List of Russian women writers explained

This is a list of women writers who were born in Russia or whose writings are closely associated with that country.

A

• Bella Akhmadulina (1937–2010), poet, short story writer, translator
• Anna Akhmatova (1899–1966), acclaimed poet, author of Requiem
• Elizaveta Akhmatova (1820–1904), "Leila" published a journal for 30 years with translations of English and French writers^[1]
• Elena Akselrod (born 1932), Belarus-born Russian poet, translator
• Ogdo Aksyonova (1936–1995), poet, short story writer, founder of Dolgan written literature
• Tatiana Aleshina (born 1961), singer-songwriter, poet, short story writer
• Margarita Aliger (1915–1992), poet, essayist, journalist
• Svetlana Alliluyeva (1926–2011), daughter of Joseph Stalin, memoirist, biographer, author of Twenty Letters to a Friend
• Al Altaev (1852–1959), writer for children^[2]
• Lou Andreas-Salomé (1861–1937), psychoanalyst, memoirist, literary essayist, novelist, often writing in German
• Domna Anisimova (19th century), poet
• Nina Pávlovna Annenkova-Bernár (1859/64–1933) actress, writer, playwright^[3]
• Varvara Annenkova (1795–1866), prominent poet^[3]
• Alexandra Nikitichna Annenskaya (1840–1915), translator and writer of feminist novels^[4]
• Olga Anstei (1912–1985), writer about the Holocaust^[5]
• Elena Ivanovna Apréleva (1846–1923), non-fiction writer, short story writer, memoirist, playwright, children's writer
• Maria Arbatova (born 1957), novelist, playwright, poet, journalist, feminist^[5]
• Olga Arefieva (born 1966), singer-songwriter, poet, musician
• Yekaterina Avdeyeva (1788–1865), non-fiction writer

B

• Anna Barkova (1901–1976), poet, journalist, playwright, essayist, memoirist, novelist
• Anna Barykova (1839–1893), poet, satirist and translator
• Agniya Barto (1906–1981), poet, children's writer, screenwriter
• Olga Mihaylovna Bebutova (1879–1952), actress, novelist, magazine editor
• Maria Belakhova (1903–1969), children's writer, magazine editor, educator
• Katerina Belkina (born 1974), photographer, painter
• Nina Berberova (1901–1993), short story writer, novelist, biographer, author of the autobiography The Italics are Mine
• Lydia Yudifovna Berdyaev (1871–1945), poet
• Olga Bergholz (1910–1975), poet, playwright, journalist
• Antonina Bludova (1813–1891), salonist, memoirist
• Natella Boltyanskaya (born 1965), songwriter, poet, radio host
• Marina Boroditskaya (born 1954), poet, children's writer, translator
• Vera Broido (1907–2004), memoirist, non-fiction writer, autobiographer
• Anna Bunina (1774–1829), poet, first Russian women to earn a living from writing

C

• Lidia Charskaya (1875–1938), novelist, works recently revived
• Svetlana Chervonnaya (born 1948), historian, non-fiction writer, essayist
• Elena Chudinova (born 1959), novelist, poet, playwright, columnist
• Lydia Chukovskaya (1907–1996), novelist, author of Sofia Petrovna

D

• Tatyana Danilyants (born 1971), film director, photographer, poet
• Hadiya Davletshina (1905–1954), Baskir poet, prose writer, playwright
• Irina Denezhkina (born 1981), short story writer
• Marina Denikina (1919–2005), Russian-born French historical novelist, journalist
• Regina Derieva (1949–2013), widely translated poet, essayist
• Valentina Dmitryeva (1859–1947), short story writer, children's writer, autobiographer
• Aliona Doletskaya (born 1955), journalist, editor, television host, translator
• Veronika Dolina (born 1956), poet, songwriter
• Darya Dontsova (born 1952), best selling crime-fiction novelist, autobiographer
• Anna Dostoyevskaya (1846–1918), memoirist, biographer
• Lyubov Dostoyevskaya (1869–1926), biographer of Dostoyevsky, memoirist, short story writer, novelist
• Yulia Drunina (1924–1991), poet
• Svetlana Druzhinina (born 1935), actress, screenwriter, film director
• Miroslava Duma (born 1985), fashion writer, magazine editor

E

• Tamara Eidelman (born 1959), contemporary historian, translator, contributor to Russian Life
• Roza Eldarova (1923–2021), journalist, memoirist, politician

F

• Elena Fanailova (born 1962), journalist, poet, columnist, translator
• Dorothea de Ficquelmont (1804–1863), diarist (in French), letter writer
• Vera Figner (1852–1942), revolutionary memoirist, biographer, columnist
• Olga Forsh (1873–1961), novelist, playwright, memoirist
• Elena Frolova (born 1969), singer-songwriter, poet

