Editing Ostap Bender (section)

==Character==
Ostap Bender's origins are mysterious; he mentions only that his father was "a [[Ottoman Empire|Turkish]] subject",<ref>quotes:
*Из своей биографии он обычно сообщал только одну подробность: «Мой папа, — говорил он, — был турецко-подданный»
*Не оскорбляйте меня, — кротко заметил Бендер. — Я сын турецко-подданного и, следовательно, потомок янычаров.
</ref> his mother was "a Countess and received [[unearned income]]" and that his full name is Ostap-[[Sulayman|Suleyman]]-[[Berta (disambiguation)|Berta]]-[[Maria (given name)|Maria]]-Bender-[[Bey]] (Остап-Сулейман-Берта-Мария-Бендер-Бей). In the comments to the ''Complete Works'' of Ilf and Petrov by M. Odessky and D. Feldman, this phrase is explained as a hint to his supposed [[History of the Jews in Russia|Jewish]] origin from a port city in [[Novorossiya]], most probably Odesa, where many Jews claimed Turkish citizenship to evade discrimination and [[conscription]] for [[military service]].<ref>"Илья Ильф, Евгений Петров. Двенадцать стульев. "Вагриус", М., 2003"</ref> Some of them indeed held Turkish citizenship, such as [[Julius Martov]].

In ''The Little Golden Calf'', Ostap Bender is also called "Бендер-Задунайский" ("Bender-Zadunaisky", literally: "Bender-Trans-[[Danube|Danubian]]") and "Остап Ибрагимович" (Ostap Ibragimovich, where "Ibragimovich" is a [[patronymic]], literally meaning "son of [[Ibrahim (name)|Ibrahim]]"). The city of [[Bender, Moldova|Bender]] and the [[Danube]] river are historically and geographically close to both the large regional city of Odesa and the former [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] (Turkish) Empire.

Bender dreams of travelling to [[Rio de Janeiro]], "the city of his dreams", while admitting the futility of that obsession.

There were a number of possible prototypes for Bender, most famously [[:ru:Шор, Осип Беньяминович|Ostap (Osip) Shor]] (1899–1978), a friend of the authors who spent his youth in Odesa gaining money as a con man and then—as a [[Cheka]] inspector. He was a good story-teller, and many of his tales inspired the adventures of Ostap Bender.<ref>[http://www.kp.ua/daily/300508/43267/ "The Great Combinator was Taken for a Ukrainian Nationalist"], ''[[Komsomolskaya Pravda]]'' ([[Ukraine|Ukrainian]] edition), May 30, 2008 {{in lang|ru}}</ref><ref>[http://www.ostap.spb.ru/museum_hero2.phtml "The Hero Enters (Part II)"]</ref> [[Valentin Kataev]] who came up with the idea for the novel (which, in turn, is dedicated to him) is named as another prototype; he also led an adventurous life and was known as a literary hoaxer, adding many original touches to the biography of Osip Shor whom he saw as fitting the readers' expectations of a "real-life combinator".<ref>Sergei Belyakov. ''[http://magazines.russ.ru/novyi_mi/2005/12/be8.html Lonely Sail of Ostap Bender]'' from ''[[Novy Mir]]'' № 12, 2005 (in Russian)</ref>

Another suggested influence was the character of Alexander Ametistov from [[Mikhail Bulgakov]]'s play ''Zoyka's Flat'' that had been written and staged in 1926, before the work on ''The Twelve Chairs'' was even started. Also an elegant con man with many names and occupations, he is seen as a direct inspiration by a number of modern researches, to the point that some of them believe that both novels were ghostwritten by Bulgakov.<ref>''Irina Amlinsky (2013)''. [http://club.berkovich-zametki.com/?p=9048 12 Chairs from Mikhail Bulgakov]. – Berlin: Kirschner Verlag, 328 pages {{ISBN|978-3-00-043284-2}}</ref><ref>Asya Kramer. ''[http://russian-bazaar.com/ru/content/190108.htm So What Should We Do With All This?]'' article from ''[[Russian Bazaar]]'' №27, July 2015 {{ISSN|1520-4073}} (in Russian)</ref><ref>''[https://galkovsky.livejournal.com/258370.html What's Necessary to Know about Mikhail Bulgakov]'' by [[Dmitry Galkovsky]], 1 September 2016 (in Russian)</ref>

===Bender's leadership===
The entrepreneurial abilities of Bender attracted attention of researchers in management.<ref name=svoboda/> Parallels have been drawn of Bender's schemes with failures of businesses in early post-Soviet Russia, a period compared to that of [[New Economic Policy|NEP]] when Bender operated.<ref name=svoboda/><ref name=kevi>Kari Ketola, Timo Vihavainen, "Changing Russia?: History, Culture and Business", [https://books.google.com/books?id=X0Q7BgAAQBAJ&pg=PT85 p. 85]</ref><ref name= rushe>Rubinsky, Shekshnya</ref> 
Bender is educated and has an analytical mind; is full of energy; in the case of a failure keeps his optimism and has an ability to reassess the situation; has an [[empathy]] towards his subordinates, opponents and "[[Confidence trick|mark]]s"; has exceptional organizational skills, even when limited by scarce resources.<ref name= rushe/>

While Bender is endowed with many traits of a [[Charismatic authority|charismatic leader]], it was concluded that the major reason of his failures was lack of clear understanding of his own goals and needs, and short-term perspective.<ref name=svoboda/><ref name= rushe/> A serious drawback of Bender as a leader is his [[paternalism]]. Also, while he is aware of the drawbacks of his companions, he puts no efforts into their betterment.<ref name= rushe/> While at times he can be a [[motivational speaker]], he did not care about the long-term motivation of his subordinates; instead, he preferred to manipulate or simply force them.<ref name= rushe/>