Alexei Ivanov

Ivanov was born in Nizhny Novgorod into a family of shipbuilding engineers. In 1971 the family moved to Perm, where he grew up.

His first publication was a fantastic story called "Hunt for the Great Bear," published in 1990 in the magazine Uralsky sledopyt with 500,000 circulation. After returning to Perm, Ivanov worked as a guard, schoolteacher, university teacher, and tourist guide; the latter occupation brought him to study local history, which he later explored in his writing.