Nicolai Lilin wrote the world best-seller Siberian Education about a special clan of noble anarchist criminals from Siberia. The novel has been translated into 19 languages, but not Russian. However, it has become the basis for an Italian movie starring John Malkovich as the main criminal Grandfather Kuzya. The book showed that the West is again waiting for stories about “the mysterious Russian soul”.

By order of Josef Stalin a community of unusual criminals was banished from Siberia to the city of Bendery in Transnistria 1938. These were not ordinary thieves or bandits, but an ancient Siberian clan of noble anarchists. They live in strict accordance with their own moral code, which makes them despise any power, whatever it might be - imperial, communistic or capitalist.

In 1980 the boy Nicolai (later he will be nicknamed Kolyma) was born into one of the most authoritative families of this community. The book is written on behalf of him. The bool cover reads that it is the autobiography of Nicolai Lilin, “a hereditary Siberian criminal”.

Nicolai Lilin was born in Bendery, Transnistria, the USSR in 1980.  Transnistria declared its independence in 1990, but was never recognized an independent territory. Presently it is part of Moldova.

In 2004 Nicolai Lilin moved to Italy to gain there greater popularity than in his homeland. In 2009 he had his first novel Siberian Education published in Italian. The novel has been translated into 19 languages and distributed in 24 countries. It also evoked interest among film makers.

The film director Gabriele Salvatores released the same-name movie in February, 2013.

April, 2010 saw the publication of his second book Free Fall, or Sniper and the third book The Breath of the Dark came out in October, 2011.

In addition to that Nicolai Lilin contributes for the magazine L'Espresso.

The scandalous writer is the founder of the Kolyma Contemporary Culture center, an exhibition venue that holds various cultural events in Milan.