The main literary character and film hero of the Soviet era is still popular with many residents of the country. Inventive, resourceful and ironic, the great combinator did not leave indifferent any of the spectators of films about his adventures. Therefore, the monument to Ostap Bender, erected in St. Petersburg, enjoys constant success among guests and residents of the northern capital.
Opening
The solemn event dedicated to the laying of the monument was opened by Alexander Shirvindt - a popular artist. Using the bandwagon of the legendary Antelope-Wildebeest as a platform, he said he hoped that the monument to Ostap Bender in St. Petersburg would not be threatened with demolition in the new ideological era. At the opening came the first performer of the role of Ostap in the film "Twelve Chairs" - Moscow actor Gomiashvili Archil, for whom this role was central in life. He was the owner of the Moscow restaurant "Golden Ostap".
The date of the opening of the monument to Ostap Bender in St. Petersburg was chosen on the day of the 100th anniversary of the birth of the great combinator. Fans of honest money-taking talent without violating the criminal code believe that he was born on July 25, 1900.
A place
A monument was erected to Ostap Bender in St. Petersburg at Italianskaya Street, at 4, near the entrance to the Golden Ostap restaurant, which is no longer working. In this building, in pre-revolutionary times, the stray dog, famous in the cabaret city, was located. The choice of a place for a monument of a somewhat controversial figure in the historical center of the city caused a different reaction from residents and visitors to the city.
Some believed that a bronze figure of somewhat dubious artistic value could be established, but in a less significant place. The majority nevertheless sympathized with the literary hero and for them the statue is just a cheerful reminder of the adventures that the whole country sympathized with. Moreover, the photo at the monument to Ostap Bender in St. Petersburg quickly became popular. And for the second decade, the great combinator has stood and delighted his fans.
Description
The monument to Ostap Bender in St. Petersburg was commissioned by the famous sculptor, rector of the Academy of Arts - A. S. Charkin, and architect V. B. Bukhayev. Although the opening performer was the first performer of the role of Ostap Ibrahimovic, the statue was made more like the young Sergei Jurassic. Although there is an opinion that this is a collective image with the features of all three actors who played this hero. Although it is difficult to discern in the statue some features of Andrei Mironov, who played in the latest version of the film about the great combinator.
The bronze figure of a 190-centimeter-tall Turkish son stands next to one of the twelve chairs from the Gams headset. Some people for some reason believe that this is the last chair in which the unforgettable Madame Petukhov hid the treasures.
Ostap Ibrahimovic stands with his proud chin up and with a challenge in his eyes, in a three-piece suit, but for some reason without a shirt, on his head, as always, a stylish cap, a long scarf around his neck. With one hand he rests on a chair, and under the arm with the other holds a thick folder with collected materials on the underground millionaire Koreiko. On a chair where treasures are still possibly hidden, anyone can sit.
Omens and more
Many guests of the city are interested in where the monument to Ostap Bender is located in St. Petersburg. In a season when there are especially many tourists, a line is even drawn up to a bronze comrade Bender with a chair. Fans of our hero certainly want to take a picture in an embrace with comrade Bender or better sitting on a chair with treasures.
Around the figure of such a master of ingenious combinations, a new urban legend could not help but form. If you want to succeed in an adventurous undertaking, for example, in obtaining money or the keys to the apartment where they are located, you need to rub your comrade Bender's nose, and then it is advisable to sit on a chair. Everyone knows about it, but for those who don’t know, any passerby will tell you.
Many connoisseurs of the works of Ilf and Petrov, the authors of books about Ostap, believe that the prototype of the great combinator was a former St. Petersburg student. Osip Veniaminovich Shor graduated from the Petersburg Polytechnic Institute, and then worked in the criminal investigation department of Odessa. An incredible adventurer, about whom there were different stories and funny stories. The authors put a lot of his favorite phrases into the mouth of his hero, for example: "My dad was a Turkish citizen."