Career
Born Vera Yevseyevna Slonim in Saint St. Petersburg into a Jewish family, the second of three daughters born to Slava Borisovna (née Feigin) and Yevsey Lazarevich Slonim. Yevsey was a lawyer, and successful in the tile and timber businesses, among others With the turmoil of World War I and the Russian Revolution, the family moved to Moscow, and after fleeing through Kiev, Odessa, Istanbul, and Sofia, arrived in Berlin, where they joined the large Russian émigré population.
Upon his death, Vladimir had requested his final work, The Original of Laura, be burned, but neither Véra nor Dmitri could bring themselves to destroy the manuscript, and eventually it was published in 2009.
In her late 80s, she translated Pale Fire into Russian. She stayed at the Palace until 1990, and died the following year at Vevey.
Dimitri, who died in 2012, is also buried there.