[2] In 1994, he graduated from Санкт-Петербургский Государственный Электротехнический Университет, specializing in Автоматика и процессы управления в технических системах (systems engineering).
[5] In St. Petersberg, he worked for the Полис (June 1992 to 1994), Катюша, and Модерн (1995 to 2001) radio stations, was a producer for young rock bands, and wrote about music for various magazines.
He quit Maximum on June 29, 2007, due to conflict with its management, moving the show to state radio station Mayak and making the content tamer.
At 3:40 am[1] or PM[10][11][12] Moscow time he tried to pass a truck while driving up a mountain in wet and foggy weather, and approached a Volkswagen Transporter minivan/minibus head-on; both were going about 100 km/h (about 60 mph); both tried to swerve to avoid each other, but they nevertheless collided.
Before the accident, his car was in good working order, except for possibly a broken wheel, which required additional forensic analysis.
The 33-year old driver of the minivan/minibus was brought to the Kalyazinsky hospital and discharged with a concussion, then returned home to Kesova Gora and will get long-term treatment.
An injured passenger on the minibus named Yuliya Merkulova who was the mother of two children went to Tver regional hospital and died on Tuesday January 22, 2008, due to a pulmonary embolism the previous day, and a 50-year-old passenger fractured her hip and both forearms and went to hospital Кесовогорскую ЦРБ, for surgery beginning on Wednesday January 23, 2008.
[12] On Sunday January 13, 2008, his widow and other relatives, as well as Sergei Stillavin, with whom he co-hosted talk shows for about 10 years, attended a memorial service for him at the Nikolo-Klobukovsky/Kablukovsky Monastery near the town of Kashin.
[1][12] As of Monday January 14, 2008, about 170,000 condolence notes were posted on the website of state radio station Mayak, where his most recent talk show was hosted.