The hero of Bend Sinister (1947) is the philosopher
Adam Krug. Krug means in Russian "circle" and in
German "mug; jug" (cf. Russian kruzhka).* One is reminded of
Derzhavin's poem "Philosophers, Drunk and Sober" (1789) and
Pushkin's celebrated poem "Winter Evening" (1825), with its famous
refrain: Vyp'yem s gorya; gde zhe kruzhka? Serdtsu budet
veseley. (Let us drink from grief; where is the jug? / The heart
will be gayer.)
*In the language spoken in Padukgrad and Omigod ("a
mongrel blend of Slavic and Germanic"), kruv means "crow"
and kruvka, "bed."
Adam Krug + Paduk = drug + pauk +
damka
Adam Krug + root = dramaturg + oko
(Paduk - Krug's former schoolmate,
the Ruler; drug - Russ., friend; pauk - spider; damka - king, at draughts; dramaturg - playwright, dramatist; oko - eye)
Alexey Sklyarenko