Canadian Slavonic Papers

The Underworld of Benia Krik and I. Babel's "Odessa Stories"

Author(s): Boris Briker
Source: Canadian Slavonic Papers / Revue Canadienne des Slavistes, Vol. 36, No. 1/2, Centenary
of Isaak Babel (March-June 1994), pp. 115-134
Published by: Canadian Association of Slavists
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Boris Briker

The Underworld of Benia Krik and

I. Babel's Odessa Stories
In 1916,a shortessayentitled"Odessa,"bythethenyoungandunknownwriter,
I. Babel,appearedin M. Gorky'sZhurnalzhurnalov.
Usingthetypicalmanifestolike rhetoricof his times,I. Babel predictedin "Odessa" thata new literary
messiahwouldcome fromthatsunnyportmetropolis
to breakwiththeliterary
tradition
ofgreyandfoggyPetersburg.
Whileitremainsa questionwhether
Babel
himselffulfilledtherole of such a messiah,he was responsibleforhelpingto
shapethepopularimageof his nativecityin his Odessa Stories.It is also true,
wellbeforeBabelprovidedthe
however,thatan imageofOdessa hadbeenformed
materialforhis pictureof Odessa and itsMoldavankadistrict.
This imageof the
be
viewed
as
one
"Odessa
text."1
Such
a
text
unites
two narrative
city may
structures:
thestructure
the
providedby
historyof thecity,newspaperreports,
urbanfolklore,
andalso thestructure
actualizedinliterary
works.
The verytitleof one of Babel's Odessa Stories,"How It Was Done in
Odessa" (KaK 3to aejiajiocb b Oaecce) suggeststhattheOdessa wayof doing
features.
notonlyto
Indeed,thisphrasecan be attributed
thingshad verydistinct
Odessa Stories,butto the"Odessa text"in general.Whiletheurbanlandscapeof
hadbeenassociatedwiththeevilandoppressive
Petersburg
powersoftheRussian
in
the
of
Odessa
the
nineteenth
evoked
notionsoffreedom.
Empire, image
century
In the Jewishcontext,Odessa, thoughlocated withinthe Pale of Settlement,
offered
a landofopportunity,
an "alternative"
to America,Argentina,
Palestine,or
forbidden
As
one
Odessa
writer
"Ifa Jew
commented,
Petersburg.
prerevolutionary
fromthePale of Settlement
does notdreamofAmericaorPalestine,knowthathe
willbe in Odessa."2In addition,
Odessa hadthereputation
ofbeingwhathistorian
RobertWeinberghas called the"RussianEldorado," a place whereeasy money
could be made.Like MenachemMendlfromSholomAleichem'sstories,Jewish
"Luftenmenschen"
set out forOdessa in hopesof realizingtheirdreams.While
1 The semioticconceptof thetextof thecityhas been
developedby such scholars
as Iu. Lotman and V. Toporov with regardto Petersburg.See, for example, V.
Toporov, "Peterburgi peterburgskiitekst russkoi literatury,"and Iu. Lotman,
"Simvolika Peterburgai problemy semiotiki goroda," in Semiotika goroda i
gorodskoi kuVtury.Peterburg(Tartu: Uchenye zapiski TartuskogoUniversiteta,
1984).
L A. Svirskii,"Iz putevogodnevnika"KnizhkiVoskhodaNo. 7 (1904): 169.
-* R. Weinberg, The Revolution of 1905 in Odessa: Blood on the
Steps
(Bloomington:Indiana UniversityPress, 1993) 1.
CanadianSlavonic
canadienne
desslavistes
Vol.XXXVI,
Nos.1-2,March-June,
1994
Papers/Revue

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116

BORISBRDR

thesedreamsdid not necessarilycome true,theimageof Odessa as a land of

of the
thenineteenth
and thebeginning
survivedthroughout
century
opportunity
characters
as swindlers,
This helpsexplainwhysuchliterary
twentieth
century.
of
within
the
contextof
had
a
chance
and
thieves
better
surviving
opportunists,
"text"thanwithinthatofPetersburg.
Odessa's mythopoetic
the notoriousOdessa thievesand bandits
The mythologiessurrounding
constitutean important
aspect of the "Odessa text."Accordingto Vladimir
and latera leadingZionistactivist,the
an Odessa native,journalist,
Jabotinsky,
wholecityofOdessa hada reputation
amongnon-OdessaJewsas beinga thieving
city. He explains: "The word 'thief in Yiddish (ganev) has a muchdeeper
a personwhowouldfoolyoubeforeyoufoolhim- in
meaning.It characterized
a speculator..."4
shrewd,an exaggerator,
short,[a personwho is] experienced,
to farRumorsaboutOdessa thievesandbanditscirculated
widely,evenextending
JudahWaten,wholeftOdessa in
writer,
awaylands.In the 1960s,theAustralian
outthe
"boastedthatOdessa turned
howhisfather
remembers
1914as a newborn,
andbrazen
dexterous
moreingenious,
thievesin theworld,certainly
mosttalented
thentheWarsawones."
as themain
ofOdessathievesandgangsters
Babel uses thelegendary
figures
charactersin his Odessa Stories. Moreover,Benia Krik's criminalactions
theplotsof thesestories.By "plot,"I referto theRussianusage of
constitute
siuzhet,or, to the morerecentterm,"story,"thatis, the "narratedeventsor
charactersabstractedby theirdispositionin thetext."6In thisarticleI intendto
in
show thatthe "narratedevents"involvingBenia Krikand his underworld
I
text."
"Odessa
of
a
the
Babel's Odessa Storiesfunction
against background larger
track
and
underworld
folklore
willalso investigate
"kings"
featuring
underground
someofBabel's Odessa sources.Finally,I willlookat Benia Krikandhisactions
andCivilWar,
ofRevolution
contextofOdessa's experience
withinthehistorical
Benia
for
the
Mishka
real-life
whenthe
Krik,reachedhis
Iaponchik, prototype
status.
legendary
The Odessa Stories,whichtreatBenia Krikand his gangsteractivities,
includethe"The King"(Kopojib- 1921),"How It Was Done in Odessa" (1923),
"The Father" (OTeu- 1924), and "Justice in Quotation Marks"
4
in The Golden Tradition,ed. L.
"Memoirsof My Typewriter,"
V. Jabotinsky,
Dawidowich(New York: SchockenBooks, 1967) 398.
5 JudahWaten,FromOdessa to Odessa (Melbourne:Cheshire,1969) 7.

