the character theatrical production“Zoyka’s Apartment” by Amethyst, an eloquent rogue and talented swindler.

The main prototype of the handsome schemer is considered to be a friend of the authors, Osip Shor (friends called him Ostap), a former criminal investigation inspector. The return of young Osya from study from Petrograd to home in Odessa dragged on for a year, during which time the young man got involved in a bunch of adventures: he pretended to be a groom rich lady, an ace in the game of chess, an artist. Bender’s “parents” borrowed the most vivid adventures for novels.

Movies

Russian and foreign directors have made several films based on the books by Ilf and Petrov. Some managed to brilliantly convey the character of an adventurer, while some films are considered downright unsuccessful. The role of Ostap was played by Hungarian Ivan Darvash, an Odessa resident, and even a singer. The experiment on the Bender theme was not a success for Ulyana Shilkina: the hero’s performance received low ratings from cinema connoisseurs.

Some directors allowed themselves to fantasize about the further adventures of the charming swindler. Yuri Kushnerev in the 1980 film “The Comedy of Bygone Days” united Ostap () and Kisa Vorobyaninov () with the heroes of Gaidaev’s comedies Coward () and Experienced () in search of treasures.

In the list of iconic films based on the works of Ilf and Petrov, critics include the following productions:

"12 Chairs" (1966)

For the first time on television, he reincarnated as Ostap Bender Soviet actor Igor Gorbachev. Play Leningrad television directed by Alexander Belinsky.

"Golden Calf" (1968)

And this is the debut film adaptation of the second novel about the adventures of an Odessa swindler under the direction of Mikhail Schweitzer. I tried on the image of the main character, whose age coincided with the age of the book Bender.

"12 Chairs" (1970)

The American interpretation of the journalists' work "Beep" fully corresponds to the author's characteristics of the character: the actor Frank Langella is young, handsome, with the bearing of a military man.

"12 Chairs" (1971)

Quotes

Quotes invented by the tandem of Gudok reporters are firmly rooted in the vocabulary of Soviet citizens, passed down by inheritance to the modern generation. One of the most famous:

“Ostap was carried away. Things seemed to be getting better...”

Even those who are not familiar with the works use the brilliant phrases of the “great schemer”:

“You are, after all, not my mother, not my sister, not my lover.”

“A sultry woman is a poet’s dream”

“I will command the parade!”

“Whoever says that this is a girl, let him be the first to throw a stone at me!”

“The ice has broken, gentlemen of the jury!”

“Perhaps I should also give you the key to the apartment where the money is?

“How much is opium for the people?”

“A car is not a luxury, but a means of transportation”

“You did not come from a monkey, like all other citizens, but from a cow. You think very slowly, just like a cloven-hoofed mammal. I’m telling you this as an expert on horns and hooves.”

“Rio de Janeiro is the crystal dream of my childhood, don’t touch it with your paws”

“The work of helping drowning people is the work of the drowning people themselves”

“Money in the morning, chairs in the evening!”

“No, this is not Rio de Janeiro! This is much worse!

• Author of the story “Son of the Regiment” Valentin Kataev - brother Evgenia Petrova. Evgeny Petrovich took a pseudonym, deciding that “Bolivar of Literature” would not be able to handle two Kataevs.
• Kataeva's name ideological inspirer“12 Chairs” was supposed to be on the list of authors, but the writer refused such an honor, because the idea was significantly redrawn. All he needed was dedication. Ilf and Petrov spent the first fee on a gift for their mentor - they gave him a gold cigarette case.

• The name of the character in picaresque novels is immortalized in monuments - sculptures of the adventurer were erected in St. Petersburg, Pyatigorsk, Yekaterinburg, Kharkov and other cities. And in Odessa, the attention of residents and guests of the city is attracted by Ostap Bender’s chair of impressive size - it is a meter in diameter.
• A third of a century after the publication of the novel “12 Chairs,” an amazing event happened in the life of Osip Shor - a possible prototype of Ostap married a lady who, in appearance and character traits, was the spitting image of Madame Gritsatsueva.

• In Gaidai's film, Bender performs for Madame Gritsatsueva a sad song about the suffering of a pirate in love. According to the script, the film was supposed to include two compositions, but one, called “Striped Life,” was removed by order from “above.” USSR Minister of Culture Ekaterina Furtseva explained that the country had enough of the song “But we don’t care,” sounding from every corner, and “Striped Life” faces the same fate.

