Artem Chekh

• Name — Artem Chekh • Born — 13 June 1985 • Birthplace — Cherkasy, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union • Occupation — * Writer • journalist • soldier • Education — Sociologist • Alma Mater — State Academy of Leading Cadres of Culture and Arts of Ukraine • Spouse — Iryna Tsilyk • Children — 1 • Allegiance — Ukraine • Branch — Armed Forces of Ukraine • Service Years — 2015–2016; 2022–present • Battles — * Russo-Ukrainian War • War in Donbas • Russian invasion of Ukraine • Battle of Donbas • Battle of Bakhmut

As a child, Artem Cherednyk made a trip to Prague, and since he returned with enthusiasm, Artem's classmates called him "Chekh". In 1997 he graduated from the music school (piano, guitar, flute). For eight years he played in the Cherkasy Drama Theater, studied choreography, choral chanting. In 2002 he graduated from high school in the city of Cherkasy. From 2002 to 2007 he lived in Kyiv, studied at the National Academy of Government Managerial Staff of Culture and Arts of Ukraine at the Faculty of Sociology. Artem Chekh did not work in his specialty for a single day. In December 2008, he moved to live in the village of Mryn Chernihiv Oblast for three years, where he practiced downshifting. In 2012 he returned to Kyiv. From April 2015 to July 2016, he was a soldier in the ATO zone in the 9th armored infantry battalion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Artem Chekh's wife is Iryna Tsilyk, a writer and director. During his studies, he wrote in Russian, but did not publish anything and did not submit to competitions. Then he studied at the correspondence department of the university, began to write in Ukrainian. His first novel was the winner in the competition "Youth Urban Novel" from the publishing house "Folio" (2007). Since 2007, he has written more than 16 books, some of which have been translated German, English, Polish, Czech and Russian. Artem Chekh served in the Armed Forces of Ukraine from May 2015 to July 2016 as a senior shooter and gun layer of armored personnel carrier in the War in Donbas in the Donbas region of Ukraine. At the beginning of Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine he returned to the ranks of the Ukrainian forces. Late May 2023 he sustained a concussion in the battle for the city of Bakhmut.