Olga Sverchkova writer
From Legal Practice to Books and Life in Tbilisi
I’m Olga Sverchkova, a writer and lawyer. I’ve been practising law in St Petersburg for more than twenty years, including criminal cases, and I’ve been writing since 2019. In 2023, I moved to Tbilisi, expecting to stay only for a little while. Gradually, the city began to feel like home - and opened a new chapter centred on books and writing.
LEGAL PRACTICE
I've been practising law in St Petersburg for more than twenty years. Law taught me to listen carefully, notice contradictions, and understand how differently the same story can look from opposite sides.
I'm a practising Russian lawyer. I'm a member of the Leningrad Region Bar Chamber (registration number 47/825) and work through my own law office, Advokat Peterburga. My legal column, Advokat speshit na pomoshch ("A Lawyer Rushes to Help"), won the Golden Pen of Russia award. I've been writing since 2019, four years before I moved to Tbilisi.
I'm a practising Russian lawyer. I'm a member of the Leningrad Region Bar Chamber (registration number 47/825) and work through my own law office, Advokat Peterburga. My legal column, Advokat speshit na pomoshch ("A Lawyer Rushes to Help"), won the Golden Pen of Russia award. I've been writing since 2019, four years before I moved to Tbilisi.
WRITING
Over time, that way of looking at people and stories found its way into my writing. I became interested in cities, memory, relationships, choices, and the details of everyday life that are easy to overlook.
TBILISI
I came to Tbilisi in 2023 for what was supposed to be a short stay. What began as a temporary move became the starting point for my first book about Georgia.
A NEW CHAPTER
Tbilisi Was Meant to Be Temporary
I arrived in Tbilisi in 2023, planning to stay for a little while.
Then there were neighbours who seemed to know everything, taxi drivers who had already chosen the best route, hot bread that never made it home untouched, and conversations that always lasted longer than expected.
I began writing down these small moments. Gradually, they became Nobody Told Me About Tbilisi - thirty stories about everyday life in a city that rarely behaves the way a newcomer expects it to.
One book led to another. Today I write literary nonfiction and fiction about cities and people, memory and relationships, choices, and the strange details of ordinary life.
Then there were neighbours who seemed to know everything, taxi drivers who had already chosen the best route, hot bread that never made it home untouched, and conversations that always lasted longer than expected.
I began writing down these small moments. Gradually, they became Nobody Told Me About Tbilisi - thirty stories about everyday life in a city that rarely behaves the way a newcomer expects it to.
One book led to another. Today I write literary nonfiction and fiction about cities and people, memory and relationships, choices, and the strange details of ordinary life.
BOOKS BY OLGA SVERCHKOVA
Literary Nonfiction & Fiction
Olga Sverchkova’s books move between literary nonfiction and fiction, from stories about everyday life in Tbilisi to St. Petersburg narratives shaped by memory, mystery, irony, and the unexpected logic of ordinary life.
Nobody Told Me About Tbilisi
The Alibi of St. Petersburg
Petersburg. It’s Normal.
The Life Between Staying and Leaving
STORIES · ESSAYS · BOOK EXCERPTS
Blog
New stories, book excerpts, notes on writing, cities, and everyday life.
Get in Touch
For questions about my books, publications, interviews, or collaborations, send me a message on WhatsApp.