As ShlomithRimmon-Kennan
observes,a storyis always a partot a larger
of thestoryare supposedto
the fictionalReality'in whichthecharacters
construct,...
be living and in which its eventsare supposedto take place." ShlomithRimmonPoetics (London: Routledge,1990) 6. In
Kennan,NarrativeFiction: Contemporary
is the"Odessa text."
our analysis,thislargeconstruct

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THE UNDERWORLD OF BENIA KRIK AND B ABEL' S ODESSA STORIES

1 17

(CnpaBeAJiHBocTbb cKoxax - 192 1).7 In addition,Babel's later story,"Froim

Grach" (1934), features"Benia Krik's people" (jiioah BeHH Kpmca) and is set
duringthe Civil War in 1919. Therefore,I will consider thisstoryas well.
THE PLOT OF THE RAID
While Babel's criticshave emphasized his masteryof skaz in renderingtheOdessa
idiom in the Odessa Stories, his peculiar treatmentof events has usually been
taken for granted. Babel's contemporary,K. Paustovskii, records how Babel
would polemicize with the critical notion that his stories are held togetherby
style alone. Using formalistterms and clichs, Babel would speculate on the
balance of styleand plot in his writing:
"How are my storiesheld together?With what kind of cement?You'd thinkthat
at theslightesttouch."And thenhe'd answerhis own questionby
they'ddisintegrate
sayingthatstylewas the only bindingagent;and thenhe'd laugh at himself.Who
could believe thata storycould hold up without
content,
plotor intrigue?8
As Babel himself suggested, more unites his stories than style. In fact,a
specific,narrativestructureunderpinsmanyof his stories.In Odessa Stories,this
structureoriginates with the gangsterraid (HajieT). The raid may targetsmall
shops, factories,or apartments.For Babel's leading bandit,Benia Krik, and his
friends,"the raid" signifiesthe main activity,and it organizes the plots of the
stories about Benia Krik. In "The King," forexample, the narratorexplains the
odd familialrelationshipbetweenthekingof gangstersand his wealthyfather-inlaw, Eikhbaum, by the phrase, "the raid is everythinghere" / TyT Bee aejio b
Q
HajieTe (I, 121). The storyof Benia Krik's raid on Eikhbaum's farmfollows.
In "How It Was Done in Odessa" Tartakovskiiis knownby thenickname,"Nine
raids" (fleBTb HajieTOB). The tenthraid and its well-known consequences
constitute the plot of this story. In "Justice in Quotation Marks," two rival
7

"Justicein QuotationMarks"was publishedin 1921 in theOdessa newspaper,

Na
pomoshch' and was subtitled"FromtheOdessa Stories."Later,however,Babel did
not include this particularstoryin his Odessa cycle, in which he grouped "The
Father,""The King,""How It Was Done in Odessa," and "Lubka Kazak." Because of
its heroBenia Krikand its treatment
of theOdessa underworld,
I willconsider"Justice
in QuotationMarks" as partof the 'Odessa cycle,' but I will not consider"Liubka
Kazak" withinthiscontext.It is noteworthy
thatthequestionof whatconstitutes
the
'Odessa cycle' is contentious.For example,EfraimSicher,treatsall nine Odessabased tales as one cycle- see I. Babel1,Detstvo i drugie rasskazy (Jerusalem:
Biblioteka-Aliia, 1990).
8 K. Paustovskii,"Rasskazy o Babele" in
Vospominaniiao Babele (Moscow:
Knizhnaiapalata, 1989) 43.
9 All referencesto I. Babel's stories are fromSochineniia v dvukh tomakh
(Moscow: Khudozhestvennaia
literatura,
1990). Page numbersare indicateddirectly
in thetext.TranslationsfromRussianare by R.L. Busch.

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BORIS BRDR

118

gangsters unexpectedlymeet duringa single raid. This situationserves as the

main conflictof the story.Benia punishes the man responsible for informing
both rival parties of the target for an upcoming raid. Although not overtly
pertainingto "the raid," the story"The Father"ends withan agreementbetween
Benia Krik and Froim Grach to punish the grocer,Kaplun, with a futureraid:
"... and here begins anothertale, a tale of the fall of the house of the Kapluns, a
tale of slow death, of acts of arson and nocturnalgunfire/<...> h bot TyT
HaHHHaeTCHOBaa HCTopHfl,HCTopHnafleHHflOMaKanjiyHOB,noBecTb o
ero MefljieHHOH
raoejiH, o noaacorax h hohhoh CTpejibe (146).
In Odessa, the practice of "the raid," originatedin the political terrorism
during the time of the 1905 Revolution. V. Jabotinskyrecalls this time, when
he writesin his novel that"we all read of the heroic raids against convoys that
were transporting gold from the state treasury" (mu Bee HHTajiH o
repoHHecKHxHajieTax Ha kohboh Ka3eHHoromnoTa). Later,"raids" became
the prerogativeof criminalgangs and privateindividuals,and it was called "eks"
in streetslang (an abbreviationfor"expropriation").Gangstersinvolved in these
illegal undertakingswere labelled naletchiki,or raiders.This type of robberyin
Odessa was widespread in theJewishcommunity.As in Babel's stories,boththe
instigatorsand the targetsof these crimes were very oftenJews. In fact, one
journalistcompared theraids to thepogroms:"the Jewishmasses are pummelled
by two scourges- at nightby alien scum withclubs, and duringthe day by our
own" (b ABa KHyTa xjiemyT eBpeHCKyioMaccy; HOHbioayHHicaMHnyacaa
CBOJIOHb, flHeM CBOfl).11

During World War I and especially rightafterthe FebruaryRevolution in

1917, Odessa newspapers reportedrampantraids. Benia Krik's raids most likely
originatedin the"brazen robberies"of thattime.Gangs were composed of former
prisoners, who were granted amnesty and released by the Provisional
Government.Deserters fromthe frontduringWorld War I oftenparticipatedin
the gangs and providedthe gangsterswitharms.The statemilitiarecruitedyoung
students from gymnasiums and universitiesto replace the unpopular, though
experienced,tsaristpolice. For example, in theepic poem, February (OeBpajib)
by the Odessa poet, E. Bagritskii,the lyrical hero is a universitystudentwho
serves as the commissar in just such a militia. As commissar,he invades a den
of thieves and prostitutes.His interactionswith them structuresthe plot of the
poem.
!0 V. Zhabotinskii,Fiater (Paris: Ars, 1936) 209. On Jabotinsky
as a Russian
Russian-Jewish
writerand on his novel, The Five, see Alice Stone Nakhimovsky,
Literatureand Identity(Baltimore:The JohnsHopkinsUniversity
Press, 1992) 6269.
11 Zhabotinskii,Fiater 209.

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THE UNDERWORLD OF BENIA KRIK AND BABEL' S ODESSA STORIES

119

Justas theduel and card game provideda ready-madeplot constructformany

Russian literaryworks, so too did the structureof the raid
nineteenth-century
serve as a ready-madeplot forBabel's Odessa Stones. Thus, "the raid" serves as
the narrativeplot even before enteringBabel's text.Like otherplot constructs,
of theraid follows
theraid could yield numerousversions.The narrativestructure
a set of rules, conventions,and an honor code. Using local Odessa newspaper
accounts forthisperiod, it is possible reconstructa masterplot of the raid and to
trace how Babel refashioned this extra-textualmaterial into the raids of his

Odessa Stories.
receivedby
A typicalraidin Odessa wouldbeginwitha letterofextortion
woulddemandthatthe
the ownerof a business.In thislettertheextortionist
owneramass a prescribedsum of moneyand deliverit to a designatedplace.
Such lettersinvariablycontainedsome of thesame clichsfoundin business
thecorrespondence
letters.But,becauseof theintentoftheseletters,
ultimately
One letter,
addressedto the
producesa pureparodyof businesscorrespondence.
thepoint.It was subsequently
Odessite,Pinkus,in October,1917, illustrates
in
whereitwas accompaniedby
published thedailynewspaperOdesskienovosti,
thedrawingofa skullandcrossbones:
of Augustat nineo'clock in theevening,please
Dear ComradePinkus:On thefourth
be so kindas to bring,withoutfail, 100 rublesto thetramstationacross fromyour
house. This modestsum will preserveyourlife,whichis certainlyworthmorethan
to evade thispaymentwill lead to majordifficulties
100 rubles.Anyefforts
foryou. If
You and yourwholefamilywill
you turnto thepolice,you will be killedimmediately.
suffer.We will strikeand you will be ruined.Sit on thebenchby thetramstationand
have in one handan envelopewiththemoney,and in theothera whitekerchief.The
head of thebandof ParisianApacheswill approach,and you willhandthemoneyover
to him.
ToBapHmIlHHKyc!EyabTe aopbi h He OTKaacHTeaocTaBHTb4-ro arycTa k 9
HacaM Benepa 100 pyjie Ha CTaHUHK)TpaMBaa npoTHBBauiero m>Ma.3Ta

