About Vasily Grossman
Vasily Grossman was a Soviet writer and journalist born to a Jewish family in Ukraine when it was part of the Russian Empire. He studied chemical engineering at Moscow State University, earning the nickname Vasya‑khimik for his hard work. After graduating he worked in Stalino in the Donets Basin, then switched to full‑time writing in the 1930s, publishing many short stories and several novels.