Yuriy was born in Russia in and started writing poetry, songs and performing on stage while in his first college He emigrated from Russia to the United States in 1998 and spent 11 years in New York where he took a hiatus before moving to San Antonio in 2009. In 2010, Yuriy started to write and perform in English. He regularly attended open mic events and read poems at local radio stations. To his surprise, he received quite a warm reception from the people of San Antonio.

Returning to poetry was quite therapeutic and challenging, as English is not his native language. However, the revived passion for writing, spoken word and acting made this “cross-over” happen.