Money, according to Karl Marx, are receipts giving the right to exploit the labor of others. You can get them in various ways. Most people on the planet do this by creating new values, that is, by working. In this case, they simply exchange their labor for someone else's. But there are individuals that this method does not suit. From world literature, we know many characters who raised funds in other ways, in particular, redistributing the product with self-interest for themselves. One of them is Ostap Bender. The methods of weaning money from those who have accumulated excessive amounts in themselves, used by the Great Combinator, have become classic. At least in our country.
From the very first pages of the Golden Calf, it becomes clear to the reader that the son of Lieutenant Schmidt, who came to see the provincial boss, is an ordinary crook, a petty swindler. The monologue that followed the meeting with Brother Kolya makes it clear that this is not entirely true; in fact, one should not confuse the “gentleman in search of dozens” with any punks who have no idea of the real scale. About how many methods of weaning money Ostap Bender knew, the reader becomes aware of his own words. The hero claims that there are four hundred, but it is clear that this figure is conditional. In fact, there may be fewer, more, and generally an unlimited number. To prove this, the character in one of the episodes immediately, without leaving his place, invents the four hundred and first method. At the same time, Ostap-Suleiman emphasizes that he honors the criminal code and does not violate the articles. Which is not entirely true, in any case, in the modern understanding of crime.
Was Bender in prison?
The fact that Bender’s life experience was enriched by the criminal past, the reader, picking up the novel of Ilf and Petrov, could guess without any clues, only by the description of his outfit. High-quality and expensive costume, fashionable yellow boots and a police cap are combined with the lack of socks, which indicates the temporary seizure of some items of clothing and the subsequent release after their release. The recollections of one of the characters about “these blue eyes” seen in DOPR can only confirm this assumption.
But the point is not only how many methods of weaning money Ostap Bender knew. They are all fraudulent, but the Great Combinator still calls them honest, albeit with a “relative” amendment. The reader, thinking about this contradiction, may come to the conclusion that in the 20s of the last century, deceiving certain categories of citizens of the USSR was not considered a crime. And he will be absolutely right.
Honest Fraud
Returning to the equipment of the protagonist, we can conclude that he was in prison, but not for very long. Socks, of course, he managed to demolish, but the boots did not go out of fashion. This is explained by the fact that in 1922-1926 some criminal articles were decriminalized, that is, the acts indicated in them ceased to be considered a crime. In particular, in blackmail and extortion towards the exploiters (to which the Nepmans were ranked) the proletarian state was condescending, considering them to be something of
petty hooliganism. Obviously, the methods of Ostap Bender, with which he replenished the cash reserves of the “concession”, fell (in the worst case) for him, and under the previous episodes he was granted amnesty.
What threatened the "Sword and screaming"
However, there is an episode in the great novel “12 Chairs” that speaks of the extraordinary courage of the main character, which reaches recklessness. It is they who can explain the creation of the pseudo-counter-revolutionary organization Union of the Sword and Shouting, if you do not take into account the possible ignorance or stupidity of the Great Combinator. The titanic life experience, a huge stock of aphorisms and other indirect signs make it possible to completely dismiss the assumption that he was a fool. The reader is already aware of how many methods of weaning money Ostap Bender knew, as well as his respectful attitude to the Criminal Code, so he also does not have to think that he does not know some articles of this interesting book. One thing remains - crazy courage.
Starting from the moment of the October revolution, any actions of a counter-revolutionary nature, and even talk about them, were punished very strictly. Often, belonging to the "parasitic class" was enough to fall under the distribution. For involvement in the plot, the poet Gumilyov and many other intellectuals, priests, writers, scientists, teachers, engineers, military and representatives of other "non-proletarian" professions were shot. It was enough to be present at some conversation on this topic to be among the repressed. And here Bender starts a conversation about the “Union” in a circle of frightened Nepmans, passing off Kitty as a democratic leader who returned from exile. There was no guarantee that the same Kislyarsky, the owner of the Moscow Baranka artel, would not run to repent of the OGPU in a race with the other participants in the underground meeting. And in this case, the concessionaires were threatened with something worse than an administrative fine and public censure ...
The reader is rightly surprised at how many methods of weaning money Ostap Bender knew, his impunity, decisiveness and resourcefulness, but he is unaware that most of them at that time really did not fall under the articles of the Criminal Code, unlike the Sword and Screaming, for which it was easy threatened the "tower".
The prototype of Bender
Osip Shor - that’s the name of the person from whom Ilf and Petrov attributed many of the features inherent in the Great Combinator. Habits, appearance, manner of dressing, rich and versatile life experience, huge vocabulary and resourcefulness in any critical situation were, obviously, typical of this friend of Odessa writers. How many methods did Ostap Bender know for solving pressing problems, how many methods he had, if not more. Shor had a criminal past, was engaged in a variety of matters, he served in the Cheka, and, in the end, became disillusioned with the ideals of socialism. This was facilitated by many events of his life, including the death of his brother and poet. Bender’s phrase about unwillingness to build socialism most likely belonged to him.