Gaito (Georgy Ivanovich) Gazdanov was born in St Petersburg on 23 November (New Style, 6 December) 1903. The date marked the start of a life often subject to hardship and poverty, as well as the tumultuous political upheavals of the twentieth century. Despite the privations of émigré life, however, Gazdanov would go on to become one of the most prominent literary figures of the Russian emigration’s young generation, his career encompassing nine complete novels, almost fifty short stories and dozens of critical essays, reviews and radio broadcasts.

Born into a Russified Ossetian family, Gazdanov himself knew almost nothing of the Ossetian language or culture, yet his family – particularly that of his father, Ivan Sergeyevich Gazdanov – was a prominent one in the Caucasus:

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Citation: Karetnyk, Bryan. "Gaito Gazdanov". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 16 December 2016 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=13808, accessed 28 March 2024.]

13808 Gaito Gazdanov 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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