[citation needed] Hmyria's partner, Valentina Ishchenko, was exiled to Vorkuta in the Komi ASSR.

Hmyria was a friend of Dmitri Shostakovich and often performed his Five Romances on Verses by Yevgeny Dolmatovsky in concert, although their friendship came under strain because of mutual perceived slights and their contrasting personalities.

[3] During the summer of 1962, Shostakovich was completing his Thirteenth Symphony; the bass soloist part had been composed with Hmyria's voice in mind.

The singer was reluctant to commit accepting the responsibility of singing the premiere performance, despite the composer's repeated urging.

On August 15, Hmyria declined the assignment citing his objections to Yevtushenko's verses, but attended the premiere performance on December 18.