Oksana Petrusenko

Oksana Petrusenko , born Kseniya Andriivna Borodavkina (; 18 (O.S. 5) February 1900–15 July 1940) was a Ukrainian singer and actress. A lyrical-dramatic soprano, she was known for drama and opera roles, as well as performances of Ukrainian folk songs. In 1939 Petrusenko received the title of People's Artist of Ukrainian SSR.

Biography Kseniya Borodavkina was born on 5 (18) February 1900 in Sevastopol, Crimea. was a native of Balakliia near Kharkiv, had a good voice and was known as an amateur performer of Ukrainian folk songs.

Oksana Petrusenko died in Kyiv on 15 July 1940, one week after giving birth to her second son. According to the official version, her death was caused by a blood clot, which resulted from overexertion: on the previous day she had performed an improvised concert in the maternity ward. However, some claim that the singer was poisoned. Petrusenko was buried on 17 July in Kyiv's Baikove Cemetery; her funeral procession was said to have been several kilometers long and reportedly numbered 100,000 people. An epitaph to the singer was composed by Ukrainian poet Pavlo Tychyna.

Personal life Petrusenko met her first romantic partner, Petro Boychenko, who was twice older than her, in Kherson. Her pseudonym stemmed from Boyhchenko's first name in a diminutive form. The couple had no children and separated after Oksana enrolled to study in Kyiv, contrary to Petro's wishes.

In Kyiv, Petrusenko had an affair with Mefodiy Semeniuta, an actor of the local opera. They never married, and after Oksana became pregnant, Mefodiy insisted on an abortion. Soon after their separation, on 15 January 1925 Petrusenko gave birth to her first son Volodymyr.

While performing in Kazan, Petrusenko met the singer Vasyl Moskalenko, who was a fellow actor in an opera. The couple married, and Moskalenko even adopted her son, but soon thereafter the couple divorced due to Vasyl being envious of Oksana's fame. Petrusenko also had an affair with Ukrainian poet Pavlo Tychyna, who later wrote her epitaph and financed the installation of a monument over her grave.

Petrusenko's last romantic partner was Andriy Chekaniuk, a journalist of the Komunist newspaper, whom she met during her visit to Lviv. After Oksana became pregnant for the second time, Chekaniuk, who was six years younger, married and had two children, abandoned her with the son, who would receive the name Oleksandr.

Legacy In 1966 a memorial plaque to Petrusenko was installed on the wall of her last residence in Kyiv. In 2010 another memorial plaque was unveiled on the facade of Sevastopol Drama Theatre. Streets in several Ukrainian cities have been named after the singer, and starting from 1962 several exhibitions dedicated to her memory have been organized. In 2000 Petrusenko was commemorated on a Ukrainian post stamp, and in 2010 a memorial 5 hryvnia coin dedicated to her was issued. Singing contests in her honour have been organized in Ukraine and the diaspora. Petrusenko also became a subject of several films.