(also I. L. Andronikashvili). Born Sept. 15 (28), 1908, in St. Petersburg. Soviet Russian writer and literary critic. Member of the CPSU since 1949. Honored Art Worker of the RSFSR (1959); Ph.D. in philological sciences (1956).
Since 1935, Andronikov has appeared reading his own oral stories in which he creates portraits of writers, actors, and others, often in a humorous vein. Andronikov has done much for the study of the life and work of M. Iu. Lermontov, to whom his main critical works are devoted. In his semifictional works, Andronikov tries to recreate the very process of archival and textual exploration (The Riddle of N.F.I., 1938; The Tagil Find, 1956; etc.). Andronikov is also well-known for his appearances on television and radio. He was awarded the State Prize of the USSR (1967) and two orders.