G

• Cherubina de Gabriak, pen name of Elisaveta Ivanovna Dmitrieva (1887–1928), poet, translator
• Nina Gagen-Torn (1900–1986), poet, short story writer, historian
• Nora Gal (1912–1991), critic, essayist, prominent translator
• Alisa Ganieva (born 1985), pen name Gulla Khirachev, novelist, short story writer, essayist
• Tatiana Garmash-Roffe (born 1959), novelist, short story writer, detective story writer
• Liudmila Gatagova, historian, since c.1993 several historical works
• Vera Gedroitz (1870–1932), medical doctor, poet
• Marina Gershenovich (born 1960), poet, translator
• Masha Gessen (born 1967), journalist, columnist, biographer, writing in Russian and English
• Lidiya Ginzburg (1902–1990), critic, historian, memoirist
• Yevgenia Ginzburg (1904–1977), educator, journalist, historian, memoirist
• Zinaida Gippius (1869–1945), modernist poet, novelist, playwright, short story writer, translator, several works translated into English
• Maria Golovnina (c.1980–2015), journalist, Reuters bureau chief for Afghanistan and Pakistan
• Natalya Gorbanevskaya (1936–2013), poet, translator
• Nina Gorlanova (born 1947), short story writer, novelist
• Anastasia Gosteva (born 1975), novelist, short story writer, poet, journalist
• Isabella Grinevskaya (1864–1944), novelist, playwright
• Olga Grushin (born 1971), Russian-American novelist, translator
• Elena Guro (1877–1913), playwright, poet, novelist, artist

I

• Vera Inber (1890–1972), poet, essayist, translator
• Aleksandra Ishimova (1805–1881), children's writer, translator
• Nina Iskrenko (1951–1995), poet
• Lidiya Ivanova (1936–2007), journalist, television presenter
• Praskovya Ivanovskaya (1852–1935), revolutionary, memoirist

J

• Nadezhda Joffe (1906–1999), memoirist, biographer

K

• Vera Kamsha (born 1962), Ukrainian-born Russian journalist, fantasy novelist
• Anna Kashina, Russian-American novelist, completed The Princess of Dhagabad in 2000
• Rimma Kazakova (1932–2008), poet, popular songwriter
• Elena Kazantseva (born 1956), Belarusian-born Russian poet, songwriter
• Eufrosinia Kersnovskaya (1908–1994), Gulag memoirist
• Nadezhda Khvoshchinskaya (1824–1889), novelist, poet, critic, translator
• Marusya Klimova (born 1961), prominent non-fiction writer, literary historian, translator
• Ekaterina Kniazhnina (1746–1797), poet, salonist, considered by some to be the first Russian woman writer
• Alexandra Kollontai (1872–1952), politician, writer
• Ina Konstantinova (1924–1944), wartime diarist
• Sofia Kovalevskaya (1859–1891), mathematician, non-fiction writer
• Nadezhda Kozhevnikova (born 1949), journalist, essayist
• Zoya Krakhmalnikova (1929–2008), dissident journalist, autobiographer
• Yustina Kruzenshtern-Peterets (1903–1983), journalist and poet in the diaspora
• Olga Kryuchkova (born 1966), historical novelist

L

• Nadezhda Lappo-Danilevsky (1874–1951), poet, novelist
• Anna Larina (1914–1996), memoirist
• Yulia Latynina (born 1966), journalist, novelist, television presenter
• Marina Lesko, since 1992, journalist, columnist
• Sonya Levien (1888–1960), screenwriter
• Olga Lipovskaya (1954–2021), poet, magazine editor, feminist
• Mirra Lokhvitskaya (1869–1905), acclaimed poet
• Nina Lugovskaya (1918–1993), Gulag diarist

M

• Yelena Maglevannaya (born 1981), journalist
• Natalia Malakhovskaia (born 1947), feminist writer
• Tatiana Mamonova (born 1943), poet, journalist, feminist
• Nadezhda Mandelstam (1899–1980), memoirist, biographer
• Anna Margolin (1887–1952), Russian-American Yiddish-language poet
• Alexandra Marinina (born 1957), best selling crime fiction novelist, works widely translated
• Maria Markova (born 1982), poet
• Novella Matveyeva (1934–2016), poet, songwriter, screenwriter, playwright
• Olga Martynova (born 1962), poet, essayist, writing in Russian and German
• Larisa Matros (born 1938), sociologist, novelist, short story writer, critic, poet
• Novella Matveyeva (1934–2016), poet, screenwriter, dramatist, singer-songwriter
• Vera Matveyeva (1945–1976), poet, singer-songwriter
• Ida Mett (1901–1973), historical writer, magazine editor
• Elena Milashina (born 1977), investigative journalist
• Maria Moravskaya (1890–1947), poet, essayist, critic, translator
• Yunna Morits (born 1937), poet, translator, short story writer, children's writer
• Margarita Morozova (1873–1958), publisher, memoirist
• Tatyana Moskvina (1958–2022), columnist, novelist, journalist, critic, television host
• Lena Mukhina (1924–1991), wartime diarist in Leningrad

