Kirill Medvedev
Kirill Medvedev (born 19 June 1975) is a Soviet and Russian activist, musician, translator and author who notably gave up the copyright to all his works in 2004. He is a key member of the musical group "Arkadiy Kots."
Also recorded as Kirill Feliksovich Medvedev
Kirill Medvedev

DonSimon · File:For_a_free_Russia_without_repression_and_despotism_317.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Name
- Kirill Medvedev
- Born
- 19 June 1975
- Birthplace
- Moscow, Soviet Union
- Nationality
- Russia
- Occupation
- poet · guitarist · politician · translator · activist · singer · writer
- Education
- Maxim Gorky Literature Institute
- Honours
- Andrei Bely Prize
- Languages
- Russian
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Documentary summary
Kirill Medvedev (born 19 June 1975) is a Soviet and Russian activist, musician, translator and author who notably gave up the copyright to all his works in 2004. He is a key member of the musical group "Arkadiy Kots."
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wikidata · Q4287293 · wikipedia · Kirill Medvedev
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Kirill Medvedev • Born — 19 June 1975 • Birthplace — Moscow, Soviet Union • Notable Works — It's No Good (poetry collection) • Website — http: kirillmedvedev.narod.ru/
Early life and education
Early life and education
Kirill Medvedev was born on June 19, 1975, in Moscow. His father Feliks was a well-known post-Soviet journalist and writer. From 1992 to 1995 he studied in the history department at the Moscow State University.
Career
Career
• Illustration — Medvedev reading his poems at the Moscow Poetry Biennale 2019 Medvedev published two collections of poetry in his mid twenties: Everything is Bad (or It’s No Good) and Incursion; these were dismissed by some critics as they were autobiographical free verse, which is unusual among Russian poets. He also translated Charles Bukowski into Russian. In 2003, he renounced his copyright in his "Manifesto on Copyright". Literary scholar Annette Gilbert has interpreted Medvedev’s manifesto and his turning away from the established literary world as a continuation of the resistance of Russian authors against a state-regulated publishing system and samizdat. In 2007, Medvedev founded the Free Marxist Press, which publishes the works of Ernest Mandel, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Herbert Marcuse, Terry Eagleton, and Russian authors. In 2012, It’s No Good: poems/essays/actions a collection of poems, essays, and actions were published in English for the first time, by n+1 / Ugly Duckling Presse. In it he described his perspective in and among the mainstream poets, the inextricable "link between politics and culture," and how refusal of copyright or recognition for his works is part of a fundamental role of art to challenge existing power systems.
Musician
Musician
Medvedev has been performing vocals and guitar in the Arkadiy Kots Band, a riot-folk band based in Moscow which formed in 2010. The band draws its name from the Russian socialist poet Arkady Kots who translated The Internationale into Russian.
Activism
Activism
In the early 2000s Medvedev joined a small socialist party called Vpered ("Forward"). In 2017, Medvedev announced he was running in the municipal elections in the Meshchansky District. On 12 September 2017, he announced on the party's Facebook page that he received about 11% of the vote (379 votes) and was not elected.
Personal life
Personal life
In 2015 Medvedev said, that for several years he "was a stay-at-home father; more recently I have worked as a delivery man for several companies as well as a freelance book editor".
Works in english translation
Works in english translation
Books Kirill Medvedev. "It's No Good." Translated by Keith Gessen, Mark Krotov, Cory Merrill, Bela Shayevich (n+1/New York: Ugly Duckling Press, 2016).
Identity and overview
Identity and overview
The following is established of the heading itself.

Poet Kirill Medvedev at the 2nd International Biennale of Poets in Moscow. 10/18/2001
Sid Igor
Primary material
Documents and archives
scholarly publication
- Kirill Medvedev and Elena Fanailova: Poetry, Ethics, Politics, and Philosophy, Russian Literature, 2017
Scholarly · Crossref registry · 2017
reference work
- “Kirill Medvedev”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q4287293: Kirill Medvedev
General reference · Wikidata
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Kirill Medvedev. Why I gave up my copyright: Kirill Medvedev. The Guardian. September 17, 2015.
- 2.Lucy McKeon. New Emotion: On Kirill Medvedev. The Paris Review. April 8, 2013.
- 3.Михаил Бойко. Беседа с Кириллом Медведевым. mikhail-boyko.narod.ru.
- 4.MEDWEDEW, KIRILL. ANTIFASCHISMUS FUR ALLE : manifest, essays und gedichte;manifest, essays und gedichte. MATTHES & SEITZ Verlag. 2020. 978-3-95757-649-1.
- 5.Annette Gilbert. Kampf gegen das Urheberrecht. Deutschlandfunk Nova. 2021-10-10.
- 6.Medvedev, Kirill. It's no good. Ugly Duckling Press. 2016. 978-1-937027-82-7.
- 7.Dwight Garner. A Litany of Betrayals, Petty Yet Terrifying. New York Times. March 20, 2013.
- 8.Chris Cumming. Revolting Russians. BOMB Magazine. March 13, 2013.
- 9.Arkadiy Kots Band official site.
- 10.Robert P. Baird. Kirill Medvedev's Personable Provocations. The New Yorker. September 30, 2013.
- 11.In Russia, a poet declares his candidacy. Melville House. May 24, 2017.
- 12.Штаб Вместе на Мещанке. Facebook page. September 12, 2017.
References
Citations
References
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scholarly publication
Kirill Medvedev and Elena Fanailova: Poetry, Ethics, Politics, and Philosophy, Russian Literature, 2017Crossref registry
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Born at
1- MoscowPlace
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Books
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