Akunin meaning of the word in Japan. Boris Akunin - biography, information, personal life

Name: Boris Akunin (Grigory Chkhartishvili)

Age: 62 years old

Height: 170

Activity: writer, playwright, translator, literary critic

Family status: married

Boris Akunin: biography

Boris Akunin - famous writer, famous for his series of books about a talented nobleman. Akunin’s historical and pseudo-historical works are distinguished by their particular authenticity, which is due not only to the writer’s talent, but also to his extensive knowledge. The author is a Japanese historian by training and devoted a lot of time to literary criticism.

At some point, Akunin gained such popularity that he became cramped within the confines of one name, from which they were expected to produce creative results in a certain genre. This is how two more “writers” appeared. For several years, Boris secretly published under the pseudonym Anatoly Brusnikin, as well as Anna Borisova. Akunin’s second selves also quickly reached the top sales. The writer needed this experiment in order to freely try out new styles and methods, and also to show the reader that popularity can come unexpectedly.

Childhood and youth

Grigory Shalvovich Chkhartishvili (that’s Akunin’s name in life) was born in a small Georgian town into the family of an artilleryman and a Russian language teacher. In 1958, the parents decided to move to Moscow. Little Gregory was enrolled in school No. 36 with an English bias.

In 1973, the future fiction writer graduated from school and entered the Institute of Asian and African Countries. He studied there until 1978. Fellow students recalled that in his youth the writer was known as the life of the party, a perfectionist and a favorite of girls. Now Boris does not have a full head of hair, but then the young man curly hair received the nickname Angel Davis, by analogy with the American human rights activist.

Having received a diploma in Japanese history, Boris began translating, as he was fluent in Japanese and English. He began translating publications by Japanese authors, in particular Kenji Maruyama, Shinichi Hoshi, Mishima Yukio and others. He continued publishing translated works and Anglo-American representatives of literary activity.

Books

The years 1994-2000 in the biography of Boris Akunin are devoted to his work at the Foreign Literature publishing house, where the writer served as editor (and then editor-in-chief) of the 20-volume Anthology Japanese literature" Afterwards he became chairman of the Pushkin Library project under the leadership of, or rather, his international charitable organization.

Publishes since 1998 fiction, signing B. Akunin. The transcript of part of the pseudonym “B” became known to readers as Boris after the interview. The loud nickname Akunin consists of several Japanese characters and in one of the works, in the novel of the Fandorin cycle “The Diamond Chariot”, it is interpreted as “a supporter of evil, a villain, a scoundrel.” The pseudonym is interpreted and how literary game with the name of the famous anarchist Bakunin.

A series of stories and detective novels “The Adventures of Erast Fandorin” brought Akunin fame and recognition. Among the first works of the new format is the novel “Azazel”. In the series of books about Fandorin, the author experiments with various detective subgenres. For example, "Leviathan" is a hermetic detective story (that is, the action takes place in a confined space, and the circle of suspects is clearly defined), and the subsequent "The Death of Achilles" is a high-society novel.

The author himself writes about the direction of a particular book and does not repeat it in subgenres; for this, Boris even introduces rather exotic designations, such as “Dickensian detective” or “high society detective”.

This series of books is personal. Main character, at the beginning of the story, the young nobleman Erast Fandorin, became one of the main “tricks” of the author. Akunin not only described the hero’s life from youth to old age, but also returned to it more than once in other series, describing the descendants of the Fandorins or parallel stories.

Erast Petrovich comes from a bankrupt noble family, he is forced to enlist in order to support himself, and later moves into the detective department. Fandorin does not have phenomenal intelligence or a special approach, but he is smart and observant, which makes his reasoning understandable and interesting for the reader. Distinctive features character is an excessive emotional detachment that appeared in him after death main love his life, and incredible luck in gambling. Fandorin always wins at poker and bets, and cannot die at Russian roulette.

