Boris Pasternak

Boris Pasternak (1890 – 1960) was far more than just the writer of Doctor Zhivago (1957). He rose to prominence in Russia with two poetry collections including Themes and Variations (1922) which established him as a leading figure in the literary landscape. He also translated Verlaine, Swinburne, Shelley and Shakespeare as well as the work of Georgian poets. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1958.