Yuri Nikitin (author)
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Yuri Aleksandrovich Nikitin (; 30 November 1939 – 23 May 2025) was a Russian writer of
science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
, historical fiction, and
Slavic fantasy Slavic fantasy (, ) is a sub-genre of contemporary art (fantasy literature, Film, cinema, video games, visual arts) that developed in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Slavic fantasy is distinguished by the incorporation of Slavic folklore, legend ...
. Although he was active in science fiction before
perestroika ''Perestroika'' ( ; rus, перестройка, r=perestrojka, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈstrojkə, a=ru-perestroika.ogg, links=no) was a political reform movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the late 1980s, widely associ ...
, the recognition came when he wrote a
Slavic fantasy Slavic fantasy (, ) is a sub-genre of contemporary art (fantasy literature, Film, cinema, video games, visual arts) that developed in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Slavic fantasy is distinguished by the incorporation of Slavic folklore, legend ...
novel, ''The Three from the Forest'' (Russian: Трое из Леса). One of the protagonists is a character based on the Russian
Rurikid The Rurik dynasty, also known as the Rurikid or Riurikid dynasty, as well as simply Rurikids or Riurikids, was a noble lineage allegedly founded by the Varangian prince Rurik, who, according to tradition, established himself at Novgorod in the ...
Prince
Oleg of Novgorod Oleg (), Oleh (), or Aleh () is an Slavic peoples, East Slavic given name. The name is very common in Russia, Ukraine, and Belаrus. Origins ''Oleg'' derives from the Old Norse ''Helgi'' (Helge (name), Helge), meaning "holy", "sacred", or "ble ...
, who is a mainstay of many
sequels A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music, or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...
. Nikitin also wrote a couple of novels about
Vladimir the Great Vladimir I Sviatoslavich or Volodymyr I Sviatoslavych (; Christian name: ''Basil''; 15 July 1015), given the epithet "the Great", was Prince of Novgorod from 970 and Grand Prince of Kiev from 978 until his death in 1015. The Eastern Orthodox ...
. Nikitin created
website
called Inn (Russian: Корчма) as a community portal to help young writers. Nikitin's books have a distinct, free, and often intentionally primitive and repetitive style with many jokes, reflecting his intent to keep the reader on topic and carry his ideas through. His later books develop the idea of becoming a
transhuman Transhuman, or trans-human, is the concept of an intermediary form between human and Posthuman#Transhumanism, posthuman. In other words, a transhuman is a being that resembles a human in most respects but who has powers and abilities beyond those ...
through self-development and survival of the spiritually fittest. According to the literary critic Sergei Chuprinin, Nikitin, with his series of novels "Three from the Forest", is one of the founders of Slavic fantasy. Some of Nikitin's works reproduce the ideas of
Slavic neopaganism The Slavic Native Faith, commonly known as Rodnovery and sometimes as Slavic Neopaganism, is a modern Paganism, modern Pagan religion. Classified as a new religious movement, its practitioners hearken back to the Slavic paganism, historica ...
.