Boris Akunin was nominated for the Booker-Smirnoff prize for the first time, but did not make it to the finals. Next came the “Anti-Booker” nomination, where the fiction writer received an award. The next award was given to the novel “Azazel” as part of the “New Detective” series. The work was included in short list British Crime Writers Association.

In the “Genres” series, the creator presented readers with several different formats of the fiction genre. If the adventure format “New Detective” is a reflection of a variety of detective genre, then in “Genres” a kind of experiment is taking place literary genres with a fictional twist. The title of the book corresponds literary family, and the “Children’s Book” becomes the pioneer, which is released into the retail network on February 4, 2004. Next, at a distance of a week, “Spy Romance”, “Fantasy” and “Quest” go on sale.

In January 2012, it became known that the previously absconding author popular works in the format of the historical novel “The Ninth Savior”, “Bellona”, “Hero of Another Time” and others is none other than Akunin himself. The novels are presented under the pseudonym Anatoly Brusnikin.

A number of novels by the famous fiction writer have been filmed. Among them are “Azazel,” the first book about Erast Fandorin, and “Pelagia.” The films “Turkish Gambit” and “State Councilor”, also dedicated to unusual life Fandorin. The 13th book in the “New Detective” series was the novel “The Whole World is a Theater.”

Boris Akunin is noted as the most readable author modern Russia. In 2008, the total circulation of his works exceeded 1.3 million copies, and, according to Forbes, from 2004 to 2005, Boris Akunin’s income amounted to $2 million. Akunin’s fiction has been translated into 35 languages ​​and published in Japan, the Netherlands, and Germany , Italy, Finland, France.

"Story Russian state"authored by Boris Akunin is a bestseller of the same name, a multi-volume answer to questions. The first volume "From Origins to Mongol invasion"was presented to the public in November 2013 and released in several versions: in a traditional paper version with several hundred color illustrations and maps, in a similar electronic version, an audiobook with dubbing, and a budget version digital format without accompanying illustrations. The second volume is entitled "Part of Asia. Horde period."

The book was created for people who want to learn more about the history of Russia, but have difficulty accepting the academic presentation. By creating the project, Boris Akunin pursues the goal of simply and clearly retelling the story in an objective, free dialect. At the same time, the literary scholar studied numerous sources, compared information, and eliminated doubtful or unconfirmed data.

A similar work became the benchmark for an accessible and easy-to-understand presentation.

Personal life

The personal life of Boris Akunin is not marked by loud and scandalous novels. The first wife of the famous fiction writer was Japanese. The couple met at the university where the writer studied. Boris got into a conversation with a charming graduate student during his next visit. Stories about the Land of the Rising Sun from the lips of a stranger captivated Akunin, and the girl was captivated Russian culture and came to know the mysterious Russian soul. However, representatives different cultures were endowed with no less strong characters, which soon affected life together. The family broke up.

After breaking up with the oriental beauty, Boris Akunin met his current beloved woman, Erika Ernestovna. In the photo and in life, the couple is happy and even somewhat similar. The wife is a professional editor, which allows her to run the family business together and not waste time looking for help.

Erica is responsible for communicating with agents, publishing houses and the press, which greatly facilitates the author's work process. Boris Akunin shares his doubts with his wife about this or that project. If a woman confirms the fiction writer’s doubts, then the fragment needs to be revised.

The family lives in complete harmony, the writer admits that he is truly happy. The couple has no children, but Akunin’s new books can be considered their joint brainchild.

In 2014, disagreeing with the policies of the Russian state, Boris and Erica moved to France. As the writer explained in an interview, in his environment for many years there was a mood described by the phrase “Well, sit with yours. When you grow wiser, call me.”

“The current political government is leading the country to destruction, to collapse. In terms of Russia's position in the world, this is a course towards deepening isolation of the country, towards contrasting it with the rest of the world. In perspective - iron curtain. But the people, the people, have no readiness and desire to oppose this regime,” says Akunin.

