Sigizmund Krzhizhanovsky (1887-1950) was born in Kiev and moved to Moscow in 1922, where he became known in literary circles thanks to the readings he gave of his modernist texts. Krzhizhanovsky's creative vision ran counter to the dictates of Soviet censorship, and not until four decades after his death could his works begin to be published. His works in English translation include Countries That Don't Exist: Selected Nonfiction (Columbia, 2022).

Joanne Turnbull's translations of Krzhizhanovsky's fiction include Memories of the Future, Autobiography of a Corpse, and The Return of Munchausen.