best known comical scenes originated from an acting gaffe. While signing a written affidavit, prostitute Manka "Obligatsiya" asks Zheglov whether her nickname (Russian for government bond) is properly spelled with an "O" or an "A". Zheglov responds absentmindedly with the correct spelling, before realizing what she was asking and directing her to sign her real name instead. Actress Larisa Udovichenko has revealed that the entire moment was unscripted and she actually asked about the spelling because she had been unsure, with Vysotsky deciding to play along. Director Stanislav Govorukhin liked the impromptu and included it in the film. Sharapov's love interest patrolwoman Varya Sinichkina dies at the end of the novel. The ending was altered in the movie because the studio administrator thought it was too depressing. The Vayner brothers later admitted that they liked the new happy ending better. The series was originally intended to have 7 parts, but the Soviet broadcast authorities ordered to trim them down to 5. As a result, many scenes were left out of the final cut, with creators struggling to maintain the flow of the narrative. Cast Vladimir Vysotsky as Gleb Zheglov Vladimir Konkin as Vladimir Sharapov Sergei Yursky as Dr. Ivan Gruzdev Natalya Danilova as Varvara Sinichkina Viktor Pavlov as Sergey Levchenko, Sharapov's former comrade-in-arms, member of the Black Cat gang Leonid Kuravlyov as Valentin Bisyaev ("Val'ka Kopchonyiy"), thief Aleksandr Belyavsky as Fox, ranking member of the Black Cat gang Evgeni Evstigneev as Petr Ruchnikov ("Pet'ka Ruchechnik"), fur coat thief Armen Dzhigarkhanyan as "The Hunchback" ("Gorbatyiy"), leader of the Black Cat gang Larisa Udovichenko as Mariya Kolyvanova ("Manka Obligatsiya"), prostitute Stanislav Sadalskiy as Konstantin "The Brick" Saprykin ("Kostya Kirpich"), pickpocket Valeriya Zaklunna as Klasha, The Hunchback's girlfriend Zinoviy Gerdt as Mikhail Bomze, Sharapov's neighbour Aleksandr Abdulov as "Loshak", driver for the Black Cat gang Yekaterina Gradova as Svetlana Volokushuna, "Ruchechnik"'s accomplice Ivan Bortnik as "Promokashka", member of the Black Cat gang Cultural impact The film's massive popularity made it a major source for the Soviet and post-Soviet popular culture. Armen Dzhigarkhanyan lampooned his own performance as The Hunchback in a 1998 installment of a popular Armenian sketch comedy series Our Backyard. In 2010, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin used Zheglov's famous "a thief's place is in prison" line in widely criticized remarks against the jailed tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky. A sculpture featuring Vysotsky and Konkin (as Zheglov and Sharapov) is installed outside the