However, Boris says that he did not leave the country forever, so one should not call him an emigrant. Those who fear for their lives are emigrating from Russia own life. Akunin, according to him, is not in danger, and the family will return at any time, as soon as a suitable situation develops. Therefore, the writer still considers himself an expat.

Boris Akunin co-authored the public figure's program when he was planning to participate in the Russian presidential elections in 2018. At the same time, the fiction writer understood perfectly well that this candidate had no prospects, although the projects proposed by the oppositionist’s team would have found understanding among citizens. Foundation and Starting point changes in the event of Navalny’s victory would be the idea of ​​​​education and upbringing of a new generation, so that in 20 years the country would be populated by accomplished and successful people.

Boris Akunin now

In 2018, the “New Detective” series was replenished with another novel about detective Fandorin, the last, as Boris wrote on the page in

Biography

Real name is Grigory Shalvovich Chkhartishvili. Russian writer, Japanese scholar, literary critic and translator. Your artistic literary works publishes under the pseudonym Boris Akunin.

The writer was born from a Georgian father and a Jewish mother on May 20, 1956 in Georgia. Since 1958 he has lived in Moscow. Graduated in 1973 English school No. 36. Graduated from the historical and philological department of the Institute of Asian and African Countries (MSU), has a diploma in Japanese history. Engaged in literary translation from Japanese and English languages. Chkhartishvili's translation was published by Japanese authors Yukio Mishima, Kenji Maruyama, Yasushi Inoue, Masahiko Shimada, Kobo Abe, Shinichi Hoshi, Takeshi Kaiko, Shohei Ooka, as well as representatives of the American and English literature(Coragessan Boyle, Malcolm Bradbury, Peter Ustinov, etc.)

Worked as deputy editor-in-chief of the journal “Foreign Literature” (1994-2000), Chief Editor 20-volume Anthology of Japanese Literature, Chairman of the Board of the Pushkin Library megaproject (Soros Foundation).

Since 1998, Grigory Chkhartishvili has been writing fiction under the pseudonym “Boris Akunin”. Japanese word"Akunin" does not have an adequate translation into Russian. It can be roughly translated as “ evil person", "robber", "a man who does not keep the laws", but this noble robber. More information about this word can be found in one of the books by B. Akunin (G. Chkhartishvili) “The Diamond Chariot”. Grigory Chkhartishvili publishes critical and documentary works under his real name.

In addition to the novels and stories from the series “New Detective” (“The Adventures of Erast Fandorin”) that brought him fame, Akunin created the series “Provincial Detective” (“The Adventures of Sister Pelagia”), “Adventures of the Master”, “Genres” and was the compiler of a collection of the most striking works of modern Western fiction writers “out of boredom.”

Boris Akunin is the pseudonym of the real writer Grigory Shalvovich Chkhartishvili, under which he writes his books. Gregory was born in Georgia in 1956 on May 20. His father is Georgian and his mother is Jewish. In 1958, the family went to live in Moscow. I went to study at school (English), which I graduated from in 1973. After - graduated from Moscow State University. He was educated as a Japanese historian. Grigory Shalvovich Chkhartishvili (Boris Akunin) became a Russian writer, literary critic, translator from Japanese and English.

Boris Akunin translated English and Japanese works of writers. With its help, the translation and printing of such Japanese authors as Yasushi Inoue, Shohei Ooka, Kenji Maruyama and others were carried out. English and American writers also did not go unnoticed. Translated by Peter Ustinov, Coraghessan Boyle and others.

From 1994 to 2000, Akunin worked hard at the journal Foreign Literature as editor-in-chief. Under his leadership, the 20-volume collection “Anthologies of Japanese Literature” was published. He made a direct contribution to the idea of ​​the Pushkin Library.

