Elvira Valeryevna Baryakina (listed in the registry of foreign agents) (born November 9, 1975, Nizhny Novgorod) is a Russian writer living in the United States; the author of historical novels about the revolution and emigration, as well as textbooks on the craft of writing. She has been designated a foreign agent by Russia's Ministry of Justice.[4]

Nizhny Novgorod Years

Baryakina was born and raised in Nizhny Novgorod. She graduated from the law faculty of Nizhny Novgorod State University, after which she worked as a defense attorney and corporate lawyer, while also collaborating with television and publishing articles in newspapers and magazines.[1][4] Her first work of fiction, the novella "Fish in a Kettle," written in collaboration with Anna Kapranova, was published in installments in 1998 in the newspaper Sdelay Sam.[1] In 2001, the publisher Eksmo released two more novellas written with Kapranova — "Coffin with Music" and "Tender Attraction by the Ears" — as well as Baryakina's own psychological thriller "Russian Nikita."[5] In 2002, the writer moved to the United States.[1]

Work

Baryakina's main literary project is the historical trilogy "The Stormy Era," set against the backdrop of the revolution, the Civil War, and the early Soviet years. The novel "The Argentine" (2011) opens the series: its hero is a journalist from Buenos Aires who comes to Nizhny Novgorod in the summer of 1917 and ends up stuck in Russia for several years.[2] The next novel, "White Shanghai" (2010, Ripol Klassik publishing house), tells of the White émigré community in China.[1] The trilogy concludes with "The Soviet Prince" (2016, Eksmo), whose events take place in Moscow during the NEP era among foreign journalists.[1] In 2017, the Polish publisher Prószyński Media released a three-volume edition of the series in Polish.[1] Earlier, in early 2013, the British publisher Glagoslav published an English translation of "White Shanghai."[1]

Besides her fiction, Baryakina has published several children's books (the "When I Grow Up" series, 2007–2008, Arkaim Publishing House) and the dilogy "Agent Marge" (2008) — diary novels about the life of a Russian literary agent in the United States.[1]

Educational and Agency Work

In 2006, Baryakina created an educational online resource, "The Writer's Handbook," devoted to the intricacies of the publishing business in Russia and abroad; the site later gave rise to a book of the same name.[1][5] From 2006 to 2008 she worked as an independent literary agent, specializing in the rights to translate foreign works into Russian.[1] The textbook "Write and Earn" became one of her most popular books in the literary education segment.[3]

After the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Baryakina publicly declared her anti-war stance, which led to the end of her cooperation with Russian publishers. She subsequently switched to English. In 2025 she launched a YouTube channel about Russian politics, history, and culture; by November of that year the channel had gained more than 100,000 subscribers.[1]

Elvira Baryakina was added to the registry of foreign agents by decision of the Russian Ministry of Justice on May 29, 2026, on the basis of Article 7 of Federal Law No. 255-FZ of July 14, 2022, "On Control over the Activities of Persons Under Foreign Influence"[7].

Sources

  1. cyclowiki.org — Elvira Valeryevna Baryakina — Cyclopedia
  2. labirint.ru — Book: The Argentine. Russia's Prodigal Son — Elvira Baryakina. Buy the book, read reviews — Labirint
  3. chitai-gorod.ru — Elvira Baryakina — books, reviews, writer's biography 📖 Chitai-gorod
  4. moscowbooks.ru — Baryakina Elvira Valeryevna: buy the author's books in the "Moskva" online store
  5. litmir.club — Author: Baryakina Elvira Valeryevna — 11 books — Read, Download — Litmir Electronic Library
  6. eksmo.ru — Baryakina Elvira Valeryevna: author biography, new releases, photos — Eksmo
  7. minjust.gov.ru — Register of Foreign Agents — Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation, entry No. 1209 (archive)