Tanya Grotter (russian: Таня Гроттер) is the protagonist of a

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

novel series by Dmitri Yemets. Tanya (short for Tatiana) Grotter is an orphan with intentional resemblances to

J. K. Rowling Joanne Rowling ( "rolling"; born 31 July 1965), also known by her pen name J. K. Rowling, is a British author and philanthropist. She wrote ''Harry Potter'', a seven-volume children's fantasy series published from 1997 to 2007. The ser ...

's '' Harry Potter''. Despite its reputation in Russia and the many books it has spawned, the series is not available in English translation, because of the first book having been judged a breach of

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, educatio ...

Content

The central character and plot elements of the first novel, ''Tanya Grotter and the Magical Double Bass'', are a humorous parody of ''

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' is a 1997 fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling. The first novel in the ''Harry Potter'' series and Rowling's debut novel, it follows Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, a youn ...

'', but are transposed into a Russian setting. Tanya Grotter has an unusual birthmark on her nose, magical powers, an upbringing by "Lopukhoid" (equivalent to

Muggle In J. K. Rowling's ''Harry Potter'' series, a Muggle () is a person who lacks any sort of magical ability and was not born in a magical family. Muggles can also be described as people who do not have any magical blood inside them. It differs fr ...

) relatives after her parents were killed by an evil sorceress Chuma-del-Tort (the official translation of Voldemort's name in Russian was 'Volan-de-Mort'), and goes to study at the Tibidokhs (Тибидохс) School for Behaviorally-Challenged Young Witches and Wizards. Tanya's foster-family, the Durnevs, live in an urban apartment block, and Tanya is forced to sleep not in a cupboard but in the apartment's

loggia In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior gallery or corridor, usually on an upper level, but sometimes on the ground level of a building. The outer wall is open to the elements, usually supported by a series of columns ...

. Yemets described the books as "a cultural reply" to the Potter series, and they feature allusion to Russian culture and

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

such as

Baba Yaga In Slavic folklore, Baba Yaga, also spelled Baba Jaga (from Polish), is a supernatural being (or one of a trio of sisters of the same name) who appears as a deformed and/or ferocious-looking woman. In fairy tales Baba Yaga flies around in a ...

rusalki In Slavic folklore, the rusalka (plural: rusalky/rusalki; ; pl, rusałka}) is a typically feminine entity, often malicious toward mankind and frequently associated with water, with counterparts in other parts of Europe, such as the French Melus ...

witch Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...

es on Bald Mountain and the works of

Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...

(for instance, Tibidox is on the island of

Buyan In the Dove Book and other medieval Russian books, Buyan (russian: Буя́н, sometimes transliterated as Bujan) is described as a mysterious island in the ocean with the ability to appear and disappear with the tide. Three brothers—Northern, ...

mentioned in Pushkin's ''

The Tale of Tsar Saltan The Tale of Tsar Saltan, of His Son the Renowned and Mighty Bogatyr Prince Gvidon Saltanovich, and of the Beautiful Princess-Swan ( rus, «Сказка о царе Салтане, о сыне его славном и могучем богаты� ...

''). After the first book, the plots diverge from those of the Harry Potter series. For instance, in ''Tanya Grotter and the Golden Leech'', Tanya finds herself pitted against "Hurry Pooper" (a thinly disguised Harry Potter) in the World Dragonball Championship. While trying to reach the ball, they crash, creating a new timeline in which Chuma-del-Tort has won, good and evil being reversed, and all the characters are speaking a Russian equivalent of

Orwellian "Orwellian" is an adjective describing a situation, idea, or societal condition that George Orwell identified as being destructive to the welfare of a free and open society. It denotes an attitude and a brutal policy of draconian control by pro ...

Newspeak Newspeak is the fictional language of Oceania, a totalitarian superstate that is the setting of the 1949 dystopian novel ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'', by George Orwell. In the novel, the Party created Newspeak to meet the ideological requirements ...

. To restore normality, Tanya must defeat the Golden Leech.

Legal history

While the series is legally published in Russia, it is not available in translation due to a lawsuit on behalf of J. K. Rowling and

Time Warner Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States. It was originally established in 1972 by ...

. Having failed to obtain a cease and desist order in Russia, Rowling and Time Warner targeted publication in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, where first translations of international editions are commonly published. In 2003, courts there prevented the distribution of a

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

translation of the first in the series, ''Tanya Grotter and the Magical Double Bass'', after Rowling and Time Warner's lawyers issued a cease and desist order, arguing that the Grotter books violated

law, specifically infringing on Rowling's right to control derivative works. Yemets and his

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

-based publishers,

Eksmo Eksmo (russian: Эксмо) is one of the largest publishing houses in Russia. Eksmo and AST (which it later acquired in 2012) together publish approximately 30% of all Russian books. Established in 1991 as a small book-selling company, Eksmo gr ...

, argued unsuccessfully that the book constituted a

parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...

, permitted under copyright. Later that year, as the Dutch translation ''Tanja Grotter en de magische contrabas'' was still legal in Belgium, the

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

publishers Roularta Books decided to print 1,000 copies (and no more) in order to let people decide whether it was plagiarism, hoping that under those circumstances Rowling and her publishers would not sue.

