Raisa Afanasivna Kyrychenko – Ukrainian singer, member of the Committee of National Prizes of Ukraine named after Taras Shevchenko (1999 – 2001), Hero of Ukraine.
Place of Birth, Education
She was born on October 14, 1943 in the village of Koreshchyna. She gained her first experience in singing while studying at the Zemliankivska school.
In the late 1980s, she graduated from the Kharkiv Institute of Arts.
Career
After school, Kyrychenko worked on a collective farm and sang in the milkmaids’ choir.
During her arrival at the choir of the Kremenchuk Automobile Plant, her performance was heard by the head of the collective, Pavlo Ochenash, who finally invited her to join the ensemble in January 1961.
Since 1962 she has performed in the ensemble “Veselka” at the Poltava Philharmonic. Later, at the invitation of the head of the ensemble “Lyonok” Anatoly Pashkevich, the singer moved to Zhytomyr. When in 1968 Pashkevych became the head of the Cherkasy Folk Choir, Kirichenko joined the team.
In 1983, in Cherkasy, the folk VIA “Rosava” was created for her under the direction of Mykhailo Petrina. However, due to a misunderstanding with the leadership of the Philharmonic, in 1987 she returned to Poltava. Here she formed her own team “Churaivna”. After the success of the song “Mr. Colonel”, pop hits began to appear in her repertoire, recordings of which she made in the studio of the Freestyle group. During this period, two of her CDs were released – “The Fate of My Village” and “Cherry Blossoms”.
In September 1994, Kyrychenko began working as a teacher at the vocal department of the Poltava Music College named after Mykola Lysenko.
In 1995, after a tour in Canada, she began to have kidney problems. In November 1996, she left for Germany, where she was preparing for the operation for four months. On June 12, 1998, Kirichenko underwent a kidney transplant in Ukraine.
Due to a long illness, she moved to Kyiv in 2000.
In 2003, the singer wrote a book of memoirs “I am your Cossack, Ukraine”.
Such songs as “Churaivna”, “I am your Cossack”, “Women’s fate”, “Mother’s cherry” have gained popularity not only in Ukraine, but also abroad. Her voice sounded for listeners in Canada, Australia, Germany, Poland, the Philippines, Algeria, Tunisia and other countries.
For almost a year, from 2004 to 2005, Kirichenko lived with one kidney. On February 1, 2005, at the National Institute of Surgery and Transplantology, she underwent surgery on her heart, which was affected due to long-term use of medications for the treatment of kidneys. However, the intervention did not work.
On February 9, 2005, the singer died at the age of 61. She was buried in the village of Koreshchyna, Globinsky district, Poltava region – next to her mother’s grave, in accordance with her last will.
Awards
During her life, the singer won a number of awards:
- in 1979 she was awarded the title of People’s Artist of the Ukrainian SSR;
- in 1999 she was awarded the Order of Princess Olga for selfless work, high professional skills and active citizenship;
- On October 31, 2003, by the decree of the President of Ukraine, Kyrychenko was awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine with the Order of the State – for a significant personal contribution to the preservation and development of the national song culture and many years of creative work.
Personal life
On December 15, 1963, she married Mykola Kirichenko.