Early life and career

Yuri Nikitin was born on 30 November 1939, in Kharkiv,
Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...
, an only child in a low-income family. His father joined the Soviet army as a volunteer in 1941 and died in
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, and his mother never married again. A
weaver Weaver or Weavers may refer to: Activities * A person who engages in weaving fabric Animals * Various birds of the family Ploceidae * Crevice weaver spider family * Orb-weaver spider family * Weever (or weever-fish) Arts and entertainmen ...
in a local factory, she raised her son independently, with the only help of her elderly parents. The four lived in a small rustic house in Zhuravlyovka, a half-rural
suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...
of Kharkiv. Nikitin's grandfather was a well-known
carpenter Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. Carpenter ...
,
joiner Joinery is a part of woodworking that involves joining pieces of wood, engineered lumber, or synthetic substitutes (such as laminate), to produce more complex items. Some woodworking joints employ mechanical fasteners, bindings, or adhesives, ...
, and
shoemaker Shoemaking is the process of making footwear. Originally, shoes were made one at a time by hand, often by groups of shoemakers, or '' cordwainers'' (sometimes misidentified as cobblers, who repair shoes rather than make them). In the 18th cen ...
in the local area.Nikitin, Yuri
"Мне 65."
am 65.(In Russian). 2004. Moscow: Eksmo.
The family could barely make ends meet: as Nikitin recalled later, in the post-war time they had to eat soup made from potato peelings disposed of by their neighbors. Living in poverty and starvation affected the young Nikitin's health badly. He was born with a
heart disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is any disease involving the heart or blood vessels. CVDs constitute a class of diseases that includes: coronary artery diseases (e.g. angina pectoris, angina, myocardial infarction, heart attack), heart failure, ...
and got
rickets Rickets, scientific nomenclature: rachitis (from Greek , meaning 'in or of the spine'), is a condition that results in weak or soft bones in children and may have either dietary deficiency or genetic causes. Symptoms include bowed legs, stun ...
,
rheumatism Rheumatism or rheumatic disorders are conditions causing chronic, often intermittent pain affecting the joints or connective tissue. Rheumatism does not designate any specific disorder, but covers at least 200 different conditions, including a ...
, and chronic tonsillitis. At the age of 15, doctors told Nikitin that he would not live for more than six months, but in the next year, he overcame illnesses and improved his health greatly through
yoga Yoga (UK: , US: ; 'yoga' ; ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated with its own philosophy in ancient India, aimed at controlling body and mind to attain various salvation goals, as pra ...
, hard
physical exercise Exercise or workout is physical activity that enhances or maintains fitness and overall health. It is performed for various reasons, including weight loss or maintenance, to aid growth and improve strength, develop muscles and the cardio ...
, and a strict
diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...
. From his earliest years, Nikitin was
bilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...
in Ukrainian and Russian, common for people in Eastern Ukraine. Later, he also learned English and
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...
on his own to be able to read books by foreign sci-fi writers that were not translated in the USSR. At 16, Nikitin was expelled from school for scuffling and
hooliganism Hooliganism is disruptive or unlawful behavior such as rioting, bullying and vandalism, often in connection with crowds at sporting events. A hooligan is a person that engages in illicit reckless behaviors and is a public nuisance. Etymology ...
and got his first job as a
metalworker Metalworking is the process of shaping and reshaping metals in order to create useful objects, parts, assemblies, and large scale structures. As a term, it covers a wide and diverse range of processes, skills, and tools for producing objects on e ...
in a local plant.Nevsky, Boris
Бросающий вызов: Юрий Никитин
uri Nikitin: The Challenger.(In Russian.) ''Мир фантастики'' he World of CFF vol. 91, March 2011.
Two years later, he became a
lumberman Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks
and
rafter A rafter is one of a series of sloped structural members such as Beam (structure), steel beams that extend from the ridge or hip to the wall plate, downslope perimeter or eave, and that are designed to support the roof Roof shingle, shingles, ...
in the construction sites of the Russian Far North, then a
geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the structure, composition, and History of Earth, history of Earth. Geologists incorporate techniques from physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and geography to perform research in the Field research, ...
exploring the Ussuri krai with its swampy coniferous forests, great rivers, and many places where no human had ever been before. He also explored the
Sikhote-Alin The Sikhote-Alin (, , , ) is a mountain range in Primorsky and Khabarovsk Krais, Russia, extending about to the northeast of the Russian Pacific seaport of Vladivostok. The highest summits are Tordoki Yani at above sea level, Ko Mountain () ...
, the
Far East The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...
, and the Primorye. Bright impressions of those journeys inspired his ''Saveliy'' series of short science-fiction stories featuring a hunter from
taiga Taiga or tayga ( ; , ), also known as boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces, and larches. The taiga, or boreal forest, is the world's largest land biome. In North A ...
who meets aliens and teaches the art of hunting to them.Nikitin, Yuri (1996). Preface. I
"Человек, изменивший мир"
he Man Who Changed the World. He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...
(In Russian). Moscow: Eksmo. 2007.
In 1964, Nikitin returned to Kharkiv and continued working temporary jobs, often low-skilled and involving hard physical work, such as a foundry worker at a factory. He lingered in each one for hardly more than a year, mainly because of his wish to try something different. As he commented later in ''I am 65'', his autobiography, “I've never had a job I hated to do. Furthermore, I knew that whatever I did was temporary, that my true destiny was great and my current job nothing but an adventure I'd like to recall someday.” During 1964–65, Nikitin completed his
secondary education Secondary education is the education level following primary education and preceding tertiary education. Level 2 or ''lower secondary education'' (less commonly ''junior secondary education'') is considered the second and final phase of basic e ...
as an external student in an evening school and seriously considered his full-time career choice. He picked up sports, music, painting, and writing as the most promising options for the kind of person he was: an ambitious man of 25 with no
higher education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...
. By 1967, he achieved the master-of-sports rank in
canoeing Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. In some parts of Europe, canoeing refers to both canoeing and kayaking, with a canoe being called an 'open canoe' or Canadian. A few of the recreational ...
, first grades in
boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...
,
sambo Sambo may refer to: Places * Sambo, Angola, a commune in Tchicala Tcholohanga, Huambo Province, Angola * Sambo Creek, a village in Honduras People * Ferdy Sambo (born 1973), former Indonesian police general * Khem Sambo (1961–2011), Cambodi ...
,
track and field athletics Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...
, learned to play the
violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...
, and sold several
cartoons A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently Animation, animated, in an realism (arts), unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or s ...
