Where is Mikhail Zhvanetsky. Mikhail Mikhailovich Zhvanetsky: biography, career and personal life

The wife of the famous satirist Natalya Surova, who has been with Mikhail for 20 years, spoke about how she managed to win the heart of this loving man.

Mikhail Zhvanetsky and Natalia Surova. Photo: Salynskaya Anna/PhotoXPress.ru.

Natalya, where and under what circumstances did your memorable meeting with such a significant personality as Mikhail Mikhailovich take place?
Natalya Surova:“It was twenty-two years ago, at the opening of the Odessa Club. Naturally, in our hometown. Misha was invited there as the head of the club, and I - as carrying coffee. I was twenty-four years old, and I looked spectacular: a little black dress, high heels, a red coat, a bob haircut ... "

And so the words of the classic come to mind: “First, the body pulls, and then you look around” ...
Natalia:"Absolutely! Bring home and then see what you got. Lucky - smart! This is exactly how we developed everything. And when he voiced it, a bunch of friends called us with a confession that everything was identical with them: they considered both the brains and the character of their future wives much later. So, as practice shows, a man cannot understand anything in a woman while he is busy with attraction. But plus, I was still very actively cleaning, washing dishes, which also, probably, did not go unnoticed. By the way, Misha has an excellent work on this subject. I remember from there: “If you let a woman into the house and saw her there already with a vacuum cleaner, then consider that she will not go anywhere else.” That was exactly what happened to me. Since that day, we have not parted, although at first no one thought about how long our life together would be. In general, the idea of ​​marriage did not arise. We rubbed each other very happily and violently. I was young, I didn’t understand many moments, but after all, I came to a person with a past life. Misha was fifty-six years old. True, the age difference did not bother me - I did not feel it thanks to Misha's enthusiastic, childish outlook on life ... People reacted differently, looking at our couple from the side.

Before meeting Zhvanetsky, did your female fate develop successfully?
Natalia:"More than. From the age of seventeen I lived in a hostel without parents, studied, got the profession of a hydrologist, worked at a design institute, but with the beginning of perestroika, it closed, and I got a job as a costume designer in a tiny mime theater, where Lyusik Zaslavsky was the main director. Among my fans, Zhvanetsky stood out, and all comparisons were only in Misha's favor. By the way, it turned out that we were not just countrymen, but literally neighbors: my parents lived on Bohdan Khmelnitsky Street near the Rodina cinema, and the Zhvanetskys were nearby, on Staroportofrankovskaya Street. My grandmother came across Misha's dad, a doctor, and she remembered it so well that until her last hour she was sure that my husband was also a hereditary doctor. She said: “Everyone knows Doctor Zhvanetsky!”

By that time, did you already have an image of your future spouse? Were there any coincidences with the ideal?
Natalia:“No, somehow I didn’t think about it. The only thing is that as a child I was fond of two writers. First, by Gerald Durrell, who described the adventures and life of animals. I liked his fate. And secondly, Ernest Hemingway. His books were impressive, as was his biography. The only scary thing was the number of women.”

In your case everything was the same. Weren't you afraid here?
Natalia:“And I didn’t even imagine then the scale of his personal life. There was no Internet at that time, I didn’t ask any questions, since it’s unusual for me to delve into something that can hurt me. And Mishino's inner circle somehow immediately accepted me and began to protect me from various rumors. Probably, they were already tired of his endless loves and wished him to settle down. All his friends were silent about his past like partisans. It looked like a conspiracy. I learned much in detail much later, when a bunch of "well-wishers" appeared.

Curious how Zhvanetsky courted?
Natalia:“He was gallant. In relation to me even generous. Somewhere in six months, probably, this happened. Misha gave me a fur coat, for example. The first was from the then fashionable nutria, then from the mink ... But they were so Soviet, heavy, and when some people helped me undress, many fell straight into the wardrobe with fur.

Recently, Mikhail Mikhailovich said on the air that there are women who fall in love with talent, cherish it, cherish it, and it doesn’t matter to them how old this talent is, how it looks. I think he meant you...
Natalia:"More likely. As a wise man, he is looking for an answer to the question of how strong our family is, how we live. Perhaps other couples do not even think about it, but this is not our option. Here a person literally eats away at himself, considers the situation from all sides, compares. And, of course, he always finds some words ... Undoubtedly, most of all in Misha I was hooked by talent. But not only. In general, it is impossible to explain why you love, to disassemble your husband into components. This topic can be discussed endlessly. Here, they say, it is convenient to love the rich. And take away his financial side from this wealthy gentleman, so there will be nothing left. The main thing still revolves around character. And living with a talented person is basically the same as living with an ordinary person. Just a little more fun. Since the brains are arranged in a special way, the drive is constant ... You are side by side with energy that is not available to a normal person.