Since 1998, for the first time, the author has published his prose book under his pseudonym Boris Akunin. The word "Akunin", which the author took as his last name, does not have a normal translation from Japanese. It roughly translates as follows: a person who does not observe the laws, an evil person, a robber.

The writer became famous for his novel “The Adventures of Erast Fandorin.” Boris is also the author of the series “Provincial Detective”, “Genres” and “Adventures of the Master”.

Boris Akunin
Grigory Shalvovich Chkhartishvili
Nicknames: Boris Akunin
Date of birth: May 20, 1956
Place of birth: Zestafoni, Georgian SSR, USSR
Citizenship: USSR, Russia Russia
Occupation: novelist, playwright, translator, literary critic
Genre: detective

Grigory Chkhartishvili engaged in literary translation from Japanese and English. Chkhartishvili's translation has been published by Japanese authors Mishima Yukio, Kenji Maruyama, Yasushi Inoue, Masahiko Shimada, Kobo Abe, Shinichi Hoshi, Takeshi Kaiko, Shohei Ooka, as well as representatives of American and English literature (T. Coragessan Boyle, Malcolm Bradbury, Peter Ustinov, etc. .)

Boris Akunin worked as deputy editor-in-chief of the journal “Foreign Literature” (1994-2000), editor-in-chief of the 20-volume “Anthology of Japanese Literature”, chairman of the board of the mega-project “Pushkin Library” (Soros Foundation).

Since 1998 Grigory Chkhartishvili writes fiction under the pseudonym " B. Akunin" The decoding of “B” as “Boris” appeared a few years later, when the writer began to be frequently interviewed. The Japanese word "akunin" (悪人) roughly corresponds to "a villain who is a strong and strong-willed person." You can find out more about this word in one of books by B. Akunin(G. Chkhartishvili) “Diamond Chariot.” Grigory Chkhartishvili publishes critical and documentary works under his real name.

In addition to the novels and stories from the “New Detective” series (“The Adventures of Erast Fandorin”) that brought him fame, Akunin created the series “Provincial Detective” (“The Adventures of Sister Pelagia”), “The Adventures of the Master”, “Genres” and was the compiler of the series “Cure for Boredom”.
April 29, 2009 Boris Akunin became a Knight of the Order of the Rising Sun, fourth degree. The award ceremony took place on May 20 at the Japanese Embassy in Moscow.
August 10, 2009 for his contribution to the development of cultural relations between Russia and Japan Boris Akunin was awarded the prize of the Japan Foundation, operating under the auspices of the government.

Married. First wife of Boris Akunin- Japanese woman with whom Akunin lived for several years. The second wife, Erika Ernestovna, is a proofreader and translator. Have no children.

Works
Under the pseudonym Boris Akunin
The years in which the book takes place are given in parentheses.
* New detective (the adventures of Erast Fandorin)
1. 1998 - Azazel (1876)
2. 1998 - Turkish Gambit (1877)
3. 1998 - Leviathan (1878)
4. 1998 - Death of Achilles (1882)
5. 1999 - Jack of Spades (collection “Special Assignments”) (1886)
6. 1999 - Decorator (collection “Special Assignments”) (1889)
7. 1999 - State Councilor (1891)
8. 2000 - Coronation, or the Last of the Novels (1896)
9. 2001 - Mistress of Death (1900)
10. 2001 - Lover of Death (1900)
11. 2003 - Diamond Chariot (1878 and 1905)
12. 2007 - Jade Rosary (Remakes of classic detective stories) (1881-1900)
13. 2009 - The whole world theater (1911)
14. 2009 - Hunting Odysseus (1914)

* Provincial detective (the adventures of sister Pelagia)
1. 2000 - Pelagia and the white bulldog
2. 2001 - Pelagia and the black monk
3. 2003 - Pelagia and the red rooster

* Adventures of the Master (the descendants and ancestors of Erast Fandorin act in the cycle)

