Evpatoria
Yevpatoria (; ; ; ) is a city in western Crimea, north of Kalamita Bay. Yevpatoria serves as the administrative center of Yevpatoria Municipality, one of the districts (''raions'') into which Crimea is divided. It had a population of
His ...
,
Ukrainian SSR
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...
,
USSR
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
) is a
Soviet
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
Russian-American poet, writer and journalist from
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
.
Early life
He was born and raised in
Evpatoria
Yevpatoria (; ; ; ) is a city in western Crimea, north of Kalamita Bay. Yevpatoria serves as the administrative center of Yevpatoria Municipality, one of the districts (''raions'') into which Crimea is divided. It had a population of
His ...
,
Crimean peninsula
Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrai ...
in
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
Mykolaiv
Mykolaiv ( ), also known as Nikolaev ( ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city and a hromada (municipality) in southern Ukraine. Mykolaiv is the Administrative centre, administrative center of Mykolaiv Raion (Raions of Ukraine, district) and Myk ...
'', and worked in the department of the Chief Designer at the
Kherson Shipyard
The Kherson Shipyard () is a joint stock company located in Kherson, Ukraine, at the mouth of the Dnieper River. The shipyard specializes in building merchant ships to include dry cargo ships, tankers, ice-breakers, container-ships, drilling vesse ...
(). Later, he graduated from the All-Union Correspondence University of Public Knowledge () with a two-year degree in
journalism
Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...
. During his second year of studies, he became interested in the
fine arts
In European academic traditions, fine art (or, fine arts) is made primarily for aesthetics or creativity, creative expression, distinguishing it from popular art, decorative art or applied art, which also either serve some practical function ...
and visited both
Moscow
Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
and
Leningrad
Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
. During a visit to the Hermitage, he decided that he would learn more about
art history
Art history is the study of Work of art, artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history.
Tradit ...
.
Career
In the early 1980s Gennady Katsov moved to Moscow and became close to
Ivan Zhdanov
Ivan Yurievich Zhdanov (; born 17 August 1988) is a Russian politician and lawyer. He was the director of the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) and is a member of the Central Council of the Russia of the Future political party.
Biography
Ivan ...
() who introduced him to many artists including Lesha Parshchikov (), Sasha Eremenko, (), Konstantin Kedrov (),
Sergey Letov
DK () was a cult Soviet underground rock band founded in Moscow in 1980 by its drummer and leader Sergey Zharikov. It was one of the first Soviet and Russian experimental rock bands. DK was known for the dirty art punk style, sound that combined ...
(), who is an older brother of
Yegor Letov
Igor "Yegor" Fyodorovich Letov (, ; (10 September 1964 – 19 February 2008) was a Russian singer-songwriter, best known as the founder and leader of the post-punk/psychedelic rock band Grazhdanskaya Oborona (), as well as the founder of the con ...
() the founder of
Grazhdanskaya Oborona
Grazhdanskaya Oborona (Russian: Гражданская оборона, , Russian for ''Civil Defense'', or ГО, often referred to as ГрОб, Russian for ''coffin'') was a Soviet-Russian rock band formed by Yegor Letov and Konstantin Ryabin ...
() (''Civil Defense''). In 1986, Katsov was one of the founders of the legendary '' Moscow Poetry Club'' () and from 1987 to 1989 served as its director, as well as an active participant of the '' Epsilon salon'' (), a famous Moscow underground literary group.
Novels by Gennady Katsov were published in the journal ''" Mitin"'' (MZh) (); his articles, short stories, plays and poems were published in the anthology ''" Chernovik"'' (New York) () (''Draft''), and a selection of his poems was included in the first issue of the literary magazine ''"
Khreschatyk
Khreshchatyk (, ) is the main street of Kyiv, the capital city of Ukraine. The street is long, and runs in a northeast-southwest direction from European Square through the Maidan to Bessarabska Square and the Besarabsky Market. The offices ...
"'' (Kiev) (), which is one of the most prominent Russian-language literary magazines published outside of Russia.
