The character of the novel "The Twelve Chairs" Kisa Vorobyaninov: biography and interesting facts

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Kisa Vorobyaninov is a character from the novel The Twelve Chairs, published in 1928. This literary hero is also found in another work by Ilf and Petrov - “The Past of the Registrar's Office Registrar”. This story provides a more complete biography of Kisa Vorobyaninov.

Basic information

The hero's full name is Ippolit Matveyevich Vorobyaninov. At the time of the beginning of the story, he was 52 years old. The former leader of the nobility began to lead a completely unusual way of life after meeting the adventurer Ostap Bender. Kisa Vorobyaninov received from him a trade union booklet, which read: "member of the union of Soviet employees." From now on, Vorobyaninov is represented by Konrad Michelson. According to fake documents, he is 48 years old, he is single, has been a member of the union since 1921.

What is known about the life of a former registry office employee? After the revolution, Vorobyaninov was deprived of the position of leader of the nobility. He moved to a county town, the name of which the authors of the famous book do not mention. Here he worked in the registry office, in the department of registration of marriages andof death. Vorobyaninov lived with his mother-in-law Claudia Ivanovna - a woman, as it turned out, quite secretive and mysterious.

Chasing Treasure

Kisa Vorobyaninov's life completely changed after the death of the mother of his late wife. In the last minutes of her life, the mother-in-law confessed to him that she owns pre-revolutionary family jewels. True, they are stored far away, in one of the 12 chairs. Treasure hunt is the main storyline of the famous novel by Ilf and Petrov.

In 1918 Ippolit Matveyevich's idle life came to an end. He was expelled from his own home, deprived of his property. Over time, he turned into a miserable layman. And suddenly - news about jewelry. She gave a chance to return to her former life, full of luxury and idleness. Ippolit Matveyevich rushed to search for jewelry, being absolutely unsuitable for this kind of activity.

Kisa Vorobyaninov and Ostap Bender

Where did such a strange nickname come from, inappropriate for a mature man? Of course, Ostap Bender came up with it. In relation to his assistant, he also used words such as "field marshal", "leader of the Comanche".

About the fate of Vorobyaninov after the events described in the novel "The Twelve Chairs", almost nothing is known. It is mentioned only once in another book, The Golden Calf. In this work, Ippolit Matveyevich is described as "an eccentric old man, a former leader of the nobility", with whom Ostap Bender once sought happiness in the amount of 150thousand rubles.

Skin

What did Kisa Vorobyaninov look like? The actor who played this character in the 1971 film fits the famous image. Ippolit Matveyevich was tall and gray-haired. He wore a mustache. He preferred pince-nez to glasses in order to avoid resemblance to Pavel Milyukov, a politician who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs under the Provisional Government.

Before going on a treasure hunt, Vorobyaninov has to change his appearance. He dyes his hair black. However, the procedure fails. Hair turns green. There is nothing left but to shave my head.

Habits

Kisa Vorobyaninov, like any other member of the nobility, speaks French. In the morning he usually says bonjour. But only if you wake up in a good mood. If Vorobyaninov's liver is naughty in the morning, he tends to say hello in German.

Past life

Kisa Vorobyaninov's life before meeting Ostap Bender is described in the story "The Past of the Registrar's Office Registrar". The work was published in 1929. Here the image of Vorobyaninov is quite unexpected. The character appears before readers as a kind of reveler and adventurer.

From the story it becomes known that the former registry office registrar was born in 1875. His hometown is in the Stargorod district. Ippolit Matveyevich's father was a passionate lover of pigeons - this is all the information about the relatives of the "giant of thought". Brightthere are no events in Vorobyaninov's biography, with the exception of several scandalous cases.

Collector

In 1911, the "father of Russian democracy" married the daughter of a neighboring landowner Petukhov. He decided to change his marital status due to the f altering affairs in the estate. Being the leader of the nobility, Vorobyaninov was known as a passionate philatelist. In stamp collecting, he dreamed of surpassing the legendary Mr. Enfield.

One day a famous English philatelist approached him with a request to sell one of the stamps. Vorobyaninov refused, and in a rather peculiar form. Enfield, the marshal of the nobility sent a laconic answer: "Take a bite!". The brief and exhaustive refusal was written in Latin characters. After all, it was addressed to a foreigner.

Scandal case

In 1913, an event occurred that outraged the advanced layers of secular society. The leader of the nobility appeared in a public place, accompanied by two absolutely naked ladies. Behind him, the police officer walked in confusion, holding in his hands clothes that, apparently, belonged to Vorobyaninov's unmasked companions.

1971 movie

The director of the film is Leonid Gaidai. The film became the leader of the box office in 1971. The main role was played by Archil Gomiashvili. Kitty Vorobyaninov was played by Sergey Filippov. He was an actor with a multifaceted talent. However, in films, he appeared mainly in a satirical way. Before the release of The Twelve Chairs, he played more than 50 film roles. In 1980, the picture Comedy of bygonedays”, in which Filippov again played Kisa Vorobyaninov.

1976 Movies

This picture was shot by a no less famous Soviet and Russian director. Namely Mark Zakharov. Ostap Bender was played by the outstanding actor Andrei Mironov. Ippolit Matveyevich - Anatoly Papanov. The actor has several dozen roles, among which there are both tragic and comic ones. He first appeared on the screen in 1939, playing a cameo role in the film "Foundling".

Films featuring Papanov: "Children of Don Quixote", "Beware of the car", "Diamond Arm", "Cold Summer of 1953" and many others. The most famous cartoon character of the Soviet period speaks in the voice of Anatoly Papanov - the Wolf from "Well, you wait!".

Plays and musicals

Who played Kisa Vorobyaninov besides Filippov and Papanov? In the early 70s, a British film was released with the participation of Ron Moody. In the performance of 1966, the role of "a person close to the emperor" was played by Alexander Belinsky. In the musical of 2005 - Ilya Oleinik.