Vladimir MakaninVLADIMIR MAKANIN, born in the Russian Urals in 1937, came to prominence during the Khrushchev 'Thaw' but fell out of favor until Glasnost and Perestroika meant the end of heavy Soviet-era censorship. Baize-Covered Table with Decanter won the first pot-Soviet Russian Booker Prize, and was published by Readers International as his first full-length book in English. In the 1990s Makanin achieved major recognition at home and abroad, including translation into French, German and Italian. He later won the Big Book Award for Asan, his novel exposing the corruption of the Chechen War and in 2012 won the European Prize for Literature. He died in 2017, and is revered as one of Russia's greatest modern writers. Read More Read Less