For almost a century now, the works of Ilf and Petrov about the adventures of the great schemer have not lost their popularity. During this period, the novels “12 Chairs” and “The Golden Calf” went through several film adaptations, and phrases from them have long become catchphrases. Few people know that Ostap Bender is not a collective character. He had real prototype- Inspector of the Odessa Criminal Investigation Department Ostap Shor, whose life was no less exciting than that of his literary brother.

To hint at the work of the real Ostap in the criminal investigation department, Ilf and Petrov several times in the novel indicated with specific phrases that their main character- a good detective. In the chapter “And others.” Ostap Bender is busily drawing up a report from the scene of the incident: “Both bodies lie with their feet to the southeast and their heads to the northwest. There are lacerations on the body, apparently inflicted by some kind of blunt instrument.”

Not only Ostap Bender had his own prototype. These

Ostap Bender- the main character (or rather, anti-hero) of the novels by Ilya Ilf and Evgeny Petrov “The Twelve Chairs” and “The Golden Calf”. A fraudster and adventurer, “a great strategist”, “an ideological fighter for banknotes”, who knew “four hundred relatively honest ways of taking away (withdrawing) money.” One of the most popular heroes of a picaresque novel in Russian literature.

Bender himself introduces himself as Ostap-Suleiman-Berta-Maria-Bender Bey(in "The Twelve Chairs") and Bender-Zadunaisky(in "The Golden Calf") In the novel "The Golden Calf" Bender is also called Ostap Ibrahimovic.

Biography [ | ]

Origin of the name[ | ]

It is known that the authors of the novel “The Twelve Chairs” dedicated the novel to Valentin Kataev, based the plot on his then successful story “The Embezzlers”, but introduced a young hero, whose main prototype (or one of the two main prototypes along with Osip Shor) was Valentin himself Kataev, although he did not mention this in his memoirs and decided to support the legend of the readers of the novel “12 Chairs” about the Odessa tramp origin of Ostap Bender. Much of what is attributed to Osip Shor was not done by the real Osip Shor (for example, he was never a Turkish subject and was a Russian subject and liable for military service), but it was in the spirit of Valentin Kataev, sparkling with humor, who at the same time considered himself a fighter left behind enemy lines who had gone to Turkey Russian Army.

According to one version, during a business trip to Saratov, Ilf and Petrov learned about the local millionaire Andrei Ivanovich Bender, who became rich after he transported very a large amount other people's money and he was allegedly robbed. Ilf and Petrov liked the name of the company “Andrei Ivanovich Bender and Sons”, and they decided to write about one of their sons.

According to another version, Ilf and Petrov deliberately gave Bender an “international” Ukrainian-( Ostap) -German- ( Bender) -Turkish ( Ibrahimovic, -Suleiman, -beat) name precisely in order to exclude the above interpretations and emphasize the universality, the universality of this personality. As you know, Odessa is an international city, as was the duo of authors of “The Twelve Chairs” and “The Golden Calf”.

The possibility that Odessa authors borrowed the surname of the main character from the name of a city close to their homeland, which is called Bender in Romanian (Romanian: Bender), was expressed by historian Viktor Khudyakov. After all, in the novel “12 Chairs” the acrobat of the Columbus Theater is also mentioned Georgette Tiraspolskikh- and Bendery and Tiraspol are located opposite each other on different banks of the Dniester. In addition, the city of Bendery has a Turkish past, and its most important attraction, widely known outside the city, is the Turkish fortress.

The ending of the novel “The Golden Calf” also confirms V. Khudyakov’s version: Ostap does not cross the USSR border with Poland or Finland, does not sail across the sea towards Istanbul, but chooses to cross Romania, the Dniester River, near Tiraspol - and on the other side, with the former then the Romanian side is just Bendery.

Bender's life until 1927[ | ]

From the story told by Bender to engineer Shchukin (“Twelve Chairs,” Chapter XXV), it follows that Ostap lived in Mirgorod, in Civil War-torn Ukraine, in the winter of 1919. And, judging by the details of the story about the Eternal Jew (“The Golden Calf,” Chapter XXVII), Ostap Bender was engaged in smuggling during this period.