N

• Maria de Naglowska (1883–1936), occultist writer, journalist, translator, wrote in French
• Vera Nazarian (born 1966), Armenian-Russian American science fiction novelist
• Tsarevna Natalya Alexeyevna of Russia (1673–1716), playwright
• Zhanna Nemtsova (born 1984), journalist, social activist
• Aleksandra Nikolaenko (born 1976), writer and winner of the 2017 Russian Booker Prize
• Maria Nikolaeva (born 1971), spiritual teacher, religious writer, widely translated

O

• Irina Odoyevtseva (1895–1990), poet, novelist, memoirist
• Raisa Orlova (1918–1989), literary historian, journalist, latterly in Germany

P

• Marina Palei (born 1955), journalist, novelist, short story writer, translator
• Avdotya Panaeva (1820–1893), novelist, short story writer, memoirist, salonist
• Vera Panova (1905–1973), novelist, playwright, journalist, works translated into English
• Sophia Parnok (1885–1933), poet, children's writer, translator
• Karolina Pavlova (1807–1893), poet, novelist
• Vera Pavlova (born 1963), poet
• Olga Perovskaya (1902–1961), children's writer
• Kyra Petrovskaya Wayne (1918–2018), Russian-American non-fiction writer, autobiographer
• Maria Petrovykh (1908–1979), poet, translator
• Lyudmila Petrushevskaya (born 1938), novelist, playwright, singer
• Irina Petrushova (born 1965), journalist, newspaper editor
• Anna Politkovskaya (1958–2006), journalist, human rights activist
• Elizaveta Polonskaya (1890–1969), poet, translator, journalist
• Sofiya Pregel (1894–1972), poet
• Maria Prilezhayeva (1903–1989), children's writer, critic, novelist
• Rufina Ivanovna Pukhova (1932–2021), memoirist, wife of Kim Philby

R

• Rita Rait-Kovaleva (1898–1989), memoirist, translator
• Ayn Rand (1905–1982), Russian-born American novelist, philosopher
• Maria Rasputin (1898–1977), memoirist
• Irina Ratushinskaya (1954–2017), poet, memoirist
• Helena Roerich (1879–1955), philosopher, artist, non-fiction writer, letter writer, translator
• Yevdokiya Rostopchina (1811–1858), early poet, playwright, translator
• Dina Rubina (born 1953), Russian-Israeli novelist, short story writer, essayist
• Maria Rybakova (born 1973), short story writer, novelist
• Elena Rzhevskaya (1919–2017), Second World War memoirist

S

• Irina Saburova (1907–1979), journalist, short story writer, novelist, translator
• Nina Mikhailovna Sadur (born 1950), playwright and prose writer
• Konkordiya Samoilova (1876–1921), founding editor of Pravda
• Nathalie Sarraute (1900–1999), Russian-French novelist, playwright, memoirist
• Tanya Savicheva (1930–1944), Leningrad diarist
• Olesya Shmagun (born 1987), investigative journalist
• Olga Sedakova (born 1949), poet, translator
• Ekaterina Sedia (born 1970), Russian-American fantasy novelist, author of The Alchemy of Stone
• Comtesse de Ségur (1799–1874), Russian-French novelist
• Yulia Sineokaya (born 1969), philosopher and educator
• Marietta Shaginyan (1888–1982), novelist, political activist
• Olga Shapir (1850–1916), novelist, feminist
• Margarita Sharapova (born 1962), novelist, short story writer, now living in Portugal
• Tatiana Shchepkina-Kupernik (1874–1952), poet, columnist, playwright, translator
• Natalia Sheremeteva (1714–1771), early memoirist
• Maria Shkapskaya (1891–1952), poet, essayist, journalist
• Paullina Simons (born 1963), Russian-American best selling novelist
• Olga Slavnikova (born 1957), novelist, critic, author of 2017: A Novel
• Esphyr Slobodkina (1908–2002), Russian-American children's writer, illustrator, author of Caps for Sale
• Alexandra Smirnova (1809–1882), memoirist
• Sofia Soboleva (1840–1884), short story writer, children's writer, journalist
• Polyxena Solovyova (1867–1924), Russian poet and translator
• Sabina Spielrein (1885–1942), psychoanalyst, scientific writer
• Anna Strunsky (1877–1964), Russian-American journalist, novelist, socialist activist, co-authored The Kempton-Wace Letters
• Polina Suslova (1839–1918), short story writer
• Alexandra Sviridova (born 1951), screenwriter, television presenter, now living in New York

