Ratushinskaya, Irina (1954-2017), was a Russian poet and novelist. Her early poetry explored such topics as love, Christianity, the beauty of nature, and creativity. Her later poems continued these themes but were more political.
Irina Georgievna Ratushinskaya was born in Odessa (now Odesa), Ukraine, on March 4, 1954. She attended Odessa State University (now Odesa I. I. Mechnykov National University), receiving an M.A. degree in 1976. She began making her reputation as a poet in her 20’s. Her concern over social problems shaped her verse at this time, and she attracted the anger of the Soviet Communist government. In 1982, Ratushinskaya was arrested on charges of subversion for her advocacy of human rights. She was sentenced to seven years in a labor camp and a further five years in internal exile. Her imprisonment caused an outcry in the West. While in prison, Ratushinskaya wrote about 250 poems, scratching them into bars of soap and washing them away after memorizing them. Ratushinskaya was released in 1986 by a Soviet regime that was becoming more liberal under the leadership of President Mikhail Gorbachev. She took up residence in the United Kingdom and continued her literary career. After she left Russia, the government revoked her citizenship.
Ratushinskaya’s books of verse include I Shall Live to See It (about 1986), No, I’m Not Afraid (1986), Beyond the Limit (1987), Pencil Letter (1988), Dance with a Shadow (1992), and Wind of the Journey (1998). She wrote the novels The Odessans (1995), Shadow of a Portrait (1998), and Fiction and Lies (1999). She wrote two volumes of autobiography. Grey is the Color of Hope (1988) covers her life in the labor camp. In the Beginning (1990) deals with her life until her imprisonment. Ratushinskaya died on July 5, 2017.
