Valentyn Yakovych Moroz was a Ukrainian writer and political prisoner. His resistance to persecution by the communist authorities made him a popular hero, particularly with the Ukrainian diaspora in Canada, but after he was expelled from the USSR, his militant nationalism, and his private life, made him a controversial figure.
Valentyn Sadovsky was a politician, scientist, journalist, economist of Ukraine. He was a member of the Shevchenko Scientific Society (1935) and the Ukrainian Science Institute in Warsaw.
Valeri Semyonovich Frid was a Soviet screenwriter. Most of his works were made together with Yuli Dunsky. Both of them were imprisoned in Gulag labor camps.
Valeri Borisovich Kharlamov was a Russian ice hockey forward who played for CSKA Moscow in the Soviet League from 1967 until his death in 1981. Although small in stature, Kharlamov was a speedy, intelligent, skilled and dominant player, being named the Soviet Championship League most valuable player in 1972 and 1973. An offensive player, who was considered very creative on the ice, he also led the league in scoring in 1972. He was also a gifted skater who was able to make plays at top speed. Kharlamov was considered one of the best players of his era, as well as one of the greatest players of all time.
Valeri Sergeevich Zolotukhin was a Soviet and Russian stage and cinema actor who performed at the Taganka Theatre which he also headed between 2011 and 2013. He was named People's Artist of the RSFSR in 1987.
Valeria Luiselli is a Mexican author living in the United States. She is the author of the book of essays Sidewalks and the novel Faces in the Crowd, which won the Los Angeles Times Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction. Luiselli's 2015 novel The Story of My Teeth was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Best Translated Book Award, and won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Best Fiction, and she was awarded the Premio Metropolis Azul in Montreal, Quebec. Luiselli's books have been translated into more than 20 languages, with her work appearing in publications including, The New York Times, Granta, McSweeney's, and The New Yorker. Her book, Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in 40 Questions, was a finalist for the Kirkus Prize in Nonfiction and the National Book Critics Circle Award in Criticism. Luiselli's 2020 novel, Lost Children Archive won the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction.
