This trailblazing book examines two enduring and tightly intertwined trends in modern Russian culture: the central importance of writers in the national imagination and the perennial popularity of The Lives of Remarkable People series and of biography more generally. The first ever comparison of the imperial, Soviet, and post-Soviet iterations of this best-selling biographical series, this volume fascinatingly shows how stories of writers’ lives—and literary biography as a genre—have transformed in Russia from the nineteenth century to the twenty-first century. A tour de force of ‘comparative biography,’ it balances historical breadth with meticulous case studies by leading scholars of Pushkin, Dostoevsky, Bulgakov, Brodsky, and many other authors. This rich and revealing collection is a major addition to Russian literature and culture scholarship and to biography studies.

- Polly Jones, University of Oxford,

From its inception in the 1890s up to the present day, the Lives of Remarkable People biography series has been a ubiquitous presence on the bookshelves of Russian readers, a marker of education, cultural refinement, and social status. Literary Biographies is the first comprehensive scholarly examination of this series, tracing its origins, its transformations in response to Russia’s turbulent history, and its enduring cultural significance. In the process, the volume opens the door to a deep and nuanced consideration of biography as a genre and maps out the shifting legacies of major figures in Russian culture. This book will be of lively interest to intellectual historians, literary scholars, and readers of Russian biography.

- Nathaniel Knight, Seton Hall University,

This fascinating collection documents the enduring importance and popularity of literary biography in Russia from the era of Nicholas II to Vladimir Putin. Interpretations of the lives of Russia's 'remarkable' writers, the authors show, have changed to meet political imperatives, changing social conditions, and new cultural norms; yet iconic writers from Pushkin to Brodsky retain their exalted stature and fascination for the Russian public. This volume will interest scholars of literature, biography, and cultural history.

- Adele Lindenmeyr, Villanova University,