After graduating in Russian Language and Literature at the University of Turin, Gian Piero Piretto (born 1952) held teaching positions at the universities of Bergamo and Parma. From 1994 to 2018, he was Professor of Russian Culture and Methodology of Visual Culture at the Università Statale in Milan. Besides translating works by Čechov, Okudžava, Popov, and Gavrilov for various publishers, he has authored important studies on Russian cities in literary history (Derelitti, bohemiens e malaffari. Il mito povero di Pietroburgo, Da Pietroburgo a Mosca). His primary field of research is Soviet cultural history; his essays explore both political propaganda during the Stalinist era (Gli occhi di Stalin) and the mass culture of the former USSR (Il radioso avvenire. Mitologie culturali sovietiche, La vita privata degli oggetti sovietici, Indirizzo: Unione Sovietica). In 2014, he edited Memorie di pietra, a collaborative volume examining totalitarian monumentality through architectural case studies. This was followed in 2018 by Quando c'era l'URSS. 70 anni di storia culturale sovietica, a revised and expanded edition of Il radioso avvenire. More recently, he published the literary guide Vagabondare a Berlino (2020), the recipe-memoir Eggs Benedict a Manhattan (2021), the historical study L'ultimo spettacolo. I funerali sovietici che hanno fatto storia (2023), and the essay Il Paese di Putin. 20 parole russe al servizio della propaganda (2026), all published by Raffaello Cortina Editore.

(photo: © Festivaletteratura)