Alexander Kabakov
Biography
Alexander Kabakov was born in 1943 into a military family. He graduated from Dnepropetrovsk University and after serving in the army, worked as an engineer in a rocket development laboratory.
In 1988 Kabakov wrote the dystopian novella No Return, which was translated and published widely throughout Europe, the USA and Japan. World press shared the opinion that ‘...for many people one of the biggest achievements of glasnost has been Alexander Kabakov's recognition as an author’ (The Guardian, UK). He became particularly well-known when the storyline of No Return anticipated many of the political events in 1991 and 1993 that led to the collapse of the Soviet Union. This early novel introduced Kabakov's main literary metaphor of life as treasure, which was further developed in the sequel to No Return, the novel Condemned (1999), in his short stories and in the diary novel A Runaway (2009). Kabakov's typical hero is active, intelligent and rebellious.
He excels in turning any kind of material, whether it is fantasy, historical, fable or biblical literature, into topical prose. As well as being a novelist, Kabakov is a prolific journalist. His extensive literary and journalistic output is characterised by uncompromising views and startlingly accurate predictions.
Kabakov has won several prestigious awards and in 2005 was chosen by Rambler users as ‘Man of the Year’ in their online literature poll. ‘I do not get involved with the state’ is Kabakov's position and he follows this principle rigorously. He has never been a member of any political party, writer's union or PEN club.
Selected Titles
Aksenov (with Evgeny Popov) (2011)
A Runaway (2009)
Everything is Reparable (2004)
No Return. Condemned (2003)
The Imposter (1997)
The Last Hero (1996)
Strike for Strike. The Approach of Kristapovich (1993)
The Compiler (1991)
Translated Titles
Moscow Tales (Austria, 2007)
No Return (Denmark, 1990; Germany 1990; Japan 1991; USA 1990; Spain 1990; Norway 1990; Italy 1990; Holland 1990; France 1991, 2005)
Strike for Strike. The Approach of Kristapovich (Germany 1991)
The Compiler (Japan, 1992)
The Last Hero (Slovenia, 2011)
Selected Awards
The Russian Federation Government Prize in Culture 2009 — The Last Hero 2008
The Big Book Prize 2006 — Everything Is Reparable
MIBF Prize ‘The Prose of the Year’ 2005/2009