Ilf and Petrov retconned the character's death away in 1931 in the sequel novel "The Little Golden Calf", where Bender claimed that "surgeons barely saved my life". This book provided an extended satire on certain elements of Soviet life. Here, Bender follows Soviet underground multi-millionaire Koreiko, hoping to acquire some of his riches and thus amass a fortune. Bender gets his money, but soon discovers he cannot spend it in the USSR. He proceeds to lose it as he attempts to flee the country by crossing the border into Romania.