The great manipulator
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At the Moscow newspaper "Gudok," several writers of Odessa origin worked. Here, two talented columnists, Ilja Ilf and Jevgenyij Petrov, met and became friends, forming an inseparable writing duo later on. Their short-lived but successful collaboration could not be replicated without the other.
How did they manage to write together? They jointly reviewed every sentence, and both could reject ideas; if the same thought occurred to both, they discarded it as too obvious. Their well-known protagonist, Ostap Bender, had his fate decided by a draw, including his death.
Odessa was a bustling port city with a vibrant and lively atmosphere, a diverse population, and criminal gangs. The city's unique, sophisticatedly coarse humor, grotesque worldview, and rich experiences provided artists with inexhaustible material.
The writers modeled their main character, Ostap Bender, after a real and professional criminal from Odessa named Osip Sorr. Petrov had previously worked as a detective in the Odessa police, where he knew about the criminal gangs and heard about Sorr. Sorr traveled the country, sharing interesting stories about his life, which served as the basis for the character. They supplemented this life story with reader letters, street conversations, and their own travel experiences. Reportedly, after the novel's publication, Sorr even demanded copyright royalties, which, of course, were rejected.
The resulting novel, "The Twelve Chairs," was published in 1928 and became a huge success. The original idea came from Valentin Kataev, inspired by Arthur Conan Doyle's story "The Six Napoleons." The topic was passed on to Kataev's journalist brother, Jevgenyij, who decided to co-write the satirical story with Ilf, using an anecdote about treasures hidden in chairs.
The setting is the Soviet Union recovering from the bloody civil war and strict War Communism, during the New Economic Policy (NEP) era. The NEP brought economic relaxation and opportunities for enrichment for the enterprising. Naturally, adventurers, tricksters, and speculators, known as "nepmen," emerged.
The authors aimed to encourage people to be critical, to laugh at the reconstruction era, rather than just praise it. Through satire, they ridiculed those who wanted to exploit this turbulent period for their selfish goals.
Ostap Bender, the protagonist, is a great manipulator, charismatic figure, and a skilled organizer. He possesses a deep understanding of psychology, intuition, and an ability to foresee events. Despite his potential for a successful career and fortune, he dreams of millions, waiting for fate to reward him.
The humor of the novel is hilarious, using slogans, company abbreviations, and grotesque names to mock what has become stagnant and foolish.
Ostap Bender's posthumous life turned him into a symbol of Kozmogymyansk city. A satirical and humorous museum was opened in his honor, and an annual festival is held. The "Benderiad" turned the city into Vasyuki, and Bender rules it! This everlasting recognition ensures that Bender is not just a literary character; he has his own museum.
In the ideological confusion of the 1920s, a book portraying the Soviet reality unfavorably sparked heated debates. Ilf and Petrov wrote a social satire, facing the era's absurdities, and today, what they wrote remains relevant.