Subject
VN trivia
Date
Body
From: Julian W. Connolly <jwc4w@darwin.clas.virginia.edu>
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> I came across a VN reference that might amuse NABOKV-L
subscribers. According to the _Washington Times_
> (August 23, 1994; p. A13), the head of the troubled Russian
> investment firm MMM--a Mr. Sergei Mavrodi--was subject to a
> raid on his apartment. The officials conducting the raid found
> a "huge butterfly collection." MMM spokesman Sergei Taranov
> "boasted" that Mr. Mavrodi's "private collection is almost as
> big as Vladimir Nabokov's." Martin Romancyk, the author of the
> article, helpfully informs us: "Nabokov (1899-1977), author of
> `Lolita' and numerous other works, also had a passion for
> collecting butterflies." The article describes how butterflies
> flitted in and out of MMM commercials which recount the
> "rags-to-riches story of bulldozer operator Lyonya Golbukov and
> his wife--and how they got a car, a fur coat and a trip to the
> World Cup matches in the United States." When policeman led
> Mr. Mavrodi away, he was clad "in a colorful shirt printed with
> a butterfly pattern."
----------------
> I came across a VN reference that might amuse NABOKV-L
subscribers. According to the _Washington Times_
> (August 23, 1994; p. A13), the head of the troubled Russian
> investment firm MMM--a Mr. Sergei Mavrodi--was subject to a
> raid on his apartment. The officials conducting the raid found
> a "huge butterfly collection." MMM spokesman Sergei Taranov
> "boasted" that Mr. Mavrodi's "private collection is almost as
> big as Vladimir Nabokov's." Martin Romancyk, the author of the
> article, helpfully informs us: "Nabokov (1899-1977), author of
> `Lolita' and numerous other works, also had a passion for
> collecting butterflies." The article describes how butterflies
> flitted in and out of MMM commercials which recount the
> "rags-to-riches story of bulldozer operator Lyonya Golbukov and
> his wife--and how they got a car, a fur coat and a trip to the
> World Cup matches in the United States." When policeman led
> Mr. Mavrodi away, he was clad "in a colorful shirt printed with
> a butterfly pattern."