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Alexandra Popoff

Goodreads Author

Born

Moscow, Russian Federation

Website

http://www.russianliteratureandbiography.com/

Twitter

@AlexandraPopoff

Genre

Biography, Nonfiction

Member Since

August 2010

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ALEXANDRA POPOFF is a former Moscow journalist and Alfred Friendly Press Partners fellow. She is an expert on Russian cultural history and the author of five literary biographies, including the award-winning VASILY GROSSMAN (2019) and SOPHIA TOLSTOY (2010). Her book THE WIVES became a Wall Street Journal best non-fiction title for 2012. Popoff's latest book is a concise interpretive biography of AYN RAND ( Yale UP, Jewish Lives, 2024).

VASILY GROSSMAN AND THE SOVIET CENTURY won the 2019 Canadian Jewish Literary award for Biography, became a Finalist in the 2019 National Jewish Book Awards, Biography category, and was long-listed for the 2019 Cundill History Prize.

Popoff has written for The Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post, National Post, ...more

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Alexandra Popoff’s books

Average rating: 4.13 · 678 ratings · 127 reviews · 7 distinct works • Similar authors

	Vasily Grossman and the Soviet Century 4.33 avg rating — 206 ratings — published 2019 — 12 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Sophia Tolstoy: A Biography 4.17 avg rating — 206 ratings — published 2010 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Wives: The Women Behind Russia's Literary Giants 3.93 avg rating — 210 ratings — published 2012 — 13 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Tolstoy's False Disciple 4.15 avg rating — 33 ratings — published 2014 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Ayn Rand: Writing a Gospel of Success 3.64 avg rating — 22 ratings — published 2024 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Wives really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	As esposas: As mulheres nos bastidores da vida e obra de prodígios da literatura russa 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Anna Politkovskaya: ‘My Notes Are Written for the Future…’

When on October 7, twenty years ago, Anna Politkovskaya was assassinated for reporting the truth about Putin’s Russia, she became the third Novaya gazeta journalist to be killed. On the scale of the country, between 1992 ¬and 2006, she was 201st. Post-Soviet Russia was among the world’s most deadly countries for journalists, followed only by Iraq and Algeria. Anna knew the risks of her profession

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I Regret Almost Everything

by Keith McNally

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Sep 29, 2026 07:50PM

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Alexandra Popoff rated a book it was amazing The Conformist by Alberto Moravia	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I enjoyed Alberto Moravia’s descriptive style and vivid detail that create an illusion of reality; I was also impressed with his psychologically convincing characters. A brilliant anti-fascist novel, The Conformist is the story of a man who becomes a ...more
Oct 02, 2026 01:11PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Conformist by Alberto Moravia. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Conformist by Alberto Moravia <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Alexandra Popoff is currently reading I Regret Almost Everything by Keith McNally	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 29, 2026 07:50PM · like
Alexandra Popoff is currently reading The Conformist by Alberto Moravia	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Aug 10, 2026 06:15PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Conformist by Alberto Moravia. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Conformist by Alberto Moravia <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Alexandra Popoff rated a book really liked it Homelands: A Personal History of Europe by Timothy Garton Ash	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Aug 06, 2026 04:53PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Homelands by Timothy Garton Ash. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Homelands by Timothy Garton Ash <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Alexandra Popoff has read Doctor Faustus by Thomas Mann	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I remember taking delight in The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann. But that was years ago. Whether I changed and lost an ability to read with full attention or whether some novels can't outlive their time -- I have to admit, I couldn't finish Doctor Fau ...more
Jul 13, 2026 07:59AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Doctor Faustus by Thomas Mann. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Doctor Faustus by Thomas Mann <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Alexandra Popoff rated a book it was amazing Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945 by Tony Judt	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 21, 2026 06:37PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Postwar by Tony Judt. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Postwar by Tony Judt <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Alexandra Popoff finished reading Looking for Trouble by Virginia Cowles	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Mar 20, 2026 07:59AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Looking for Trouble by Virginia Cowles. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Looking for Trouble by Virginia Cowles <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Alexandra Popoff is currently reading Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945 by Tony Judt	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 10, 2026 05:47AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Postwar by Tony Judt. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Postwar by Tony Judt <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Alexandra Popoff rated a book it was amazing The Less You Know, the Better You Sleep: Russia's Road to Terror and Dictatorship under Yeltsin and Putin by David Satter	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
“To grasp the reality of Russia,” writes David Satter, “it is necessary to accept that Russian leaders really are capable of blowing up hundreds of their own people to preserve their hold on power. They really are capable of ordering an attack with f ...more
Feb 09, 2026 06:36PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Less You Know, the Better You Sleep by David Satter. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Less You Know, the Better You Sleep by David Satter <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Alexandra Popoff rated a book it was amazing Thinking the Twentieth Century by Tony Judt	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
In Thinking the Twentieth Century two major historians, Tony Judt and Timothy Snyder, discuss European intellectual history and ideas. Snyder, who first met Judt as an undergraduate, approached him in 2008 proposing this collaborative project. By the ...more
Jan 31, 2026 12:42PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Thinking the Twentieth Century by Tony Judt. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Thinking the Twentieth Century by Tony Judt <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

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Topics Mentioning This Author

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Discovering Russi...: Anna Karenina - Part Six - Chapters 1 - 32 (May 15 to 22)	12	31	May 26, 2012 08:28AM
The Reading For P...: What's on Your Monthly TBR?-May 2019	54	53	Jun 03, 2019 01:36PM
Reading the 20th ...: What books are you reading now? (2017-19)	2003	235	Jun 10, 2019 08:43PM
Reading the 20th ...: Stalingrad by Vasily Grossman (June/July 2019)	150	78	Jul 30, 2019 04:31AM
The Reading For P...: Chrissie's 2019 Books, Ratings and Reviews	258	103	Dec 31, 2019 06:03AM
Non Fiction Book ...: Non-Fiction Book You Are Currently Reading or Just Finished ~ 2019	1187	351	Dec 31, 2019 01:47PM

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