Heojibiiiai cyMMa coxpaHHT BaM acH3Hb, KOTOpaa HaBepHoe ctoht ojibiiie 100
ot stoh noaanH npHHecyT BaM oojibiune
pyjie. BcflKHe nonbiTKH yicjiOHHTbCfl
Ecjih 3aBHTe MHJIHU.HH,
HenpHiiTHOCTH.
6yaeTe MOMCHTajibHO
yHTbi.uocTpaaaeTe
Bbi h Bama ceMbji. Bac pa3rpOMT h pa3opn' CnjxbTe Ha cicaMenite TpaMBaHo
CTaHUHHh aepacHTe b ozjhoh pyice KOHBepTc aeHbraMH, a b apyro 6ejibi njiaTOK.
K BaM noAOtaeTaTaMaH maicn napH^ccKHxanaue h bbi eMy BpynHTeaern.12

Judgingby the relativelymodest sum of money demanded in the letter,we

may assume thatthisextortionistwas not an experiencedgangster.Nevertheless,
this bandit certainlyknew the formulaeforextortionfound in the lettersof his
more experiencedbrethren:thebusiness-like,detaileddescriptionof handingover
the money and the accompanied threats.In "How It Was Done in Odessa" Babel
12 Odesskie novosti, August19, 1917.

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120

BORIS BRDR

incorporatesinto Benia' s letterthecharacteristicfeaturesof extortionletters.We

should note that the letter reflects this particular patternmore than it does
Benia's own speech:
Dear RuvimOsipovich:Please, by Saturdayevening,be so kindas to place underthe
rainbarrel...etc.,etc. In thecase of a refusal,whichyou have been allowingyourself
in yourfamilylifeawaitsyou.
a majordisenchantment
recently,
MHoroyBaacaeMbiH PyBHM Ochiiobhh! EyabTe HacTOJibicojno6e3Hbi nojioacHTb k
cy66cnrenoa 6oHKy c roikjxcboPlboaoh... h Tait aajiee. B cjiynae OTKa3a, KaK bm 3to
ce6e b nocjieflHee BpeMJiCTajiH no3BOJiaTb,Bac acaeT 6ojibiiioe pa3OMapOBaHHeb
Baue ceMeiHOH)kh3hh (130).

In "How It Was Done in Odessa," even the narratorwho worships Benia

Krik seems to mock the letteras a clich by notingthatBenia Krik's letterto
Tartakovskiiis "a letterverymuch like all letterswrittenon such an occasion"
(130). In the story"The King" Babel intensifiestheparodie elementby imitating
Odessa speech patternsin Benia's letterto Eikhbaum. The formof the letter,
however,staysintact:
Monsieur Eikhbaum, I am requesting that you place 20,000 rubles beneath the gate at
17 Sofievskaia Street. If you do not do so, such an unheard of happening will befall
you that all Odessa will be talking in respect of your person.
Mocbe 3x6ayM, ... nojioaorre, npoiuy Bac, noa BopevraHa CocjDHeBCicyio,17
flBaauaTb TbiciH pyjien. Ecjih bu 3to He caejiaeTe, TaK Bac acaeT Taicoe, hto 3to
HecjibixaHHO,h Bea Oaecca 6yaeT ot Bac roBopHTb(121).

We note here thatthe hero of Il'f and Petrov's The Golden Calf (3o jiotoh
TejieHOK), Ostap Bender, an intellectual swindler fromChernomorsk-Odessa,
also mocks thissortof letteras predictableand thiskindof extortionas petty:
A pettycon like Panikovskiiwould writea letterto Koreikotellinghimto place 600
rublesunderthegarbagecan outback- otherwise,
thingswouldbe bad forhim,and at
thebottomhe'd drawin a skull,crossbonesand a candle.(Ch. XII, "The Herculeans")
MejiKaa yrojiOBHaa comica Bpoae naHHKOBCKoroHariHcajia 6bi KopeKO nncbMO
IlojioacHTe bo flBope noa MycopHbihii^hkmecTbCOTpyjie, HHane 6yaeT njioxo
- h BHH3ynpHpHCOBajia6bi KpecT, nepen h CBeny.(Fji. XII, repKyjiecoBUbi)^

Failure to respond to lettersof extortionrepresentsthe firstviolation of

order that ultimatelyleads to a raid. The second step of the raid follows. The
gangsterssuddenlyappear at the home or business of theirvictims,pretendingto
be customers,police officers,soldiers,or else theyare garbed in such a way so
as to conceal theiridentity(forexample, theymightwear robes or masks). Thus,
13 This parallel has also been notedby Iu. Shcheglovin his RomanyI. IVfa i E.
Petrova: sputnik chitatelia. Zolotoi telenok (Wien: Wiener Slawistischer
Almanach,1991) 510.

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THE UNDERWORLD OF BENIA KRIK AND BABEL' S ODESSA STORIES

12 1

in a 1917 issue of the Odesskie novosti newspaper, forexample, in the section

entitled"Happenings" (IlpoHciiiecTBHiO,we finda typicaldescriptionof such a
scenario:
Around 2:00 a.m. four unknownsubjects, wearing masks and armed with
revolvers,turnedup at a modestdacha nearBig FountainStationNo. 1. They broke
of a certainMil'rudthatwas occupiedby threemen.
intotheapartment
"Hands up and don'tmakea move,"shoutedone of thebandits.The otherbandits
stood silentlybehindtheirleader,theirgunstrainedon Mil'rud.
... Okojio AByx nacoB hohh neTbipe HeH3BecTHbix cy-beicTa b MacKax,
BOOpyaceHHbixpeBOJibBepaMH,BHjiHCb b oziHy h3 HeojibuiHx flan b6jih3h 1-o
CTaHUHHBojibuioro OoHTaHa. Ohh BopBajiHCb b KBapTHpy HeKoero Mnjibpyaa, b
KOTOpOHbIJIOTpOe MyaCHHH.
- Hh C MeCTa, pyKH BBepX, - KpHKHyjl OflHHHS BeKaBUlHXB KOMHaTy
rpaHTejie. OcTajibHbie rpaHTejw, HaBeaa peBOJibBepbiHa Mmibpyaa, MOJina
3a cnHHo CBoero npeABOAHTejia.^
ocTaHOBHJiHCb

Even this newspaper report conveys the essentially theatrical nature of the
gangsters' entrance. In "How It Was Done in Odessa," Babel also resorts to
theatricalgesturesin describinghow Benia and his friends,who are preparedto
raid Tartakovskii'sstore,make theirentrance:
The nextday he and fourfriendsturnedup at Tartakovskii'sstore.Fourmasked
youthswithrevolverscame bargingintotheroom.
"Hands up," theysaid and startedbrandishing
theirpistols.
Ha cjieayiomHH aeHb oh aBHjica c neTbipbMfl apy3bflMH b KOHTOpy
BBajwjiHCbb KOMHaTy.
TapTaKOBCKoro.HeTbipe iohoiiih b MacKax c peBOJibBepaMH
- PyKH BBepx! - CKa3ajiHohh h CTajiH MaxaTb nHcmneTaMH (130).

