Writing from the Soviet Union – and the countries that preceded and succeeded it – has long been lauded. Writers from Russia like Dostoyevsky, Solzhenitsyn, Pushkin and Tolstoy are fundamental to any consideration of literary history and achievement. In recent years, women’s voices have thankfully come more to the fore, with both Belarusian Svetlana Alexievich and Polish author Olga Tokarczuk winning the Nobel in recent years. Plenty of international writers have significant expertise about the Soviet Union’s history, but many ‘local’ authors clearly have a lived experience that should be seen and recognised. Unfortunately, while former Soviet nations have a broad array of ethnic groups, these voices have yet to emerge in mainstream publishing, especially in translation. This list makes an effort to include work by women, as well as work by people who themselves were once considered Soviet citizens.
Fictional Soviet Union Books
Nonfiction Soviet Union Books
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