Vladimir Makanin (1937–2017) was born in the city of Orsk, in the Urals, and lived in Moscow. He wrote many short stories, novellas, and novels over a span of more than forty years, including the novels Asan (2008) and Underground, or Hero of Our Time (1999). He won the 1993 Booker Russian Prize, the 1998 Pushkin Prize, and the 2012 European Prize for Literature.