Grigori Chkhartishvili, better known by his pen name Boris Akunin (born 20 May 1956), is a Georgian-Russian writer residing in the United Kingdom. He is best known as a writer of historical fiction, specifically his Erast Fandorin novels. He is also an essayist and literary translator. Grigory Chkhartishvili has also written under pen names Anatoly Brusnikin, Anna Borisova, and Akunin-Chkhartishvili. His characters include Erast Fandorin, Nicholas Fandorin and Sister Pelagia.
Akunin lived in Moscow until 2014. He has since lived in Britain, France, and Spain. As of 2024 he is living in London.
Here is an interesting interview from 2005, when Putin just completed his first term in power …
Russia moving towards ‘totalitarian state’ …