1. 2000 - Altyn-tolobas (1995, 1675-1676)
2. 2002 - extracurricular reading(2001, 1795)
3. 2006 - F. M. (2006, 1865)
4. 2009 - Falcon and Swallow (2009, 1702)

* Genres (descendants and ancestors of Erast Fandorin sometimes act in the cycle)
1. 2005 - Children's book (future, 2006, 1914, 1605-1606)
2. 2005 - Spy novel (1941)
3. 2005 - Science Fiction (1980-1991)
4. 2008 - Quest (1930, 1812)

* Death to Brudershaft
1. 2007 - Baby and the Devil, Flour broken heart(1914)
2. 2008 - Flying Elephant, Children of the Moon (1915)
3. 2009 - A strange man, Thunder of victory, ring out! (1915, 1916)
4. 2010 - “Maria”, Maria..., Nothing Sacred (1916)
5. 2011 - Operation Transit, Battalion of Angels (1917)

* Selected books
1. 2000 - Fairy tales for idiots
2. 2000 - Seagull
3. 2002 - Comedy/Tragedy
4. 2006 - Yin and Yang (with the participation of Erast Fandorin)

Under the pseudonym Anatoly Brusnikin
1. 2007 - Ninth Spas
2. 2010 - Hero of another time
3. 2012 - Bellona

Under the pseudonym Anna Borisova
1. 2008 - Creative
2. 2010 - There
3. 2011 - Time of year

Under your real name
* 1997 - Writer and suicide (M.: Novoe literary review, 1999; 2nd edition - M.: “Zakharov” 2006)
« Collaborative creativity B. Akunina and G. Chkhartishvili"
* 2004 - Cemetery stories(Fandorin acts in one of the stories)

Confirmed authorship of Boris Akunin
On January 11, 2012, Boris Akunin confirmed in his LiveJournal blog that he is the author, hiding under the pseudonym Anatoly Brusnikin. In addition, he revealed that he is also the author of novels under the female pseudonym “Anna Borisova” “There ...”, “Creative” and “Vremena goda”.
In November 2007, the AST publishing house published the historical adventure novel “The Nine Savior,” authored by Anatoly Brusnikin. Despite the fact that Brusnikin was hitherto unknown as an author, the publishing house spent a lot of money on advertising campaign novel, which immediately gave rise to rumors that one of the famous Russian writers was hiding under the pseudonym Brusnikin.

Suspicion also fell on Boris Akunin. Textological and stylistic analysis the novel allows us to trace some similarities with the language of Akunin and literary devices, used by him. This may mean both that Akunin is the author of the novel, and that he may have taken part in its creation. Moreover, A. O. Brusnikin is an anagram of the name Boris Akunin. AST also published a photograph of Brusnikin, the man in which may resemble Boris Akunin in his youth. In an absentee interview, Brusnikin claims that this is his real name, and that he is a historian - the author of a monograph, however, the monograph of the historian Anatoly Brusnikin is not listed in the RSL catalogs.
After the release of the novel, writer Elena Chudinova accused AST of the fact that “The Ninth Savior” is an unsuccessful plagiarism from her novel “Casket”, previously offered to the publishing house, but rejected by it, allegedly due to the commercial futility of the topic (an adventure-fantasy novel, the action of which takes place in the 18th century). Elena Chudinova herself believes that “The Ninth Savior” was written by a team of “literary blacks,” and the rumors that appeared in the press about Akunin’s authorship are one of the publicity stunts.

