Born in Baku, Topol spent his teenage years finishing local school in Baku and graduated from Azerbaijan State Economic University. He also did his military service in Estonia. He worked as journalist for newspapers such as Bakinskiy Rabochiy and Komsomolskaya Pravda and wrote the screenplays for seven movies, of which two were banned due to censorship under the Soviet government.

In 1978, he immigrated to New York, and lived for short periods in Boston, Toronto and Miami.

He married twice and has one daughter.

Russian:

• Red Square
• Journalist for Brezhnev
• Strange Face
• Tomorrow in Russia