Venya D'rkin (Russian: Веня Д'ркин; 11 June 1970 in Dovzhanskyi, Luhansk Oblast, Soviet Union, now Dovzhanske [uk], Ukraine – 21 August 1999 in Korolyov, Moscow Oblast, Russia), real name – Alexander Mikhailovich Litvinov (Russian: Александр Михайлович Литвинов), was a Russian language bard, poet, artist, painter and writer of fairy tales.[1][2] He wrote over three hundred songs.[3] As usual in the bard genre, the songs contain deep and imaginative lyrics, but, less commonly, are also very melodic. During the late 1990s, he performed some of his songs accompanied by other musicians, notably the violinist Veronica Belyayeva.

Venya D'rkin
Литвинов Александр Михайлович
Background information
Also known asVenya D'rkin, Drantya
Born(1970-06-11)11 June 1970
Dovzhanskyi, Luhansk Oblast, USSR
Died21 August 1999(1999-08-21) (aged 29)
Korolyov, Moscow Oblast, Russia
GenresFolk rock, sung poetry
Occupation(s)Bard, poet, songwriter, singer, composer, painter
Instrument(s)Vocals, acoustic guitar, percussion, harmonica, bard
Years active1991—1999
LabelsRussian: Дрдом, Отделение Выход, Выргород
Formerly ofRussian: Д'ркин-Бэнд
Websitehttps://drdom.info/

In his 1998 interview (Russian Rock-n-Roller newspaper, 4 November 1998) the name was explained by his "agent" Natalia as follows. At one festival he jokingly registered himself as "Venya Dyrkin from Maksyutovka" (Веня Ды́ркин из Максютовки; funny-sounding names from an old local joke). Surprisingly he became a prize winner at the festival; his fake name was shown on big screen, and in this way it became his stage name.[4][5]

Venya D'rkin died of cancer (Hodgkin's lymphoma) on 21 August 1999.[2]

Even though D'rkin was not widely known in his lifetime, he has since become a significant name in the genre.[6] This can be attributed to the fact that before his death, just two of his albums were released, and even those were distributed in only a very small number of copies. He also never played in front of a large audience; most of his public performances were in music festivals and in house concerts.

A story in song D'rkin had written was posthumously released on CD.[7]

References

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  1. ^ CAG'99-04, Roman Korneyev (c). "Сон Разума, Веня Дркин, 'Пыль тысяч городов'". Retrieved 8 February 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ a b Самойленко, Елена (2010). Веня Д'ркин (in Russian). 45 параллель. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  3. ^ "Веня Дркин". Archived from the original on 11 April 2008. Retrieved 15 January 2008.
  4. ^ "Интервью Вени Дркина газете "Рок-н-Роллер" – ДрДом". Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  5. ^ «ВЕНЯ, ЗАЧЕМ НАМ ПОЕЗД?»: ДИАЛОГ ТЕКСТОВ: ПЕСНЯ ВЕНИ Д’РКИНА «БУБУКА» И ПОЭМА ВЕН. ЕРОФЕЕВА «МОСКВА-ПЕТУШКИ», magazine Русская рок-поэзия: текст и контекст, No. 10, 2008
  6. ^ "ВСЕ БУДЕТ ХОРОШО!". Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  7. ^ "Вышло переиздание сказки Вени Д'ркина "Тае Зори"". 7 January 2015. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
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  • DrDom project to handle Venya Dr'kin's creative heritage. "DrDom" is a pun on durdom, a colloquial Russian term for mental asylum, literally, "crazy house"/"house of crazies"