In Death and the Penguin, Viktor interviews the State Duma Deputy Aleksandr Yakornitsky. (He is also referred to simply as a "State Deputy"). I'm aware that the State Duma is the lower chamber of the Russian Legislature. However, what is a "deputy" in this context? I'm hoping that I'm not missing...

Related: What is a State Duma Deputy? In Death and the Penguin, Viktor interviewed a politician who, among other things, boasted about his trips to Chernobyl (even knowing that he was a reporter). Given that that was illegal, would it be normal for a government official to say, or was he just unu...

Not sure if this opinion-based, but I think it should be because I'm asking really about the trope itself rather than any specific examples. From Wikipedia on straight man ( / woman / human / person / character) : The straight man is a stock character in a comedy performance, especially a double...

In Death and the Penguin, the newspaper editor told Viktor to contact Fyodor from Crime for some information to help him with his writing. Is this a subtle reference to Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky?