The Little Golden Calf

The Golden Calf is a famous satirical novel by Soviet authors Il'f and Petrov, released in 1931. Its main character Ostap Bender, also appeared in a previous novel by the authors called The Twelve Chairs. Ostap Bender is still alive (but sports an unexplained scar across his neck), after somehow surviving the assassination in the previous book. This time he hears a story about an "underground millionaire" named Alexandr Koreiko. Bender tracks him down and uses his wiles to try to con him out of his money. The book contributed a number of catchphrases and colourful terms into the Russian language, such as "Horns and Hoofs company" and "Children of Lieutenant Schmidt."