Would you happen to have a source? The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th ed, does not give credence to your statement. The general position in the field of Russian literature studies (non-native speakers) is similar to mine.
Maybe one analogy that would make the error more jarring would be if someone wrote a piece about Anna Karenina and said "The Kareninas moved to ... " when referring to Alexei Karenin and Anna Karenina.