Film adaptations
* 2001 - Azazel (directed by Alexander Adabashyan)
* 2004 - Turkish Gambit (director Dzhanik Fayziev)
* 2005 - State Councilor (director Philip Yankovsky)
* 2009 - Pelagia and the White Bulldog (director Yuri Moroz)
* 2012 - The Winter Queen (directed by Fyodor Bondarchuk) [film adaptation of the novel Azazel]
* 2012 - Spy (director Alexey Andrianov) [film adaptation of the work Spy Novel]

Translations
* Mishima Yukio “Golden Temple”
* Mishima Yukio “Confession of a Mask”
* Mishima Yukio "Death in Midsummer"
* Mishima Yukio “Patriotism”
* Yukio Mishima “Love of the Holy Elder of Shiga Temple”
* Mishima Yukio “Sea and Sunset”
* Mishima Yukio "My Friend Hitler"
* Mishima Yukio “Marquise de Sade”
* Mishima Yukio “Handan Pillow”
* Mishima Yukio “Brocade Drum”
* Mishima Yukio “Tombstone of Komachi”
* Mishima Yukio “Sun and Steel”
* Yukio Mishima “Sound of Water”

Political views of Boris Akunin
Grigory Chkhartishvili is known for his harsh statements and criticism of Russian authorities. Thus, in an interview with the Libération newspaper, Chkhartishvili compared Putin to Emperor Caligula, “who preferred to be feared more than loved.”
The writer spoke of the YUKOS case as “the most shameful page of the post-Soviet court.” After the second verdict was handed down to M. Khodorkovsky and P. Lebedev in December 2010, he proposed a plan for the “amputination” of Russia.

After the announcement of the results of the State Duma elections (2011), Boris Akunin noted:
The main circus awaits us ahead. Now the candidate for lifelong ruler will come to the fore. All the rotten tomatoes will fly not to the fake party, but to him personally, his dear and beloved. For three months, stupid sycophants from Putin’s entourage will stimulate the population to vomit with their propaganda. And pay him, the poor thing.
He will travel around the country and meet with voters. Whistle for him, he loves it. And envy the Muscovites. We have a wonderful opportunity to blow all the horns when the national leader rushes past the paralyzed traffic flows. Doo-doo, Vladimir Vladimirovich. Can you hear our voices? And then let the press secretary explain that these are the sounds of popular rejoicing.

A situation will inevitably arise when the lower classes no longer want it, the upper classes have completely decayed, and the money has run out. The country will be in turmoil. It will be too late for you to leave on good terms, and you will order to shoot, and blood will be shed, but you will be thrown off anyway. I don't wish you the fate of Muammar Gaddafi, honestly. Let's mow it down while there's still time, eh? A plausible excuse is always found. Health problems, family circumstances, the appearance of the archangel. You would hand over the reins to your successor (you don’t know how to do it any other way), and he would take care of your peaceful old age. - Boris Akunin predicts the fate of Gaddafi for Putin, 12/06/2011.
In January 2012, Boris Akunin became one of the founders of the socio-political organization League of Voters, the purpose of which is to monitor compliance with voting rights citizens.

Interesting facts about Boris Akunin
* In the book Jack of Spades, one of the heroines during the “operation” is called “Princess Chkhartishvili” (Chkhartishvili - real name Akunina).
* Often in books with the participation of E. P. Fandorin the surname “Mobius” appears. Some people appear under this name minor characters, and sometimes this name simply appears on a sign with the name of a company (for example, an insurance office). What “Mobius” has in common is that they always appear “behind the scenes”, that is, they either do not have any influence on the plot at all, or we learn about them from the words of other characters.
* In the novel “Coronation” from the cycle about E. P. Fandorin, there is an English butler named Freyby. If you type his last name in English (while leaving the Russian keyboard layout enabled), you will get the pseudonym of the author of the book.
* In most books from the series “The Adventures of Erast Fandorin” by the publishing house “Zakharov” (except “State Councilor”, “Turkish Gambit”, “The Diamond Chariot”) a portrait of Boris Akunin is present on the first pages. He is portrayed as minor characters novels.
* The vast majority of Akunin’s works contain English characters.

Boris Akunin(pseudonym, true name Grigory Shalvovich Chkhartishvili) - Russian writer, essayist, literary translator, critic, fiction writer, Japanese scholar and literary critic.