So, your weekdays are non-standard?
Natalia:“It happens that it is standard. Sometimes even very sluggish, because Misha used to do part of the work while lying in bed. And I devote this time to my business and never expect my husband to entertain me. There is always something to do at home: read, walk along the sports track, for example. We have a huge number of simulators - this is my husband's hobby. Previously, I didn’t seem to need them, but now I see that I already need them, and I also got involved, looking at my husband. Misha takes care of himself: he spends at least an hour in the hall, chooses healthy food ... Yes, he loves the smell of baking, fresh buns with butter, but he rarely allows them. I know if I bring something like this home, there will be a scandal. (Smiling.) Flour, fat is still absent from the daily diet. Although these restrictions are sometimes violated depending on the mood. His inner motor, passion for life never doze off. It manifests itself even in everyday life. He is characterized by such childish curiosity: what is the advantage of this particular car, and what kind of new generation meat grinder or TV, refrigerator, dishes? And we urgently need to go and buy all this almost in bulk. Intervenes in everything. But this does not mean that he likes to do housework, not at all. But he needs to know everything about this or that subject. And then, Misha loves comfort and believes that there should not be a licked showroom at home. In his office, there is a creative mess, books are scattered, a cup can stand anywhere, a TV can hang on the window in the kitchen (it’s more convenient). At the same time, he is neat: T-shirts, underpants, socks - everything is laid out in piles. This is his order, which I try to maintain.”

Zhvanetsky admitted that in his youth he lived in poverty, worked in the port, walked with patches, stole kerosene with his comrades, and wealth came to him only after sixty. Apparently, he is not a very “material” person, since he says that he is ironic about making money, right?
Natalia:"Yes. But work in the port gave him invaluable experience, which he used for many years to come. And then, at that time, many were in need and existed extremely ascetically. When I came to him, we lived with him in an old dacha in Odessa, with a narrow plot. He also had a Mercedes, which he was terribly proud of. And in Moscow we lived in a one-room apartment on Koroleva Street. It was all the "luxury" that I saw. That is, Misha is not the person who earns money. He just does what he likes, and the good thing is that it brings income. I, as a woman, naturally, always wanted to dress beautifully, change the situation in the apartment and, of course, rejoiced at gaining some kind of well-being. Now I’m happy that we have an apartment in the center, where only my son now lives, because Misha absolutely cannot fall asleep in a noisy metropolis, and we constantly live in a country house in the suburbs. But our favorite is a cozy house in Odessa, by the sea. We built both houses without the help of architects, we gave everything at the mercy of the builders, and they took into account our wishes. The only pity is that in Odessa now we live surrounded by discos: if it’s still quiet during the day, then in the evenings it’s a complete hubbub.”

You give the impression of a very businesslike woman. You just need a home and family, do not try to open your own business?
Natalia:“Yes, I would have had enough strength and desire for this for sure. Sometimes I do something small in Odessa, but this is so ... The truth is that my husband hates when I leave him for a long time. He needs to feel that I am nearby, somewhere in the house, or nearby on tour. And I live the life of Misha. And I am a link between life and Misha. Like a translator. We go to the doctors together, I call the plumbers, and so on.”

Was your wedding modest? She was not written about anywhere.
Natalia:“She wasn't there. Misha and I began to live together, then we gave birth to a child when Misha wanted to himself, and when the boy grew up, he began to ask why we were not officially husband and wife. For him, this turned out to be important, he did not want to be, as it were, illegitimate, he was upset for some reason, he wanted his mother to bear the name of his father. We stopped thinking about it a long time ago, but signed, and without arranging any celebrations on this occasion. This happened about three years ago. By the way, I still have not taken the name of Zhvanetsky. (Smiles.) Although the fact that I got married is probably good, otherwise I have lived all my life and have never been married, it also somehow turns out stupid ... "

I know that your seventeen-year-old son Dmitry entered the institute this year. Which faculty do you prefer?
Natalia:“Psychology. It's his choice. He consulted with us about the future specialty, because he still doubted. We took him to all sorts of tests that determine certain tendencies. We personally, as parents, saw him as a doctor. And our friend Dima Pushkar, a urologist surgeon, even offered Mitya to become his assistant - to see in practice what kind of sphere it is and whether he needs it. Mitya was delighted at first. But later he changed his mind. From his father, he took the gift of a storyteller, plus a certain desire for analysis affected ... I hope he will become an intelligent psychologist. At least he is calmer, more reasonable than both of us. He treats all our loud, temperamental showdowns philosophically. At first he tried to intervene, to figure out who was right, and when he realized that it was useless, he began to remain neutral.

