The specter is haunting Europe-the specter of communism... So what is this specter called communism and how haunting is it really? The Webster's Dictionary says that communism is a system of social organization in which all economic and social activity is controlled by a totalitarian state dominated by a single and self-perpetuating political party. Karl Marx says that communism is abolition of private property. Others say it is equal division of unequal earnings or it is an opiate of the intellectuals. Even some go so far as to proclaim that communism is a state form of Christianity. The bottom line is-communism is "one-third practice and two-thirds explanation of a failed experiment," as the authors of Twelve Chairs, E. Ilf and I. Petrov, define it. The underlying theme of Twelve Chairs is to define the Russian communism. The authors, though their two protagonists, Ostap Bender and Ippolit Vorobyaninov, use satire and slight exaggeration to ridicule the idiocy and flaws of Soviet social structure in a funny yet touching, melancholy way.

The search for bejeweled chairs takes Bender and Vorobyaninov from the provinces of Moscow to the wilds of Soviet Georgia and the Trans-Cauca

On their long and thrilling expedition, Bender and Vorobyaninov satirically inspect progress and success of the Soviet Communism; they come to conclusion, not surprisingly, that there is no success (success of the Soviet Communism) because there was not progress to begin with. Communism, as the novel points out, is inequality, but not as property is. Property is exploitation of the weak by the strong, communism is exploitation of the strong by the weak. How can the weak abuse the strong? Sounds absurd doesn't it? Yet it is the actuality of the Soviet Communism.

In truth, this is the existence of Soviet Communism and it's aftermath. In Communism, everybody is employed. Although everybody is employed, nobody does anything. Although nobody does anything, the Plan (meaning Stalin's five-year production plans) is always fulfilled to 100%, sometimes even to 120%. Although the Plan is always fulfilled to 100%, nothing is ever available in the stores. Although nothing is ever available for purchase, everyone eventually finds everything he/she needs. Although everyone eventually finds what he/she needs, everybody ends up stealing. Although everybody ends up being a thief, nothing is ever found missing. That's the reality of the Soviet communism. The main theme of the book is the defining of communism in a way that anyone could understand. Communism, as the book defines it, is "laughter through tears." It is gloom and heartbreaking, yet it is so irrational and absurd that it makes you laugh.

The authors do an exceptionally good job in mocking the social Communism of major industrial cities of Russia. Because any of Russia's big cities are identical to one another, the book doesn't even bother giving real names to the cities. Instead, the book names them all by one name-urban city N. The authors' uneasy task of mockery starts with railroad depots, for the "depots are the gates of the city."In urban city N, the depots are alike

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Approximate Word count = 1305
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)