In addition, Ostap was in Central Asia at least once before 1930.

"The twelve Chairs"[ | ]

This is how the great schemer appears for the first time in the novel.

According to a number of commentators on the novel (in particular, M. Odessky and D. Feldman), the description indicates that a prisoner entered, repeatedly convicted and very recently released, that is, a recidivist criminal (a fraudster, since immediately after his release he makes plans related to fraud). In fact, a homeless tramp who has neither a coat nor socks in the cold spring (ice on puddles), but travels in a fashionable suit and smart shoes:

But for a repeat offender there is nothing unusual here. He does not have an apartment and should not have one - Soviet legislation provided that those sentenced “to imprisonment” were deprived of “the right to occupied living space.” This means that he became homeless after his first term, there was nowhere to return, and he had nowhere to store his wardrobe. If “a young man of about twenty-eight” was arrested before the onset of cold weather, then he did not wear a coat. Bender kept his shoes and suit because they were taken away after the sentencing and returned upon release, but the socks and underwear that were left for the prisoners were worn out. Deadline Ostap was serving in the DOPR, that is, on the territory of the Ukrainian SSR, in the extreme east of which he was located (in the RSFSR there were not DOPRs, but correctional homes).

"Golden calf"[ | ]

The actions of Ostap Bender in the first part of his biography (“12 chairs”) may fall under the relevant articles of the Criminal Code, while in the second part - “The Golden Calf” - he is, in fact, investigating a crime, albeit for the purpose of blackmail. Such duality of the hero is quite in the spirit of a classic detective story.

Killing and resurrecting a hero[ | ]

In the preface to The Golden Calf, Ilf and Petrov jokingly said that towards the end of writing The Twelve Chairs, the question of a spectacular ending arose. A dispute arose between the co-authors whether to kill Ostap or leave him alive, which even caused a quarrel between the co-authors. In the end, they decided to rely on lot. Two pieces of paper were placed in the sugar bowl, on one of which a skull and crossbones were drawn. The skull fell out - and thirty minutes later the great schemer was gone.

According to the testimony of E. Petrov’s brother, Valentin Kataev (in the book “My Diamond Crown”) plot basis"The Twelve Chairs" was taken from A. Conan Doyle's story "The Six Napoleons", in which gem was hidden in one of the plaster busts of the French emperor. Two criminals were hunting for the busts, one of whom was eventually stabbed to death with a razor by his accomplice. In addition, Kataev also mentions “a hilariously funny story by a young, early deceased Soviet writer from Petrograd Lev Lunts, who wrote about how a certain bourgeois family flees from Soviet power abroad, hiding their diamonds in a clothes brush.”

Scams [ | ]

Liveliness of character, knowledge of psychology, artistic abilities and love of banknotes allowed Ostap to carry out quite witty scams, the victims of which were: individual citizens, so large groups persons at the same time.