to local magazines. Nikitin wrote his very first stories in 1965, just for fun. Those were humorous and short: the shortest only counted 28 words. All of them were purchased by Russian and Ukrainian magazines. In the next several years, Nikitin created many short sci-fi stories (''Saveliy'' series, ''Makivchuck the Space Ranger'' series, and many others) with the same distinctive features: a new, unusual subject, lively characters, fast-changing events, and a striking ending. In 1973, they were collected to make Nikitin's first book, ''The Man Who Changed the World'', an apparent success. Many stories were translated into foreign languages and published in the countries of the
Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP), formally the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance (TFCMA), was a Collective security#Collective defense, collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Polish People's Republic, Poland, between the Sovi ...
. However, the Nikitin's earnings were insufficient to live and support the family, so he retained his main occupation as a foundry worker until 1976. Nikitin's second book, ''Fire Worshippers'', belongs to the genre of industrial novels, which were extremely popular in the Soviet Union. Nikitin wrote it on a bet with his fellow writers, who said that writing industrial novels was far more difficult than science fiction and that he was hardly capable of it. Nikitin bet he would write such a novel in six months and won. The book received several high literary prizes, and a
TV series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming platf ...
was made based on it. The novel featured real people – Nikitin's co-workers in the foundry. He even used their real names, and they were pleased. In 1976, Nikitin joined the Communist Party and the
Union of Soviet Writers The Union of Soviet Writers, USSR Union of Writers, or Soviet Union of Writers () was a creative union of professional writers in the Soviet Union. It was founded in 1934 on the initiative of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (1932) a ...
. He was the first ever science fiction writer allowed and invited insistently to do it. The management of both those organizations had rather slighting attitudes towards science fiction in general, but they highly appreciated ''Fire Worshippers'' and the fact that Nikitin was a workman without higher education: it was congruent with the aims of communist
propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...
. Nikitin used his newly gained opportunities and influence to found the Speculative Fiction Fan Club (SFFC) (Russian: Клуб Любителей Фантастики, КЛФ) in Kharkiv. It was designed as a communication platform for sci-fi writers, scientists, and avid readers, a place for literature discussions and critics, and a means to help young sci-fi authors improve their writing skills and get their stories published. In 2003, Nikitin also create
SFFC in Moscow
In 1979, Nikitin wrote his third book, ''The Golden Rapier'': a historical novel about Alexander Zasyadko (1774–1837), a Russian
general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...
of Ukrainian origin and
inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea, or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...
of rocket weapons. The book's contents were found inappropriate by
Leonid Kravchuk Leonid Makarovych Kravchuk (, ; 10 January 1934 – 10 May 2022) was a Ukrainian politician and the first president of Ukraine, serving from 5 December 1991 until 19 July 1994. In 1992, he signed the Lisbon Protocol, undertaking to give up Ukrai ...
, the head of the
agitprop Agitprop (; from , portmanteau of ''agitatsiya'', "agitation" and ''propaganda'', "propaganda") refers to an intentional, vigorous promulgation of ideas. The term originated in the Soviet Union where it referred to popular media, such as literatu ...
department of the Communist Party of Ukraine. He accused Nikitin of Ukrainian
nationalism Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, I ...
and ordered the destruction of all the printed copies of the book. For his scandalous novel, Nikitin was dismissed from his office in the Union of Writers, banned from publishing in Ukraine, and his name was forbidden from being mentioned in the local media. The same year, he entered the prestigious Higher Literary Courses (HLC) at the Literary Institute,
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
. The pro-rector of HLC had read ''The Golden Rapier'' and so liked it that he accepted Nikitin despite the communist officials strongly recommending not to do it. In 1981, Nikitin completed HLC and returned to Kharkiv but could not resume his writing work. Whatever he wrote was rejected by publishers for the reason that his name was
blacklisted Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list; if people are on a blacklist, then they are considere ...
. In 1985, this made him move to Moscow. There Nikitin published his fourth book, ''The Radiant Far Palace'', a collection of short science fiction and fantasy stories. During perestroika, when some degree of
free enterprise In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any ot ...
was allowed to Soviet citizens, Nikitin, in association with other writers, founded ''Fatherland'' (Russian: Отечество), one of the first cooperative publishing houses in the country. He worked as editor-in-chief there for a while, then established his own private publishing house, ''Zmey Gorynych'' (''Ravlik'') (Russian: Змей Горыныч), later re-organized into ''Ravlik'' (Russian: Равлик). It specialized in English and American science fiction, almost unknown to Soviet readers before. Nikitin selected books for translation and publishing from his home library, which included over 5,000 science fiction books in English. As he explained later, "I could prepare a hundred volumes of selected sci-fi works as there was no book in my library that I hadn’t read from cover to cover." By then, Nikitin had half a dozen of his novels written but unpublished. In the USSR, an author was allowed to release up to one book in three years. Another reason publishers rejected Nikitin's manuscripts was that his protagonists were immortal and happy about it. The Soviet editorial policy was to publish only the works that showed immortality as terrible and abominable; all immortal heroes were expected to repent and commit suicide. In 1992, Nikitin printed the first of those novels, ''The Three from the Forest'', in ''Ravlik'' – and it was a great success. Each next book of this series became a bestseller. ''Ravlik'' switched almost exclusively to publishing books by Nikitin. In the late 1990s, Nikitin abandoned his publishing business and focused entirely on writing books. Major publishing houses purchased the rights for them: at first ''Centrpolygraph'' (Russian: Центрполиграф), then ''
Eksmo Eksmo Publishing House was founded in 1991. At first the company worked in the field of wholesale trade in books, since 1993 it started independent publishing activities. In 2012, the publishing house became part of the structure of the publish ...
'' (Russian: Эксмо). Some Moscow neopagans revere Nikitin as a teacher in the craft of writing. In 2001, Nikitin attended a neopagan celebration. Nikitin did not give interviews for a long time, but some unscrupulous sites published fabricated interviews. In 2007, his first personally verified interview was published on the internet. On 30 March 2014, during the Eksmo Book Festival in Moscow, Nikitin officially confessed his writing of ''The Adventures of Sir Richard Longarms'', an epic fantasy novel series ongoing since 2001 with over 7,000,000 copies sold in Russia and other countries, under the pen name of Gaius Julius Orlovsky. Before the reveal, the similarity of style, turns of speech, and ideas promoted in their novels, as well as the presence of Gaius Julius as the pseudonym of the hero of one of Nikitin's stories, all led to the logical conclusion about the identity Orlovsky, which was supported by some literary sites. Nikitin was the author of more than 100 books (including those published under the pen name of Gaius Julius Orlovsky) and one of the most commercially successful Russian writers, comparable to
Vasili Golovachov Vasili Vasilievich Golovachyov (; born June 21, 1948, Russia) is a Soviet and Russian science fiction writer, known in Russian-speaking countries for writing both hard science fiction and sci-fi/fantasy mixes. The works combines space science ficti ...
and
Sergei Lukyanenko Sergei Vasilyevich Lukyanenko (, ; born 11 April 1968) is a Russian science fiction and fantasy author, writing in Russian. His works often feature intense action-packed plots, interwoven with the moral dilemma of keeping one's humanity while ...
.


