A Russian writer of Siberian origin, in 2004 he moved to Italy, to Piedmont between Cuneo and Turin, in Cavallerleone, then from 2010 to Milan. Besides devoting himself to writing novels, he has an art workshop in Milan, Kolima Art Studio. He has written for L’Espresso, XL di Repubblica and other newspapers and collaborates with various artists. Among his novels, the best known, Educazione siberiana, translated in seventeen countries, became a film by Gabriele Salvatores starring John Malkovich in 2013.