Geir Pollen (b. 1953) is a Norwegian writer, poet, translator, essayist, and literary critic. A master of style, Pollen holds a distinctive place in Norwegian prose. His novel *Hutchinsons Eftf.* (1998) was nominated for the prestigious Brage Prize and the Nordic Council Literature Prize. From 2001 to 2005, Pollen served as chairman of the Norwegian Authors' Union. Between 2007 and 2020, he taught Norwegian, first at the Faculty of Philology at St. Petersburg State University and later at Moscow State University. His novel *Raskolnikov’s House* (2010) draws on real events from the author's own life: the protagonist is a foreigner who arrives in St. Petersburg and gradually discovers the literary history of the "Northern Capital." In 2005, Pollen won the Literary Critics' Prize for his translation of W. G. Sebald’s *Austerlitz*, and in 2021, he received the Bastian Prize for his translation of short stories by Anton Chekhov. Since 2010, he has been a regular critic for the newspaper *Klassekampen*, writing a literary column for its Saturday supplement, *Bokmagasinet* (The Book Magazine). A number of his essays have previously been published in Russian.
In his travelogue *Volga: A Russian Journey*, Pollen embarks on both an inner and outer voyage along Europe’s longest river and through Russian history, distilling the experience of his thirteen years living in the country. According to the author himself, the book is an expression of gratitude to Russia for those years, which were rich in experiences and deeply rewarding.