Works and themes

''The World of SFF'' (Russian: Мир фантастики), the largest and most reputable Russian SFF magazine, writes about Nikitin: "It is hard to find another writer whose novels encompass such different themes and target audiences – and inspire such a contradictory public response." Nikitin is a recognized founder of
Slavic fantasy Slavic fantasy (, ) is a sub-genre of contemporary art (fantasy literature, Film, cinema, video games, visual arts) that developed in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Slavic fantasy is distinguished by the incorporation of Slavic folklore, legend ...
, to which ''The Three from the Forest'' and ''The Three Kingdoms'' belong, but he also worked in the genres of
hard science fiction Hard science fiction is a category of science fiction characterized by concern for scientific accuracy and logic. The term was first used in print in 1957 by P. Schuyler Miller in a review of John W. Campbell's ''Islands of Space'' in the Novemb ...
(''The Megaworld''), a
political thriller A political thriller is a thriller that is set against the backdrop of a political power struggle; high stakes and suspense are the core of the story. The genre often forces the audiences to consider and understand the importance of politics. Th ...
(''The Russians Are Coming'' series),
social science fiction Social science fiction or sociological science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction, usually (but not necessarily) soft science fiction, concerned less with technology or space opera and more with speculation about society. In other wor ...
about the close-at-hand future (''The Strange Novels''),
comic fantasy Fantasy comedy or comic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy that is primarily humorous in intent and tone. Typically set in imaginary worlds, fantasy comedy often involves puns on, and parodies of, other works of fantasy. Literature The subgenre ro ...
(''The Teeth Open Wide'' series), and
historical fantasy Historical fantasy is a category of fantasy and genre of historical fiction that incorporates fantastic elements (such as magic (fantasy), magic) into a more "realistic" narrative. There is much crossover with other subgenres of fantasy; those c ...
(''The Prince’s Feast'', ''Hyperborea'' series). ''The Three from the Forest'' series is based on the life of the
Neuri The Neuri or Navari (; ) were an ancient Slavs, Slavic or Balts, Baltic people whose existence was recorded by ancient Greco-Roman world, Graeco-Roman authors. Identification The Neuri belonged to a group of northern European peoples of unknown ...
, which are, according to Nikitin, distant ancestors of the Eastern Slavs, as well as their neighbors, the
Scythians The Scythians ( or ) or Scyths (, but note Scytho- () in composition) and sometimes also referred to as the Pontic Scythians, were an Ancient Iranian peoples, ancient Eastern Iranian languages, Eastern Iranian peoples, Iranian Eurasian noma ...
and
Cimmerians The Cimmerians were an Ancient Iranian peoples, ancient Eastern Iranian languages, Eastern Iranian peoples, Iranic Eurasian nomads, equestrian nomadic people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe, part of whom subsequently migrated into W ...
. It features three protagonists: Targitai, whose prototype is a legendary Scythian king of the same name, Oleg, identified with the historical personality of Slavic Prince Oleg, and Mrak, a strongman and
werewolf In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (from Ancient Greek ), is an individual who can shapeshifting, shapeshift into a wolf, or especially in modern film, a Shapeshifting, therianthropic Hybrid beasts in folklore, hybrid wol ...
. They go through various adventures in varied settings: the half-mythological lands of
Hyperborea In Greek mythology, the Hyperboreans (, ; ) were a mythical people who lived in the far northern part of the Ecumene, known world. Their name appears to derive from the Greek , "beyond Boreas (god), Boreas" (the God of the north wind). Some schol ...
and
Scythia Scythia (, ) or Scythica (, ) was a geographic region defined in the ancient Graeco-Roman world that encompassed the Pontic steppe. It was inhabited by Scythians, an ancient Eastern Iranian equestrian nomadic people. Etymology The names ...
, then
Kievan Rus’ Kievan Rus', also known as Kyivan Rus,. * was the first East Slavic state and later an amalgam of principalities in Eastern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical Atlas of Russ ...
, medieval Europe, and the Middle East. The last novels are set in Russia in the late 1990s (''Tower 2''), in outer space (''Beyondhuman''), and on alien planets (''The Man of Axe''). Four books, from ''The Holy Grail'' to ''The Return of Sir Thomas'', form a separate sub-series telling the story of a heroic quest by Oleg and Sir Thomas, a knight crusader. As of June 2014, the series has 19 books, and six more are planned. In 1999, Nikitin wrote the novel ''
Pharamond Pharamond, also spelled Faramund, is a legendary early king of the Franks, first referred to in the anonymous 8th-century '' Liber Historiae Francorum'', which depicts him as the first king of the Franks. Historical sources and scholarship Phara ...
'', dedicated to the life and adventures of the semi-legendary progenitor of the
Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages, a group of Low Germanic languages also commonly referred to as "Frankish" varieties * Francia, a post-Roman ...
kings from the
Merovingian dynasty The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from around the middle of the 5th century until Pepin the Short in 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the ...
in the era of the
Migration Period The Migration Period ( 300 to 600 AD), also known as the Barbarian Invasions, was a period in European history marked by large-scale migrations that saw the fall of the Western Roman Empire and subsequent settlement of its former territories ...
. ''The Strange Novels'' series falls into social, psychological, and philosophical science fiction genres. The books speculate about the nearest future of Russia and the world. Most attention is given to the problems of personal and social development in the fast-changing
hi-tech High tech refers to "high technology". It may also refer to: * High-tech architecture, an architectural style that emerged in the 1970s * HiTech, a computer chess program * Hi-Tech Automotive, a car builder and automotive design house * Hi-Tech ( ...
environment, to the changes that might occur in our present-day morals and culture under the impact of the new technologies, such as
transhumanism Transhumanism is a philosophical and intellectual movement that advocates the human enhancement, enhancement of the human condition by developing and making widely available new and future technologies that can greatly enhance longevity, cogni ...
, changing public morality, a person's place in the future, the possibility and prospects of immortality, and information wars. Nikitin was generally optimistic about the future. In his books, the strong-willed, hard-working, honest, and responsible are likely to become winners. Nikitin also wrote the autobiographical books ''I'm 65'' and ''I'm 75'' and the textbook ''How to Become a Writer''. Nikitin avoided using the
semicolon The semicolon (or semi-colon) is a symbol commonly used as orthographic punctuation. In the English language, a semicolon is most commonly used to link (in a single sentence) two independent clauses that are closely related in thought, such as ...
, considering it "a relic of the century before last". Historian Victor Schnirelmann characterizes Nikitin as a former
dissident A dissident is a person who actively challenges an established political or religious system, doctrine, belief, policy, or institution. In a religious context, the word has been used since the 18th century, and in the political sense since the 2 ...
of
Russian nationalist Russian nationalism () is a form of nationalism that promotes Russian cultural identity and unity. Russian nationalism first rose to prominence as a Pan-Slavic enterprise during the 19th century Russian Empire, and was repressed during the early ...
