His novel The Queue was Sorokin's first international success, which was translated into ten languages. By now, Sorokin has become one of the leading authors of contemporary Russian literature. In addition to numerous short stories and novels, he also wrote screenplays and plays. His books have been translated into more than 30 languages, and his most recent publications are the novels Day of the Oprichnik and The Blizzard. In 2010 Vladimir Sorokin was awarded the Russian-Italian Gorky Prize, in 2011 he received the NOS Award for Innovative Literature, and he was also a finalist for the Man Booker International Prize 2013. Sorokin is considered one of the sharpest critics of the political elite of Russia and is regularly exposed to violent attacks by regime loyalists. In the summer term of 1998, Vladimir Sorokin was the first Samuel Fischer Guest Professor at the Free University of Berlin and 15 years later, on the anniversary of the guest professorship, he was appointed Samuel Fischer Guest of Honour..