Tatiana Kudriavtseva

Tatiana Kudriavtseva (; 5 March 1920, in Leningrad – 29 September 2013, in Moscow) was a Russian editor and translator of American, English and French literature.

Early life Tatiana Alexseevna Kudriavtseva was born in Leningrad, in a middle-class family that was prosperous before the Russian Revolution. In the 1920s, her father, a merchant, was sent to a labour camp, and her mother had to work at an amusement centre to support her and her sister. She suffered from tuberculosis and didn't attend school until age 10.

She studied at Leningrad State University for two years before joining a language school, where she learned Japanese and English.

During the Second World War, Kudriavtseva worked in a military language institute. In 1941, she moved with the institute to Ferghana, where she continued her studies in Japanese. In 1943, graduating the institute as a senior lieutenant, she was assigned to the General Secretariat of the People's Commissariat of Foreign Affairs, where she worked with Vyacheslav Molotov, Andrey Vyshinsky, Vasily Sokolovsky and other historical figures. She was involved in the translation of important historical documents, including charters for unconditional surrender, and official minutes of meetings with the senior members of the Allies, among others Winston Churchill, W. Averell Harriman, George F. Kennan.

From her first marriage, to Yuri Semyonov, she had a daughter, Nina. He suffered from a political purge, and they later divorced. She married Nikolai Taube in 1950.

Later life Kudriavtseva's second husband died in 1984. She died of a heart ailment in Moscow on 29 September 2013.

Awards In 2002, Kudriavtseva was awarded the Association of American Publishers Prize for her contributions to literary translation.

Selected works Translations

Others