orientation. Nikitin's books reproduce the ideas of
Slavic neopaganism The Slavic Native Faith, commonly known as Rodnovery and sometimes as Slavic Neopaganism, is a modern Paganism, modern Pagan religion. Classified as a new religious movement, its practitioners hearken back to the Slavic paganism, historica ...
in artistic form and have become part of the neopagan subculture. According to Andrey Beskov, Nikitin prefers when the sources provide a minimum of information without limiting the author's imagination, so, for example, he builds myths about Slavic deities in the novel ''Artania''. In his works in the early 1990s, Nikitin depicts the Russians as descendants of the Scythians, who, according to him, settled widely from Western Asia to Western Europe and passed on their cultural achievements and gods to the local peoples. The Phoenicians are called "the purest Rus", who created the oldest written language in the world. The Canaanites are also identified with the Russian tribes, and the Levant is shown as primordially Russian territory. The works show that the Russian pagan spiritual heritage, in all respects, surpasses the poor Western and Christian moral values. Russian paganism is the foundation of all later religions, including world ones, that arose. Depicting Slavic paganism, Nikitin borrowed various elements from the Old Testament and Christianity. In his representation of paganism, Nikitin approaches the position of the newspaper ''Native Spaces'', portraying it as atheism. One of the characters, Oleg, says: "My god is reason, knowledge ... My world is without gods at all." Nikitin wrote about the " Judeo-Masonic conspiracy", which goes back to the beginning of time and aims to establish the power of the chosen Wise Men worldwide. The Jewish god is depicted as thirsting for bloody human sacrifices and striving to destroy the Slavs, and the Jews
sacrifice Sacrifice is an act or offering made to a deity. A sacrifice can serve as propitiation, or a sacrifice can be an offering of praise and thanksgiving. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Gree ...
the Slavs to him. There is a world struggle between the forces of light and the forces of darkness, represented by the Slavs and the Jews, respectively. Christianity destroyed the original faith of the ancestors, its volkhvs, and ancient Slavic writing. Nikitin repeats the neopagan mythology that Prince Vladimir the Great, fulfilling the order of the "Jewish Freemasons", entwined Rus' with a Christian net and turned the Russians into slaves. One of the heroes of the novels is Oleg the Prophet, a volkhv who remained faithful to paganism, despite the establishment of Christianity. Nikitin contrasts culture and civilization as higher and lower, connecting the first with noble paganism and the second with Satan and the "Jewish Masons". Oleg's main enemies are the "Jewish Masons", who serve the destructive idea of progress and civilization, and for whom the freedom-loving "uncontrollable" Slavic people are the greatest danger and, therefore, must disappear. At the same time, Christianity is portrayed as the younger brother of paganism, young and ignorant, and Oleg acts in alliance with the Christians. Since the late 1990s, the interpretation of the past in Nikitin's works has changed somewhat. Nikitin softened his position on Jews and Christianity, and criticism of paganism often appears on the part of the heroes of the works. The identification of the Scythians and Slavs and the idea of the Scythian or Slavic affiliation of various characters and historical figures of ancient history (Achilles, Atilla, etc.) are preserved. Nikitin describes the Rus as the first people on earth and the "
Aryan ''Aryan'' (), or ''Arya'' (borrowed from Sanskrit ''ārya''), Oxford English Dictionary Online 2024, s.v. ''Aryan'' (adj. & n.); ''Arya'' (n.)''.'' is a term originating from the ethno-cultural self-designation of the Indo-Iranians. It stood ...
" ancestors. The "branch of the Rus" settled in Palestine and built the oldest local cities. The "genuine Russian" names of places in Palestine created by one of the founders of Russian neopaganism, Valery Yemelyanov, or derived from them are present, such as "Yeruslan" (Jerusalem) and "Siyan-mountain" (Mount Zion). It is argued that Nazareth is the original "Slavic city", and therefore Jesus was a Slav. One of the landmarks in history for Nikitin was the
Book of Veles The Book of Veles (also called the Veles Book, Vles book, Vlesbook or Isenbeck's Planks; ) is a literary forgery purporting to be a text of ancient Slavic religion and history supposedly written on wooden planks. It contains what purport to be ...
, from which he borrowed ideas about the Slavs, such as their being the "grandchildren of Dazhdbog", their nomadic lifestyle in the endless steppes, and their ancient book culture. However, he refuses the idea of the Book of Veles that the ancient Slavs did not know human sacrifice. Slavic paganism, according to Nikitin, teaches strength and courage, while Christianity teaches humility. At the same time, Nikitin writes that Christianity makes the world unified, "removes the walls between peoples", and begins to associate the problem of the Christianization of Rus' with the activities of the Byzantines, removing the question of the Jews. However, the stereotype is repeated that the Jews allegedly do not consider other people to be people and do not treat them morally because they are "goyim, subhuman". The Jews are portrayed as the opposite of the "Scythian-Slavs"-Rus, endowing the former with negative qualities and the latter with positive ones. The Russians are a young people (which contradicts Nikitin's other thought about the origin of all the others from them) to whom the future belongs, while the Jews are an ancient people who stand on the edge of the grave. These two peoples are so different that they are doomed to eternal struggle. The ancient Jews seized Palestine by force and brutally destroyed the Rus-Canaanites, for which, according to ancient prophecy, they must be punished by the Rus and destroyed. Nevertheless, the author finds a way out of this situation in the decision that both peoples should merge into a single people. Prince Vladimir forcibly baptizes the people of Kiev and turns the Russians into a "people of slaves." The departing volkhvs gradually introduce their rites and customs into the new faith. They go into the wilderness to prepare the people for a pagan revival in the distant future. A peculiarity of ''The Strange Novels'' series is the absence of mainstay heroes. Except for ''The Imago'' and ''The Immortist'', both featuring Bravlin Pechatnik, each novel tells a separate story. The books are only united by the common world and the scope of problems. The four books of ''The Russians Are Coming'' series are commonly defined as
alternate history Alternate history (also referred to as alternative history, allohistory, althist, or simply A.H.) is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which one or more historical events have occurred but are resolved differently than in actual history. As ...
, but they were
political thrillers Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of status or resources. The branch of social science that studies poli ...
about the nearest future. The first novel, ''Rage'', was written in 1994 and set in 1996. The protagonist is Platon Krechet, the President of Russia, determined to make his country strong and prosperous. In order to do it, he adopts
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
as the new state religion instead of
Russian Orthodoxy The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The primate of the ROC is the patriarch of Moscow and all Rus ...
. Such a theme was considered unacceptable at that time. No Russian publisher dared to release this novel, despite the unprecedented commercial success of ''The Three from the Forest'' several years before, so the first edition of ''Rage'' and its two sequels was printed and distributed by Nikitin at his own cost.


