In 2024, Maria started composing her own songs based on modern Russian poetry, featuring the experiences of war, forced emigration, collective guilt and political protest.

The songs are based on poems by prominent contemporary Russian poets, including Evgenia Berkovich (who is currently imprisoned in Russia and in need for international support), Vera Polozkova, Alja Khajtlina, and others. For several songs, Maria used English translations by Dmitry Manin and Maria Bloshteyn.

As a composer, Maria draws inspiration from the great Russian and German émigrés of the 20th century — Sergei Rachmaninoff, Alexander Vertinsky, and Kurt Weill.

Maria discovered new poems appearing in her social media feed and on various literary websites, such as EastWest Literary forum. She also took some texts from the recent anthology ‘Disbelief: 100 Russian Anti-War Poems’. As she read the texts, she could sometimes hear the music forming in her mind.

She would then perform and record the song using a video camera from her linguistic fieldwork. Driven by an urgent need to respond to wartime events, she uploaded these home‑recorded videos to her YouTube channel. Warm audience reaction and encouraging comments reassured her that this was the right path to follow.

Maria’s songs give voice to the many experiences shaped by the Ukrainian war and the emigration that followed after 2022. As a collection of haunting narratives, they also draw international attention to political prisoners in Russia, who continue to stand for humanity and progress in inhumane conditions.

This songwriting process grew into a project called ‘Songs of Exile’.

Maria is currently working with the British / American producer Michael J McEvoy to record and officially release a collection songs on his label Rezzonator Music. The first release ‘Walkabout’ is planned for February 24th 2026.