The colorful character of the movie "The meeting place cannot be changed" became a thief in law known as Patka Rochanik.
Pyotr Rokhnikov was not only a thief, he was a thief in law. Therefore he did not make any compromises with the authorities, without betraying his partner Fox. During the interrogation at the Bolshoi Theater, Peter Rochanik proudly says:
"I'm a thief in law, I didn't sell my friends, and I'm not afraid of you either. ".
The surname of Pyotr Rochnikov (as well as his nickname) in the novel of the Weiner brothers received a great symbolic load. This last name (nickname) did not only mark Rochanik's hand movement. She embodied the hero's passion for gangster affairs, turning him into the personification of the entire criminal and unjust world.
The role of Rochachnik went to Yevgeny Abstignev, but it could also have been Rolan Bykov, who the screenwriters, the Weiner brothers, had initially invited to play the role of the hunchbacked gang leader. Rolan Bykov flew to Odessa for a screen test, but here he had a heart attack. To remedy the situation, the role of the leader of the "Black Cat" was offered to Armen Dzhigarkhanyan. Pomerez urgently flew to Moscow with the script, and the very next day the actor agreed to film. After his recovery, Rolan Bykov auditioned for the role of the thief Pyotr Rochachnik, but in the end he was played by Yevgeny Abstignev.
@ "Post-Soviet secular" comes from childhood!