Anatolii Brussilovsky was born in 1932 in Odessa, Ukraine. He later moved to Kherson, where he attended the Art Institute there. Together with Anatolii Zverev, he participated in the Sixth World Festival of Youth and Students in 1957.
Brussilovsky began his artistic career as a book illustrator. During Khrushchev’s thaw of the 1960s, his art became an outlet for liberal ideas. He worked for major Russian newspapers and publishing houses and illustrated the first edition of J. D. Salinger’s works published in Russia. He hosted numerous nonofficial exhibitions and seminars, transforming his studio into a club for the underground community. Since the early 1960s Brussilovsky has numbered among the most intellectual artists within nonofficial community joining Kabakov, Neizvestny, Sooster, Yankilevsky, Sobolev, and Zhutovsky. He lives and works in Cologne, Germany.