19 Facts About Svetlana Geier

Svetlana Geier, born Svetlana Michailovna Ivanova, was a literary translator who translated from her native Russian into German.

Svetlana Geier lived in Germany from 1943 until her death in 2010.

Svetlana Geier was born in Kiev in 1923, the daughter of Russian parents.

Svetlana Geier's father was a scientist with a specialty in plant breeding.

Svetlana Geier's mother came from a family of Tsarist officers.

Svetlana Geier's father was arrested in 1938 during the period of Stalin's Great Purge, and died in 1939 from illnesses stemming from his time in prison.

Svetlana Geier had been promised a scholarship to study in Germany if she worked for the Germans for a year.

Svetlana Geier was well aware that, having worked for the Germans, her fellow countrymen regarded her as a collaborator and that she would never be able to study in the Soviet Union.

Svetlana Geier had two children and lived in Gunterstal until her death in 2010.

In 1960 Svetlana Geier started teaching Russian at the University of Karlsruhe.

Svetlana Geier took the train to Karlsruhe one day a week until she died.

Svetlana Geier did a great deal of work to enhance the teaching of Russian outside the university.

Svetlana Geier began working as a translator in Germany for the then newly published series Rowohlt Classics.

Svetlana Geier was a member of the PEN centre in Germany.

Svetlana Geier died on 7 November 2010 at the age of 87 in her house in Gunterstal.

Svetlana Geier spent 20 years translating Dostoevsky's five major novels, which she completed in 2007.

Svetlana Geier chose to translate by dictating to an assistant, who copied the words down with a typewriter.

Svetlana Geier did not hesitate to reformulate older, well-known titles, although she insisted she did nothing more than translate from the original Russian.

Svetlana Geier received numerous awards and prizes for her outstanding contribution to the dissemination of Russian culture, history and literature, including the following:.