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Yuri Shevchuk

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For other people with the same or similar name, see Yuri Shevchuk (disambiguation).
Yuri Shevchuk
Yuri Shevchuk in Saint Petersburg Theological Academy, 2012.
Yuri Shevchuk in Saint Petersburg Theological Academy, 2012.
Background information
Birth nameYuri Yulianovich Shevchuk
Born (1957-05-16) 16 May 1957 (age 67)
Yagodnoye, Magadan Oblast, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
GenresRock, jazz
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitar
Websitewww.ddt.ru

Yuri Shevchuk's signature

Yuri Yulianovich Shevchuk (Russian: Ю́рий Юлиа́нович Шевчу́к; born 16 May 1957) is a Soviet and Russian rock musician and singer/songwriter who leads the rock band DDT, which he founded with Vladimir Sigachyov in 1980.

He is best known for his distinctive gravelly voice. His lyrics detail aspects of Russian life with a wry, humanistic sense of humor. He is also famous for opposing pop music culture (especially playback performances) for many years. He is often accredited with being the greatest songwriter in present-day Russia.

Biography

Shevchuk in 1999

Shevchuk was born in Yagodnoye in Magadan Oblast and raised in Ufa, Bashkir ASSR. Prior to founding DDT, he worked as an art teacher.

By the time the group released their third album Periferiya (Periphery), Shevchuk was facing a lot of pressure from Soviet censorship.[1] In 1985 he disbanded the group and together with his wife Elmira moved to St. Petersburg. There he assembled a new line-up and became a member of the Leningrad Rock Club. In 1989, DDT performed in Hungary; in 1990, in the US and for the first time in Japan.

In 1992, Shevchuk lost his wife to cancer. The album Aktrisa Vesna (Spring the Actress) was dedicated to her and featured her paintings.

In January 1995, during the First Chechen War, Shevchuk went on a peace mission to Chechnya,[2] where he gave 50 concerts for Russian troops and Chechen citizens alike.[3]

In 1999, Shevchuk visited Yugoslavia, giving concerts in support of the country's integrity and sharply criticizing the US for its bombings of the sovereign state. He also compiled photographic reports for UNESCO about destroyed Orthodox churches in the Serbian region of Kosovo.[3]

In the 2000s, Shevchuk was highly critical of the nature of Vladimir Putin's Russia that he regarded as undemocratic (see: Putinism), and was one of only few celebrities to voice oppositionist grievances to Putin's face during a now-famous sit-down with cultural figures. On 3 March 2008, Shevchuk participated in a Dissenters' March in Saint Petersburg against the presidential elections to which no serious opposition was admitted.[4] One of his controversial songs, "Kogda zakonchitsya neft", features the lyrics "When the oil runs dry, our president will die".[5]

On 24 and 26 September 2008, Shevchuk organized two peace concerts in Moscow and Saint Petersburg in protest against the Russian–Georgian war. The concerts were titled "Don't Shoot" ("Ne Strelyai"), after an eponymous song Shevchuk had written in 1980 in response to the Soviet–Afghan War. Together with DDT he performed alongside the Georgian jazz singer Nino Katamadze, the Ossetian band Iriston, and the band Bratya Karamazovy from Ukraine. Revenue from the concerts was shared with victims of the war, Ossetians as well as Georgians.[6]

In May 2010, Shevchuk received considerable media attention following a pointed dialogue with Vladimir Putin on state television, in which the singer openly confronted the then-Prime Minister with questions on controversial topics of democracy, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and freedom of the press.[7] In a 2017 interview, Shevchuk admitted that the day after the televised exchange he "got a call from United States Congress with an invitation to give some kind of lecture..." and that his answer was: "[we] will settle it among ourselves". He also stated that some of his requests were treated and processed by Kremlin administration.[8]

On 25 August 2010, Shevchuk performed the Bob Dylan song "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" together with U2 at their first ever concert in Russia, at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.[9]

On 4 January 2011, Shevchuk was featured on the U.S. NPR Morning Edition radio program.[10]

Shevchuk singing on opposition meeting.

On 18 June 2014, during a concert at the Green Theatre in Moscow, Shevchuk declared that all revenue from the concert would be donated to the "Dr. Lisa" fund to aid injured citizens of Donbas.[11][12]

On 24 February 2022, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Shevchuk stated, "Our future is being taken from us. We’re being pulled as if through an ice hole into the past, into the 19th, 18th, 17th century. And people refuse to accept it."[13]

Solo discography (without DDT)

Year Transliterated title Original title English translation Annotation
1982 "Cherepovetsky magnitoalbom" "Череповецкий магнитоальбом" Cherepovets magnitalbum magnitizdat
1995 "Kochegarka" "Кочегарка" Boiler room underground concert with Alexander Bashlachev in Leningrad on March 18, 1985
1998 "'82" "82 г." '82 post 1982
2001 "Dva Kontserta. Acustica" "Два концерта. Акустика" Two concerts. Acoustics post 1997
2005 "Moskva. Zhara" "Москва. Жара" Moscow. Heat underground concert in post 1985
2008 "L'Echoppe" "L'Echoppe" The Stall
2009 "Sol'nik" "Сольник" Solo a collection of poems, published by Novaya Gazeta

Notes

  1. ^ Своими глазами//Передача радиостанции «Эхо Москвы»
  2. ^ Мёртвый город. Рождество
  3. ^ a b "Личность - Юрий Шевчук. - Город.томск.ру". Retrieved 29 April 2017.
  4. ^ "Би-би-си - Россия - Юрий Шевчук: "Эти выборы мне не оставили выбора"". 4 March 2008. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
  5. ^ Bratersky, Alexander (2009-08-28). "Shevchuk Sings for the Preservation of Moscow". The Moscow Times. Retrieved 2009-08-29.
  6. ^ Timasheva, Marina (2008-09-24). ""Не стреляй!" Музыканты требуют мира". Svobodanews.ru. Retrieved 2008-09-27.
  7. ^ Schwirtz, Michael (31 May 2010). "Break in Protocol for a Rock Star With Putin". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
  8. ^ Шевчук - о батле с Путиным и войне в Чечне / вДудь on YouTube (in Russian)
  9. ^ "U2 Leader Bono Sings Duet with DDT Frontman Yuri Shevchuk at Moscow Concert :: Russia-InfoCentre". Retrieved 29 April 2017.
  10. ^ "Yuri Shevchuk: Russia's Musical Advocate For Democracy". NPR. 2011-01-04. Retrieved 2011-01-04.
  11. ^ "Группа "ДДТ" отказалась от "Осени" и перевела средства от концерта жителям Донецкой области". 19 June 2014. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
  12. ^ "ДДТ направит 500 тысяч рублей беженцам". dni.ru. 2014-07-05. Retrieved 2015-12-14.
  13. ^ "Prominent Russians join protests against Ukraine war amid 1,800 arrests". The Guardian. 2022-02-24. Retrieved 2022-02-26.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Yuri Shevchuk.

Interview with Yuri Shevchuk in: OLENA CHEKAN – The Quest for a Free Ukraine - Bohdan Rodyuk Chekan (Ed.), DER KONTERFEI 015, Paperback, English, 96 pages, 2015, ISBN 978-3-903043-04-6

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