Graduated from   Moscow   State   University,  Department  of Philology (1973),  and Institute of Slavonic and Balkan Studies (1983).

Ph. D.  1983 (“Slavonic Mythology:  The Archaic  Funeral Rites by  the  South  and  East  Slavs”). Doctor of Theology honoris causa – The European University of Humanities (Minsk)  2003.

             Up to 1990 nothing of her works was published in the USSR.

1983-1990: member of Professional Committee of literary critics and historians of art (Moscow); referent-observer of the foreign studies in Humanities (Institute of Scientific Information in Humanities). 

1990-1991 lectured at the Moscow Gorky's Writers Institute (General Poetics).

Since 1991 lectures at the Moscow University  (Department  of Philosophy). Senior researcher at the Institute of  the World Culture (Moscow State University).

Member of Russian PEN Centre (since 1994).

Chevalier d’Honneur d’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres de la Republique Francaise. (2005).

Published   29 books of poetry, prose, translations and studies in philology.

            Books of poetry:

1. Ворота, Окна, Арки. - YMCA-press, Париж, 1986. (Gates, Windows, Arches).

2. Китайское путешествие,  Стелы и надписи,  Старые песни. - Carte blanche, Москва, 1991. (A Chinese Journey, Tombstones and Inscriptions, The Old Songs).

2-А. Китайское путешествие (переизд.) М., Грааль 2002.  (A Chinese Journey).

2-б. Старые песни (переизд.) М., 2003. (The Old Songs).

3. The Silk of Time.  Шелк времени.  (по-английски и русски). Bilingual Selected Poems.  Ed. and itroduced  by Valentina Polukhina.  Ryburn Publihing.  Keele Univ.Press,1994.

4. Стихи.  Послесловие С.С.Аверинцева. - Гнозис, Carte Blanche. Москва, 1994. (Selected Poems, introd. by Sergej Averintsev).

5. The Wild Rose. (по-английски и русски). Approach Publishers. London 1997 (Bilingual). Transl. Richard McKane. Introd. Peter Levi.

6. The Old Songs (на иврите). Carmel Publishing House, Jerusalem, 1997. Transl. Hamutal Bar Josef.

7. Стихи и Проза. Двухтомник. Москва, NFQ, 2001.

(Collected Works in 2 volumes. Vol.1. Poetry. Vol.2. Essays.)

8. Путешествие волхвов. Избранное.  - М., Logos, 2002.

(The Journey of the Magi.  Selected Poems).

8-а. Переиздание: М., Русский путь, 2005. (Second ed.)

9. Kinesik Rejse og andre digte.  (по-датски). «Китайское путешествие и другие стихи». Borgens Verdenslytik fra det 20. arhunderte. Copenhagen,  2004.  - Transl. Mette Dalsgaard.

10. Poems and Elegies. (по-английски).  Transl. Slava Jastremsky and others. - Bucknell Univ. Press. 2003.

11. Le voyage en Chine et autres poemes. (по-французски). Trad. Leon Robel, Marie-Noelle Pane, Philippe Jaccottet. - Caracteres, Paris 2004.

12. L’ange de Reims & autres poemes. (по-французски). Le rencontres poetiques de Montpellier. Sixieme serie. Cahier numero 57.- Sauramps, 2005. (In French). «Ангел Реймса и другие стихи». Transl. Ph. Arjakovsky, Francois Fedier, Guislaine  Capogna Bardet. (The Angel of Reims and other poems.)

13. Lekures rrejdh shikimi. Selected poems.  (по-албански).    - Bodimet ideart, Tirane, April 2006.  Transl. Agron Tufa.

14.  Музыка. Стихи и проза. М., Русский мир, 2006. (Music. Poems and Prose).

15. Две книги. - Аудиокнига. СПб.,  АзиЯ-плюс, 2008. (Two Books. The author’s reading).

16. Solo in fuoco si semina il fuoco. (по-итальянски). A cura di Adalberto Mainardi. - Edizioni Quiqajon, 2008.

Books of prose:

1. Reise nach Bryansk. (по-немецки). “Путешествие в Брянск”. «Путешествие в Тарту и обратно». Transl. Erich Klein and Valeria Jager. - Wien, Folio Verlag. 2000. (A Journey to Bryansk, A Journey to Tatru & return).

2. Eloge de la poesie. (по-французски). “Похвала поэзии”. Transl.  Guislaine Bardet.-  Ed. L’Age d’Homme, Lausanne, Swiss. 2001. (In Praise of Poetry).