Subsequent history

In 2003, after the first five books, the total circulation of Tanya Grotter books reached a million. As of 2006 the figure, including spinoffs, was approaching 3 million. In a 2006 interview, Yemets said that he had moved on to "urban absurd comic genre fantasy" with the Buslaev series, but that there was still reader demand, and sufficient material, for an 11th Tanya book. He described the Tanya Grotter series as a purely Russian phenomenon, dependent on the language and culture, and commented that he would not place much faith in Tanya living a full life if she were brought to the playing field of Europe or America. In 2006, Yemets' books featured in the 10 best children's books 2006 in a reader's poll at the Pushkin Central Children's Library,

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. In July 2006, his ''Tanya Grotter and the Pearl Ring'' was the highest-selling children's book in Russia (his ''Methodius Buslaev: Vengeance of the Valkyries'' was #10, while JK Rowling's ''

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince'' is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling and the sixth and penultimate novel in the ''Harry Potter'' series. Set during Harry Potter's sixth year at Hogwarts, the novel explores t ...

'' and '' Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix'' ranked #2 and #6.

Titles

From the Tanya Grotter official site:Title list
, Tanya Grotter official site (in Russian) #''Tanya Grotter and the Magical Double Bass'' (Таня Гроттер и магический контрабас) #''Tanya Grotter and the Disappearing Floor'' (Таня Гроттер и исчезающий этаж) #''Tanya Grotter and the Golden Leech'' (Таня Гроттер и Золотая Пиявка) #''Tanya Grotter and the Throne of Drevnir'' (Таня Гроттер и трон Древнира) #''Tanya Grotter and the Pikestaff of the Magi'' (Таня Гроттер и посох волхвов) #''Tanya Grotter and the Hammer of

Perun In Slavic mythology, Perun (Cyrillic: Перýн) is the highest god of the pantheon and the god of sky, thunder, lightning, storms, rain, law, war, fertility and oak trees. His other attributes were fire, mountains, wind, iris, eagle, f ...

'' (Таня Гроттер и молот Перуна) #''Tanya Grotter and the Pince-nez of Noah'' (Таня Гроттер и пенсне Ноя) #''Tanya Grotter and the Boots of the Centaur'' (Таня Гроттер и ботинки кентавра) #''Tanya Grotter and the Well of

Poseidon Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as a ...

'' (Таня Гроттер и колодец Посейдона) #''Tanya Grotter and the Curl of

Aphrodite Aphrodite ( ; grc-gre, Ἀφροδίτη, Aphrodítē; , , ) is an ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, and procreation. She was syncretized with the Roman goddess . Aphrodite's major symbols inclu ...

'' (Таня Гроттер и локон Афродиты) #''Tanya Grotter and the Pearl Ring'' (Таня Гроттер и перстень с жемчужиной) #''Tanya Grotter and the Curse of the Necromage'' (Таня Гроттер и проклятье некромага) #''Tanya Grotter and the Garrulous Sphinx'' (Таня Гроттер и болтливый сфинкс) #''Tanya Grotter and the bird of Titans'' (Таня Гроттер и птица титанов) Spinoff titles: #''Tanya Grotter and the Complete Tibidox! Phrases, Quotations and Aphorisms'' (Таня Гроттер и полный Тибидохс! Фразочки, цитатки и афоризмы) #''Worlds of Tanya Grotter'' (Миры Тани Гроттер) - a compilation of fan-written graphic novels There are several other Spin-off (media), spin-offs from the Tanya Grotter series. The ''Methodius Buslaev'' (Мефодий Буслаев) series, featuring a young male magician, and the ''Hooligan fantasy'' (Хулиганское фэнтези) series: #''Methodius Buslaev. Magician of Midnight'' (Мефодий Буслаев. Маг полуночи) #''Methodius Buslaev. Roll of Desire'' (Мефодий Буслаев. Свиток желаний) #''Methodius Buslaev. Third Rider of the Gloom'' (Мефодий Буслаев. Третий всадник мрака) #''Methodius Buslaev. Ticket to the Bald Mountain'' (Мефодий Буслаев. Билет на лысую гору) #''Methodius Buslaev. Vengeance of the Valkyries'' (Мефодий Буслаев. Месть валькирий) #''Methodius Buslaev. Depressnyak's Secret Magic'' (Мефодий Буслаев. Тайная магия Депресcняка) #''Methodius Buslaev. Tartarus's Ice and Flame'' (Мефодий Буслаев. Лед и пламя Тартара) #''Methodius Buslaev. The First Eydos'' (Мефодий Буслаев. Первый Эйдос) #''Methodius Buslaev. Wings of Light for the Dark Guard'' (Мефодий Буслаев. Светлые крылья для тёмного стража) #''Methodius Buslaev. Stairway to Garden of Eden, Eden'' (Мефодий Буслаев. Лестница в Эдем) #''Methodius Buslaev. The map of Chaos (cosmogony), Chaos'' (Мефодий Буслаев. Карта Хаоса) #''Methodius Buslaev. Dryad's necklace'' (Мефодий Буслаев. Ожерелье дриады) #''Methodius Buslaev. Glass guard'' (Мефодий Буслаев. Стеклянный страж) #''Hooligan fantasy: Great Something'' (Хулиганское фэнтези: Великое нечто)

Similarities

The Dutch court found the following similarities between Harry Potter and Tanya Grotter:

References

External links

* *:ru:Таня Гроттер (персонаж), Russian Wikipedia (TG character) {{in lang, ru
Harry Potter and the International Order of Copyright
Should Tanya Grotter and the Magic Double Bass be banned?, Tim Wu, ''Slate.com'', June 27, 2003 Books about women Contemporary fantasy novels Fantasy books by series Novels about orphans Novels involved in plagiarism controversies Russian fantasy novels Series of children's books Unofficial adaptations Witchcraft in written fiction Works based on Harry Potter