Irina moved to Yugoslavia from the USSR in 1986 and lived in Split. In 1991 she moved to Kosovo and taught Russian literature in Pristina University. In 1999 she had to flee Kosovo as a refugee. She currently lives in Nis, Serbia, and teaches in the Univesity in Nis as well as in the University in Kosovska Mitrovica. She is also a writer and editor of "Gradina" magazine.