Bio
Andrew D. Kaufman is an author, speaker, and former Russian literature professor whose work bridges literature, history, and human transformation. His books and teaching have been featured in The New York Times, Washington Post, and Moscow Times, as well as on NPR, PBS, and Oprah.com.
A longtime former professor at the University of Virginia and a Stanford-trained scholar of Russian literature, Kaufman is the author of The Gambler Wife: A True Story of Love, Risk, and the Woman Who Saved Dostoyevsky, a finalist for the 2022 PEN America Literary Award for Biography. The book is now being adapted into an international feature film starring Aimee Lou Wood and Johnny Flynn, currently in production with a planned 2026 release.
He is also the author of Give War and Peace a Chance: Tolstoyan Wisdom for Troubled Times and Understanding Tolstoy, as well as co-author of Russian for Dummies, now in its third edition. A frequent media contributor whose work has been widely covered in outlets such as The New York Times, Washington Post, The Today Show, NPR, PBS, and more, Kaufman is regularly invited to speak on Russian literature, history, culture, contemporary Russian politics, and how timeless literature speaks to moral courage and human transformation.
In addition to his literary work, Kaufman is a nationally recognized innovator in social justice–oriented teaching. At UVA, he founded Books Behind Bars: Life, Literature, and Leadership — a celebrated community-based course in which university students and incarcerated youth and adults engage in life-changing conversations about Russian literature and meaning. The course has been widely covered in the media and is the subject of the PBS-featured documentary Seats at the Table.
Kaufman is an in-demand keynote speaker who has spoken at TEDx, the Aspen Institute, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Russian Academy of Sciences, Yasnaya Polyana (Leo Tolstoy’s estate), and at universities, libraries, corporations, and conferences across the United States. A professionally trained actor and dynamic storyteller, Kaufman draws on the wisdom of great books and his own teaching journey to offer audiences nourishment for the mind and soul — and timely insights on how to stay connected, courageous, and fully human in divided times.
He is currently developing a book and podcast project exploring the power of literature to transform lives inside America’s jails.