• In one evening, Ostap put together an underground organization from local “former” and Nepmen to overthrow Soviet power- “The Union of Sword and Ploughshare.” The newly converted fighters immediately donated a substantial sum to the leader “who arrived from Berlin.” The members of “Sword and Ploughshare” believed so much in the seriousness of the idea that they eventually confessed to the OGPU, and from one of them (Kislyarsky), Bender managed to obtain cash subsidies for the “sacred goal” twice more. ("The twelve Chairs")
• There, Bender entered a nursing home, posing as a fire inspector. Thus, he was able to inspect the building, find out the fate of one of the chairs, have lunch for free and receive a bribe from the frightened man. ("The twelve Chairs")
• For the sake of the widow Gritsatsueva's chair, Bender married her - he considered it beneath his dignity to simply steal furniture from a poor woman. He received a divorce in absentia later; this is mentioned in The Golden Calf. ("The twelve Chairs")
• In order to go on a tour by boat with the Columbus Theater, Bender identified himself as a certified artist, a graduate of VKHUTEMAS, and introduced Vorobyaninov as his apprentice. This deception, however, was quickly revealed due to Ostap’s complete lack of artistic abilities. ("The twelve Chairs")
• In the Volga town of Vasyuki, Ostap introduced himself as an international grandmaster, gave a session of a paid simultaneous game in the local chess section and convinced naive provincials of the reality of organizing the “International Vasyukin Tournament of 1927”, at which the strongest chess players of our time were supposed to meet. After the tournament, Vasyuki was to become the new capital of the USSR (New Moscow), and subsequently of the whole world. In Vasyuki, Bender played chess for the second time in his life. ("The twelve Chairs")
• In Pyatigorsk, Ostap successfully sold tickets to vacationers to enter Proval, open to everyone, “for the purpose of overhauling Proval. So as not to fail too much.” There, Bender, after five minutes of instruction, turned the arrogant nobleman Vorobyaninov into a qualified beggar. ("The twelve Chairs")
• In the city of Arbatov, Bender pretended to be the son of Lieutenant Schmidt and received small financial assistance from the chairman of the city executive committee. When the second “son of the lieutenant”, Balaganov, unexpectedly burst into the chairman’s office, Bender managed to save the situation and leave with impunity. ("Golden calf")
• Having received Adam Kozlevich's car at his disposal, Bender, on the way to Chernomorsk, for some time posed as a big commander, “skimming foam, cream and similar sour cream from this highly cultural undertaking,” that is, simply appropriating the gasoline, spare parts and pickles prepared for the athletes. ("Golden calf")
• On the way to Chernomorsk, Ostap sold American tourists the technology for producing wheat moonshine: “There was money lying on the road. I picked them up. Look, they haven’t even gotten dusty.” ("Golden calf")
• One of Bender’s usual events was performances before the public as an Indian Brahmin and yogi, a favorite of Rabindranath Tagore, Honored Artist of the Union Republics Iokanaan Marusidze: “Indian fakir. Invisible chicken. Numbers based on the experience of Sherlock Holmes. Materialization of spirits and distribution of elephants.” ("Golden calf")
• Bender conducts the investigation into the case of A.I. Koreiko without any authority, and, judging by the text of the novel, does not even try to pass himself off as a representative of the authorities. Nevertheless, swindlers and embezzlers tremble before him and vying with each other to lay out the necessary information. ("Golden calf") . In order to have official cover, Ostap creates a fake office “Horns and Hooves”, whose name has become a household name for fly-by-night companies.
• Left in Chernomorsk without a penny, Bender composed the film script “Neck” in one night and sold it to a local film factory. Apparently, none of the filmmakers even tried to read the script. ("Golden calf")
• Following Koreiko to the junction of the East Siberian Railway, Bender posed as a correspondent for the Black Sea Newspaper. He obtained money for expenses by selling the journalist Ukhudshansky “The Ceremonial Kit” - universal instructions for producing newspaper articles and essays from ready-made stamps, which he himself compiled. ("Golden calf")
• Perhaps Bender's only event that ended in complete failure was his first attempt to blackmail Koreiko. The seasoned schemer, without blinking an eye, refused the ten thousand rubles stolen from his pocket, and Ostap’s police cap did not make any impression on him. ("Golden calf")

The image of Bender in novels[ | ]

It can be noted that the images of Bender in the novels “The Twelve Chairs” and “The Golden Calf” are very different. In “The Twelve Chairs” his image is schematic; in fact, he is a conventional character. He practically makes no mistakes, everything comes surprisingly easily to him, he is optimistic and cheerful. In “The Golden Calf” the image of Bender is deeper; in him you can already feel a living person, with all his pains, joys and dreams.

Possible prototypes[ | ]

Osip (Ostap) Shor is considered the main prototype of Bender, former employee criminal investigation department of Odessa, older brother of the poet Nathan Shor (Fioletov). He was born on May 30 in Nikopol. B - tried to study at the Petrograd Technological Institute, but, returning to Odessa, he went through a lot of adventures: in order to obtain a livelihood, he presented himself as an artist, then a chess grandmaster, then a fiancé, or a representative of an underground anti-Soviet organization.

Writer Valentin Kataev indirectly speaks in favor of this version: “As for the central figure of the novel by Ostap Bender, he was written based on one of our Odessa friends. In life, of course, he bore a different surname, but the name Ostap was preserved as a very rare one. The prototype of Ostap Bender was the elder brother of one remarkable young poet... He had nothing to do with literature and served in the criminal investigation department to combat banditry..."

