author
Nicholas Kalashnikoff
1888–1961
A Siberian-born writer who turned revolution, exile, and life in the far north into vivid fiction, he brought unusual firsthand experience to his books. His best-known work, The Defender, earned a Newbery Honor and helped introduce young readers to the Arctic world he knew so well.
1 Audiobook
The defender
by Nicholas Kalashnikoff
About the author
Born in Minusinsk, Siberia, in 1888, Nicholas Kalashnikoff took part in the 1905 Russian Revolution and later spent years in political exile. During that period he joined an expedition to the far north, an experience that deeply shaped his writing and gave his stories a strong sense of place.
He moved to the United States in 1924 and wrote from the 1930s through the 1950s. His work often drew on Siberia and the Arctic, blending adventure, nature, and close observation of animals and people living in harsh landscapes.
Kalashnikoff is especially remembered for The Defender, which received a 1952 Newbery Honor. He died in 1961, leaving behind books that stand out for their rugged settings and the feeling that they were written by someone who had truly lived the world he described.