Resemblance of 'Potter' character, Putin debated

MOSCOW -- What does the stern-faced commander in chief of a million-strong army have in common with a self-effacing elf from a popular children's film? Nothing -- except perhaps a longish nose, piercing eyes and a certain indefinable similarity.\nRussian President Vladimir Putin may not be green and wrinkly like Dobby, the house elf from "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," but moviegoers have been struck by a certain resemblance.\nThe British Broadcasting Corp. even set up a Putin/Dobby poll on its children's Web site. Out of 9,188 people who cast votes as of Friday, nearly 57 percent agreed that Putin does look like Dobby.\nRussian media reported last week that a Moscow law firm was preparing to sue the makers of the Potter movie for intentionally modeling the character on Putin. However, no law firm has come forward to take credit for the idea.\nPavel Astakhov, a prominent Russian litigator, said the claim would be almost impossible to prove, though he acknowledged the resemblance.\n"The more you look at them, of course, the more they seem to look alike," he told NTV television this week.