The Modern Novel

Biography

Andrei Bitov was born in Leningrad in 1937. His earliest memories are of the Siege of Leningrad though he was evacuated in 1942, with his mother and brother, to Tashkent, where his father was working. On returning to Leningrad, he completed school and studied geology but soon became interested in literature. He neglected his studies and had to leave the university. He supported himself with a variety of odd jobs before marrying and returning to his studies. He started writing prose and published several short story collections. However, once he started writing Пушкинский дом (Pushkin House), excerpts of which appeared in various publications, and co-edited the literary almanac Metropol, he fell into disfavour with the Soviet authorities and few of his works were published, though he did work as a scriptwriter for several films. It was not till the fall of the Soviet Union that works such as Пушкинский дом (Pushkin House) were published in Russia. He subsequently becaome a well-known literary commentator. He died in 2018.

Other links

Andrei Bitov
Andrei Bitov, Russia
The Baggage of Writer Andrei Bitov
Interview
Андрей Битов (in Russian)
Андрей Георгиевич Битов (in Russian)
Андрей Георгиевич Битов (in Russian)
Битов, Андрей Георгиевич (in Russian)
Interview (in Russian)