Grigory Shalvovich Chkhartishvili was born on May 20, 1956 in Tbilisi (Georgia). Since 1958 he has lived in Moscow. Studied at schools No. 23 and 36.

Impressed by Japanese theater Kabuki entered the historical and philological department of the Institute of Asian and African States of Moscow State University and became a Japanese specialist. He was engaged in literary translation from Japanese and British languages. Chkhartishvili's translation was published by Japanese creators Yukio Mishima, Kenji Maruyama, Yasushi Inoue, Masahiko Shimada, Kobo Abe, Shinichi Hoshi, Takeshi Kaiko, Shohei Ooka and others.

Akunin became the creator of the book “The Writer and Suicide” (M.: New Literary Review, 1999), a huge number of literary critical articles, and translated, in addition to Japanese authors, famous works American and British literature (Coragessan Boyle, Malcolm Bradbury, Peter Ustinov, etc.).

He worked as deputy chief editor of the journal “Foreign Literature” (1999-2000), editor-in-chief of the 20-volume “Anthology of Japanese Literature”, chairman of the board of the mega-project “Pushkin Library” (Soros Foundation). In early October 2000, he left the magazine “Foreign Literature” to work only on fiction.

Since 1998, Grigory Chkhartishvili has been writing fiction under the pseudonym “Boris Akunin”. Japanese word "akunin", according to the writer himself, does not have an adequate translation into Russian language. It can be roughly translated as “evil man”, “robber”, “man who does not observe the laws”. You can find out more about this word in one of B. Akunin’s books “The Diamond Chariot”.

In addition to the novels and stories from the series “The Adventures of Erast Fandorin” that brought him fame, Akunin made the series “The Adventures of Sister Pelagia”, “The Adventures of the Master”, “Genres” and was the compiler of a collection of the most striking works of modern Western fiction writers “The Cure for Boredom”.

Grigory Chkhartishvili publishes critical and documentary works under his real name.

In 2000, B. Akunin was nominated for the Smirnoff-Booker 2000 Prize for Coronation, but was not among the finalists. In September 2000, on Stolichnaya book fair was named Russian writer of the year. Winner of the Anti-Booker Prize for 2000 for the novel Coronation.

Books about Erast Fandorin were published in Italy, France, the Land of the Rising Sun and other countries.

Web sites, dedicated to creativity Boris Akunin, free libraries where you can find and download his works, online stores where you can purchase these books:

Source of material Internet site

Boris Akunin (real name - Grigory Shalvovich Chkhartishvili). Born on May 20, 1956 in Zestafoni, Georgian SSR. Russian writer, Japanese scholar, literary critic, translator, public figure. He also published under the literary pseudonyms Anna Borisova and Anatoly Brusnikin.

Grigory Chkhartishvili was born into the family of artillery officer Shalva Chkhartishvili and teacher of Russian language and literature Berta Isaakovna Brazinskaya (1921-2007).

In 1958, the family moved to Moscow. In 1973 he graduated from school No. 36 with in-depth study of the English language, and in 1978 he graduated from the historical and philological department of the Institute of Asian and African Countries (MSU).

He was engaged in literary translation from Japanese and English. Chkhartishvili's translation has been published by Japanese authors Mishima Yukio, Kenji Maruyama, Yasushi Inoue, Masahiko Shimada, Kobo Abe, Shinichi Hoshi, Takeshi Kaiko, Shohei Ooka, as well as representatives of American and English literature (T. Coragessan Boyle, Malcolm Bradbury, Peter Ustinov, etc. .).

He worked as deputy editor-in-chief of the journal “Foreign Literature” (1994-2000), editor-in-chief of the 20-volume “Anthology of Japanese Literature”, chairman of the board of the mega-project “Pushkin Library” (Soros Foundation). Since 1998, he has been writing fiction under the pseudonym “B. Akunin." The decoding of “B” as “Boris” appeared a few years later, when the writer began to be frequently interviewed. The Japanese word "akunin" (Japanese: 悪人), according to one of literary heroes Chkhartishvili (in the novel “The Diamond Chariot”), translated as “scoundrel, villain,” but of gigantic proportions, in other words, outstanding personality, standing on the side of evil. He publishes critical and documentary works under his real name.