After the publication of the book, O. Shor showed up to Ilf and Petrov in order to demand “author’s fees” for the use of the image, but the writers laughed and explained that the image was a collective one, therefore there was no talk of remuneration, but they drank a “peace treaty” with him, after to which Osip left his claims, asking the writers only one thing - to resurrect the hero.

It should also be noted that in 1926, a year before Bender appeared on the pages of the book, in Moscow, where Ilf, Petrov and Kataev lived, Mikhail Bulgakov’s play “Zoyka’s Apartment” was staged with great success (two hundred performances were given in total) at the Vakhtangov Theater ", showing the morals of the NEP. The play features the character Amethyst, aka Putkinovsky, aka Anton Siguradze, who is very similar to the future Bender. This is a charming rogue, an artistic rogue, an elegant swindler, very active and eloquent, getting out of various situations. Amethyst, like Bender, was released from prison before his first appearance in the play. Amethyst was shot in Baku, just as Bender was stabbed to death in Moscow - but both of them miraculously resurrected. Amethysts can convince anyone of anything (except the police). Amethyst's blue dream - Cote d'Azur and white pants (" - Ah, Nice, Nice!..[cf. Oh, Rio, Rio!..] The azure sea, and I’m on its shore - in white trousers!» .

In the fifth chapter of “The Golden Calf,” Ostap Bender tells his companions about his experience of working on club stages as a fakir, soothsayer and magician Iokanaan Marusidze. The prototype for the pop role of the Great Combinator was the Leningrad artist Semyon Savelyevich Dubrov (1883-1941), who performed in the second half of the 1920s under the pseudonym Saint-Verbud. Evidence is given in the study by Andrei Fedorov “Who is he, the fakir from the Golden Calf?”

In the 19th century, the image of a great schemer with a dream of Rio was anticipated by Baron Nikolai von Mengden (son of General von Mengden and Baroness Amalia) (1822-1888), who in 1844, in an adventurous way, out of idle curiosity, ended up in Rio de Janeiro. Posing as a Russian senator, he received an audience with the Brazilian Emperor Pedro II. After spending time in Rio de Janeiro “enjoyably,” Nikolai Mengden returned to Russia, where he had already been dismissed from service. This story was told in the memoirs of Baroness Sophia Mengden, published in 1908 in the magazine Russian Antiquity.

Bender on screen[ | ]

There were film adaptations of the novels both in the USSR and abroad. For example, “The Twelve Chairs” was staged in Poland, Germany, and Cuba. In the first foreign film adaptations, the plot was significantly changed, and the name of the main character was also changed. Below is a list of actors who played the role of Ostap Bender.

Monuments [ | ]

• Berdyansk, Zaporozhye region. - immortalized together with Shura Balaganov in the park named after. P. P. Schmidt.
• Zhmerynka, Vinnytsia region of Ukraine, near the station - a monument in the form of a standing Ostap surrounded by chairs (in currently absent from his place; demolished by decision of local authorities in 2012).
• Yekaterinburg - a monument to Ostap Bender and Kisa Vorobyaninov was erected in August 2007 on Belinsky Street.
• Kozmodemyansk (Republic of Mari El), prototype of Vasyukov - a monument to 12 chairs installed on the street. Chernyshevsky.
• Krasnodar - next to the entrance to the Golden Calf cafe on Rashpilevskaya Street.
• Kremenchug, Poltava region. - st. Sobornaya, near the Galaktika shopping center.
• Melitopol, intersection of B. Khmelnitsky Ave. and st. Heroes of Ukraine, near the City cafe.
• Odessa - next to the entrance to one of the restaurants in the center, on Deribasovskaya.
• Pyatigorsk - a monument near the “Proval”.
• St. Petersburg - a monument to the great schemer was erected on July 25, 2000, on Ostap’s “birthday”, on Italianskaya Street, building 4, not far from Arts Square and the State Russian Museum, at the entrance to the former restaurant “Golden Ostap”.
• Starobelsk, Lugansk region - a monument to Ostap Bender was installed in the LNU park from the village of Chmarovka (for more details, see Starobelsk in the works of Ilf and Petrov).
• Kharkov - a number of monuments (for more details, see Monuments to the heroes of the works of Ilf and Petrov in Kharkov).
• Cheboksary - a monument to Ostap Bender and Kisa Vorobyaninov on Efremov Boulevard (Cheboksary Arbat).
• Elista - a monument to Ostap Bender with a chess knight in his hand. Installed on Ostap Bender Avenue in 1999.
• Krymsk, Krasnodar region- a monument to Ostap Bender, sitting on a bench, was erected on one of the central streets of the city... directly opposite the district police department.