Neologisms

Several words invented by Nikitin are now used in Russian language, especially on the web. *Baim (Russian: байма) – a computer game, especially a
MMOG A massively multiplayer online game (MMOG or more commonly MMO) is an online video game with a large number of players to interact in the same online game world. MMOs usually feature a huge, persistent open world, although there are games th ...
. First used in ''The Baimer'', this term subsequently appears in many other “strange novels” and also in ''The Reply (Baimer)'', a collection of short stories by Sergey Sadov. Nikitin explained his reasons to invent this word as the necessity to give the robustly developing industry of computer games its own name, like the term “cinematography” was introduced to replace the old-fashioned “motion picture photography.” *Einastia (Russian: эйнастия) – a philosophical (or maybe religious) doctrine developed by Oleg, the protagonist in ''The Three from the Forest'' series. Einastia is mentioned in several books of the series but its essence is never described and hence remains an issue of debate among Nikitin's fans. The author prefers not to answer direct questions about the meaning of this word. *Usians (Russian: юсовцы, derived from ''the USA'') – a pejorative term used by some characters in ''The Strange Novels'' series to denote a sort of people, particularly (but not necessarily) in the present-day USA, who have a range of distinctive negative features, including: # Adherence to “universal values”, often understood primitively; # Devil-may-care attitudes towards other people; # Following a set of principles like “self comes first,” “don't be a hero” etc.


Personal life

Nikitin had two children of his first marriage, which ended with his wife's death. In 1990, he met Lilia Shishikina, an experienced bookseller, and she became his business companion and common-law wife. For several years she was in charge of "Ravlik". On 22 May 2010, Nikitin married Lilia during a small ceremony at their home in Red Eagles (Russian: Красные Орлы), a cottage settlement near Moscow. Only their closest friends were invited. Nikitin is fascinated with new technologies: he monitors the hi-tech news thrice a day, has six computers at home and many electronic devices, which he upgrades and changes for newer models regularly.''Transhuman.com''
Часто задаваемые вопросы Юрию Никитину (Frequently Asked Questions to Yury Nikitin)
(In Russian.
''Transhuman.com''
Updated 19 Oct. 2008. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
He also loves to play MMORTS and spends 2–3 hours a day on average in MMOGs. For over 30 years, Nikitin gave not a single interview, visited no conference or SF convention, and held no meeting with readers. This situation only changed after the release of ''Transhuman''. As of June 2014, Yuri Nikitin is a frequent visitor to the online foru
Transhuman
(Russian: Трансчеловек) where he has the nickname of ''Frog'', being one of the first registered members and an honorary administrator. This website is the main platform of Nikitin's online communication with fans and readers as he had a skeptical attitude towards
blogging A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries also known as posts. Posts are typically displayed in Reverse chronology, reverse chronologic ...
. Also, there are online clubs of Nikitin's fans in
Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
and VK. Nikitin and his wife lived in Falcon Hill (Russian: Соколиная гора), a cottage settlement near Moscow. They have a pet
boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: *Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing * Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...
Linda. As noted by fans, Nikitin lent his passion for strong sweet black
coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...
to nearly all his heroes. Nikitin preferred a healthy way of life: for many years, he drank no alcohol and practiced
cycling Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...
and
weightlifting Weightlifting or weight lifting generally refers to physical exercises and sports in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells, barbells or machines. People engage in weightlifting for a variety of different reasons. These can ...
as a hobby. Nikitin died on 23 May 2025, at the age of 85.


Bibliography


''The Three from the Forest'' series

*In the Very Beginning (2008) (Russian: Начало всех начал) *The Three from the Forest (1992) (Russian: Трое из леса) *The Three in the Sands (1993) (Russian: Трое в песках) *The Three and the Gods (1994) (Russian: Трое и боги) *The Three in the Valley (1997) (Russian: Трое в долине) *Mrak (1996) (Russian: Мрак) *A Respite in Barbus (2004) (Russian: Передышка в Барбусе) *The Secret Seven (1998) (Russian: Семеро тайных) *The Outcast (2000) (Russian: Изгой) *The Destroyer of Magic (2010) (Russian: Истребивший магию) *Faramund (1999) (Russian: Фарамунд) *The Hyperborean (1995) (Russian: Гиперборей) *The Holy Grail/The Grail of Sir Thomas (1994) (Russian: Святой грааль) *The Stonehenge/The Secret of Stonehenge (1994) (Russian: Стоунхендж) *The Revelation (1996) (Russian: Откровение) *The Return of Sir Thomas (2006) (Russian: Возвращение Томаса) *Tower 2 (1999) (Russian: Башня-2) *The Man of Axe (2003) (Russian: Человек с топором) *Beyondhuman (2003) (Russian: Зачеловек)


''The Richard Longarms'' series (as Gaius Julius Orlovsky)

