Michael Idov is a writer and composer. Idov was a contributing writer at New York Magazine and the editor-in-chief of RUSSIA!, an English-language quarterly highlighting Russian art and design. Idov's writing has appeared in Slate, Vogue, Pitchfork Media, NPR, the New Republic and Moscow's Bolshoi Gorod. His first novel, "Ground Up," was published in 2009, and his memoir, "Dressed Up for a Riot: Misadventures in Putin's Moscow," was published in 2018. Idov's rock band Spielerfrau has release two albums. He has also composed music for films. Idov received his B.A. in film studies from the University of Michigan.