Leonid Andreyev

Born in Oryol in 1871, Leonid Andreyev studied law before working as a journalist and turning to fiction and drama. His first collection of stories and short novels appeared in 1901, selling widely and quickly establishing him as one of Russia’s most prominent writers.

Andreyev’s writing explored fear, isolation, violence, faith, and the darker sides of human nature. His best-known works include The Red Laugh, The Seven Who Were Hanged, Judas Iscariot, and He Who Gets Slapped.

An idealist and political rebel, Andreyev opposed the Bolshevik Revolution and spent his final years in Finland. He died there in 1919, leaving behind a distinctive body of work that influenced Russian modernist and Expressionist writing.