# Harry Potter and the Angry Russians

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-and-the-angry-russians/151759>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [January 31, 2003, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-and-the-angry-russians/151759 "2003-01-31T00:24:08Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Protesilaus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Protesilaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Protesilaus)\
**Post date:** [January 31, 2003, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-and-the-angry-russians/151759/1 "2003-01-31T00:24:08Z")

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It seems the people behind _Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets_ could be facing a lawsuit. The reason? There’s too close a resemblance between the character Dobby the house-elf and Russian president Vladimir Putin!

> [@](#):
>
> [Putin vs Dobby](http://www.aglob.ru/en/events/?id=71)  
> The new Harry Potter film is having trouble in Russia… The resemblance between the 50-year-old Russian President Vladimir Putin and the ugly green “house elf” by J.K. Rowling was first noted among Potter fans on the Internet. Bookstores used to sell Harry Potter books next to Putin portraits. Maybe that mystical vicinity has played its part in the scandal.
> 
> “Are Russians now playing with magic wands? We ought to be told the truth!”, joked Potter fans looking at the picture of the President and his bat-eared doppleganger.
> 
> Not everyone has taken it so lightly. According to some Russian newspapers, a major Moscow law firm is indignant over the apparent misuse of the President’s image and is preparing to sue the filmmakers, claiming Warner Bros. had no right to base its creation on an internationally recognized face like Mr. Putin’s. By the way, Dobby’s creator is Dave Andrews.

The children’s section of the BBC website offers a [side-by-side comparison](http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/world/newsid_2677000/2677981.stm) of the two. (Love the caption - “President Putin is on the right”!) IMHO, there’s a bit of resemblance, but nothing to get bent out of shape about. It’s just good to see a dumb lawsuit originating somewhere besides America.

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**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\
**Post date:** [January 31, 2003, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-and-the-angry-russians/151759/2 "2003-01-31T01:42:47Z")

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Don’t be silly - Dobby’s eyes are a much lighter colour!

StG