Davyd Chychkan

Davyd Chychkan was born in Kyiv on 15 April 1986, into a distinguished artistic family. His father, Illya Chychkan, was a prominent figure of the Ukrainian New Wave and a member of the Squat Paris Commune; his grandfather, Arkadiy Chychkan, was a celebrated nonconformist artist; and his great-grandfather, Leonid Chychkan, was a noted socialist-realist painter during the Soviet era. Largely self-taught, Davyd developed his artistic approach independently, embracing social and political critique over formal art education.

An avowed anarcho-syndicalist, and anti-authoritarian Chychkan was a member of the Autonomous Workers' Union between 2010 and 2016 and, from 2014, a member of the libertarian organisation Black Rainbow. He founded the Libertarian Club of Underground Dialectics (LCUD) in 2014, a research-based initiative examining the influence of right-wing ideology in Ukraine through artistic means.

Although health issues initially prevented his enlistment in 2022, Chychkan remained artistically supportive of Ukraine's defense. In 2024, he joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine as a mortar operator, motivated by his anti-fascist, anti-imperialist ideals. His decision to serve aligned with his lifelong resistance to authoritarianism and his belief that Russia embodied modern fascism.

On 9 August 2025, Chychkan was fatally wounded repelling a Russian infantry assault in Zaporizhzhia Oblast; he died on 10 August, leaving behind his wife and infant son.