Assuming for a moment that "Have you ever seen that scarecrow, then you've seen me" refers to Lopotev. How much of a coincidence is it that his alias is Akula, a type of Russian submarine?
That would just be silly.
Take on Digging on the other hand... With the success of Minecraft, it is clear that there is a big mining simulation market out there.
It seems BIS wants in on the action.