Afterthe letterof extortionand theunannouncedvisit,"the work"of theraid

follows in the sequential order of its constituentevents. While threateningthe
owner or the guards with weapons, the gangstersexpress theirdemand. They
thenget to "work,"- confiscatingmoneyor goods. The followingreal-lifereport
narratesa rathercomplex procedureof negotiationswithguardsand clerksbefore
the gangstersget to the safe:
The banditsdemandedthatthe clerkgive themmoney.The clerkdeclaredthatthe
moneywas in the safe. The banditsthentriedto breakopen thesteelsafe,but,when
theysaw thiswas morethantheycould handle,theytriedusingkeyson it. Then they
wentto thestoremanager,and took 15,000rublesbeforetyinghimand theguardup.
rpaHTejiH noTpeoBajiH y KOHTopmHicaBbmann aeHer. IIocjieflHHH 3aBHji,
HTO AeHbrHb Kacce. Toraa rpaHTejiHnonbiTajiHCbB3JiOMaTb
acejie3Hyio Kaccy, ho,
BHflflHTO HM 3TO He nOfl CHJiy,peUIHJIHnOnpOOBaTbKJ1IOHH
OT KaCCbl.3aTeM

14 Odesskie novosti,
July3, 1917.

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122

BORIS BRIKER

OTnpaBHjiHCbB KBapTHpyK ynpaBjiiiiOLueMy

kohtopoh h 3a6pajiH 15 Tbican pyojie.
C3ajiH KOHTopmHKa,ynpaBjiflKHnero
h CTOpoaca. 15

Babel's narrativein "How It Was Done in Odessa," translatesthis sort of

event into dialogue, thus, creating a "scene" in his short story,ratherthan a
narrativesummary.Consider theconversationbetweenBenia Krik and the clerk
Iosif Muginshtein,when Krik demands thattheclerkopen thesafe:
"Is Jew-and-a-Halfin the factory?
"No, the boss's not in the factory". . .
"So who's here to be boss then? . . .
"I'm here to be boss". . .
"Then, may God help you, let's see you open the safe forus!. . .
-

IlojiTopa MAa b 3aBoae?

Hx HeT b 3aBoae, -<...>
Kto 6yaeT 3ziecb HaKOHeu3a xo3flHHa?<...>
513aecb 6yay 3a xo3>iHHa,-<...>
Toraa othhhh HaM c ooacbe noMombioKaccy! <...>(

131)

According to the unwrittenmaster plot, the raid should end with the
gangsters gettingthe money and leaving the scene of the crime. The raids in
Babel's stories violate this. In his stories,a violation of the rules and conditions
of the raid leads to an unexpected plot twisttowardscomedy or tragedy,or, in

most cases, towardsa combinationof the two. In "How It Was Done in Odessa,"
the events of the plot initially correspond to the typical featuresof the raid.
Suddenly, however, it turnsinto an unplannedand unnecessarydeath. Afterthe
demand formoney is made, the clerk Iosif Muginshteinis murdered.In the story,
"The King," when theraid is almost over and Eikhbaumand Benia Krik reach an
agreement,Benia Krik violates the patternby falling in love with Eikhbaum's
daughter.Consequently,theagreementbetweenBenia and Eikhbaumis broken.In
"Justicein Quotation Marks," the violation of the patternmanifestsitselfas the
meeting of two rival gang leaders at the site of a single raid. According to the
rules of the raid, "work" should stop if two rival gangstersmeet at one raid, while
the tipsterforthe raid should be killed. The plot continueswithBenia' s revenge
against the tipster.
Clearly, the raid and othercriminalactions do not dominateall events in the
stories featuringBenia Krik. Yet the parodox of the plot of these stories is that
Babel sets the criminalraid in the contextof themost importantevents of Jewish
familylife,- duringweddings,funerals,and marriageproposals. By consistently
functioningin these archetypalsettings,the raid achieves equivalent status as a
plot component. In "The King," the raid on Eikhbaum literallyconcludes with
15 Odesskie novosti, August31, 1917.

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Benia's marriageproposal followed by a prenuptualagreement.In "The Father,"

theprenuptualagreementprecedes theraid on Kaplun. And in "How It Was Done
in Odessa" the gangsters' raid on Tartakovskii ends with a double funeral
procession. The same ritualserves to burythe victimof theraid and his murderer.
The leader of the raid and of the funeralprocession is the verysame Benia Krik.
Moreover, in "The King" the Jewish wedding of Benia's sister is played out
against the backgroundof the raid on the local police station.Benia Krik directs
and organizes both the raid and the wedding. His gangstersplay two roles, as
wedding guests and raider-arsonists.By the end of this story,Babel rendersthe
two events indistinguishable:"When Benia returnedhome thelanternswere dying
out and a glow was lightingup the sky." / Kor/ja BeH BepHyjica aomoh, Ha
ABope yace noTyxajiH (JxmapHKHh Ha He6e 3aHHMajiacb 3ap (126). The
extinguishingof the fireat the police stationliterallycoincides with the end of
the wedding partyat the Krikhousehold.
The familyevents in which theraid functionsin Odessa Stories representthe
archetypal plots in Jewish literature,as in, for example, the works of Sholom
Aleichem. In order to show how the plot of the raid is interwovenwith such
archetypalplots, it is worthcomparing the plot of Babel's story,"The Father,"
with Sholom Aleichem's shortstory,"Shprintsa" (1907).16 In this storyTevye
the milkmanrelates the tragedyof one of his daughters,Shprintsa.Shprintsafalls
in love withAronchik,the dissipated son of a rich widow, who asks her fatherfor
her hand. When Aronchik's motherreceives the news, Tevye is summonedto the
rich widow's dacha. Here Aronchik's uncle demands thatTevye and his daughter
leave his nephew in peace, arguing thatthe daughterof a milkmanis no match
fora rich heir.The widow, togetherwithherbrotherand son, suddenlydissappear
fromthe town withouta trace. Tevye looks on helplesslyas his daughtermourns
the loss of her beloved and eventually commits suicide. The comic featuresof
Babel's story notwithstanding,"The Father," follows a very similiar plot to
Sholom Aleichem's. Froim Grach is also a fatherwhose daughter dreams of
getting married. She is interested in Solomonchik Kaplun, the son of a
prosperous Odessa grocer. When, however, Froim Grach visits Solomonchik' s
parents,the marriage proposal is rejected by Mme Kaplun: "I do not want any
part of you just as a bride does not want pimples on her face." / fla, a He xony
Bac, KaK HeBecTa He xoneT npbimen Ha rojioBe (140). Like Tevye's daughter,
who drownsherself,Bas'ka Grach threatensto end herown life,"or I'll do myself
in" / HjiH cAejiaK) KOHeu,Moe *ch3hh (139). Up untilthis point,the storyof
16 "Shprintsa" belongs to Sholom Aleichem's cycle of stories,united
by the
narrator
Tevye the milkman.I have used the Russianeditionof his collectedworks,
Sbrame sochitienii,vol. 1 (Moscow: GIKhL, 1959) 562-79.

