The famous 19th-century Russian poet, Mikhail Lermontov, is believed to have had Scottish roots. The idea to check the assumption has been suggested by British scientists.
The head of the DNA Study Department at the Oxford University, Bryan Sikes, says they are going to find out if the Lermontovs have any relation to the Scottish Learmont family. A new method of comparing Y-chromosomes of DNA allows identifying a relationship even with many decades separating the generations.