Autobiography. Prof. Zinaida Turaeva is a linguist. For half a century she taught at the Russian Pedagogical University (formerly the Leningrad Pedagogical Institute) where she headed the Department of English in the faculty of foreign languages for twenty-seven years. She has written and coauthored over 150 publications, among them monographs and university course books. She now lives in Germany where she continues to publish research articles in Russia and writes for the Russian-language press in Germany. She is an active participant in events popularizing Russian culture in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. She is a member of Ibycus, the association of poetry lovers, and for almost 10 years she has headed the jury of annual poetry contests held by the association.