Evgeny Mikhailovich Malakhin ( rus, Евге́ний Миха́йлович Мала́хин, p=jɪvˈɡʲenʲɪj mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ mɐˈlaxʲɪn, a=Yevgyeniy Mihaylovich Malahin.ru.vorb.oga; 16 September 1938 – 13 March 2005) was an artist and poet of

Yekaterinburg Yekaterinburg ( ; rus, Екатеринбург, p=jɪkətʲɪrʲɪnˈburk), alternatively romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( rus, Свердло́вск, , svʲɪrˈdlofsk, 1924–1991), is a city and the administra ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, remembered for his bohemian but simplistic lifestyle, short aphoristic verse and extravagant street art. Citizens came to know him simply as the Old Man Bukashkin ( rus, Стари́к Бу́кашкин, p=stɐˈrʲik ˈbukəʂkʲɪn), the person in line somewhat of a

skomorokh A skomorokh ( in Russian, in Old East Slavic, in Church Slavonic. Compare with the Old Polish , ) was a medieval East Slavic harlequin, or actor, who could also sing, dance, play musical instruments and compose for oral/musical and dramatic pe ...

street-performer tradition. He himself humorously styled his title as "the People's

Street sweeper A street sweeper or street cleaner may refer to a person's occupation or to a machine that cleans streets. Street sweepers have been employed in cities as "sanitation workers" since sanitation and waste removal became a priority. A stre ...

of Russia", mocking the official

People's Artist People's Artist is an honorary title in the Soviet Union, Union republics, in some other Eastern bloc states (and communist states in general), as well as in a number of post-Soviet states, modeled after the title of the People's Artist of the USS ...

title bestowed by the State.

Biography

Most of his life Evgeny had spent in Yekaterinburg. He graduated with a diploma in

power engineering Power engineering, also called power systems engineering, is a subfield of electrical engineering that deals with the generation, transmission, distribution, and utilization of electric power, and the electrical apparatus connected to such sy ...

and worked as a

power station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many p ...

supervisor. By and by his attention turned to art: he tried to bring the "modern people's culture" to the spotlight, painting pictures over concrete fences of the city, over garbage containers. At some point special areas on existing concrete fences, both permanent and temporary, were granted for use, and this tradition exists in Yekaterinburg to this day. After some time, he gained fame as the most extravagant city's artist. He also authored short verses and prose and did some traditional art painting. At some moment he was taken up by the idea of posters against drunkenness. The increasing fame brought publishing offers from magazines and newspapers. Along with his friends he started a non-governmental art society "Kartinnik" (from russian: картина - a painting). In 1990-1992 he made the whole city surface his canvas, leaving his paintings here and there - on a garage wall, on a concrete fence. These works of art are now lost. Annual posthumous exhibitions of Old Man Bukashkin's art are run in Yekaterinburg. Ural State University's culturology and art faculty has a small exhibition devoted to him. In 2007-2008 some tramway cars were decorated with the old works of the members of "Kartinnik" society.

Short verses

* Если ты рабочий класс, пей газводу, сок и квас - "If you are from

working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...

, drink just

seltzer Carbonated water (also known as soda water, sparkling water, fizzy water, club soda, water with gas, in many places as mineral water, or especially in the United States as seltzer or seltzer water) is water containing dissolved carbon dioxide gas, ...

, juice and

kvass Kvass is a fermented cereal-based Alcohol by volume, low alcoholic beverage with a slightly cloudy appearance, light-brown colour and sweet-sour taste. It may be flavoured with berries, fruits, herbs or honey. Kvass stems from the northeastern ...

" * Слезятся маленькие глазки у крокодильчика без ласки - "Lonely little crocodilly, lack of love his eyes made teary". 1938 births 2005 deaths Russian artists Russian male poets Writers from Yekaterinburg 20th-century Russian poets 20th-century Russian male writers {{Russia-artist-stub