Dmitri Pajitnov – Tetris Movie Tribute Explained

By Louie Fecou
Published: April 21, 2023 (Last updated: September 19, 2024)
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Dmitri Pajitnov – Tetris Movie Tribute Explained

This article discusses Dmitri Pajitnov and explains the tribute dedicated to him in the Apple TV+ movie Tetris.

Retro gaming certainly seems a hot topic just now, with animated blockbuster The Super Mario Bros. Movie clearing up in theatres, and Tetris capturing the imagination of viewers of Apple+ TV.

The Tetris movie, starring Welsh comic book gentleman assassin Taron Egerton, was directed by Jon S. Baird and follows the extraordinary story of Henk Rogers, who was determined to acquire the handheld console rights to the Russian classic video game Tetris.

The game was created by Alexey Pajitnov, and the two men find common ground, leading to the formation of The Tetris Company.

In the real world, the two men became firm friends, but a title card in the film has had some viewers curious about Dmitri Pajitnov.

Who was Dmitri and why does he have a tribute in this film? This meticulously placed article will explain the tribute to Dmitri that appears in the film Tetris.

Who Was Dmitri Pajitnov?

Born on April 11, 1986, Dmitri Pajitnov was the son of the creator of Tetris, Alexey Pajitnov.

He was raised in Moscow by his parents Alexey and Nina and had a brother, Peter.

When Henk arrived in Moscow, in his quest to acquire the Tetris rights, Dmitri was still a young boy. With the arrival of Nintendo of America founder Minoru Arakawa in Russia to sign contracts over the rights to the game, Dmitri became one 0f the first people to play the classic Game Boy console.

After moving to the US, Dmitri became a first-year medical student at St. George’s University.

He was also a member of the Heavenly Mountain Resort Ski Patrol on Lake Tahoe and a keen black country skier.

How did Dmitri Pajitnov die?

A tragic accident led to the death of Dmitri in July 2017.

Dmitri and his friend had been skiing at the Mount Rainier National Park in Washington, but Dmitri fell through five feet of snow into a hole above Pebble Creek.

His friend tried desperately to locate him but had to call the rescue services which would launch a search and rescue mission. However, the bad weather worked against the team and they were hampered in their search as it became too dangerous for the crew to continue.

Dmitri would eventually be found in early August at the bottom of a waterfall 30 meters from where he had fallen into the creek.

His body would be recovered on August 19th and Dmitri was buried at The Calvary Cemetery of The University of Washington.

What does the Dmitri Pajitnov obituary say?

If your curiosity has been piqued by Dimitri Pajitnov’s Tetris tribute, you can find lots of information about Dmitri’s life, work, and untimely death on his official website, which includes details and videos chronicling a memorial for him at Lakeside Beach House on Tuesday, July 18th, 2017 in South Lake Tahoe, California.

You can watch Tetris with a subscription to Apple+TV

Additional reading:

Apple TV+, Movie Explainers, Movies, Platform