In addition to the novels and stories from the series “New Detective” (“The Adventures of Erast Fandorin”) that brought him fame, Akunin created the series “Provincial Detective” (“The Adventures of Sister Pelagia”), “Adventures of the Master”, “Genres” and was the compiler of the series “Medicine” boredom". In 2000, Akunin was nominated for the Booker-Smirnoff Prize for his novel Coronation, or the Last of the Novels, but was not included in the finalists. At the same time, in the same year he was nominated and won the Anti-Booker Award with Coronation. In 2003, the novel “Azazel” was shortlisted for the British Crime Writers Association in the “Golden Dagger” section.

Boris Akunin in his books makes interesting references to historical events, recursions and turns of phrase. In the book “Jack of Spades,” one of the heroines is called “Princess Chkhartishvili” during the “operation.”

Often in books with the participation of E. P. Fandorin the surname “Mobius” appears. Some minor characters appear under this surname, and sometimes this surname simply appears on a sign with the name of a company (for example, an insurance office). What “Mobius” has in common is that they always appear “behind the scenes”, that is, they either do not have any influence on the plot at all, or we learn about them from the words of other characters.

In the novel “Coronation” from the cycle about E. P. Fandorin, there is an English butler named Freyby. If you type his last name in English (while leaving the Russian keyboard layout enabled), you will get the pseudonym of the author of the book.

In most of the books from the series “The Adventures of Erast Fandorin” by the publishing house “Zakharov” (except “State Councilor”, “Turkish Gambit”) a portrait of Boris Akunin is present on the first pages. He is portrayed as minor characters in the novels.

The vast majority of Akunin's works contain English characters.

From the novels “Extracurricular Reading” and “Quest” it becomes known that the real ancestor of Erast Fandorin is not Samson Fandorin, but Dmitry Karpov, adopted by Danila Fandorin instead of his missing son Samson and hidden by him from his enemies under the name of the latter. Accordingly, this branch of the Fandorins is not directly related to the von Dorn family.

On January 11, 2012, Boris Akunin confirmed in his LiveJournal blog that he is the author, hiding under the pseudonym Anatoly Brusnikin. Three were published under this name historical novels: “The Ninth Savior”, “Hero of Another Time” and “Bellona”. In addition, he revealed that he is also the author of novels under the female pseudonym Anna Borisova: “There ...”, “Creative” and “Vremena goda”.

Socio-political position of Boris Akunin

Known for his harsh statements and criticism of the Russian government. In an interview with the newspaper Libération, Chkhartishvili compared Putin to Emperor Caligula, “who preferred to be feared more than loved.”

The writer spoke of the YUKOS case as “the most shameful page of the post-Soviet court.” After the second verdict was handed down to M. Khodorkovsky and P. Lebedev in December 2010, he proposed a plan for the “amputination” of Russia.

In January 2012, Grigory Chkhartishvili became one of the founders of the socio-political organization League of Voters, the purpose of which is to monitor compliance with the electoral rights of citizens. The same year he acted as a commentator on the political situation in the film “Swamp Fever.”

Personal life of Boris Akunin:

Was married twice. Have no children.

The first wife is Japanese, with whom Akunin lived for several years.

Second wife - Erika Ernestovna, proofreader and translator.

Film adaptations of works by Boris Akunin:

2001 - Azazel (director Alexander Adabashyan)
2004 - Turkish Gambit (director Dzhanik Fayziev)
2005 - State Councilor (director Philip Yankovsky)
2009 - Pelagia and the White Bulldog (director Yuri Moroz)
2012 - Spy (director Alexey Andrianov)
2017 - Decorator (director Anton Bormatov)