Origins & Early Life

Gaito Gazdanov Russian: Гайто́ Газда́нов; Iron Ossetic: Гӕздӕнты Гайто; 6 December [O.S. 23 November] 1903 – 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.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

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. Georgii Ivanovich Gazdanov (Russian: Гайто́ Ива́нович Газда́нов; Iron Ossetic: Гӕздӕнты Иваны фырт Георгий) was born in 1903 in Saint Petersburg but was brought up in Siberia and Ukraine, where his father worked as a forester. His father was from Ossetia, a North Caucasian region within the Russian Empire.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

He took part in the Russian Civil War on the side of Wrangel's White Army. In 1920, he left Russia and settled in Paris, where he was employed in the Renault factories. His early short...

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