Yulia Fintiktikova is from Mariupol, Ukraine. Fintiktikova’s poetic manner gives an impression of unmediated sincerity and childlike artlessness. Yet it also forms a complicated web of literary allusions and intonational echoes, referring the reader to the key moments in 20th century Russian poetry; most prominently, futurism (as exemplified by Velimir Khlebnikov and Elena Guro), absurdism (Daniil Kharms), and conceptualism (Dmitri Prigov); to the experimental musical performance genre popularized by Petr Mamonov (Zvuki Mu), Psoy Korolenko, and Pahom; and to Soviet children’s poetry and nursery rhymes.

In Russian, Fintiktikova’s spelling is deliberately flawed and phonocentric, her usage ranging from agrammatical to hyper-official. Her lyrics are often slightly off, as if spoken by a foreigner, forced to rely on textbook phrases and stock expressions.

Fintiktikova is also a performance artist. She regularly takes part in experimental music projects. Most of her texts have been written as performance pieces.