Ukrainian Refugee Pavlo Korniushkin Settles Into Charlotte’s Comedy Scene

Pavlo Korniushkin’s journey to Charlotte’s comedy scene has been anything but laughs. 

From his hometown in Melitopol, Ukraine, Korniushkin traveled 5,800 miles, beginning with a dramatic border crossing into Russian territory amidst that government’s invasion of Ukraine, which closed the border and led to the occupation of Melitopol.  

Having escaped that war zone in 2022, Korniushkin landed in Charlotte in 2023. Though his future here remains unclear, he’s focusing on the positives while he makes the best of things in the Queen City. The emerging comic has performed more than 130 times since taking up stand-up comedy last June. 

For many, the idea of getting onstage to tell jokes is a terrifying one, but what is bombing onstage to a man who has braved bombs in real life? 

“I moved out when it was like six months of war,” he said. “I didn’t believe that was possible. There are some kinds of miracles, but now I believe because I’m still alive.” 

Making his escape

Before leaving Ukraine, Korniushkin had to delete certain apps and scrub his social media of posts that could be seen as supporting the Ukrainian military. as well as deleting certain apps. 

“[The Russians] were checking everything you had in your phone, including the location of pictures and asking, ‘Oh, you have been there? What were you doing there?’ A lot of people, they just took them somewhere and nobody saw them again. Some went to prison and some just disappeared. It depended on what they found,” he said. 

It took him several days to prepare for that. He considers himself lucky that the young Federal Security Service (formerly KGB) agent who checked his documents appeared tired and let him through without much trouble. 

After finally getting out, he made his way to Madrid, Spain, because his girlfriend had a family member there, but there weren’t many opportunities for those who didn’t speak Spanish. 

A website called Welcome.US offered special programs to help Ukrainians escape the war, but migrants needed American citizens to invite them to the country. Americans who wanted to help would leave their information and photos on a site called United for Ukraine (U4U), which Korniushkin described as “kind of like a dating app” to pair sponsors with incoming war refugees.  

He spent a month or two talking to different people before he and his girlfriend connected with a couple from Charlotte, getting to know each other over several Zoom calls before they were invited to come. The couple provided housing for them, which wasn’t required through the program, “so that was the next miracle,” he said. 

A longtime fan of comedy, Korniushkin had experimented with comedy writing in Ukraine, explaining that he “bombed pretty hard” in his attempts to get cast on television there. He and a friend wrote several stand-up sets to help develop their skills but never got the opportunity to perform before the war started. 

As he settled in Charlotte, comedy got him out of the house at a time when he wasn’t able to work. 

“It was something I could do and not just stay in the house being depressed and lonely,” he said. 

He would sometimes force himself to attend open mics around the city, and eventually it began to give him a new perspective on life. 

“I think it really helped me to understand myself better, like who I really am,” he said. “I got new friends, new experiences, I opened myself up. Sometimes I was surprised [thinking], ‘Is that really me doing stand-up in front of 50 or 100 people and they were supporting me?’ It helped me to find myself and find my own voice and to realize that my voice matters.” 

Adapting comedy for a new country

Performing comedy in a language you did not grow up with can be a difficult task. Speaking English as a third language — he also speaks Russian and Ukrainian — Korniushkin doesn’t know a lot of slang or deeper context around what makes Americans laugh as compared to eastern Europeans. 

He watched plenty of comedy movies as part of his training. As he hung out with his sponsors and their friends, he got a knack for what made them laugh. He asked them questions about what he could or couldn’t say and eventually began putting a set together. He tried it at different open mics and found what works for him. 

He’s made friends among local comics during his time exploring the scene, though he admits, “It’s hard to call someone a friend because it’s like, ‘You’re going to be a stepdad for my child,’ you know?” 

I laughed and told him he meant “godparent.” There are still some quirks to work out in his understanding of the English language. 

Korniushkin wasn’t sure how to describe his comedy style, but he told me that he once submitted some jokes into ChatGPT for advice on how to make them sound more American and was taken aback when the app described the jokes as “dry and absurd.”

“So I said, ‘Thank you very much. I am not gonna use you again anymore for that. You should support. You should say, “Your style is cool and amazing!”’”  

Getting to venues to perform has been its own struggle without a car. Korniushkin normally takes public transportation, which can take an hour or more depending on which venue he’s going to, not including the long wait times before he can even board the bus. 

That’s also what put him on the scene of one of the most high-profile crimes in recent Charlotte history. Korniushkin was heading home after performing at Common Market South End on Friday, Aug. 22, waiting to board the train Iryna Zarutska had just been killed on. 

He stepped in and saw some drops of blood and immediately stepped out. Then noticed the suspect sitting nearby on the platform. The police kept Korniushkin around for nearly three hours to get his full statement. It was an unfortunate coincidence that he found himself at the scene of the murder of a fellow Ukrainian refugee. 

A friend who was leaving the country recently gifted Korniushkin a 2009 Toyota Matrix. While he still needs to get his driver’s license, he described the act as another miracle.

‘It’s kind of incredible’

When Korniushkin began pursuing stand-up comedy in Charlotte last June, he set an initial goal to perform 100 times in his first year.  Despite his transportation handicap, he blew through that number, hitting No. 137 at Stu’s Barrel House the night I interviewed him. 

Korniushkin’s temporary visa is set to expire in April 2027. While the current administration has made it more difficult for refugees to stay in the country, he still has hope he’ll be able to renew his documentation. 

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Asked what he would do if that happens, Korniushkin answers with a laugh, “I think just the regular American dream for an immigrant, like DoorDash, Uber Eats, something like that.”

With some dark times behind him, Korniushkin remains focused on what’s ahead. 

“I’m an immigrant,” he said. “I came through lots of shit in my life — being in Ukraine, being in the war, escaping all those things. A lot of shit in my personal life. Many years ago I was a pretty negative person, but I realize now it makes me better, stronger and more open. 

“So I’m really surprised, but happy,” he continued. “I don’t know where I get this confidence, luck, whatever, but I didn’t give up. I didn’t kill myself, didn’t become a drug addict. I’m accepting life how it goes, waiting for miracles to come to my life. I’m enjoying it.” 

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He said he now wants to focus on helping other people whenever he can as a way to pay it forward for all the help he’s received on his journey. Things many of us take for granted, Korniushkin recognizes as small miracles. 

“I think that’s kind of the secret to happiness for me,” he said. “It’s not something like money or fame. It’s just something like when I go to Food Lion and seeing things I want to buy already have these yellow sales tickets, you know? It’s kind of incredible, saving money. It’s kind of a piece of the American dream.” 

Follow Pavlo Korniushkin’s journey on Instagram at @uniqk0rn. His TikTok account is @uniqkorncomedy.