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124

BORIS BRIKER

Froim Grach follows thatof Tevye the milkman; both fathersact on behalf of
theirdaughters' wishes and are rejected by the suitors' families. While Sholom
Aleichem's Tevye goes on living, accepting his fate with wisdom, pride and
humour,the storyof Froim Grach takes an unexpectedtwist.The local smuggler
and brothelkeeper, Lubka Kazak, comes up witha new matchforBas'ka. Benia
Krik and Froim Grach make an agreementthatBenia will marryBas'ka and will
punish Kaplun by committingraids on his shop. Benia Krik the gangsterplays
therole of the long awaited fairy-taleprince.Thus, in "The Father"the archetypal
tragedyof the Jewishfatherwho cannot finda matchforhis daughterturnsinto a
gangster'sraid and a triumphover therich.In thisway, then,Babel introducesthe
plots of criminalactivityinto archetypaleventsof Jewishliterature.
UNDERGROUNDFOLKLORE
Babel was not the only writerto incoiporateOdessa's local colour into his early
stories. As W. Cukerman has shown, between 1919 and 1923, a whole group of
young Odessa writers,including Paustovskii, Il'f, Kataev, and Slavin, exploited
Odessa materialforthe settingof theirliteraryworks.17However, even beforethe
1920s, storiesabout Odessa banditsand theirraids werealreadyactualized through
the medium of urban folklore and local popular culture. Moreover, Odessa
undergroundsongs (blatnyepesni), which belonged to both the genre of popular
entertainment
and to urbanfolklore,cultivatedthe image of Odessa's thievesand
bandits.Thus, Babel and theanonymousauthorsof theundergroundsongs derived
theirmaterial fromthese very same sources, fromOdessa's local mythologies,
including similar heroes, situations,and mileaux. In order to account for the
world which Babel created in his Odessa Stories,I will considerthe underground
songs as literarytexts.18
Dating back to before the Revolution, the role of the outsider,the man of
"the lower depths,"served as a common mask forOdessa's local entertainersand
comedians. Such figureswere oftenfeaturedin performancesat varietytheaters,
cabarets, and in the summer theatersthat flourishedin Odessa. The poor and
predominantlyJewish outskirtsof Odessa, "Moldavanka," which also serves as
the locale for Babel's Odessa Stories, not only gave a home to its thieves and
bandits, but nurturedlocal popular songs about these figuresin its cafes and
17 W. Cukerman,"The Odessan Mythand Idiom in Some EarlyWorksof Odessa
Writers,"Canadian AmericanSlavic Studies14.1 (1980): 36-51.
10 Because this type of folkloreand popularculturehas not been collected and
of local Odessa
fromtaperecordings
studiedby scholars,I have used textstranscribed
such as, ArkadiiSevernyi's"Old Odessa" concert.For the
restaurantperformers,
approximatedates of these songs,I have had to relyon memoirsof the time.The
songs thatfigurein this section were apparentlywell knownin the years, 19171922.

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taverns. The songs of the Odessa undergroundoften combine the traditional,

urban, semi-folkloricgenres, such as cruel romance (acecTOKHH poMaHc), and
prison songs with the specific humourof Yiddish language patternsand jokes of
Moldavanka. Like an urbanromance, the undergroundsongs oftencontain a tale
or a story. "Moldavanka" became synonymous in these songs with a den of
thieves (malina), which functionsvery much contraryto the world at large.
During the Civil War, a popular song known in Odessa held that"everyone had
gone offforto fightthe Civil War, but as forthe thieves,theyall stayed back in
Moldavanka" (Bee Ha bohhc aa Ha rpa^c^aHKe, A BopbiBee Ha MojiflaBaHKe).
The authorsof the textsof these songs used the men of the undergroundnot
only as their main heroes, but also as implied narrators.It was said that the
authors of the undergroundsongs and the Odessa naletchiki could have easily
switched roles. Thus, the songs presentOdessa and the world at large fromthe
point of view of the bandits and theirattitudeto crime and justice. Recurrent
themes include extortions,encounters with the police, vengeance, and street
violence. The heroes featured in these texts lack any pangs of conscience
characteristicof the villain in Russian folklore.The narratorof one Odessa song,
reminiscent of the real-life Mishka Iaponchik, describes his attitudeto life.
Though poor, hungry, and wearing patched clothes, he knows that in five
minuteshe could become rich simplyby "signing" a receiptin the bank withhis
machine gun. The generous nature of his native town Odessa, which, like a
mother,cares about her sons whetherthey are pawns or "kings," nurtureshis
optimistic outlook. The maternal image of Odessa presented in the song
originatedwiththepopularphraseof thieves'jargon,"Odessa-mama."
The thieves and bandits in the songs act according to theirown code of
behavior and to the laws of theirparticularworld. Thus, murdercommittedby
bandits is often presented as an inevitable act of justice. In the popular song,
"Murka" (or, in anotherversion,"Liubka"), the narratortells how he murdered
his fellow bandit,a woman by the name of Liubka, whose connectionswiththe
police endangeredthethieves.The narratorcontendsthatjustice has been served:
Greetings,myLiubka,greeetings,
mydear.
Greetingsand farewell!
You've blownourcover,we're all as good as dead.
So as a partingshot,I'll have youeat thislead.

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BORIS BRDR

126
3apaBCTBy, Moa Jlioica,3apaBCTBy,aoporaa.
3flpaBCTBy,aoporaa h npoma!
Tw 3aiuyxepHjia bck>Hamy MajiHHyTaK Tenepb MacjiHHbinojiynan.19

oftheseunderground
songs,theanonymous
Despitethegrimsubjectmatter
authorsexpress a lightand humorousattitudetowardsviolence.Moreover,
violenceis sometimespresentedas desirableforthevictim.As earlyas 1917,
therole of a newspaper
theyoungsingerand comedian,L. Utesov,performed
themostimportant
boy in a popularstand-uproutine.In one songannouncing
townnews,Utesovdescribedhow an old womanwas robbedand rapedby six
thesongis nevertheless
itsdisturbing
bandits.Notwithstanding
subjectmatter,
ratherlightand cheerfuland ends withtheold woman'sdreamof relivingthe
encounter:
On Deribasovskaiiaat thecornerof Richelieu,
At six in theeveningthenewscame out.
How someold gal (a fineold babe,all right)
Six raiderschancedto rape.
But my,oh my,theold gal's all right.
of hercompote
And whilepartaking
She dreams,oh my,of takingpart
In yetanotherraid.
KaK Ha flepHacoBCKOH,
yroji PniiiejibeBCKOH,
B mecTb nacoB Benepa pasHecnaca BecTb.
y CTapyuiKH-ayuiKH,
y 6a6yuiKH-CTapyiiiKH
UlecTepo HajieTHHKOBotkhjih necTb.
Ou-tou- nepeBepTOu-ayiiiKa3AOpOBa.
Ou-tou- nepeBepTOi;-KyiuaeT komiiot
Olj-toij- nepeBepTOu- h MenTaeT CHOBa
Ou-tou- nepeepTOu-nepe^cHTbHajieT.20

Such a joyous attitudeto violent actions creates the impression that the
violence and murdersrepresentnot the realityof Odessa streets,but constitutea
For example,
comic performance.Often violence is described as merry-making.
one song, "On Deribasovskaiia they opened a pub" (Ha flepHacoBCKo
oTKpbijiac riHBHafl)describes a violent fightbetween two parties which
19 K. Paustovskii's fellow passengerssing this song in the trainfromKiev to
Odessa around 1918. K Paustovskii,Sobranie sochinenii.PovesV o zhizni,vol. 4
literatura,
1982) 673.
(Moscow: Khudozhestvennaia
20 Utesov recalls this performance
fortyyears later.Althoughhe does not quote
thissong,he describesit euphemistically:
"So, forexample,whenin fairlyfrivolous
coupletsand in accordancewiththetasteof thosedays,I sangof theold lady robbed
by banditson DeribasovskaiiaStreet,the coupletswere veryvividlyperceivedand
because towardstheend of thewar,therewerea fairnumberof robberies
remembered,
in Odessa. L. Utesov,S pesneipo zhizni(Moscow: Iskusstvo,1961) 67.

