What if Harry Potter was a Soviet researcher?

Reimagining Harry Potter as a Soviet scientist in 1970s / Images: Threads.com/@books_hangover, collage by Milosh Muratovskiy

A user on the Threads social network recently suggested reimagining «Harry Potter» characters by placing them in a Soviet-era context, rather than J.K. Rowling’s magical world.

The user shared AI-generated portraits of several «Harry Potter» characters using the prompt:

«If Hogwarts were not an English school of magic, but a Soviet research institute of sorcery and wizardry.»

Photo: Threads.com/@books_hangover, photo editor: Milosh Muratovskiy

This resulted in a series of striking images that recast familiar characters as scientists and officials from the Soviet period.

Photo: Threads.com/@books_hangover, photo editor: Milosh Muratovskiy

Commenters joined in. One imagined Harry winning a state award for a scientific breakthrough.

Photo: Threads.com/@books_hangover, photo editor: Milosh Muratovskiy

Photo: Threads.com/@books_hangover, photo editor: Milosh Muratovskiy

One joked, «So is Voldemort Stalin now?» Others said the main villain stayed capitalist, keeping the tone light.