Being Ivanov: Fifteen Years of Dialogue with Readers

This collection is the result of a 15-year dialogue between writer Alexei Ivanov and his readers. Initially, it was a correspondence in questions and answers, then it evolved into an online format and transformed into a multifaceted analysis of our life and the processes occurring in politics, economics, journalism, culture, and the craft of writing. One of the most famous and prominent prose writers of our time, who released the documentary film ‘Spine of Russia’ in 2010 on Channel One together with Leonid Parfyonov, the author of the adapted novel ‘The Geographer Drank His Globe Away’, bestsellers ‘Tobol’, ‘Canteen’, ‘Heart of Parma’ and many others, approaches conversations with his numerous readers very seriously. Many often uncomfortable, unusual, sharp, and even provocative questions provided an opportunity for the author to voice his thoughts and revealed a very interesting slice of topics concerning our compatriots. Alexei Ivanov clearly defines the hierarchy of his interests and spheres of influence: ‘Where conversations about politics begin, conversations about culture immediately end. And a writer is still a social agent of culture, not politics.’ This dynamic and very lively book will attract not only the author’s fans but also all those interested in how and what the country and its inhabitants are living with today.