The Twelve Chairs

Vorobyaninov's mother-in-law Claudia Ivanovna dies and confesses she sewed diamonds into the seat of a chair from their old living room set to hide them from Soviet authorities. This revelation pulls the once-quiet registrar into a dangerous treasure hunt that spans the country.

Ippolit Matveyevich agrees to pursue the treasure after meeting Ostap Bender, who swindles him into sharing the profits. The two form an uneasy alliance as they set out on the quest.

The village priest Father Fyodor learns Claudia's secret during confession and joins the race to locate the coveted chair. The priest's involvement adds a new rival to the already slippery pursuit.

With their motives aligned, the duo leaves Stargorod and begins the national hunt, chasing leads and dodging other contenders along the way. They encounter a string of quirky characters who may know where a chair containing diamonds hides.

The chase reaches Moscow, where the first tangible clues surface about the chairs and their fates within the urban maze. Vorobyaninov and Bender compete with others as they comb the city for hidden seats.

From Moscow they press on to Vasyuki, continuing the scramble and confronting new obstacles and rivals. The pace stays frantic as each clue seems to drift further away.

Their trek leads to Pyatigorsk, where another chair is rumored to lie. Bender's schemes and Vorobyaninov's mounting impatience push the pair toward rash moves.

They push on to Vladikavkaz, keeping the search alive while fatigue and mistrust mount among their group. The prospect of profit keeps them moving despite mounting costs.

In Tbilisi, more chairs are sought and more characters surface, but most clues prove false. The treasure remains elusive as rival plans keep circling the prize.

After sweeping through Yalta, the trio finally returns to Moscow with eleven chairs found, but the ultimate treasure remains hidden. The sense of near-completion is tempered by the looming possibility that the final prize has slipped away.

Ostap tracks down the final missing chair and informs Vorobyaninov—now nicknamed Kisa—before they sleep. The last chair seems within reach, but the thread of the scheme is already fraying.

Kisa decides to seize the treasure for himself and murders Ostap by slicing his throat in his sleep. The betrayal erupts as the plan unravels, leaving the pair's partnership in ashes.

Vorobyaninov learns the diamonds are not recoverable because the Railroad Club caretaker has found diamonds in the chair and Comrade Krasilnikov has already built a new club with the money. The long, extravagant chase ends with the fortune diverted into a different venture.