ALDANOV, MARK

born Oct. 26 [Nov. 7, New Style], 1889, Kiev, Ukraine, Russian Empire died Feb. 25, 1957, Nice, France pseudonym of Mark Aleksandrovich Landau Russian migr writer best known for work bitterly critical of the Soviet system. In 1919 Aldanov emigrated to France, which he left for the United States in 1941. He wrote an essay on Lenin (1921); Deux Rvolutions (1921; Two Revolutions), a work comparing the Russian and French revolutions; Actinochimie (1936; Actinic Chemistry), a scientific treatise; and many novels. Most of Aldanov's works were translated into English, including a tetralogy on revolutionary France, Myslitel (192325; The Thinker); an anti-Soviet satire, Nachalo kontsa (1939; The Fifth Seal); and Istoki (1947; Before the Deluge), a picture of Europe in the 1870s.