Here's another weird book sitting on our shelves: Таня Гроттер и магический контрабас (Tanya Grotter and the Magical Contrabass). Does the cover look familiar to you? It should. We bought this book in Moscow in 2002. Harry Potter mania was alive and well in Russia, too, and Tanya Grotter was a little extra literature you could use to fill in the gap while you waited for the next HP book to come out. And at only 57 rubles (less than $2), it was cheaper than the Harry Potter books, too.
I'm sure everyone who bought the books in Russia realized it was a complete rip-off of Harry Potter. But Tanya Grotter did gain a certain legitimacy by virtue of the fact that at least she wasn't Porry Gatter, a totally separate Russian rip-off of Harry Potter. In Porry Gatter, the villain's name was Moldevort. You get the idea.
Ah, blatant plagiarism. Surely it's not wrong if there's money to be made...right?