Surprisingly little is known about Alexander Belyaev, who bears the title of “classic of Soviet science fiction,” and modern biographical information about him is full of inaccuracies. He, a graduate of a theological seminary and a law lyceum, worked in court, played in the theater, was a journalist and even a policeman. After a confluence of tragic circumstances, including a serious illness that periodically confined him to bed, Belyaev’s life changed: a science fiction writer appeared, with a keen sense of modernity and possessing the gift of scientific foresight. Wide recognition came to him posthumously - Belyaev died of starvation in Pushkin, occupied by the Nazis. The author of the book, the famous Israeli literary critic Zeev Bar-Sella, relying on archival documents, memoirs of contemporaries, the writer’s writings and criticism of his work, reconstructs the biography of Alexander Romanovich Belyaev in the context of a complex the time in which he lived and worked. sign of information products 16+