Few people know that Ostap Bender is not a collective character. He had a real prototype - Odessa criminal investigation inspector Ostap Shor, whose life was no less exciting than that of his literary brother.

Editorial Faktrum in admiration publishes material from the online magazine “Culturology”, revealing Interesting Facts from the biography...

...In the spring of 1927, an imposing middle-aged man entered the editorial office of the Gudok newspaper. He went to two young reporters, whose last names were Ilf and Petrov. Evgeny Petrov familiarly greeted the newcomer, because it was his brother Valentin Kataev. The Soviet writer winked conspiratorially at both of them and declared that he wanted to hire them as “literary blacks.” Kataev had an idea for a book, and young reporters were encouraged to put it into literary form. According to the writer’s idea, a certain leader of the district nobility, Vorobyaninov, tried to find jewelry sewn into one of the twelve chairs.

The creative tandem immediately got to work. Literary heroes Ilf and Petrov were “written off” from their environment. Almost everyone had their own prototype. One of the episodic characters was a mutual friend of the writers, a certain inspector of the criminal investigation department of Odessa, whose name was Ostap Shor. The authors decided to keep the first name, but changed the last name to Bender. As the book was written, this episodic character kept coming to the fore, “pushing the rest of the characters with his elbows.”

When Ilf and Petrov brought the manuscript to Kataev, he realized that the work turned out completely different from what he had originally intended. Valentin Petrovich decided to remove his name from the list of authors, but demanded that Ilf and Petrov print a dedication for him on the first page of the published novel.

When the novel gained enormous popularity, fans began to look for the prototype of the main character. Some Arab scholars seriously argued that Ostap Bender was a Syrian; their Uzbek opponents adhered to the point of view regarding his Turkic origin. Only at the end of the twentieth century the name of the real Ostap Bender became known. He was Osip Veniaminovich Shor. His friends called him Ostap. The fate of this man was no less exciting than that of his literary character.

Ostap Shor was born in 1899 in Odessa. In 1916, he entered the Petrograd Polytechnic Institute, but the young man was not destined to graduate. The October Revolution took place. The journey home took Ostap about a year. During this time, he had to wander, get into trouble, and hide from his pursuers. Some of the adventures that Shore later told his friends about were reflected in the novel.

When Ostap Shor reached Odessa, it changed beyond recognition. From a prosperous city of enterprising businessmen and Italian opera, it turned into a place where criminal gangs ruled. This was not surprising, since in the three years after the revolution in Odessa, power changed fourteen times. Residents of the city united into people's squads to fight crime, and the most zealous fighters for justice were awarded the title of criminal investigation inspectors. That is exactly what Ostap Shor became. His height of 190 cm, remarkable strength and a keen sense of justice made Shor a thunderstorm for the criminals of Odessa.

Several times his life hung by a thread, but, thanks to his sharp mind and lightning-fast reaction, Ostap always managed to escape. The same cannot be said about his brother. Nathan Shore was a famous writer who worked under the pseudonym Nathan Fioletov. He was about to get married. Nathan and his fiancée were choosing furniture for their future apartment when three people approached him and, asking for his last name, shot him at point-blank range. The criminals simply confused Ostap with his brother.

Ostap Shor took his brother’s death very painfully and after some time he left the UGRO and went to Moscow. Due to his impulsive nature, Ostap constantly got into all sorts of troubles. The expression of the literary character: “My dad was a Turkish subject” belongs to Shor. When the question of military service arose, Ostap often uttered this phrase. The fact is that children of foreigners were exempt from military service.

To hint at the work of the real Ostap in the criminal investigation department, Ilf and Petrov several times in the novel indicated with specific phrases that their main character is a good detective. In the chapter “And others.” Ostap Bender is busily drawing up a report from the scene of the incident: “Both bodies lie with their feet to the southeast and their heads to the northwest. There are lacerations on the body, apparently inflicted by some kind of blunt instrument.”

