Maksim “Dali” Kryvtsov
Cry on the Slag Heap
Translated from Ukrainian to Belarusian by Vola Jermałajeva Franko
Illustration by Volha Prankievič
Editing by Aleś Płotka
Proofreading by Natalla Rusieckaja
hochroth Minsk
Berlin, 2026
ISBN 978-3-949850-77-6
Maksim Kryvtsov was the Ukrainian soldier, poet, photographer and volunteer. He volunteered for the army in 2014. Later he worked in the Center for Readaptation and Rehabilitation “YARMIZ” and in the Veteran Hub charity. As a photographer and mentor, he joined the “Строкаті єноти” (‘Motley raccoons’) project for children.
After the full scale Russian invasion in 2022, Maksym returned to the front and served as the machine gunner in the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Kryvtsov has been writing poetry since teenage years. His texts were published in such collections as «Книга Love 2.0. Любов і війна», «Там, де вдома: 112 віршів про любов та війну», «Колискова 21-го століття Vol. 1: що тебе заколисує?».
In December 2023, he published his first collection “Вірші з бійниці” (“Poems from the Gunloop”). It was honored as one of the best Ukrainian books of 2023 by PEN Ukraine.
Kryvtsov’s poetry has been translated to Lithuanian, Greek, Polish, Bulgarian, Portuguese, French, and English. His poems were put to music by such bands as Yurcash, Adm:t, as well as by singers Vivienne Mort and Oohla.
Maksym died defending Ukraine on January 7, 2024, in Kharkiv region.