Svetlin Roussev was born in Pleven, Bulgaria in 1939, and in ?1959, he graduated from the Art Academy, Sofia, where he studied painting under Professor Dechko Ouzounov.?

From 1961 on he took part in art exhibitions in Bulgaria. ?He lived in Pleven until 1967 (he spent about a year in Rousse from 1961 to 1962).? From 1967 on he has livef and worked in Sofia.

Svetlin Roussev has received numerous awards for his work.

The main awards he was granted in Bulgaria are: Gold Medal and First Prize from the First Youth Exhibition, 1961; Dimitrov Award, 1968; Zahari Zograf Prize for Painting, 1973; The International Painting Trienale Prize, Sofia, 1974; The International Painting Trienale Prize, Sofia, 1974; Grand Prix of the Bulgarian Artists Union, 1986; Vladimir Dimitrov - The Master Award, 1987; Kiril Petrov Award, 1988. In 2001 Svetlin Roussev has been granted with the National Paisyi Hilendarski Price and in 2013 with the Marin Drinov Award from the Bulgarian Academy of Science.

The main prizes he received abroad are: Diploma for Bulgarian representation at Cannes-sur-Merre, 1970; Peter and Irene Ludwig Award; Portrait Award, Radom, Poland; Gabriele Olivie Award, Monaco; Golden Laurel - Kuenstlerhaus, Vienna; Grand Prix of the Foundation Taylor in Paris and others.

Mr Roussev is member of the following artists associations: Salon d'Automne, Paris, the Russian Academy of Arts, Medici Academy, Nika-Kai Association, Tokyo, Royal Flemish Academy for Science and the Arts, Belgium. He is a correspondent-member of the Kuenstlerhaus in Vienna.

Svetlin Roussev has been holding a professorship at the National Art Academy in Sofia from 1975 on. He was also the chairman of the Bulgarian Artists Union between 1973 and 1985 and director of the National Art Gallery in Sofia between 1985 and 1988. In 1984 he donated to his native town Pleven a large collection of objects of modern and classical Bulgarian art, Asian and African art and made it accessible to public by placing it at a permanent gallery.

The artist took part in many group-exhibitions and representations of Bulgarian art in Paris, Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Budapest, Warsaw, Prague, Bucharest, Vienna, Belgrade, Ankara, Stockholm, Berlin, Munich, Essen, Hamburg, Mexico, Montreal and many other cities all over the world. He has hold many solo-exhibitions in Bulgarian cities such as Sofia, Bourgas, Pleven, Varna, Sliven, Rousse, Balchik and many others. Major cities of Europe and USA have been hosting his exhibitions either - Moscow, Paris, Mexico, Vienna, Warsaw, Bucharest, Hamburg, Miami, Ferrara, Orvieto and many others.

Among galleries and museums that work in their collections by Roussev are the National Art Gallery, Sofia; Sofia City Art Gallery; and the Museum of Pushkin, the Major City museum of Sofia; and Art Center Hugo Voeten, Belgium, etc.