Polina Barskova is a Russian poet. She was born in Leningrad. Although her biological father is the distinguished poet Evgeny Rein, she was raised by her adoptive father, the scholar Yuri Barskov, and bears his last name. She started publishing her work at the age of nine, and her first book appeared when she was still a teenager, At the age of 20, she left Russia to pursue a PhD at UC Berkeley. She taught Russian literature at Hampshire College, and is now a professor at U.C. Berkeley.