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parodies a then popular Argentiniantango. The storyof the violent act is not
only accompanied by the melody of tangomusic, it is referredto as a tango.
But Kostiathejunkmanwas a fieryfellow:
He blastedChubbyChurmanwitha bottle,
Jammedhis forkin a waiter'sleg,
And thusstruckup a glorioustango.
Ho KocT-ruMapoBO36biJinapeHb nbijiKH:
HypMeHa acnpHoro oh 3acBeTHJi6yTbijiK0H,
OH B HOflKyBHJIKOH,
O(f)HUHaHTy3aCWHJl
H Hanajiocfl cjiaBHoe TaHro.

In Babel's "The King,"shootingand fighting

are partof themerry-making
atthewedding:
At first,
in thepresenceof
theraiders,who wereseatedin tightrows,feltconstrained
butaftera whiletheygotgoing.Levka Katsapbrokea bottleof vodkaover
strangers,
his sweetheart'shead, and Monia-thestartedfiring
intotheair.
Artilleryman
HajieTHHKH, cuaeBuiHe coMKHyTbiMH
pflflaMHCHanajia CTecHJijiHCb
nocTopoHHHx,ho
noTOM OHH pa30iujiHCb. JleBKa Kauan pa3HJiHa rojiOBe CBoe BO3Jno6jieHHOH
B BO3/*yX
BOflKH,MOHflApTHJlJiepHCT
(I, 123).
BblCTpeJIHJl
yTbIJIKy

Gangsters' slang, togetherwith Yiddish words and expressions,also

producesa comic effect.Thus,in theunderground
songseven themosttragic
eventsare recountedas comic. In thepopularsong,"FromOdessa Prison"(C
twobanditsstopat one of theirdensto restafterhaving
OAeccKoroKHHMaHa),
justescapedprison.One ofthemis fatallywoundedandrealizesthathe willnot
be able to survive.Facing death,he nevertheless
expresseshis last wishesin
Russian:
comicallydistorted
ComradeSkumbrievich,
Tell mymum,
Her son dieddoin' Msduty
Wid 'is riflein one 'and
A sabrein t'other,
And a song in 'is t'roat.
ToBapHm CicyMpHeBHH,
CicaacHTe Moe 'ia'ie,
Hto CbiHee norHHyjiHa nocTe
C BHHTOBKOK)
B pyKOK)
H c iuaiuKOK)b flpyroK)
H c necHeio Becejio Ha rye.21

21 In the late 1920s, thanksto Utesov,who includedit in the

of his jazz
repertoire
orchestrain 1928, this undergroundsong became popular throughout
the Soviet
Union.At thattimeUtesov was attackedby criticsforromanticizing
bandits.Even in
1961 he stillhad to to answerto complaintsthathe was promoting
banditson stage.
Utesov,S pesnei po zhizni147-148. The artist,Iu. Annenkov,quotes the entiretext

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128

BORISBRDR

in poeticform.For
The humourofOdessa underground
songsalso surfaced
I.
of
Sel'vinskii
bases
the
one
of
his
example,
plot
poems, "Mot'ka
Malkhamoves"(1923), on an anecdoteinvolving
a gangster
raidin Odessa.22In
the poem the hero (whose name comes fromtheHebrew,meaningangel of
theownerswitha bomb.
death)carriesouta raidon a Jewishstore,threatening
The tragicsituationis, in theend, deflatedthroughMot'ka's joke: thebomb
turnsout to be a beet.Sel'vinskii'sherosharesthetitleof monarchwithBenia
Krik, the "King of Moldavanka." Both the hero and the narratorspeak a
in hisearly
macaroniclanguagewhichincludesYiddishphrases.Experimenting
forms
of urbanfolkloricgenres,Sel'vinskiiapparentlyused
years withthe
Odessa underground
sourcesforhispoem.
songsas important
Like theauthors
ofunderground
Babel's narrator
treats
andreactsto
folklore,
In fact,theatmosphere
violence lightly,even humorously.23
of the festival
whichsurroundsviolenteventsin the underground
songs is also evidentin
Babel's Odessa Stories.In Babel's stories,violenteventsalwaysconcludewith
and celebration.In thestory"The King" theraid on Eikhbaumends
triumph
for
happily bothparties:thepoliceraidon Benia Krik's weddingendswitha fire
Krik's triumph
whichalso constitutes
a happyending,insofaras it represents
over the police. In "How It Was Done in Odessa," thereare two murders.
However,thetragedyof thesetwo eventsis diminishedby theatmospereof
celebration. The funeralprocessesion that ends the story turnsinto a
coronation
ofBenia Krik,sinceimmediately
thefuneral
carnivalesque
following
Benia"king."
a cemetery
procession,
beggarpronounces
The descriptionof the fashions,manners,and luxuriouslifestyleof the
ofOdessa
heroesofMoldavankaalso contributes
tothecarnivalesque
atmosphere
of ostentatious
sharean appreciation
Stories.Benia Krikand his gangsters
style
withtheheroesof popularfolklore,
thekingsand knights
of Moldavanka.The
theexoticcolorsof theirclothing,
mannersof thegangsters,
pseudoaristocratic
whatBabel
and thetheatrical
effectsoftheirappearencesinpublicall constitute
called "Moldavanskiichic." While the authordepictsthisstylein termsof
admiresit.
"kitsch"culture,
hisnarrator

of this song in his novel publishedin emigrationunderthe pseudonymTemiriazev,

PovesV o pustiakakh(Berlin: Petropolis)176-78.
22 Il'ia Sel'vinskii,Izbrannyeproizvedeniia(Leningrad:Sovetskiipisatel', 1972)
66-69.
23 This attitudein theOdessa Storieshas been notedby Babel's critics.See Patricia
Carden, The Artof Isaac Babel (Ithaca: Cornell UniversityPress, 1972) 84-85;
Nakhimovsky97-102.

