Vivat publishing house releases Druha Rika frontman's memoir. 480 pages on creative path, band history, personal memories. Release 6 April 2026.
Vivat publishing house releases Valeriy Kharchyshyn's memoir book 'First Hromo: 30 Years with Druha Rika' on 6 April 2026. This is a 480-page autobiography covering all 30 years of Kharchyshyn's creative path — from Druha Rika's first performance in 1996 to the modern 2025 period. The book is structured as 30 'chapter-years' of 10-20 pages each, plus 60 pages of photo documentation. Book structure: I. '1996-2000: First 5' — band founding in Lviv, first performances, first album; II. '2001-2005: Breakthrough' — relocation to Kyiv, 'Made in...' album, first major concerts; III. '2006-2010: Vivere' — commercial success, tours, first foreign appearances; IV. '2011-2014: Maidan' — political activism, performances on Maidan; V. '2014-2021: War without War' — annexation period, first Donetsk-Crimea songs; VI. '2022-2025: Big War' — rethinking, new songs, cultural diplomacy. Besides the main autobiographical block, the book includes 12 Kharchyshyn interviews with leading Ukrainian rock performers (Oleh Skrypka, Sviatoslav Vakarchuk, Andriy Khlyvnyuk, Taras Topolya, and others) on the state of the Ukrainian rock movement in wartime. The preface was written by Ukraine's President Olha Stefanyshyn (Kharchyshyn's friend since 2014, from the Maidan period). First print run — 35 thousand copies, price — 480 UAH. All royalties are transferred to the 'Ukrainians Abroad — Return Home' foundation.
