Money, according to Karl Marx, isreceipts 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 who are not satisfied with this method. From the world literature, we know many characters who obtained funds by other means, in particular, by redistributing the product with self-interest for themselves. One of them is Ostap Bender. Ways of taking money from those who have accumulated in excess of them, used by the Great Combiner, have become classic. At least in our country.
From the very first pages of the Golden Calf to the readerit becomes clear that the son of Lieutenant Schmidt, who came to the reception to the provincial chief, is an ordinary rogue, a petty crook. The monologue that followed after the meeting with “Brother Kolya” makes it clear that this is not quite so; in fact, one should not confuse the “gentleman in search of tens” with any punks who have no idea about the real scale. Ostap Bender knew about how many ways of taking money, the reader becomes aware of his own words. The hero claims that there are four hundred of them, but it is clear that this figure is conditional. In fact, there may be fewer, and more, and generally an unlimited number. As proof of this, the character in one of the episodes immediately, on the spot, invents the four hundred and first method. At the same time, Ostap-Suleiman stresses that he honors the criminal code, and does not violate the articles. That does not quite correspond to reality, in any case, in the modern understanding of crime.
That Bender’s life experience is enrichedthe criminal past, the reader, who took the novel of Ilf and Petrov in his hands, could guess without any clues, only from the description of his outfit. A high-quality and expensive suit, fashionable yellow boots and a militia cap are combined with a lack of socks, which testifies to the temporary seizure of certain items of clothing and their issuance after release. The memories of one of the characters about the “these blue eyes” seen in the DPO can only confirm this assumption.
But it's not just how many weaning methodsOstap Bender knew the money. All of them are fraudulent, but the Great Combinator still calls them honest, albeit with a “relative” amendment. The reader, having thought about this contradiction, can come to the conclusion that in the 20s of the last century, the deception of certain categories of citizens of the USSR was not considered a crime. And he will be absolutely right.
There are, however, in the great novel “12 chairs” andepisode, speaking of the extraordinary courage of the main character, reaching to recklessness. It is to them that one can explain the creation of the pseudo-counter-revolutionary organization “Union of the sword and plowshare”, if not to take into account the possible ignorance or stupidity of the Great Combineer. Titanic life experience, a huge stock of aphorisms and other indirect signs allow you to completely dispel the assumption that he was a fool. The reader already knows how many ways Otap Bender knew about money taking, as well as about his respectful attitude towards the Criminal Code, so it’s not necessary to think that any articles of this interesting little book are known to him either. One thing remains - crazy courage.
Since the October Revolution, anyactions of a counter-revolutionary nature, and even talking about them was punished very harshly. Often it was enough and belonging to the "parasitic class" to get under the distribution. For participation 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 in order to be among the repressed. And here Bender starts a conversation about the "Union" in a circle of intimidated nepmen, posing as Kisa for the democratic leader who has returned from emigration. There was no guarantee that the same Kislyarsky, the owner of the Moscow Bagel artel, would not run to repent to the OGPU in a race with the rest of the underground assembly. And in this case, the concessionaires were threatened with something worse than an administrative fine and public reprimand ...
The reader is rightly surprised at how muchOstap Bender knew how to remove money, his impunity, decisiveness and resourcefulness, but he didn’t know that most of them at that time really did not fall under the articles of the Criminal Code, unlike Sword Shouted, for which the tower would easily threaten.
