Mishka Yaponchik is not an ordinary raider with Odessa flavor. Only an extraordinary person could become the king of thieves, keep the whole city in fear and at the same time be the people's favorite.

Mishka Yaponchik was a Ukrainian gangster, Jewish, lived in Odessa at the beginning of the XX century, the military leader of two thousand of gangsters and the prototype of Benia Krik in The "Odessa Tales" by Soviet Jewish writer Isaak Babel. Born Moisei Vinnitsky, Yaponchik ("the Japanese") was an exceptional and eccentric character. Hailed as the next Robin Hood, he established his own code of conduct forbidding the robbing of the poor and professional classes. Artistic and witty, his bold crimes were played out like mini dramas. He used to give money and food to orphans, the homeless, the unemployed, newlyweds as well as families who had fallen victim to gangster crime. He held the hearts of the people in his hand and soon controlled the entire city. The drama narrates about Yaponchik's rise to power, his daring crimes, his idealism and generosity and the only one love of his life...—Larissa Voronovska