Russian bandit capitalism — sorry, the joys of the free market — is reaching beyond the grave. Latest victim: Fyodor Dostoevsky. The novelist’s great-grandson Dmitri has called foul on the lottery company Chestnaya Igra (‘Fair Play’), and is suing for £5,000 damages after images of his ancestor started appearing on its lottery tickets. As he points out, it is not in the best of taste to use the image of a notorious problem gambler to promote a lottery. Why not use Turgenev instead, he wonders: ‘The guy gambled more, spent more, lost more and had much more spare money anyway.’ Devils! Idiots! As well have the Russian prison service adopt as its mascot the image of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn … Dmitri — who has now registered great-grand- pappy as a trademark — is further exercised by the behaviour of the Dostoevsky Hotel in St Petersburg. ‘They have a bed with the great writer’s name written on the bed,’ he complains.
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