Belarusian author Svetlana Alexievich has been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature 2015 "for her polyphonic writings, a monument to suffering and courage in our time".
According to the Guardian, she is a well-known critic of the Russian regime, and the author of many novels including 'A prayer for Chernobyl'.
Her first novel, The Unwomanly Face of the War, published in 1985, was based on the stories of women who fought against the Nazi Germans.
She is the 14th women laureates who have won the prestigious prize in literature.