* Richard Longarms 1: Stranger (2001) (Russian: Ричард Длинные Руки) * Richard Longarms 2: Warrior of God (2001) (Russian: Ричард Длинные Руки - воин Господа) * Richard Longarms 3: Paladin of God (2002) (Russian: Ричард Длинные Руки - паладин Господа) * Richard Longarms 4: Seignior (2003) (Russian: Ричард Длинные Руки - сеньор) * Richard Longarms 5: Richard de Amalphie (2004) (Russian: Ричард де Амальфи) * Richard Longarms 6: Lord of Three Castles (2004) (Russian: Ричард Длинные Руки - властелин трех замков) * Richard Longarms 7: Viscount (2005) (Russian: Ричард Длинные Руки - виконт) * Richard Longarms 8: Baron (2005) (Russian: Ричард Длинные Руки - барон) * Richard Longarms 9: Jarl (2005) (Russian: Ричард Длинные Руки - ярл) * Richard Longarms 10: Earl (2005) (Russian: Ричард Длинные Руки - граф) * Richard Longarms 11: Burggraf (2006) (Russian: Ричард Длинные Руки - бургграф) * Richard Longarms 12: Landlord (2006) (Russian: Ричард Длинные Руки - лендлорд) * Richard Longarms 13: Pfaltzgraf (2007) (Russian: Ричард Длинные Руки - пфальцграф) * Richard Longarms 14: Overlord (2007) (Russian: Ричард Длинные Руки - оверлорд) * Richard Longarms 15: Constable (2007) (Russian: Ричард Длинные Руки - коннетабль) * Richard Longarms 16: Marquis (2008) (Russian: Ричард Длинные Руки - маркиз) * Richard Longarms 17: Grossgraf (2008) (Russian: Ричард Длинные Руки - гроссграф) * Richard Longarms 18: Lord Protector (2008) (Russian: Ричард Длинные Руки - лорд-протектор) * Richard Longarms 19: Majordom (2008) (Russian: Ричард Длинные Руки - майордом) * Richard Longarms 20: Markgraf (2009) (Russian: Ричард Длинные Руки - маркграф) * Richard Longarms 21: Gaugraf (2009) (Russian: Ричард Длинные Руки - гауграф) * Richard Longarms 22: Freigraf (2009) (Russian: Ричард Длинные Руки - фрайграф) * Richard Longarms 23: Wieldgraf (2009) (Russian: Ричард Длинные Руки - вильдграф) * Richard Longarms 24: Raugraf (2010) (Russian: Ричард Длинные Руки - рауграф) * Richard Longarms 25: Konung (2010) (Russian: Ричард Длинные Руки - конунг) * Richard Longarms 26: Duke (2010) (Russian: Ричард Длинные Руки - герцог) * Richard Longarms 27: Archduke (2010) (Russian: Ричард Длинные Руки - эрцгерцог) * Richard Longarms 28: Furst (2011) (Russian: Ричард Длинные Руки - фюрст) * Richard Longarms 29: Kurfurst (2011) (Russian: Ричард Длинные Руки - курфюрст) * Richard Longarms 30: Grossfurst (2011) (Russian: Ричард Длинные Руки - гроссфюрст) * Richard Longarms 31: Landesfurst (2011) (Russian: Ричард Длинные Руки - ландесфюрст) * Richard Longarms 32: Grand (2011) (Russian: Ричард Длинные Руки - гранд) * Richard Longarms 33: Grand Duke (2012) (Russian: Ричард Длинные Руки - князь) * Richard Longarms 34: Archfurst (2012) (Russian: Ричард Длинные Руки - эрцфюрст) * Richard Longarms 35: Reichsfurst (2012) (Russian: Ричард Длинные Руки - рейхсфюрст) * Richard Longarms 36: Prince (2012) (Russian: Ричард Длинные Руки - принц) * Richard Longarms 37: Prince Consort (2012) (Russian: Ричард Длинные Руки - принц-консорт) * Richard Longarms 38: Vice-Prince (2012) (Russian: Ричард Длинные Руки - вице-принц) * Richard Longarms 39: Archprince (2012) (Russian: Ричард Длинные Руки - эрцпринц) * Richard Longarms 40: Kurprince (2013) (Russian: Ричард Длинные Руки - курпринц) * Richard Longarms 41: Erbprince (2013) (Russian: Ричард Длинные Руки - эрбпринц) * Richard Longarms 42: Crown Prince (2013) (Russian: Ричард Длинные Руки - принц короны) * Richard Longarms 43: Grand Prince (2013) (Russian: Ричард Длинные Руки - грандпринц) * Richard Longarms 44: Prince Regent (2013) (Russian: Ричард Длинные Руки - принц-регент) * Richard Longarms 45: King (2013) (Russian: Ричард Длинные Руки - король) * Richard Longarms 46: King Consort (2013) (Russian: Ричард Длинные Руки - король-консорт) * Richard Longarms 47: Monarch (2014) (Russian: Ричард Длинные Руки - монарх) * Richard Longarms 48: Stadtholder (2014) (Russian: Ричард Длинные Руки - штатгалтер) * Richard Longarms 49: Prince of the Emperor's Mantle (2014) (Russian: Ричард Длинные Руки - принц императорской мантии) * Richard Longarms 50: Emperor (2014) (Russian: Ричард Длинные руки — император) * Richard Longarms 51: Lord of the Crimson Star of Evil (2017) (Russian: Ричард Длинные руки — Властелин Багровой Звезды Зла) * Richard Longarms 52: Richard and the Great Mages (2018) (Russian: Ричард Длинные руки — Ричард и Великие маги) * Richard Longarms 53: Richard Longarms Trapped (2018) (Russian: Ричард Длинные руки в западне)


''The Prince's Feast'' series

*The Prince's Feast (1997) (Russian: Княжеский пир) *The Final Fight (1999) (Russian: Главный бой)


''Hyperborea'' series

*Prince Rus (1996) (Russian: Князь Рус) *Ingvar and Olha (1995) (Russian: Ингвар и Ольха) *Prince Vladimir (1995) (Russian: Князь Владимир)


''Teeth Open Wide'' series

*Teeth Wide Open (1998) (Russian: Зубы настежь) *Ears Up In Tubes (2003) (Russian: Уши в трубочку) *The Three-Handed Sword (2003) (Russian: Трехручный меч)


''The Three Kingdoms'' series

*Artania (2002) (Russian: Артания) *Pridon (2002) (Russian: Придон) *Kuyavia (2003) (Russian: Куявия) *Jutland, Brother of Pridon (2011) (Russian: Ютланд, брат Придона) *Jutland and Melizenda (2018) (Russian: Ютланд и Мелизенда)


The ''Megaworld'' series

*Megaworld (1991) (Russian: Мегамир) *The Lords of Megaworld (2000) (Russian: Владыки мегамира)


''The Ballads of Great Knights''

*Lohengrin, the Swan Knight (2012) (Russian: Лоэнгрин, рыцарь Лебедя) *Tannhauser (2012) (Russian: Тангейзер)


''The Strange Novels''

