The Twelve Chairs

Interesting Facts

• The book is a satirical novel mocking Soviet society of the 1920s.
• The main characters of the novel — Ostap Bender and Ippolit Matveyevich Vorobyaninov — set out to find diamonds hidden in one of the twelve chairs.
• Ostap Bender, one of the main characters, became a cult figure in Russian literature and a symbol of adventure and ingenuity.
• The novel has been adapted into films several times, both in the USSR and abroad.
• The phrase 'The ice has broken, gentlemen of the jury!' from the novel became a catchphrase.
• The book was co-authored with Yevgeny Petrov, which is often overlooked.
• The novel was first published in 1928 and immediately became popular among readers.