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OFBENIAKRIKANDBABEL'S ODESSASTORIES

129

ANDTHESOVIETSTATE
BENIAKRIK,MISHKAIAPONCHIK,
of the timeall seem to agree thatMishka
Babel's criticsand thememoirists
Iaponchik (whose real name was Moisei Vinnitskii),the famous Odessa
forBenia Krik.Yet whereasMishka's notoriety
servedas theprototype
gangster,
- the yearsof Revolutionand Civil War in
in
the
1917-1919
peaked
years,
Odessa Babel's Odessa Storiestakeplace beforetheFebruaryRevolution.
MishkaIaponchikhimselfacknowledgedthathe had serveda ten-year
prison
sentencebeforebeing released in 1917 duringan amnestygrantedby the
Provisional Government.24The Soviet writer,Lev Nikulin,noticed this
temporaldiscrepancybetweentheactivityof Babel's Benia Krikand Moisei
Vinnitskii:
"The Civil-WarbanditMishkaIaponchikwas transformed
intoBenia
Krikwhodatesfromtheperiodofreactionthatfollowedupon1905.In anycase
thecombination
was unnatural."25
Benia Krik's lifedoes notprecisely
Although
fitthefactsof MishkaIaponchik's, he nevertheless
acquiredMishka's statusas
an Odessa legend.The title,"kingofthestreets
ofMoldavanka,"whichcame to
be associatedwithBenia Krik,originated
withMishkaIaponchik.
The biographyof Moisei Vinnitskii,
whomsome compareto an Odessa
versionof Al Capone, has yetto be written.I will relyon the memoiristic
accountsof his contemporaries
to help reconstruct
his literary
to
relationship
MishkaIaponchik.Accordingto one memoirist,
Moisei Vinnitskii
receivedthe
nicknameMishkaIaponchikduringtheRusso-Japanese
War.Vinnitskii
served
in theWar and returned
to Odessa witha Japanesewife.26Whilethisis nota
provenbiographicalfact,it has servedas one of the legendsabout Mishka
Iaponchik.Moreover,the storyabout Benia's fallingin love and marrying
Eikhbaum'sdaughter,the daughterof one of his enemiesin the story,"The
reflectthistale of Mishka's marriage.L. Utesov,who once
King,"mayfaintly
witnessedMishkadeliveringa speechat a gathering
of bandits,gives a more
for
plausible explanation the nickname:he believedthatMishka was called
Iaponchikbecauseofhis slanting
eyes.27
Afterservingtimein a tsaristprison,MishkaIaponchikbecametheleader
of all theOdessa gangs.Duringthepoliticallyturbulent
timesof theCivil War,
Mishka Iaponchikallied himselfwithdifferent
politicalgroups,such as the
andanti-pogrom
Jewishdefenseorganizations.28
Bolsheviks,theanarchists,
The
24 V. Margulies,Ognennyegody(Berlin:Manfred,1923) 180.
25 L. Nikulin,"Isaak Babel'" in Vospominaniiao Babele (Moskva: Knizhnaia
palata, 1989) 137.
Abraham 1 homi,BetweenDarknessand Dawn (New York: Bloch
Publishing,
1986) 76-77.
11 L. Utesov,"Moia Odessa," Moskva 9 (1964): 136-38.
-8 The Odessa native, historianS. Borovoi, creditsMishka
Iaponchik and his
fellowbanditswiththe important
role of preventing
anti-Jewish
pogromsduringthe

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BORIS BRIKER

130

most notorious period in Mishka's political career arrived, however, in the

springand summerof 1919, when he collaborated withthe Bolshevik regime.At
thattime the Odessa executive committeeassigned Mishka Iaponchik the task of
forminga Red regimentout of his banditsto send to the front.Mishka delivered
political speeches in the city's theatersto recruitbanditsto his regiment,and he

became a visible personality.

The establishmentof Soviet power in Odessa is also closely connected with
Mishka Yaponchik. In his memoirs,the poet, Don-Aminado, recalls the arrival
of the Bolsheviks into Odessa in termsof theentranceof Mishka Iaponchik on a
white horse. Moreover, to make this image even more striking,Don-Aminado
quotes Eduard Bagritskii'spoem, "The Ballad of Opanas" (flyMa npo OnaHaca),
where he describes the triumphalride not of Mishka, but of the Red Army
Commander,GrigoriiKotovskii:
The changeover in powerwas extraordinarily
simple:One side vanished,while
anotherburstintotown.
Leading theway on horsebackwas MishkaIaponchik,thechiefof staff.
descriptionof this:
Bagritskiiprovidedan unforgettable
Witha commander'spiercinggaze
He looked thevalleyover,
While 'neathhimhis mountdid pace
Whitelike confectioner'ssugar.
Oh flOJiHHy03HpaeT
KOMaHflHpCKHM B3rJLH/K)M.

}Kepe6eu noa hhm HrpaeT

BejibiM pacfwHaAOM.29

That same year, in 1919, Mishka's collaboration withthe Bolsheviks ended,

as did his life. When Mishka Iaponchikattemptedto desertthefrontand head back
to Odessa, he was killed by a Red commanderin charge of a railway station.In
the scenario to his film,Benia Krik,Babel depicts how the main hero was lured
to one of the stations and killed there.30Babel's narratoralso refersto Mishka
Iaponchik's violentdeath when he speaks of the"tembl end" of Benia Krik.
Widely circulating historical facts, rumors, and legends contributed to
formingthe popular perceptionof Mishka Iaponchik as one of Odessa's rulers.In
his novel, The Green Wagon (3ejieHbi (yproH), the Odessa writer, A.

1993)
Civil War in Odessa. See Saul Borovoi,Vospominaniia(Moscow/Jerusalem,
75-76.
29 Don-Aminado,Na treVemput (Moscow: Kniga, 1991) 223-24.
3U Utesov,"Moia Odessa, 138; A. Lvov, Vilemepechanu (Vremiai my, 1953)
50-51.

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THE UNDERWORLD OF BENIA KRIK AND BABEL' S ODESSA STORIES

13 1

Kozachinskii, noted thatthe inhabitantsof Odessa included Mishka Iaponchik's

name in a ratherlong list of Odessa's rulersduringthe Civil War. In his Odessa
Stories Babel projected the image of Mishka Iaponchik as a political ruler onto
Benia Krik, the king of Moldavanka in tsaristtimes.
While popular mythologiesperceived the bandits as rulers,the reverse also
took place. Opponents of the Bolshevik regimeveryoftenequated the Bolsheviks
with gangsters.This follows, no doubt, fromthe fact thatthe Cheka, the secret
police which representedSoviet power, was especially notoriousforits crueltyin
Odessa. The perceptionof Chekists as gangstersis reflectedin the confusion of
the following event. In 1919, rumorscirculated thatMishka Iaponchik and the
secretaryof the Cheka, Comrade Mikhail, were one and the same person. The
Chekists published a piece in the local newspaper, statingthat their Comrade
Mikhail had nothingin common with the bandit,Vinnitskii,and thatthose who
circulatedrumorsalleging a connectionwould be persecuted.Clearly, the Cheka
wanted to clear one of its comrades fromany association withthe Jewishbandit.
But, for his part, Mishka the bandit also wished to distance himself from any
connection withthe Cheka in orderto preservehis own reputation.Therefore,on
the day after the Chekist piece appeared, Mishka Iaponchik used the same
newspaper to publish his own letterrefutingthese rumors.Denying all ties with
the Cheka, Mishka emphasized his alliance with the cause of the workers and
peasants against the capitalists and the bourgeoisie. Using the politicaljargon of
the time,he set forthhis own participationin the partisanmovementagainst the
White forces and the Ukrainian National Army. Given the nature of Mishka' s
criminal activityat this time, the text of this letteris strikingin its earnestness
and, ultimately,its irony.31Benia Krik's graveside speech in "How It Was Done
in Odessa" also expresses these political sentiments:"For what did he perish?He
perished for the entire workingclass." / 3a hto norn oh? Oh norH 3a Becb
KJiacc(135).
TpyflamHHCfl
The political carnival of Revolution and Civil War in Odessa provide the
backdrop for Benia Krik's prerevolutionaryadventures in the Odessa Stories
However, in one shortstorynot included in thecycle of Odessa Stories,Babel put
political events in the foreground.In fact,in Babel's "Froim Grach," the tragic
conflictcenterson theclash betweenthe Soviet governmentand theunderworldof
Benia Krik. AlthoughBenia Krik himselfdoes not take partin the events of this
story,he is mentioned brieflyin the opening which focusses on the historical
context:

3! Both Mishka Iaponchik'sand the Cheka's lettersare

in
quotedin theirentirety
Margulies 178-82.

