Alexandra Marinina
Encyclopedia
Alexandra Marinina is a best-selling Russia
n writer of detective stories
.
, Ukraine
to a family of lawyers. She lived in Leningrad
until 1971 and has lived in Moscow
since then. She received a degree in law from the Moscow State University
in 1979.
From 1979 to 1998 she worked in research and education units of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD)
. She studied the personality of criminals with anomalies of mentality and criminals who have committed repeated violent crimes, earning a Ph.D. (Kandidat
of Law degree) in 1986. She resigned from the militsiya
system (a semi-formal term for the set of MVD organizations) in February, 1998 to become a full-time writer. Before her resignation, she had the rank of the lieutenant colonel
of militsiya.
Marinina started writing in 1991, when, together with her colleague Alexander Gorky, she wrote a detective story that was published in magazine Militsiya. In December 1992, she finished her first novel Confluence of Circumstances which was also published in Militsiya magazine, in 1993.
She has written over 30 novels, published in over 17 million copies and translated into over 20 languages. (The only English translation presently available is of her Confluence of Circumstances, which was published in Soviet & Post-Soviet Review, Vol. 29, 2002.) Most of her novels have a common central character Anastasia (Nastya) Kamenskaya. A television series Kamenskaya based on eight of Marinina's novels was shown on national Russian TV, and also in Latvia
, Lithuania
, Ukraine, Poland
, Germany
and France.
Marinina has received several awards. In 1995 Marinina received the prize of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the best book about the work of the Russian militsiya, for the books Death for the Sake of Death and Away Game. She was recognized as "The Writer of Year" by the 1998 Moscow International Book Fair, based on the sales of the books in 1997, and received an award from Ogonyok
magazine for "Success of the Year" in 1998.
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n writer of detective stories
Detective Story
Detective Story is a film noir which tells the story of one day in the lives of the various people who populate a police detective squad. It features Kirk Douglas, Eleanor Parker, William Bendix, Cathy O'Donnell, Lee Grant, among others. The movie was adapted by Robert Wyler and Philip Yordan...
.
Biography
Marinina was born in LvivLviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
to a family of lawyers. She lived in Leningrad
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
until 1971 and has lived in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
since then. She received a degree in law from the Moscow State University
Moscow State University
Lomonosov Moscow State University , previously known as Lomonosov University or MSU , is the largest university in Russia. Founded in 1755, it also claims to be one of the oldest university in Russia and to have the tallest educational building in the world. Its current rector is Viktor Sadovnichiy...
in 1979.
From 1979 to 1998 she worked in research and education units of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD)
Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs
The Ministerstvo Vnutrennikh Del is the interior ministry of Russia. Its predecessor was founded in 1802 by Alexander I in Imperial Russia...
. She studied the personality of criminals with anomalies of mentality and criminals who have committed repeated violent crimes, earning a Ph.D. (Kandidat
Kandidat
The Candidate of Sciences degree is a first post-graduate scientific degree in some former Eastern Bloc countries, such as Russia and Ukraine, which is awarded for original research that constitutes a significant contribution to a scientific field. The degree was first introduced in the USSR on...
of Law degree) in 1986. She resigned from the militsiya
Militsiya
Militsiya or militia is used as an official name of the civilian police in several former communist states, despite its original military connotation...
system (a semi-formal term for the set of MVD organizations) in February, 1998 to become a full-time writer. Before her resignation, she had the rank of the lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
of militsiya.
Marinina started writing in 1991, when, together with her colleague Alexander Gorky, she wrote a detective story that was published in magazine Militsiya. In December 1992, she finished her first novel Confluence of Circumstances which was also published in Militsiya magazine, in 1993.
She has written over 30 novels, published in over 17 million copies and translated into over 20 languages. (The only English translation presently available is of her Confluence of Circumstances, which was published in Soviet & Post-Soviet Review, Vol. 29, 2002.) Most of her novels have a common central character Anastasia (Nastya) Kamenskaya. A television series Kamenskaya based on eight of Marinina's novels was shown on national Russian TV, and also in Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
, Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
, Ukraine, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and France.
Marinina has received several awards. In 1995 Marinina received the prize of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the best book about the work of the Russian militsiya, for the books Death for the Sake of Death and Away Game. She was recognized as "The Writer of Year" by the 1998 Moscow International Book Fair, based on the sales of the books in 1997, and received an award from Ogonyok
Ogonyok
Ogoniok is one of the oldest weekly illustrated magazines in Russia, issued since . It was re-established in the Soviet Union in 1923 by Mikhail Koltsov....
magazine for "Success of the Year" in 1998.