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Andriy Kuzmenko

17 August 1968 – 2 February 2015; was a Ukrainian singer, poet, writer, TV presenter

Andriy Viktorovych "Kuzma" Kuzmenko (Ukrainian: Андрі́й Ві́кторович Кузьме́нко; 17 August 1968 – 2 February 2015) was a Ukrainian singer, poet, writer, TV presenter, producer and actor, Hero of Ukraine (2020). He was best known as the lead singer of the Ukrainian rock band Skryabin, founded in 1989. He died in a traffic collision on 2 February 2015 in Lozuvatka, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, aged 46.

I do not know the definition of resistances, resistance exists, or it does not. One must resist if they want to lick you off, erase you from your land.
— Andriy Kuzmenko

The Skryabin group, whose frontman was Kuzma, created its own creative microcosm, combining love for foreign musical trends of the 80s (synth-pop, post-punk, "new wave") with deep, abstract and aphoristic texts.

Awards

On October 13, 2015, an electronic petition to award Andriy Kuzmenko, the leader of the band "Skrяbin", the title of People's Artist of Ukraine was submitted for consideration to the Administration of the President of Ukraine (petition № 22/002933-ep registered on September 5, 2015).

The President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, supported awarding Andriy Kuzmenko, the leader of the band "Skrяbin", the Order of Merit, First Class (posthumously). "Considering the widespread support for awarding A. Kuzmenko a state honor and his significant contribution to the development of Ukrainian culture and the enrichment of national musical art, I supported the proposal of the State Awards and Heraldry Commission to award Andriy Kuzmenko the Order of Merit, First Class (posthumously)," stated the response of the President of Ukraine to the electronic petition. The response of the President of Ukraine specifically emphasizes that according to paragraph 7 of the Regulations on Honorary Titles of Ukraine, approved by the decree of the President "On Honorary Titles of Ukraine" dated June 29, 2001, the title "People's Artist of Ukraine" is not awarded posthumously.

On February 21, 2020, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine supported the parliamentary inquiry by Pavlo Melnyk to the President of Ukraine regarding the perpetuation of the memory of the singer Andriy Kuzmenko, who died in a car accident on February 2, 2015, by awarding the honorary title "People's Artist of Ukraine", as well as other outstanding figures of Ukraine who were not honored with such a state award during their lifetime, by amending the Decree of the President of Ukraine "On Honorary Titles of Ukraine" to allow for the posthumous awarding of honorary titles.

Biography

Andriy Kuzmenko was born on 17 August 1968, in Sambir, Lviv region. His family moved to the city of Novoyavorivsk, where he would start his career. As a child, he dreamed of becoming a garbage truck driver. His mother was a music teacher, while his father was an engineer. Kuzmenko, an only child, graduated from music school and from the Faculty of Dentistry. He was not interested in dentistry, but finished his studies at the request of the parents. He was also actively involved in sports and participated in biathlons. On 14 September 1997, Kuzmenko and his wife Svitlana had a daughter, who was given the name Maria Barbara, in honor of the Polish actress Barbara Brylska, a childhood idol of Kuzmenko. According to him, his wife resembles Brylska.

2000—2010

Kuzmenko's life heavily revolved around Skryabin during this period. In 2000, he became a presenter of his own hit parade "Hot Seven", which lasted until 2002. Beginning around 2003, Kuzmenko worked as a presenter of the programs "Chance" and "Shikanemo" with singer Natalia Mogilevska. He was given all control of management over Skryabin, and began to take the band in a sonically new direction. In 2006, Kuzmenko published his autobiography, titled "Me, Pobeda and Berlin". The book was wildly popular, and has been reprinted several times since then. In 2009, he created the group Payushchie Trusy (Singing Pants), and helped the project "DZIDZIO" grow in popularity. In the same year he was a voting member for the "Book of the Year B-B-C" award.

2010—2015

At the end of January 2014, Kuzmenko recorded a song dedicated to the events of Euromaidan, stating that he supports the people on the Maidan, but not the opposition. During the 2014 war, he helped the military and the wounded in the area of ATO in eastern Ukraine. In October 2014, he launched his own Internet radio station called «S.R.A.K.A.», which, according to him, played the music he listened to in the car. Shortly before his death, Kuzmenko strongly criticized the current government in interviews, wishing death upon government officials and accusing them of corruption.

