Sergei Dovlatov (1941-1990) grew up in Leningrad and later was assigned to a military unit guarding Siberian state prison camps. In the late 1960's, he became a journalist. He immigrated to the United States in 1979 after being harassed by Soviet authorities. He lived in Forest Hills, Queens. He published several books, including “The Invisible Book,” “The Compromise,” “Ours” and “The Suitcase.” He also worked for Radio Liberty as a freelance script writer. Since glasnost, his novels have been published in Russia and become extremely popular. The New Yorker published several of his short stories. From 1980 to 1982, he edited The New American, a weekly magazine.