About Lilianna Lungina
Lived 1920 – 1998 (aged 77). Lilianna Lungina was a Russian translator, philologist and writer.
Lilianna Zinovyevna Lungina (; 16 June 1920 Smolensk, Russia – 13 January 1998 Moscow, Russia ) was a Russian translator from French, German, Norwegian, Danish and Swedish languages. She translated into Russian: tales by Astrid Lindgren, plays by August Strindberg and Henrik Ibsen, stories by Heinrich Böll, novels by Boris Vian and Romain Gary, works of Friedrich Schiller, Knut Hamsun, Herman Bang, Gerhart Hauptmann, Colette and many others
She is the subject of a 15-episode TV documentary "Podstrochnik" ("Translation") by director . The documentary was forbidden from showing for 11 years but after the release became a TV hit that won the TEFI prize in 2010. Her monologue has been published as a book Word for Word: A Memoir, which also contains the text that had not been included in the documentary. The book was a bestseller in Russia.
She was the wife of the screenwriter Semen Lungin (1920–96) and the mother of film director Pavel Lungin.
Books Word for Word: A Translator's Memoir of Literature, Politics, and Survival in Soviet Russia. - Lilianna Lungina as told to Oleg Dorman. [Translated from the Russian by Polly Gannon and Ast. A. Moore.] London: Overlook Duckworth, 2014. Les saisons de Moscou : 1933-1990 : racontées à Claude Kiejman par Lila Lounguina. Paris: Plon, 1990.
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Important facts
People in Lilianna Lungina's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Lilianna Lungina's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Lilianna Lungina?
Russian translator (1920–1998)
When was Lilianna Lungina born?
Lilianna Lungina was born on 16 June 1920 in Smolensk.
When did Lilianna Lungina die?
Lilianna Lungina died on 13 January 1998 in Moscow.
What was Lilianna Lungina's occupation?
Lilianna Lungina was a translator, philologist and writer.
What nationality was Lilianna Lungina?
Lilianna Lungina was Russian.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Lilianna Lungina. https://biography.guide/lilianna-lungina/
MLA: "Lilianna Lungina." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/lilianna-lungina/.
Chicago: "Lilianna Lungina." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/lilianna-lungina/.
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