When the books “12 Chairs” and “The Golden Calf” were published, Ostap Shor came to the authors and insistently demanded to pay for the image copied from him. Ilf and Petrov were perplexed and tried to justify themselves, but at that time Ostap laughed. He stayed with the writers overnight and told them about his adventures. In the morning, Ilf and Petrov woke up in full confidence that they would publish the third part about the adventures of the great schemer. But the book was never written, because Ilya Ilf fell ill with tuberculosis.

Ostap Shor himself lived to be 80 years old. All this time he wandered around the Soviet Union. In 1978, Valentin Kataev’s biographical novel “My Diamond Crown” was published, which contained clear hints about who the image of Ostap Bender was based on.

Who doesn’t know Ostap Bender, the “great schemer” and “son of Lieutenant Schmidt”? Surely every person was watching legendary films“12 Chairs” and “The Golden Calf”, based on the novels of the same name by Ilya Ilf and Evgeny Petrov. Ostap Bender is in charge actor these adaptations and works. He can rightfully be called one of the brightest and most memorable heroes of Russian literature. Every phrase of his is a masterpiece! He is smart, cunning, quick-witted, charming, resourceful. Ostap's greatest passion is money. He constantly strives to get them at any cost.

Ostap Bender: years of childhood and youth

Full name The main character of the novel “12 Chairs” is Ostap-Suleiman-Bertha-Maria-Bender Bey. This is exactly how he introduced himself in this novel. However, in the work “The Golden Calf,” written by I. Ilf and E. Petrov later, he calls himself Bender-Transdanubia. The origin of Ostap Bender is difficult to establish reliably, but from some of his phrases one can understand that as a child he lived in Mirgorod and Kherson. He also says that he served time in Taganskaya prison, but after leaving there he tries to “honor the criminal code.” In addition, he claims to be the son of a Turkish citizen. It is known that Ostap studied at a private gymnasium.

"12 chairs"

The biography of Ostap Bender is not described in detail in any of the works of Ilya Ilf and Evgeny Petrov. In the novel “12 Chairs” he appears to readers as “a young man of about 28.” He appears in Stargorod, where he meets Ippolit Matveyevich, who has gathered to search for the diamonds of his late mother-in-law. Ostap immediately senses the smell of profit, so he imposes himself on Vorobyaninov as a partner. Bender is madly in love with money, for the sake of it he is ready to commit any scam. The novel “12 Chairs” describes his marriage to the widow Gritsatsueva. He did this only in order to get a chair in which treasures may have been hidden. However, there were no diamonds there, and Ostap, together with Ippolit Matveyevich, set off in search of new adventures. In Stargorod, the great schemer creates the “Union of Sword and Ploughshare” and collects money from local influential people. All funds go into the fraudster’s personal pocket, but to members of the organization he hints at a “sacred goal.” At the end of the novel, Vorobyaninov cuts Ostap’s throat, but the hero does not die.

"Golden calf"

In the novel “The Golden Calf” Ostap Bender appears before readers as a man with his own dreams, weaknesses and experiences. In “12 Chairs” the image of the hero is schematic, but here his character is more fully reflected. inner world. And again he comes up with a variety of scams: he pretends to be the son of Lieutenant Schmidt, sells the production recipe wheat moonshine and so on.

His biggest dream is to get his hands on money. underground millionaire Koreiko. Bender achieves this by all means, and in the end he succeeds. At the end of the novel, he tries to cross the Romanian border, but the border guards rob him. However, Ostap Bender remains alive, and this epilogue gives hope that there will be a continuation of the story about this charming adventurer. It is known that Ilya Ilf and Evgeny Petrov planned to write another novel called “Scoundrel,” but this was not destined to come true.

Quotes

Almost every quote from Ostap Bender is unique. His expressions became popular among the people. Here are just a few of them:

• "A sultry woman is a poet's dream."
• “Why are you looking at me like a soldier at a louse?”
• “Breathe deeply: you are excited.”
• “...No criminality. We must honor the code!”
• “Whoever says that this is a girl, let him be the first to throw a stone at me!”
• "The crystal dream of my childhood."
• “I will command the parade!”
• “Foreign countries will help us.”

It seems that you can quote Ostap Bender endlessly. It is worth noting that the novels of Ilya Ilf and Evgeny Petrov are full of funny phrases. Idioms, which are loved by all readers, belong not only to Ostap Bender. Almost all the characters in the novels “The 12 Chairs” and “The Golden Calf” say something funny and memorable.