3. Voyage a Tartu & retour. Poesie & anthropologie. Quelque remarques sur l’art de la traduction.  (по-французски). «Путешествие в Тарту и обратно. Поэзия и антропология. Об искусстве перевода» . Trad. Ph. Arjakovsky.-  Paris, Clemence Hiver. 2005.((A Journey to Tartu and return. Poetry & Anthropology. Art of Translation: Some Remarks).

4. Два путешествия. М., Логос, 2005. Вступ. статья Ксении Голубович. (“Two Journeys”. Introd. Xenia Golubovich)

5. Посредственность как социальная опасность. - Архангельск, 2006. (Mediocrity as a Social Danger)

6. Voyage a Bryansk. Le don de la liberte. Quelque mots sur la poesie. (по-французски). «Путешествие в Брянск. Дар свободы. Немного о поэзии, ее конце, начале и продолжении. A cura Marie-Noelle Pane. .-  Clemence Hiver. 2008.

(A Journey to Bryansk, The Gift of Liberty. Some Words on Poetry: Its End, Its Beginning and Its Continuation. Trad., comment and introduced by Marie Noelle Pane)/

Books for children:

1. Как я превращалась (And then I turned into…).  - Москва,  ТимДизайн, 2007.

2, Хрюнтик Мамунтик. Стихи для детей и котов. - Khriuntik Mamuntik. Poems for cats and children (in print, Moscow)

Books of philological studies:

1. Поэтика обряда. Погребальная обрядность восточных и южных славян. М., Индрик, 2004.  (Poetics of the Ritual: The Funeral Rites of the East and South Slavs).

2. Церковнославянско-русские паронимы. Материалы к словарю.

M. Греко-латинский кабинет.  2005. (The Church-Slavonic – Russian Dictionary).

2-A. Трудные слова из богослужений. Церковнославянско-русские паронимы. Издание второе, исправленное и дополненное. M. Греко-латинский кабинет.  2005. (The second, revised and completed ed. of the Dictionary).

Books of translation:

1. Рождественская история по Евангелию от Луки. Пер. Ольги Седаковой.  -СПб.. изд. Новикова. 1998.

 (Сhristmas Story secundum Luca).

2.  Поль Клодель. ”Извещение Марии” (драма).  Перевод, статья. Paul Claudel. L’annonce faite a Marie. - Casa di Matriona, 2000. Translation, Introduction.

3.  Послания  cв. Антония Великого.  Перевод, комментарий. М., Синтагма, 2003. (The Letters of St. Anthony the Great: translation, comments).

The poems by Olga Sedakova, translated into English, French, Italian, German,  Swedish, Dutch, Finnish, Serbian, Hebrew, Polish, Serb, Bulgarian, Albanian, Flemish, Greek and other languages, were published  in various Anthologies and periodicals.

The essays and  and  philological  works were also published in various collections and periodicals, in Russian and in translation (English, German, French, Italian, Albanian, Serb etc.).

Olga Sedakova’s translations from European poetry (R.M.Rilke, T.S.Eliot, Ezra Pound, L.Carroll,  P.Ronsard, P.Claudel,  S.Mallarmee, St. Francis of Assisi, Dante, Petrarca, Paul Celan and others) were published in the numerous anthologies, collections and periodicals).

            Took part  in the International Сongresses,  Symposiums  and Conferences on Philology, philosophy, sociology and history of Russia:

 Glasgow 1989,  1991;  San Francisco Whitland Foundation 1990; Paris 1993; Rome 1994;  Moscow 1995, Vatican 1996, Stockholm 1996, Rome 1998, 2000, 2003; Paris 1999, Stockholm 1999, Ferrara 1999, Paris 2002, Minsk 2003, 2004, Moscow 1995, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, Firenze 2006, Seriate 2007, Praha 2008.

            Poet in Residence :

1994 Keel University  (UK );

1999 Visiting Poet, Bucknell University (USA);

1999 Amherst College  (USA);

2003 Annual Speaker for the up-graduate students, Harvard  (USA).

            Lectured abroad:

1989 December  at the University of Venice. “Anna Akhmatova’ s Poetics: an Aspect”. (Italy). 

1994 January – July,  Keele University:  two courses: Comparative Poetry, XX cent and Art of Translation (UK)

1994 at the Universities of United Kingdom (Oxford, St.Andrew, Leeds, Exeter, Essex Belfast, London, Sussex, Bath): on Russian Literature, Slavonic Mythology, Church-Slavonic language (UK);

1995 at the University of Rome “La Sapienza” (Italy);

1997 at the Wisconsin University  (Madison, USA);

1997 at the Lay Academy by the New Valamo Monastery (Finland);

1999 at the Universities of Copenhagen, Aarhus, Odense (Denmark,);

2000 at the University of Wien,  at the Academy of Art, Bozen (Austria);

2001 La Sorbonne Universite (France);

2003 at the Universities of Princeton, Penstate, Bucknell (USA);

2003 at the Universiy of Geneve (Swiss);

2007 at the Universities of USA, lectures and poetry readings (Stanford, Harvard,

  Berkeley, Bucknell, Emory) (USA);

2007 at the University of Stanford. Visiting professor,  the second trimester (January – May);

2008 at the University of Sassari  Visiting Scientist. March – May and October – December (Italy)..

