Aleksei Kruchenykh
Ukraine (1886—1968)With a background in painting, Kruchenykh moved to Moscow in 1907, where he turned to poetry in 1912. There he came into contact with David Burliuk, Vladimir Mayakovsky and Velimir Khlebnikov, and, together with Khlebnikov, became one of the principal figures in the development of zaum, a transrational language that broke with conventional meaning. He married the artist Olga Rozanova in 1912. In 1913, he wrote the libretto for the Futurist opera Victory over the Sun, with music by Mikhail Matyushin and sets and costumes by Kazimir Malevich. After the Revolution, he participated in the activities of the Futurist Syndicate and co-founded the 41° group in Tiflis. In 1923, he joined Mayakovsky’s LEF group.
