Tamar Injia published a book entitled Ali and Nino – Literary Robbery!, showing that substantial portions of the book were copied from the book The Snake's Skin by Georgian author Grigol Robakidze. Injia analyzed the two books, and found a number of similar or identical passages, and concluded that "Kurban Said" (whose real life identity she does not attempt to determine) deliberately copied passages from Robakidze's earlier novel.
