A Russian writer, born on April 10, 1899 in Saint Petersburg, to an aristocratic family. He learned Russian, English and French at an early age. His first novel "Mary" appeared in 1926, followed by "King, Queen, Knave" in 1928. He went to Hollywood in 1960 to write the screenplay for the movie Lolita (1962), based on his novel of the same title. He died July 2, 1977 in Montreux, Switzerland.