Alexander Chekmenev was born on 1st of April, 1969 in Lugansk, Ukraine.
He has taken interest in photography since childhood.
In 1990 Alexander Chekmenev graduated from the Department of Newspaper Photography of Moscow State University.
In 1993 he became a member of the Photographers’ Union of Russia, located in Moscow.
The same year he became a member of the Photographers’ Union of the Ukraine located in Kiev.
In 1994 Alexander Chekmenev was awarded 1st prize in the competition "Ukrpressphoto" held in Kiev, Ukraine, in the category "New Names".
Untill 1997 Alexander Chekmenev had worked as a free-lance photographer.
In 1997 he received an offer to work as a photographer for The Vseukrainskiye Novosti , a Ukrainian daily newspaper, and moved to Kiev.
In 1998 the authorities closed the newspaper stating that it was “too oppositional” and “too yellow”.
In 2000 Alexander Chekmenev won a prize in the European Competition of Photojournalism in VeVey, Switzerland, for his photo series named "Ukrainian
Passport".
In 2000 the 1st personal exhibition of Alexander Chekmenev was held on the initiative of the "Photography" magazine and the editorial office of "Vedomosti Vzhesinskiye", Vzhesnia, Poland .
In 2000 Alexander’s personal exhibition was held in Poprad photo gallery, Poprad, Slovakia, where he presented his series "Ukrainian Passport" and "Lilies".
In 2001 another personal photo exhibition was held in the photo gallery "ZAMEK", Poznan, Poland, and a number of his series such as: "Ukrainian Passport", "Lilies", "The Blind", "Easter", "Portraits" and "Miners" were showcased there.
In 2001 one more personal photo exhibition was held in the photo gallery in Zelena Gura, Poland. Series: "Ukrainian Passport", "Lilies", "The Blind", "Easter", "Portraits", "Miners".
In 2001 a personal photo exhibition of Alexander Chekmenev was held in Zurich, Switzerland. Series: "Ukrainian Passport".
In 2001 his personal photo exhibition was held in the photo gallery in Olstyn, Poland. Series: "Ukrainian Passport", "Lilies", "The Blind", "Easter", "Portraits", "Miners".
In 2007 a personal photo exhibition of Alexander Chekmenev was held in Kiev gallery “Iren”, presenting series “The Winners”.
In 2007 another personal photo exhibition was held in Kiev, “Yagallery”, series “Black and White Photography”.
In 2008 the most recent personal photo exhibition was also held in Kiev, “Yagallery” with series “The Street Portraits – Colour Photography”.