Born in Crimea in 1945, Aleksandr Tkachenko wrote several books of poetry over his lifetime, the first of which, On The First Light, was published in 1972.  A professional soccer player in his youth, Tkachenko went on to become a founder and General Director of the Russian PEN Club, and in this role advocated for numerous writers threatened with imprisonment by the Russian state.  He died in 2007 at the age of 63.