Scams and fraud

Ostap Bender knows what to do in any situation. He can find a way out of any situation and gain the trust of everyone. Books about him charge readers with positivity, and his phrases and actions invariably bring a smile. Just look at the situation when he introduced himself as an artist in order to get on the ship, but in the end it turned out that he couldn’t draw at all. Once in Vasyuki, Ostap lies that he is a world famous chess player, but loses all the games and is forced to flee from the angry residents of this town. In the novel “The Golden Calf,” he introduces himself as the commander of a large automobile rally, and also sells the technology for making moonshine to American tourists.

Appearance and age

Ostap Bender is a handsome and prominent man. He is very charming, so all women without exception like him. He easily gains people's trust, presents himself as a completely different person (policeman, fire inspector), but he gets away with everything. Ostap, under other circumstances, could have achieved great success, to make a career, but he directs all his energy to dubious matters, deception and fraud. In the novel “12 Chairs” the hero is about 28 years old, and in “The Golden Calf” he is 33 years old. He does not have a noble origin, but is very smart and cunning. Ostap is an undoubted leader in any society. People are ready to follow him to the ends of the earth.

Annual festival "Benderiada"

Few people know, but the city of Vasyuki, described in the novel “12 Chairs,” really exists. At least, residents of the small town of Kozmodemyansk, located on the right bank of the Volga, believe that it was there that the legendary chess tournament took place, in which Ostap shamefully lost all the games. Every year this city hosts an entertainment festival called “Benderiada”, full of fun competitions, as well as performances of dance and musical groups.

During the festival, residents and guests of Kozmodemyansk can take part in a real chess tournament, play beach volleyball, eat delicious barbecue and even buy a chair at auction (12 of them are being sold in total, and a diamond is hidden in one of them). Large cruise ships often stop in the city, and tourists go out and explore the local attractions. During the Benderiada there are especially many visitors, because this festival attracts guests from all over the country.

Ostap Bender in the cinema

Based on the novels of Ilya Ilf and Yevgeny Petrov, many TV series and films were shot, not only in Russia, but also abroad. The very first Ostap in cinema was Sergei Yursky, who starred in the film “The Golden Calf” in 1968. One of best paintings about Bender was filmed by Leonid Gaidai in 1971. The role of the great schemer in it was played by Archil Gomiashvili, whose age did not correspond to the age of Ostap in the novel “12 Chairs”. However, most TV viewers consider this particular picture to be the most successful of all that were made about Bender. The musical film “12 Chairs” from director Mark Zakharov is also popular. Ostap was played in it by the inimitable Andrei Mironov.

In 2006, the series “The Golden Calf” was released, consisting of 8 episodes. Main role Oleg Menshikov played in it. According to critics, Ostap, played by him, turned out to be the most unsuccessful of all.

Museums and monuments

Monuments to Ostap Bender are installed in many cities, including: Yekaterinburg, Cheboksary, Odessa, Kharkov, Pyatigorsk, Krymsk. In St. Petersburg in 2000, a monument to the great schemer also appeared.

Bronze Ostap immediately catches the eye of passers-by. There is a permanent cap on his head, and a scarf around his neck. There is even a tradition among residents of St. Petersburg: in order for everything to go well, you need to rub Bender’s nose.

In the city of Kozmodemyansk (the prototype of Vasyukov) there is a “Museum of Satire and Humor” dedicated to Ostap Bender.

It is located at Sovetskaya Street, building 8. In the museum you can see a lot of interesting things, including portraits and photos of Ostap Bender, his quotes, objects related to him, sculptures, and an old car. Tourists who visited there claim that they received many positive emotions. The museum has a very cozy and positive atmosphere.

Conclusion

Novels about Ostap Bender were written many decades ago, but today he remains one of the most popular literary characters. Books about his machinations are read with great pleasure. And the films in which Ostap was played famous actors(Andrei Mironov, Archil Gomiashvili, Sergei Yursky, Oleg Menshikov and others), periodically broadcast on the main federal channels. In principle, his image is negative, because he is a fraudster, a liar and a deceiver. However, despite these significant negative aspects, Ostap Bender remains a favorite hero of many generations.