# List of Russian women writers

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
* 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
* 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
* Varvara Annenkova (1795–1866), prominent poet
* Alexandra Nikitichna Annenskaya (1840–1915), translator and writer of feminist novels
* Olga Anstei (1912–1985), writer about the Holocaust
* 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
* 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