Gaito Gazdanov

Gaito Gazdanov
Gazdanov in Paris, c. 1920s
Native name
  • Гайто́ Газда́нов
  • Гӕздӕнты Гайто
Born
Georgii Ivanovich Gazdanov

6 December [O.S. 23 November] 1902
Died6 December 1971(1971-12-06) (aged 68)
Occupationshort story writer, novelist, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty editor
CitizenshipRussian Empire (1899–1917)
France (1920–1971)
Notable worksAn Evening with Claire
The Specter of Alexander Wolf
Night Roads

Gaito Gazdanov Russian: Гайто́ Газда́нов; Ossetian: Гӕздӕнты Гайто; 6 December [O.S. 23 November] 1902 – 5 December 1971) was a Russian émigré writer of Ossetian descent, who lived in Paris. Gazdanov's first stories were published in France in 1926 in Russian. His novels An Evening with Claire (1929) and The Spectre of Alexander Wolf (1948) became his most well-known works, mentioned by writers Maxim Gorky, Ivan Bunin and Vladislav Khodasevich. Gazdanov was a member of the French Resistance in occupied France. In 1953, he joined Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty as an editor. Although he learned perfect French whilst living in France, Gazdanov continued writing stories in Russian.