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Serhiy Zhadan is one of the most famous people in contemporary Ukrainian culture. He is not only a writer, but also a public figure, musician and volunteer—his activities go far beyond literature, covering a wide range of public life. He is the voice of the present, a person who knows where it hurts the most, but still continues to speak—honestly, strongly and with faith. His poems are not an escape from reality, but a way to live it, understand it, and change it.

Zhadan was born on August 23, 1974, in the city of Starobilsk, Luhansk region. He graduated from Karazin Kharkiv National University, where he studied philology. Since the 1990s, he has been actively involved in the literary and cultural life of Ukraine. His first poetry collections, such as ‘Ballads of War and Reconstruction’ and ‘The Citation Book,’ immediately attracted the attention of critics and readers alike for their combination of urban studies and acute social issues that were deliberately brought to the public eye.

His prose works ‘Depeche Mode,’ ‘Voroshilovgrad,’ and ‘Boarding School’ depict life in eastern Ukraine without embellishment, with all its complexity, contrast, and pain. He writes about the “little people” —minibus drivers, shopkeepers, teachers, former soldiers and teenagers —those who are often unheard, but who actually create reality. His style is a combination of realism, poetry, irony and postmodern rhythm.

Zhadan is also known as a brilliant poet. His poems are sometimes painful, sometimes tender and nostalgic. They are quoted everywhere because people relate to the topics he writes about. One of the most famous lines from the poem “After Us”:

“…and all that will be left after us is love, the rest is not worthy of attention.”

This fully describes his entire oeuvre: even against the backdrop of war, loss and destruction, love —for people, for language, for truth — remains the main value.

Serhiy Zhadan is also the frontman of the bands ‘Zhadan and the Dogs’ and ‘Mannerheim’s Line,’ where he combines his poetry with punk rock. His concerts gather thousands of listeners across the country, and his songs often become manifestos of youth.

After 2014, and especially after Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, Zhadan became an important figure in the civilian movement of the Podprymka. He constantly supports volunteer initiatives, speaks at charity events, and organizes gatherings for the military and civilians. Kharkiv, the writer’s hometown, has become not only a geographical point on the map of his childhood, but also a field of his daily struggle.