In 1987, he won the Nobel Prize for Literature, the fifth Russian-born writer to do so.

April 6 - Igor Birman, 85, Russian-born American writer and economist.

May 8 - Romain Gary, Russian-born writer and diplomat (d. 1980)

Moissaye Joseph Olgin (1878-1939) was a Russian-born writer, journalist, and translator in the early 20th century.

Svetlana Alliluyeva, Russian-born American writer (b. 1926)

February 5 - Lou Andreas-Salome, Russian-born writer (b. 1861)

April 22 - Vladimir Nabokov, Russian-born writer (d. 1977)

May 8 - Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, Russian-born writer and theosophist (b. 1831)

Nina Arkina (1891 - 1980) was a Russian-born Norwegian writer.

July 2 - Vladimir Nabokov, Russian-born writer (Lolita) (b. 1899)