//  [rust]
#[allow(unused)]
use {
    std::error::Error,
    std::fmt::Debug,
    std::str::FromStr,
    std::io::prelude::*,
    std::io::{stdin, stdout, BufReader, BufWriter},
    std::collections::{HashSet, BinaryHeap},
    std::cmp::min,
    std::mem::swap,
    std::char::from_digit,
};

type BoxResult<T> = Result<T, Box<dyn std::error::Error>>;

fn main() -> BoxResult<()> {
    let mut scanner = Scanner::new(stdin());
    
    let s_original = scanner.read_chars()?.into_iter().map(|c| encode(c)).collect::<Vec<_>>();
    let mut minimum = std::usize::MAX;
    for t in 0..26 {
        let mut s = s_original.clone();
        let mut ans = 0;
        while s.iter().cloned().collect::<HashSet<_>>().len() > 1 {
            let mut new_s = vec![];
            for i in 0..(s.len() - 1) {
                if s[i] == t {
                    new_s.push(s[i]);
                } else {
                    new_s.push(s[i + 1]);
                }
            }
            s = new_s;
            ans += 1;
        }
        minimum = min(minimum, ans);
    }
    println!("{}", minimum);
    Ok(())
}

fn encode(c: char) -> usize {
    (c as u8 - 'a' as u8) as usize
}

pub struct Scanner<R> {
    reader: BufReader<R>,
    buffer: String,
}
impl<R> Scanner<R>
where
    R: Read,
{
    pub fn new(inner: R) -> Scanner<R> {
        let reader = BufReader::new(inner);
        let buffer = String::new();
        Scanner {
            reader: reader,
            buffer: buffer,
        }
    }
    pub fn with_capacity(capacity: usize, inner: R) -> Scanner<R> {
        let reader = BufReader::with_capacity(capacity, inner);
        let buffer = String::new();
        Scanner {
            reader: reader,
            buffer: buffer,
        }
    }
    pub fn read_line(&mut self) -> BoxResult<String> {
        self.reader.read_line(&mut self.buffer)?;
        let cloned = self.buffer.trim().to_string();
        self.buffer.clear();
        Ok(cloned)
    }
 
    pub fn read<T>(&mut self) -> BoxResult<T>
    where
        T: FromStr,
        T::Err: Debug + Error + 'static,
    {
        self.reader.read_line(&mut self.buffer)?;
        let parsed = self.buffer.trim().parse()?;
        self.buffer.clear();
        Ok(parsed)
    }
    pub fn read_two<T, U>(&mut self) -> BoxResult<(T, U)>
    where
        T: FromStr + Copy,
        T::Err: Debug + Error + 'static,
        U: FromStr + Copy,
        U::Err: Debug + Error + 'static,
    {
        self.reader.read_line(&mut self.buffer)?;
        let (a, b) = {
            let params = self.buffer.trim().split_whitespace().collect::<Vec<_>>();
            let a = params[0].parse()?;
            let b = params[1].parse()?;
            (a, b)
        };
        self.buffer.clear();
        Ok((a, b))
    }
    pub fn read_three<T, U, V>(&mut self) -> BoxResult<(T, U, V)>
    where
        T: FromStr + Copy,
        T::Err: Debug + Error + 'static,
        U: FromStr + Copy,
        U::Err: Debug + Error + 'static,
        V: FromStr + Copy,
        V::Err: Debug + Error + 'static,
    {
        self.reader.read_line(&mut self.buffer)?;
        let (a, b, c) = {
            let params = self.buffer.trim().split_whitespace().collect::<Vec<_>>();
            let a = params[0].parse()?;
            let b = params[1].parse()?;
            let c = params[2].parse()?;
            (a, b, c)
        };
        self.buffer.clear();
        Ok((a, b, c))
    }
    pub fn read_four<T, U, V, W>(&mut self) -> BoxResult<(T, U, V, W)>
    where
        T: FromStr + Copy,
        T::Err: Debug + Error + 'static,
        U: FromStr + Copy,
        U::Err: Debug + Error + 'static,
        V: FromStr + Copy,
        V::Err: Debug + Error + 'static,
        W: FromStr + Copy,
        W::Err: Debug + Error + 'static,
    {
        self.reader.read_line(&mut self.buffer)?;
        let (a, b, c, d) = {
            let params = self.buffer.trim().split_whitespace().collect::<Vec<_>>();
            let a = params[0].parse()?;
            let b = params[1].parse()?;
            let c = params[2].parse()?;
            let d = params[3].parse()?;
            (a, b, c, d)
        };
        self.buffer.clear();
        Ok((a, b, c, d))
    }
    pub fn read_vector<T>(&mut self) -> BoxResult<Vec<T>>
    where
        T: FromStr + Copy,
        T::Err: Debug + Error + 'static,
    {
        self.reader.read_line(&mut self.buffer)?;
        let parsed_vec = self
            .buffer
            .trim()
            .split_whitespace()
            .map(|s| s.parse())
            .collect::<Result<Vec<_>, _>>()?;
        self.buffer.clear();
        Ok(parsed_vec)
    }
    pub fn read_matrix<T>(&mut self, lines: u64) -> BoxResult<Vec<Vec<T>>>
    where
        T: FromStr + Copy,
        T::Err: Debug + Error + 'static,
    {
        let mut parsed_matrix = vec![];
        for _ in 0..lines {
            self.reader.read_line(&mut self.buffer)?;
            parsed_matrix.push(
                self.buffer
                    .trim()
                    .split_whitespace()
                    .map(|s| s.parse())
                    .collect::<Result<Vec<_>, _>>()?,
            );
            self.buffer.clear();
        }
        Ok(parsed_matrix)
    }
    pub fn read_chars(&mut self) -> BoxResult<Vec<char>> {
        self.reader.read_line(&mut self.buffer)?;
        let chars = self.buffer.trim().chars().collect::<Vec<_>>();
        self.buffer.clear();
        Ok(chars)
    }
}