Twelve chairs

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Twelve chairs ( Russian Двенадцать стульев ) is a satirical novel published in 1928 by the two Soviet writers Ilya Ilf and Yevgeny Petrow . The main hero of the novel also appears in the serial novel The Golden Calf (1931).

action

A former nobleman named Ippolit Vorobyaninov, who lived in hiding after the Russian Revolution , found out on his mother-in-law's deathbed that years ago, during the expropriation by the Bolsheviks , she had hidden the valuable family jewels in one of the twelve chairs, which were later also confiscated. The orthodox priest Fyodor, who hears the dying woman's last confession, also learns of the secret. Thereupon both decide independently to go on the hunt for the jewels.

Soon after, Vorobyaninov meets the tricky and smart crook Ostap Bender , who calls himself the great combiner . Since he learns of Vorobyaninov's noble origins and threatens to denounce him to the authorities, Vorobyaninov feels compelled to let him in on the secret. From now on they will search for the chairs together. In their search they travel all over the country and meet different, sometimes weird, people whose naivety they exploit, especially thanks to Bender's charm and energy, and whose weaknesses are satirically depicted in the novel. At the same time, Father Fyodor is also following a wrong lead across the whole country, and the competitors meet occasionally.

After the chairs are found one after the other, it becomes increasingly clear that the treasure is in the last chair whose trace has been lost. Ultimately, however, he is also discovered in a working class culture club. The night before the planned break-in, Vorobyaninov kills Bender for fear that he will not share with him as agreed. (Bender survives his injury, as learned from the serialized novel The Golden Calf ). Later, Vorobyaninov has to learn that the treasure has already been discovered and that the new culture club has been built with the proceeds from the jewels.

Cultural meaning

The novel is one of the classics of 20th century Russian literature . Many sayings and quotes from the novel have become popular words on the territory of the former Soviet Union.

  • The ice is broken, ladies and gentlemen of the jury! (Ostap Bender, always when he finds a new lead)
  • Do you want a key to the apartment where the money is? (Ostap Bender opposite a scrounging street kid)
  • The secret society of swords and plowshares! (Ostap Bender, fooling a group of former nobles into an anti-Soviet conspiracy to collect donations)
  • Giant of Thought, a confidante of the emperor and father of Russian democracy (Ostap Bender on Vorobyaninov on the same occasion)
  • I think bargaining is out of place here. (Vorobyaninov collecting donations)
  • Monsieurs! Je n'ai mangé pas six jours. (Vorobyaninov begging in Pyatigorsk )
  • What does opium cost for the people? (Ostap Bender when meeting Father Fjodor; what is meant is the sentence "Religion is the opium of the people " by Karl Marx)

Film adaptations

German book editions

  • Twelve chairs (translators Elsa Brod and Mary von Pruss-Glowatzky), Zsolnay, Zurich 1930 DNB 574112669 .
  • Twelve chairs (translator Ernst von Eck), Eulenspiegel Verlag, Berlin 1958
  • Twelve chairs (translators Renate and Thomas Reschke), Volk und Welt publishing house, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-353-01139-0 ; NA: Luchterhand, Munich 2003, ISBN 3-630-62067-1 (= Luchterhand collection , volume 2067).

Web links

Commons : Twelve Chairs  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files