He currently lives abroad due to his wanted status and prison sentence in Russia for his criticism of the Russian government and the invasion of Ukraine.

[6] He graduated from a school in Arbat District, and having already decided to become a writer, conceived the idea for the post-apocalyptic novel Metro 2033 at the age of 15.

[10] In 2021, Glukhovsky publicly denounced the arrest of Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny and demanded his release in an online video.

[16][17] Glukhovsky began writing Metro 2033 as his first novel at the age of 18, and then published it on his website in 2002, available for all to read for free as an interactive experiment.

First published in print form in 2005, the book and its sequels turned into a multimedia franchise including a video game series.

[5] He has also worked with the German radio station Deutsche Welle and the British television channel Sky News.