ЧУЖИМИ РУКАМИ ЖАР ЗАГРЕБАТЬ

[chuzhimi rukami zhar zagr'ebat']

To bank up the fire with someone else's hands.

To benefit by the results of someone else's work; to use the results of someone else's work to achieve one's selfish ends.

Cf. To make a cat's-paw of someone; to pull someone's chestnuts out of the fire.