Like the Russian writer Maria Stepanova, Maksim Ossipov (Moscow, 1963) would never have imagined that he would end up in exile. "I never would have thought that I would be teaching Russian literature in English in Amsterdam, but here I am," he explained in a interview on the ARAAuthor of short story collections such as The cry of the domestic bird (Club Editor, 2016), Rock, paper, scissors (Club Editor, 2022), and Kilometer 101 (Asteroid Books), Ossipov packed his bags and left the country shortly after the invasion of Ukraine began. In Russia, Ossipov was a cardiologist. In exile, he lives between Amsterdam and Berlin, writing and speaking about literature. He has just published a new book of short stories, After Eternity (Libros del Asteroide, 2026), translated into Spanish by Alejandro Ariel González. From his previous life in Russia, Osipov longs for his home, his parents' graves, his work as a doctor, and some friends. And above all, the feeling of being understood.