Ostap Bender statue (Pyatigorsk)

 statue, monument, tourist attraction

Bronze statue placed in 2008 to memorialize that at this location Ostap Bender, in the popular fictional story "12 Chairs" (1928), scammed the public by selling tickets to the "only place where the people of Pyatigorsk allow the sightseers in free. To correct this "regrettable omission" he made is own tickets, stood here and announced: "Buy your tickets here, citizens. 10 kopeks. Children and servicemen free. Students, 5 kopeks. Non-union members, 30 kopeks!" When asked for what purpose the money was being collected, he boldly explained: "For general repairs to the Sinkhole. So it won't sink too much." Note the statue ticket price is 50 kopeks. In the 1971 movie directed by Gaidai, a nearby more scenic location was used, the Lermontov Grotto < goo.gl/T8JNMr > less than 1 mile (1.4 km) east.

Bender is the lead character in 2 very popular fictions by Ilf and Petrov — "The Twelve Chairs" and "The Golden Calf." In both stories he is the "grand strategist", an "ideological campaigner for banknotes" knowing "400 relatively honest methods to get money" — a scam artist.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilf_and_Petrov
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Twelve_Chairs