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BORIS BRIKER

132

hackedup
of Whitevolunteers,
In 1919 Benia Krik's menattackedtherearof an outfit
itsofficers,
and made offwitha partof itsmateriel.As a rewardforthistheydemanded
of theOdessa Sovietthattherebe threedaysof "peacefuluprising..."
B fleBiiTHafluaTOM
roay jojxu BeHH Kpmta HanajiH Ha apbeprapa flopOBOJibnecKHx
BOHCK,Bbipe3ajiH ocJ)HuepOBh othjih HacTb o6o3a. B Harpaflyohh noTpeocmajiH y
OfleccKoro CoBeTa TpH ahi "MHpHoroBOCCTaHHa"...(II, 254)

The phrase, "peaceful uprising" (MHpHoe BoccTaHHe) requires some

explanation. The Soviet city governmentset up threedays in 1919 May 1214 for the expropiation of surplus personal belongings, including clothes,
boots, food, etc. Though euphemisticallycalled a "peaceful uprising,"this event
had all the signs of outrightrobbery.This politicaloperationwas cancelled on the
of Benia Krik
second day.32When in Babel's "Froim Grach" thebandit-followers
demand threedays of "peaceful uprising,"theyalso mean the permissionto rob
freely.Thus, the expression, "peaceful uprising,"in the contextof Babel's story
can be associated both withthe action of the Bolshevik Governmentand thieves'
raids. Indeed, the entire plot of the story, "Froim Grach," is based on this
semantic ambiguity.
It is clear thatthereal-lifeMishka Iaponchikand his banditsare referredto as
"the people of Benia Krik." Moreover,it seems thatMishka Iaponchik may serve
as the prototypeforone of the charactersin the story,Misha Iablochko, since the
name, Misha Iablochko, sounds very similar to Mishka Iaponchik. The
nickname, Iablochko, probably comes froma popular Civil War song, which
circulatedin numerousvariations:

Hey, littleapple- whe'reyou headed?

If it's to theCheka- you'll be beheaded.. .
56JIOHKO, KVfla TbI KOTHllIbCfl?
B HK nonaaeiiib - He BOpOTHiubca...

Babel's story, "Froim Grach," precisely illustrates the popular wisdom

conveyed in this song whose textsounds like a warningto Mishka Iablochko.
Indeed, it bears rememberingthatin "Froim Grach" Chekistsare huntingfor
Odessa Gangsters. The year is 1919. Misha Iablochko lures a suspected Cheka
informantinto takinga leisurelyride along the beach, kills him,and thenreturns
his corpse to his family.Then the same Misha Yablochko, now disguised as an
old woman, appears at the yard of the aging bandit Froim Grach and seeks his
help in saving his friends from the Cheka. Froim Grach sets out for Cheka
headquartersto negotiate withits "chief." However, withoutdue process, Froim
Grach is executed by two Red Armysoldiers. When thechairmanof the Cheka, a
32 Margulies 145.

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THE UNDERWORLD OF BENIA KRIK AND BABEL' S ODESSA STORIES

133

newcomer from Moscow, sees that one of the officersis saddened by Froim
Grach's death, he explains the motives of the Cheka. Althoughthe Cheka officer
accepts these motives, he cannot help but admire Froim Grach and the other
gangsters:
Then having returnedto good spirits,he again began to tell the Chekists from
Moscow about FroimGrach's life,about how cunningand uncatchablehe had been,
and abouthis scornfuldisregardforhis fellowman.. .
IlOTOM, OaCHBHBUIHCb, OH CHOBa HaHaJl paCCKa3bIBaTb HeKHCTaM, npHexaBLLJHM H3
MoCKBbI, O JKH3HH OpOHMa FpaHa, O6 H3BOpOTJlHBOCTH erO, HeyjlOBHMOCTH, O

npe3peHHHk OJinatHeMy.. . (259).

The conflictbetween the Chekists and the gangstersin this storyis realized,
then,not only as a political strugglefor power, but also as a war between two
rival gangs. The Cheka representsone side in this gang warfare.For example,
Froim Grach's visit to the Cheka is described in terms of a bandit entering
anothergang's den:
- nothingin my boots,either,and I didn'tleave anyoneon
"I'm clean, unarmed
outside.
lads
Let
guard
my
go, chief,just nameyourprice..."
Si nycTO,- CKa3aji Toraa <DpoHM,- b pyicax y mzhsiminero HeT, h b nooTax y
MeHflHHHero HeT, h 3a BOpOTaMHHa yjiHue n hhkoh) He ocTaBHji. OraycTH mohx
pe6flT, X03HH,CKa^KHTBOK)ueHy... (256).

The Chekist's killing of Froim Grach, althoughlacking the theatricaleffect

of a criminal act conducted by Misha Iablochko, resembles other murders
committedby the bandits. Moreover, the everydayactivityof the Cheka consists
of a series of killings. In the storysuch verbs as execute, shoot (paccTpejiHBaTb)
functionin a context where theyconnote a trivialprocedure: "A monthpassed
before they started to shoot them."... "They would shoot them after a brief
interrogation..."/ ripoLuej Mecij, ripete neM hx HanajiH paccTpejiHBaTb...
Hx paccTpejiJiHnocjie aonpoca, /yiHBiuerocHeaojiro... (154, 155).
The storyends withthe bandits' defeat.However, this is a ratherambivalent
ending. It is noteworthythatthe Cheka officerappreciates the historyof Odessa
throughthe legends about Froim Grach and Benia Krik, "He was really a grand
fellow.. . In him you can see the whole of Odessa /3to rpaHflHO3Hbi
napeHb.. .
TyT BC Oaecca npoHAeT nepea BaMH (256). Thus, forthe Cheka officer,an
Odessa native, the death of the leader of the gangsterworldrepresentsthe end of
Odessa's colorful past. Moreover, the sad feelings of the Odessa Chekist bear
some metaliteraryimplications. If the actions of Froim Grach metonomically
substitutefor the narrativeabout him, then the violent death of Babel's Odessa
hero may symbolize a forcedend to the themesof the Odessa Stories in Babel's
writing.The textsupportsthisreading,since the past actions of Froim Grach and

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134

BORIS BRDR

otherbandits are marked by words indicativeof narrative.The Chekist Borovoi

refersto FroimGrach as "an epic" and "an entirehistoryembodied by thatoldster"
/ 3TO anones,... ijejiaa HCTopmic 3thm cTapHKOM(258, 259). He also recalls,
"all those amazing stories that have gone off into the past" / Bee 3th
hctophh, oTouiefluiHeB npouijioe (259). The acceptance of the
yAHBHTejibHbie
cruel orderand, at the same time,the lamentingof its consequences constitutesa
sentimentto which charactersclose to Babel such as Liutov fromRed Cavalry
can relate. Thus, in 1934, in the story, "Froim Grach," Babel nostalgically
recollectshis own renderingof theunderworldof Benia Krikin his Odessa Stories
of theearly 1920s. Indeed, the story,"Froim Grach," turnedout to be Babel's last
story not only about Odessa's criminal world, but about his native Odessa in
general.

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