            Public lectures:

 Keele University.  Osip Mandelshnam. Words and Music.   16 March 1994. (UK).

British Library. “Art of Translation: Some Remarks”. April 1997. (UK)

Roma. “The Happy Agitation of Depths”. Lecture delivered in case of the Solovjev Price, 1999. (Vatican);

Vienna. Wiener Vorlesungen, “Two Vienne Lectures”: “Stupidity by Pushkin”, “Poetry and Anthropology”. May 2000 (Austria);

Bregenz. Bregenzer Festspiele The opening lecture to the International  Opera Festival of Bregens: “Macht des Glucks” (“The Power of Joy”). July 2000 (Austria);

Rimini. The opening lecture at the Rimini MEETING Festival :“The Best University: Idea of Happiness in the Russian Culture”. August 2003. (Italy);

Firenze. In the course of the Conference Arte che genera arte. “L’ispirazione dantesca nella poesia russa”. October 2006;

 Milano.  In the course of Esperimenti danteschi :“Under the Skies of Violence, three Songs of Inferno”. The State University of Milano. March 2008 (Italy);

Sassari. Lectio majores: “Dante nella poesia Russa”. University of  Sassari. December 2008 (Italy);

and many others, in Moscow, Arkhangelsk, Minsk, Tver’ etc.

                Participated in   the   International   Poetry    Festivals:

Hay-on-Way Poetry Festival, 1994 (UK);

Rotterdam Poetry International 1995 (Holland);

Racconti divers” Salerno 1995, 2002 (Italy)

Minsk 1996 (Bielorus); 

Visby 1997 (Sweden);

Bardinale. Koeln, 1998 (Germany);

London Poetry International, Royal Festival Hall 1998 (UK);

Ive-sur Marne Poetry International, 1999 (France);

Africa Poetry – 2000 Durban (South Africa)

French and Russian Poetical Tradotions. Paris 2002 (France);

 “Archipel”, Reims 2003 (France).

Die lange Nacht der Russischen Dichtung, Berlin 2003 (Germany);

Bardinale. Dresden 2004 (Germany);

Les Belles Etrangeres: Paris. Lille, Renne, Bruxelles, Charleroi, 2005 (France, Belgium)

“Europalia” 2006: Bruxelles, Gent, Nimes (Belgium).

“Poeteka” 2006: Dures (Epidamnus), Tiranna, Skoder (Albania).

In the International Book fairs:

Frankfurt Book Fair 2003 (Germany)

Paris Book Fair 2005 (France)

Comedie du livre Montpellier. 30.5. 2008 – 1.6.2008. (France)

3 International Open Book Festival. Moscow. 11-15.6. (Russia)

Poet in Residence:

Keele University 1994 (UK);

Ducknell University, Amherst College 1999 (USA);

Harvard University 2003 (USA)

Other residences:

Arles, Centre International des Traducteurs 1997(France);

Schloss Wiepersdorf 1999 (Germany);

Bellagio, Rockefeller Foundation 2001 ( USA - Italy).

Radio Programs, Films:

Talks on Poetry: the regular (in a fortnight) one-hour program on Radio “Sofia”, 1999 – 2000 (Moscow);

“Another Russia”, film by James H. Billington, 1997 (USA);

“Olga Sedakova: the Profile”, film by Christian Ratner, ORF,  2000 (Austria).

“To live and to write in Russia”«Жить и писать в России». Film. 2005 (France,)

              Literary prizes :

Andrey Bely Prize For poetry, essays and translations, published in Samizdat. (Leningrad 1980).

Paris  Prize  for  Russian Poet.  For the boor “A Chinese Journey”. (Paris 1991).

Alfred  Toepfer  Pushkin Prize . For poetry. (Hamburg 1994).

Premio Europeo per la poesia. For the book of poetry “The Wild Rose”. (Roma, 1995)

“The Christian Roots of Europe”,  Prize  in the name of Vladimir Solovjov (Vatican 1998).

Aleksandr Solzhenitzyn Prize. For poetry and essays. (Moscow 2003)

Onufry International Prize.  For poetry. (Albania 2006).

“Inolittle” prize for translations from Paul Celan. (Moscow 2006).

The Book of the Year for children. (Moscow 2007).

            Lives in Moscow, single.

                                                                       February 2009

                                                                       Moscow