Photo: from open sources
There are people who become not just a part of history, but its voice, its soul. Andriy Kuzmenko, known to all as Kuzma Scriabin, was one of them. His music, words and deeds are imbued with love for Ukraine – sincere, without pathos, coming from the depths of his heart. He didn’t just sing about patriotism, he lived it, demonstrating the courage to be himself in a world where it is not always easy.
Kuzma was born on 17 August 1968 in Sambir, Lviv region, and his life was cut short far too soon – on 2 February 2015. But even in these less than 47 years, he managed to become a symbol for millions of Ukrainians. His songs are not just melodies, they are stories about ourselves, about our land, about our dreams and pains. Skryabin knew how to find words where others were silent and tell the truth where others tried to hide it.
Kuzma’s patriotism was not loud or ostentatious. He did not wave flags on stage for applause, nor did he utter slogans for the sake of popularity. His love for Ukraine was elsewhere – in his simple but apt lines, in helping those who needed it, in the frankness with which he lived and worked. The song “My Own Country” became a real anthem of individual patriotism: “You are your own country, put your head in order”. These words are not just a call, but a philosophy that he carried to the masses. Kuzma believed that true love for the Motherland begins with ourselves, with the way we live, the way we treat the world around us.
When war broke out in Ukraine, he did not stand aside. At a time when many people were looking for excuses or simply looking away, Kuzma acted. He volunteered to help the Ukrainian army, and he did it not for glory, but at the call of his heart. The money he gave to support the army was his own – not raised at concerts, not donated by anyone else, but earned by himself. It was his quiet but firm courage to stand up for his countrymen when it was needed most. In his interviews, especially in the last ones, you can feel the pain for the country, but at the same time, an unbreakable faith in its future. He was not afraid to criticise the authorities, to call a spade a spade, even if it could cost him his peace of mind or his career.
His songs about the war, such as “Bitch War” or kolomyikas with harsh words about Ukraine’s enemies, are a cry of the soul that resonates with everyone who knows the value of freedom. Kuzma was not ashamed to be harsh when it came to defending his native land. But there was always another side to his work – tenderness, nostalgia, love for simple things: for his mother, for his friends, for places where “people are happy”. It was this sincerity that made him so close to us all.
Scriabin’s courage was not only in his civic position, but also in the way he lived. He was not afraid to be funny, not afraid to be vulnerable, not afraid to admit mistakes. In a world where everyone wanted to be perfect, Kuzma was just himself – a curly-haired boy from Novoyavorivsk who joked, sang and loved his country as much as he loved his home. His death in a car accident was a tragedy for the whole of Ukraine, but even after that, he remained with us – in his songs, in his memories, in his energy that still inspires us.
Kuzma Scriabin was a patriot not in words, but in his heart. His courage is not about his high-profile feats, but about the daily truth he lived by. He taught us that to love your country is not only to fight for it, but also to be yourself, not to betray your principles and to remember where you come from. His voice still echoes in our hearts, reminding us: “Do not be ashamed – this is your land”. And as long as we remember these words, Kuzma is with us – alive, real, unbreakable.
Author: Ekaterina Bogdanenko