T

• Yelizaveta Tarakhovskaya (1891–1968), poet, playwright, translator, children's writer
• Nadezhda Teffi (1872–1952), playwright, short story writer
• Fatima Tlisova (born 1966), journalist, now living in the United States
• Viktoriya Tokareva (born 1937), screenwriter, short story writer
• Natalia Tolstaya (1943–2010), educator, translator, text book writer, writing in Swedish and Russian
• Sophia Tolstaya (1844–1919), wife of Leo Tolstoy, diarist, memoirist
• Tatyana Tolstaya (born 1951), novelist, essayist, television presenter
• Elsa Triolet (1896–1970), novelist, wrote in Russian and (mainly) French
• Marina Tsvetaeva (1892–1941), poet, playwright
• Evgenia Tur (1815–1892), novelist, literary critic, children's writer

U

• Anya Ulinich (born 1973), novelist, short story writer
• Lyudmila Ulitskaya (born 1943), novelist, short story writer

V

• Larisa Vaneeva (born 1953), short story writer
• Galina Varlamova (1951–2019), Evenk philologist, works in Russian, Evenk and Yakut
• Svetlana Vasilenko (born 1956), short story writer, novelist
• Marie Vassiltchikov (1917–1978), wartime Berlin diarist
• Tatiana Vedenska (born 1976), novelist
• Anastasiya Verbitskaya (1861–1928), novelist, playwright, screenwriter, publisher, feminist
• Seda Vermisheva (1932–2020), Armenian-born Russian poet, economist, activist
• Lidia Veselitskaya (1857–1936), novelist, short story writer, memoirist, translator
• Frida Vigdorova (1915–1965), journalist, novelist
• Mariya Vilinska (1833–1907), novelist, short story writer, translator
• Zinaida Volkonskaya (1792–1862), poet, short story writer, playwright, salonist
• Hava Volovich (1916–2000), memoirist, actress, Gulag survivor
• Yekaterina Vorontsova-Dashkova (1743–1810), memoirist
• Anna Vyrubova (1884–1964), memoirist

Y

• Tatyana Yesenina (1918–1992), novelist, journalist, memoirist
• Anna Yevreinova (1844–1919), feminist writer, editor, letter writer, lawyer

Z

• Lyubov Zakharchenko (1961–2008), poet, songwriter
• Yulia Zhadovskaya (1824–1883), poet, novelist
• Vera Zhelikhovskaya (1835–1896), children's writer, novelist
• Polina Zherebtsova (born 1985), poet, diarist, author of Ant in a Glass Jar
• Maria Zhukova (1805–1855), novelist, short story writer, travel writer
• Valentina Zhuravleva (1933–2004), science fiction novelist, sometimes in collaboration with her husband Genrich Altshuller
• Lydia Zinovieva-Annibal (1866–1907), novelist, playwright
• Vera Zvyagintseva (1894–1972), actress, poet, translator, memoirist

See also

• List of Russian-language writers
• List of women writers
• Russian literature

Notes and References

1. Book: Marina Ledkovskai͡a-Astman. Charlotte Rosenthal. Mary Fleming Zirin . Mary Fleming Zirin . Dictionary of Russian Women Writers. 1994. Greenwood Publishing Group. 978-0-313-26265-4. 12–14.
2. Book: Marina Ledkovskai͡a-Astman. Charlotte Rosenthal. Mary Fleming Zirin. Dictionary of Russian Women Writers. 1994. Greenwood Publishing Group. 978-0-313-26265-4. 22.
3. Book: Marina Ledkovskai͡a-Astman. Charlotte Rosenthal. Mary Fleming Zirin. Dictionary of Russian Women Writers. 1994. Greenwood Publishing Group. 978-0-313-26265-4. 27–29.
4. Book: Marina Ledkovskai͡a-Astman. Charlotte Rosenthal. Mary Fleming Zirin. Dictionary of Russian Women Writers. 1994. Greenwood Publishing Group. 978-0-313-26265-4. 30–31.
5. Book: Marina Ledkovskai͡a-Astman . Dictionary of Russian Women Writers . Charlotte Rosenthal . Mary Fleming Zirin . Greenwood Publishing Group . 1994 . 978-0-313-26265-4 . 33-36.