Fazil IskanderFazil Iskander (1920 - 2016) was raised in Abkhazia but settled permanently in Moscow after graduating from the Gorky Literary Institute in Moscow in 1954. Iskander's major works include the satirical novel Sozvezdiye kozlotura (1966; The Gatibex Constellation) and the allegorical dystopia Kroliki i udavy (1982; Rabbits and Boa Constrictors). Iskander spent decades writing the epic novel Sandro iz Chegema (Sandro of Chegem), which chronicles the collision of Soviet values with Abkhazian patriarchal life. Read More Read Less