*I Live in This Body (1999) (Russian: Я живу в этом теле) *Scythians (2000) (Russian: Скифы) *The Baimer (2001) (Russian: Баймер) *The Imago (2002) (Russian: Имаго) *The Immortist (2003) (Russian: Имортист) *The Sorcerer of Agudy Starship (2003) (Russian: Чародей звездолета "Агуди") *The Great Mage (2004) (Russian: Великий маг) *Our Land is Great and Plentiful (2004) (Russian: Земля наша велика и обильна...) *The Last Stronghold (2006) (Russian: Последняя крепость) *Passing Through Walls (2006) (Russian: Проходящий сквозь стены) *Transhuman (2006) (Russian: Трансчеловек) *Worldmakers (2007) (Russian: Творцы миров) *I Am a Singular (2007) (Russian: Я - сингуляр) *Singomakers (2008) (Russian: Сингомэйкеры) *2024 (2009) (Russian: 2024-й) *Guy Gisborn, a Knight Valiant (2011) (Russian: О благородном рыцаре Гае Гисборне) *Dawnpeople (2011) (Russian: Рассветники) *The Nasts (2013) (Russian: Насты) *Alouette, little Alouette... (2014)


''The Controller'' series

*On the Threshold (2016) (Russian: На пороге) *A Skeleton in the Closet (2016) (Russian: Скелет в шкафу) *The Birth of the Controller (2016) (Russian: Рождение Контролёра) *A Man from the Future (2016) (Russian: Человек из будущего) *Brigantines Raising Their Sails (2017) (Russian: Бригантины поднимают паруса)


''The Russians Are Coming'' series

See "
The Russians are coming "The Russians Are Coming" is an episode of the BBC sitcom ''Only Fools and Horses''. It was first screened on 13 October 1981, as the final episode of series 1. In the episode, Del buys a nuclear fallout shelter and, anticipating a nuclear war, t ...
" for the origin of the series name (Русские идут) *Rage (1997) (Russian: Ярость) *The Empire of Evil (1998) (Russian: Империя зла) *On the Dark Side (1999) (Russian: На темной стороне ) *The Horn of Jericho (2000) (Russian: Труба Иерихона)


''Timelord'' series (as Gaius Julius Orlovsky)

*Eugene the Timelord 1: The World of Three Moons (2015) (Russian: Юджин — повелитель времени. Книга 1. Мир Трёх Лун) *Eugene the Timelord 2: The Tall Glerd (2015) (Russian: Юджин — повелитель времени. Книга 2. Высокий глерд) *Eugene the Timelord 3: The Cartridges of the Wizard (2015) (Russian: Юджин — повелитель времени. Книга 3. Патроны чародея) *Eugene the Timelord 4: All Women Are Chimeras (2015) (Russian: Юджин — повелитель времени. Книга 4. Все женщины — химеры (2015)) *Eugene the Timelord 5: Love Spells (2015) (Russian: Юджин — повелитель времени. Книга 5. Любовные чары) *Eugene the Timelord 6: The Skyscrapers of the Mages (2015) (Russian: Юджин — повелитель времени. Книга 6. Небоскрёбы магов) *Eugene the Timelord 7: Her Royal Highness (2015) (Russian: Юджин — повелитель времени. Книга 7. Её Высочество) *Eugene the Timelord 8: The Kingdom of Gargalot (2015) (Russian: Юджин — повелитель времени. Книга 8. Королевство Гаргалот ) *Eugene the Timelord 9: The Victorious Torch of Gargalot (2016) (Russian: Юджин — повелитель времени. Книга 9. Победный «Факел Гаргалота»)


''Golden Talisman'' series (as Gaius Julius Orlovsky; co-authored with a group of other writers)

*Worg: Run It Before Midnight (2017) (co-authored with Margo Gener) (Russian: Ворг. Успеть до полуночи) *The Lost Girl (2017) (co-authored with Margo Gener) (Russian: Потерянная) *Racing with Death (2017) (co-authored with Yuri Molchan) (Russian: Со смертью наперегонки) *Willein the Smalling (2017) (co-authored with Paul Schmidt) (Russian: Мелкинд Виллейн) *The Stronghold (2017) (co-authored with Margo Gener) (Russian: Цитадель) *The Stronghold on Fire (2018) (co-authored with Margo Gener) (Russian: Цитадель в огне) *The Sister of Wind (2018) (co-authored with Diana Hunt) (Russian: Сестра ветра) *The Servant of the Reaper (2018) (co-authored with Margo Gener) (Russian: Слуга Жнеца) *Striking Back (2018) (co-authored with Yuri Molchan) (Russian: Ответный удар) *Steel Feathers (2018) (co-authored with Diana Hunt) (Russian: Стальные перья)


Other books

*Fire Worshippers (1976) (Russian: Огнепоклонники) *The Golden Rapier (1979) (Russian: Золотая шпага) *How to Become a Writer (2004) (Russian: Как стать писателем) *I am 65 (2004) (Russian: Мне 65) *I am 75 (2014) (Russian: Мне 75)


Collections

*The Man Who Changed the World (1973) (Russian: Человек, изменивший мир) *The Radiant Far Palace (1985) (Russian: Далекий светлый терем) *Singularity (2009) (Russian: Сингулярность) *Singularity 2 (2012) (Russian: Сингулярность-2)


Foreign releases

In the post-Soviet period, there were no official foreign releases of Nikitin's books. However, some of Nikitin's short stories can be found in English on the web, e. g. ''Sisyphus'' translated by David Schwab. In 2013, a group of Nikitin's fans, with the author's consent, translated into English ''The Holy Grail'' (title changed to ''The Grail of Sir Thomas'') and offered it as a free
e-book An ebook (short for electronic book), also spelled as e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in electronic form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. Al ...
on a range of online SFF forums. As of June 2014, the English versions of three novels by Yury Nikitin (''In the Very Beginning'', ''The Grail of Sir Thomas'', ''The Secret of Stonehenge'') are available as e-books in major online retailers.Amazon.com
Yury Nikitin's Author Page''Amazon.com''
Retrieved 18 June 2014.


References


Sources

* * * * *


External links



he Inn.(In Russian.)
Форум Трансчеловек
ranshuman.com (In Russian.)
Yury Nikitin's Author Page on Amazon

Yury Nikitin's Author Page on Smashwords
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nikitin, Yuri 1939 births 2025 deaths Russian fantasy writers Russian science fiction writers Ukrainian people of Russian descent Writers from Kharkiv Russian transhumanists Far-right modern pagans