Death

On 2 February 2015, at around 8:20, Kuzmenko died in a car accident near Lozuvatka village in Kryvyi Rih Raion in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. The press service of the Department of State Automobile Inspection of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine reported that, according to the preliminary data, the Toyota Sequoia SUV driven by Kuzmenko collided with a GAZ-53 on the 86th km of highway "Kryvyi Rih – Kropyvnytskyi". The injuries Kuzmenko received in the collision were fatal. He was returning from Kryvyi Rih, where his band had performed the day before. The vehicle's passenger was taken to a hospital in Kryvyi Rih.

Farewell

Andriy was memorialized on February 5, 2015, at the Church of the Transfiguration of Our Lord Jesus Christ in Lviv. The musician was buried in the family crypt at the cemetery in Bryukhovychi. Memorial concerts for Skryabin were held on May 20 at the Kyiv Sports Palace in Kyiv and on June 21 at the Arena Lviv in Lviv.

Family and personal life

He was married since 1994 to Svitlana Ivanivna Babiyhcuk (born March 26, 1968, in Kursk), the daughter of the artist Ivan Babiyhcuk (1944 — 2015). She is an artist and a master of wood painting. She studied with Andriy in parallel classes and graduated from the Kursk Pedagogical Institute in 1990. In 2006, Svitlana owned shops on Andriyivskyy Descent. She painted on silk and batik, worked on commission, founded the charitable "Kuzma Skryabin Foundation", helps children's homes and hospitals, engages in volunteer activities, and supports Ukrainian soldiers, as Andriy did.

Daughter - Maria-Barbara Andriivna Kuzmenko (Basia) (born September 14, 1997), named after the actress Barbara Brylska, Andriy's childhood idol, whom Andriy personally knew. She studied at the Bogomolets National Medical University and received a diploma in dermatology.

Mother - Olga Mykhailivna Kuzmenko, a piano teacher at a music school, writer, died on September 23, 2023, at the age of 76.

Public activity

According to Andriy, in 2004, he was forced to perform concerts in support of the presidential candidate Viktor Yanukovych.

Later, Kuzmenko took an active political stance, which he often expressed in interviews. He consistently provided financial assistance to the soldiers of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) and was known for occasionally visiting the hospital where the soldiers were treated. Andriy explained that after being wounded, a soldier becomes uninteresting to the state, and everyone turns away from him, so it's extremely important to communicate with veterans. Andriy Kuzmenko consistently criticized the activities of Ukrainian politicians.

Andriy made several videos addressing the deputies of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (VRU). In these videos, he traveled the roads of Ukraine, commenting on what he saw outside the window, such as the terrible quality of the roads, potholes, flooding, lack of repairs, etc. In 2001, he was part of the "Team of the Winter Generation" party.

The band "Skrяbin" has several songs on political themes:

  • "Kynuly" (Thrown Away)
  • "Tepla zyma" (Warm Winter)
  • "Dura-tsenzura" (Fool-Censorship)
  • "Ruína" (Ruin)
  • "Istoríya" (History)
  • "Ya zlyy" (I am Angry)

Regarding the contemporary Russian-Ukrainian war, they have the following songs:

  • "Ukrayíntsí" (Ukrainians)
  • "Suka-viyna" (Damn War)
  • "Lyst do prezidentív Ukrayíny" (Letter to the Presidents of Ukraine)

Zlyy Rеper Zenyk

"Zlyy Rеper Zenyk" was the singing pseudonym of Andriy Kuzmenko, under which he recorded the album "Zalupa RocK." This album features explicit language, comedic texts, and similar content. According to the singer, the album under the pseudonym Zlyy Rеper Zenyk was a one-time project, and he did not plan to continue this project.

Television

  • 1996 - "Territory A" (ICTV) - participant
  • 2005–2007 - "Shikanemo" (Inter) - host
  • 2005–2006 - "Games of Patriots" (Inter) - player
  • 2010 - "Made in Ukraine" (Inter) - parody of Kuzma Skryabin and the car ZAZ Lanos (parody of the song "Old Photographs")
  • 2011 - "Battle of the Nations" (ICTV) - host
  • 2013 - "Kyiv Evening" (1+1) - guest
  • 2012–2014 - "Dacha" (ICTV) - host

Sources