Ostap Bender is a misanthropic con man and comic hero in the novel "Twelve Chairs" (January 1928 - russian: Двенадцать стульев). Ostap Bender searches in the Soviet Union during the New Economic Policy era in order to find some diamond treasure which was hidden into one of twelve chairs. The twelve chairs were scattered by being sold to various customers. The chapter "Interplanetary Chess Congress" is s good representative of chess humor. He was killed at the end of Twelve Chairs for crimes of greed and individualism. The "Twelve Chairs (1970)" was made into a movie by Mel Brooks and Michael Hertzberg. Frank Langella played the part of Ostap Bender.
He was resurrected in 1931 for "The Golden Calf" (russian: Золотой теленок) novel. This novel was a satire on Soviet society. In this story, Ostap Bender follows a Soviet multi-millionaire. He is hoping to acquire some of the man's riches and amass a fortune. He gets his money but loses it as he flees the country. This book took over a year to gain approval by authorities.
The character is the creation of Ilya Ilf (Ilya Arnoldovich Fainzilberg's Pseudonym) and Evgeny Petrov (Evgeny Petrovich Kataev's Pseudonym).
