Marina Verenikina - Early Life

Early Life

Marina V (Marina Gennadievna Verenikina) was born to a communist nuclear physicist father and a psychologist mother in Moscow, Russia. Marina started singing and writing songs at an early age. Her mother arranged for formal music education, and Marina attended music school each day after the regular school, from age 6 until age 14 (she graduated summa cum laude). At age 10, Marina performed one of her original compositions for her piano teacher, who dismissed it as "nonsense". Marina was discouraged and stopped writing for a while. At the time, the Soviet Union was still under control of the Communist state, and Western culture was forbidden; the only music Marina was exposed to as a child was classical and Russian folk songs. After a friend gave Marina a bootleg cassette of The Beatles, she was inspired to write songs again. She learned many Beatles songs, which also helped to improve her understanding of the English language.

At 15, Marina won a national competition for a scholarship (FLEX/Freedom Support Act - sponsored by US Senator Bill Bradley) to study in the United States. After living in Springfield, Illinois for a year, she returned to Russia, and started working to save enough money to return to the US, where she felt a greater freedom for individual creativity. At the same time, Marina learned that her mother was moving to Australia, and that the Russian school system would give her no credit for her time studying in America. After graduating from high school at 17, after saving enough money for a plane ticket, Marina returned to Springfield, where she enrolled at Illinois College. During this time she battled with severe depression, and began to write more and more songs about her experiences and relationships, channeling her emotions into music. She started performing during her freshman year, and started touring the Midwest. She graduated cum laude with a combined degree in international studies and economics-business and a minor in Spanish.