In Leningrad, Katsov was close to Alexander Kahn (; born 1954
Kherson
Kherson (Ukrainian language, Ukrainian and , , ) is a port city in southern Ukraine that serves as the administrative centre of Kherson Oblast. Located by the Black Sea and on the Dnieper, Dnieper River, Kherson is the home to a major ship-bui ...
), a 1970s graduate of the faculty of foreign languages at
Tula State University
Tula State University (TSU) () is the largest state university in Tula, Central Russia. Since May 2006, its rector is Mikhail Gryazev, professor, doctor of technical sciences. More than 20,000 students, 400 post graduates, and 600 foreign stud ...
who spoke English fluently and founded the Leningrad Jazz Club ''Kvadrat'' (). In 1984 during peristroika, Kahn, who had been a writer for both
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
and Coda, gave many visitors tours of Leningrad where Katsov became immersed in the music scene.
On May 12, 1989, Gennady Katsov moved to New York after living in Austria and Italy. He worked as a concierge at the
Le Parker Meridien
The Thompson Central Park New York is a 587-room hotel located at 56th Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Located near Central Park, the 42-story hotel building houses restaurants, a gym, and other retailers.
History
The hotel opene ...
from 1989 to 1995.
From 1989 to 1991, Katsov, along with Sergei Dovlatov and Alexander Genis worked at the ''
Radio Liberty
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Headquartered in Prague since 1995, RFE/RL ...
'', where he produced segments on modern culture in Peter Weil's program entitled ''Above the Barriers''. Gennady was regularly published in the daily newspaper '' The New Russian Word'' (), as well as in Russian-American literary almanac '' Slovo \ Word'' ().
He left his concierge job in 1995 and in 1995-1997 Katsov was a founder and co-owner of Russian avant-garde café «Anyway» in Manhattan opening it the week before
Halloween
Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...
in 1995.
He was the publisher and the editor-in-chief of a weekly Russian language newspaper ''The Printed Organ'' () in New York (1994-1998), the editor-in-chief of the Guide to New York (issued quarterly, 1997–1998), the weekly magazine ''Telenedelya'' () (2000-2004), as well as the weekly Russian-language magazine МЕТРО (pronounced ''"metro"'') () (February 2004 – 2007), a weekly New York Russian-language magazine covering greater New York City cultural events.
He had a prominent role in the weekly TV segment New York: history and geography in Dmitry Poletaev's program of ''Good Evening, America!'' (Nationwide television EABC, New York, 1997–1999), a weekly hour radio ''"Morning Solyanka"'' on Russian-American radio RTN / WMNB (1998-2000), served as editor-in- chief for RTN / WMNB radio (2000-2003).
Since 2000 Gennady Katsov authors and anchors the daily political and economic 30-minute TV program entitled ''Not a Day Without a Line'' - an overview of the American press on Russian-American television RTN / WMNB. Starting in 2003 Gennady is the author and a host of the daily TV program ''A Morning Run'', as well and the Sunday program ''Press Club'' aired on the same channel.
As of 2010 – Gennady Katsov is the owner and an editor-in-chief of the Russian-American Internet news portal ''RUNYweb.com'', which includes the ''Encyclopedia of Russian America''. Gennady periodically takes part in the BBC's program the ''Fifth Floor''.
In 2011, after a nearly an eighteen-year hiatus, Gennady got back to his poetic activities. His book entitled ''Slovosfera'' (), which is composed of poetic texts dedicated to the masterpieces of art, was published at the end of April 2013. After that seven more books of Gennady Katsov have been published: "Between the Ceiling and the Floor" () (New York) in 2013, "365 Days around the Sun" () (New York) in 2014, "Youth Exercises (1983-1985)" () in 2014, "25 years with the right to correspondence" () (Moscow) in 2014, "Three “Cs” and Vers librarium" () (New York) in 2015, "New York primer" () (Moscow) in 2018, "On the Western Front" () (Moscow) in 2021. All - poetry collections in Russian.
In 2014, ''ForumDaily'' nominated him for the Person of the Year by Russian-speaking America in the category “For Outstanding Achievements in the Media” as the outstanding representative of radio, television and the press, working in both Russian-language and English-language media.