Vladimir Nabokov’s Son Dmitri Dies in Switzerland

Dmitri Nabokov, the only son of prominent writer Vladimir Nabokov and Vera Slonim, died in Switzerland aged 77 on February 22, Dutch newspaper NRC Boeken reported on its website on Friday. Dmitri was born on May 10, 1934, in Berlin. After his family moved to the United States, he entered Harvard College, studying history and literature. After graduating, he studied singing and then worked as an opera singer. He also translated books, in particular works written by his father, the author of Lolita, into several languages. One of the first books he translated was Invitation to a Beheading. It was Dmitri who made the decision to publish Vladimir Nabokov’s incomplete final work - The Original of Laura - in 2009, after 30 years of debate, despite his father’s wish that the work be destroyed upon his death. Dmitri had no children.