Main points
- Alyona Vinnitskaya, a former member of “VIA Gra”, is now engaged in charity work and rethinking her creative path.
- After the war in Ukraine began, she became less public, but does not rule out a return to music and is interested in writing and psychology.
Alyona Vinnytska / Collage of Channel 24
Alyona Vinnitskaya from VIA Gra once shone on stage, but now she is rarely seen in the media. After the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, she somewhat withdrew from the public eye.
What was the singer's path to success, what is Alena Vinnytska's life like today, and whether she will return to the stage – read more in the material of Channel 24.
The singer's real name is Olga, and that's exactly how it is listed in her passport. However, since childhood, her relatives called her Alyona, so this name became familiar to the artist. The future star was born in Kiev in a family where she was not the only child – she has a brother. The artist spoke about this in an interview that was published on Slava Demin's YouTube channel.
Alena Vinnytska with her father / Screenshot from an interview on Slava Demin's YouTube channel
From an early age, Alyona dreamed of the stage: she wrote poems and taught herself to play the guitar. In 1993, Vinnitskaya created her own rock band The Last Unicorn, for which she wrote songs and performed them. Later, the band broke up. After that, Alyona tried herself on television. In particular, she worked as a DJ on the music channel Biz-TV. In 2000, producer Dmitry Kostyuk invited Alyona to a new pop project – the group “VIA Gra”. Together with her, Nadiya Meikher joined the first line-up of the band.
Nadiya Meikher and Alena Vinnytska / Photo from social networks
The debut song “Attempt No. 5” quickly brought the group popularity not only in Ukraine, but also abroad. By the way, the first line-up of “VIA Gra” is often called “golden”. However, behind the scenes of success was exhausting work. Alena recalled that the pace of the tours was crazy.
We were so tired that sometimes I didn't understand what city we were in. We slept on planes. When we got out after the flight, got our luggage, it seemed to me that we had already flown home, and they told us: no, we have to change to another plane, fly further. I don't know how we didn't faint during the performances. Probably, the age was such that the body could cope with such loads. All this was very difficult and terrible. But you know, in those three years I gained experience that in a different rhythm I would have gained no less than in 10,
– the artist said in an interview with OBOZ.UA.
In 2003, the singer left the group. According to her, this decision was not easy. In particular, Alena recalled that producer Konstantin Meladze did not support her intention to leave the group, and later tried to show that without him she would not be able to achieve success.
He was harming my solo career. I remember, we were invited to the “Tavria Games”, and at the last moment my performance was canceled. They explained: both I and “VIA Gru” were invited. And the producers of the group demanded from the organizers to choose who they wanted to see more. They always made it difficult for me. Although, of course, I am very grateful to Kostya for the experience, for giving me a ticket to life, for seeing an artist in me. But then this revenge began…,
– the performer recalled.
After leaving “VIA Gra”, Alena Vinnitskaya nevertheless began a solo career. Her first works were the songs “Let's forget everything”, “Dawn” and “Izmuchennoe serdce”, which consolidated her popularity as a solo artist. She also worked on television, in particular, she was the host of the program “Star Path” on the TV channel “Ukraine”.
Alyona Vinnytska – “Let's Forget Everything”: watch the video online
What is known about the personal life of Alena Vinnitskaya?
The singer met her future husband, Sergei Alekseev, during the existence of the band The Last Unicorn. He was a musician, and later became her producer. The couple married on May 10, 1995. Their relationship was not cloudless – they went through difficult periods and even temporarily lived separately. However, this time helped them to better understand each other and save their marriage.
Alena Vinnitskaya with her husband / Photo from the TSN website
Vinnytska said that in 2022, her husband received a paramedic certificate. Later, he began working in tactical medicine – evacuating the wounded from combat zones, performing the duties of a driver.
Where is Alyona Vinnitskaya now?
After the start of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, the singer became much less public. She stopped performing, almost did not appear in the media, and retired from working on television. According to her, her work is currently on pause, as she is rethinking her future path. The artist admitted that she is also thinking about other professions – in particular, she is interested in writing and psychology. In addition, Alena Vinnitskaya is actively involved in her charitable foundation.
Alyona Vinnytska / Photo M1
At the same time, she does not rule out a return to music. She spoke about this on the Weekend Show on the M1 channel. In particular, the singer shared that one of her famous hits is currently being translated into Ukrainian and may sound in a new way.