Maksym Oleksandrovych Kryvtsov (; 22 January 1990 – 7 January 2024) was a Ukrainian poet, photographer, public figure, volunteer and soldier. He was a Junior sergeant of the

Armed Forces of Ukraine The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) are the Military, military forces of Ukraine. All military and security forces, including the Armed Forces, are under the command of the president of Ukraine and subject to oversight by a permanent Verkhovna Rad ...

, and participant in the

Russian-Ukrainian war The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...

Biography

Maksym Oleksandrovych Kryvtsov was born in

Rivne Rivne ( ; , ) is a city in western Ukraine. The city is the administrative center of Rivne Oblast (province), as well as the Rivne Raion (district) within the oblast.

on 22 January 1990. His father was a press salesman, and his mother was a school librarian. He studied at schools #23 and #28 in Rivne. He graduated from the Technical School of Technology and Design in Rivne with a degree in Production of Nonwoven Textile Materials. In 2014, Kryvtsov graduated from the

Kyiv National University of Technologies and Design Kyiv National University of Technologies and Design (KNUTD) ( is a university in Kyiv, 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 Rus ...

, where he studied footwear and leather goods design. He worked at the Rivne Factory of Nonwovens, as a sales assistant, assistant

atelier An atelier () is the private workshop or studio of a professional artist in the fine or decorative arts or an architect, where a principal master and a number of assistants, students, and apprentices can work together producing fine art or vi ...

master, and SMM manager of the project. Kryvtsov was a participant of the

Revolution of Dignity The Revolution of Dignity (), also known as the Maidan Revolution or the Ukrainian Revolution, took place in Ukraine in February 2014 at the end of the Euromaidan protests, when deadly clashes between protesters and state forces in the capit ...

. From 2014, he was a volunteer at the frontlines, and was a member of the ATO/ JFO. He participated in combat operations as part of the 5th Battalion of the

Right Sector Right Sector () is a loosely defined coalition of right-wing to far-right Ukrainian nationalist organizations. It originated in November 2013 as a right-wing, paramilitary confederation of several ultranationalist organizations at the Euroma ...

(2014–2015), and later as a senior machine gunner in the Rapid Response Brigade of the

National Guard of Ukraine The National Guard of Ukraine (NGU; , ; /NHU ) is the Ukrainian national gendarmerie and internal military force. It is part of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, responsible for public security. Originally created as an agency under the dire ...

(2016–2019). After demobilization, he worked as a content manager at the YARMIZ Center for Rehabilitation and Rehabilitation of ATO and JFO Participants, and was a

copywriter Copywriting is the act or occupation of writing text for the purpose of advertising or other forms of marketing. Copywriting is aimed at selling products or services. The product, called copy or sales copy, is written content that aims to incre ...

at Veteran Hub. With the beginning of the full-scale

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

, Kryvtsov rejoined the Armed Forces of Ukraine. On 7 January 2024, his red cat, to whom he had dedicated the poem below, died along with him. On 11 January, a farewell service was held at St. Michael's Golden-Domed Cathedral, and then on

Maidan Nezalezhnosti Maidan Nezalezhnosti (, ) or Independence Square is the central town square of Kyiv, the capital city of Ukraine. One of the city's main squares, it is located on Khreshchatyk Street in the Shevchenko Raion. The square contains the iconic Ind ...

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

. He was buried on 12 January in his hometown on the Alley of Heroes at the Nove Cemetery.

Poetry

Kryvtsov wrote poetry since he was a teenager. He was published in collections with works by other authors—"The Book of Love 2.0. Love and War", "Where I am at Home: 112 Poems about Love and War", and "Lullaby of the 21st Century Vol. 1: What Lulls You to Sleep?". Songs based on his poetry have been performed by the Ukrainian band —"Dominant Height", "He is in the Armed Forces, She is in the TRO", and "Yellow Scotch". He was fond of photography. The song 'Yellow Scotch' based on a poem by Maksym Kryvtsov performed by the band 'Yurkesh' sounds in the movie ' Our Kitties'. In 2023, Kryvtsov published a collection of poetry , which was recognized as one of the best Ukrainian books of 2023 by PEN Ukraine.

Awards

Order of Merit The Order of Merit () is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by Edward VII, admission into the order r ...

, 3rd class (22 January 2024, posthumously)Decree of the President of Ukraine from 22 січня 2024 year № 16/202
«Про відзначення державними нагородами України з нагоди Дня Соборності України»

Biography

Poetry

Awards

References

Further reading