There is a well-known story that when the mother of young Mikhail Mikhailovich found him at their house with a girl (this was his first sexual experience), she was offended and left. I had two days to look for her in the city. How are things with Dima's friends?
Natalia:“He hasn’t introduced us to anyone yet. There are girls, apparently, so when we go to an apartment, we always warn in advance. I am not yet ready for such nervous upheavals. Although the girl in our apartment, under control, is much better than he himself will go somewhere, as my friends tell me ... But so far I have hardly come to terms with the fact that my boy speaks in a bass voice, waved ninety meters, the shoe size is forty-five, and recently he was barely forced to shave off his beard. Not to mention the fact that he was going to get a tattoo. I asked to wait at least two years - to feel sorry for my mother. He looks very mature. In a restaurant, the bill is always brought to him, and they look at me with suspicion. (Smiling.)

It is curious what Zhvanetsky dad is. Did you go to the zoo with your child?
Natalia:“I can’t imagine such a picture. He didn’t even go anywhere with me like this, by the hand. We have a different alignment: he runs about his business, and I adapt. There are meetings where I must be with him, according to the protocol, as they say. There are others where I myself want to be present ... From time to time I also attached Mitya to the company so that he would look at dad. Sometimes incidents happened. So, on tour in Israel, our still little son, standing behind the scenes, suddenly decided to also go on stage and tell the audience something. They managed to stop him. And so Misha took Mitya on stage several times, however, in front of an empty hall, in order to clearly demonstrate where he was performing. And all the growing up of the son took place under the slogan: "Watch your father's flights." Mita had a hard time. He mastered English with us in one month at a language camp in London, learned to play the guitar tolerably with a teacher, but his dad did not particularly praise him, rather criticized him. The husband, in principle, is stingy with compliments, including me. It is clear that Misha did not go to school, did not check the lessons. I remember he watched in horror as we screamed at the multiplication table... You see, there are people who prefer to communicate only with adults. Here is Misha - just one of those. He even talks to our Mitya, who grew up before his eyes, primarily as a person, and not as with his child.

If you believe the Internet, then Zhvanetsky is the father of many children ...
Natalia:“Only half of it is not his. Let all these children be on the conscience of their mothers. Misha had only an early short marriage in his youth. But the son-in-law did not seem promising to the mother of his wife Larisa, and they left for Paris. And so he always lived in freedom, alone, all his friends were passing by, and who would check what there ... Undoubtedly, it is more pleasant to attribute paternity to Zhvanetsky than to Uncle Vasya, a locksmith. By the way, one popular radio station conducted a survey: from which celebrity would you like to have offspring? And Misha took first place! When my husband found out about this, he became so proud of me - he went crazy for a week, in my opinion, he tried not to return to the family. (Smiling.) But we forgave him for that. As far as I know, from real children there is a daughter, Liza, she is about thirty, she is a lawyer and lives in Moscow. It seems to me that Misha wants to communicate with her, but Lisa herself needs to look for contact, and not wait from her father. The reason is that artists generally have enough communication, and it’s better not to wait for them to remember you, but to take the initiative, call, catch between tours, call for a visit, feed, say kind words about creativity. There is also a twenty-two-year-old son Maxim, who lives with his mother in America. I know that it was an expected child. He looks like Misha. I think my husband helps that family, but I don’t go into details, we are extremely correct towards each other. I am actually pleased that Misha speaks so warmly about his children, that he is a decent person. It is only young fools who are sure: if their husband cut off all previous wives and children, then they will be happy together. In reality, he will do the same with her after a certain period of time. So I would like to wish women: be vigilant, look at the biography, see how a man left women, what he left for them ... "

The person who wrote the words “femininity showed through clothes” cannot but be an addicted nature. How did you deal with jealousy?
Natalia:“I am Aries by the sign of the zodiac, so I was hot, I was terribly jealous in my youth. Women love with their ears, and Misha was surrounded by ladies in this regard. In all our life together, I remember only one egregious episode when we were walking together, and a girl in an ultra-mini-skirt was walking in front of us, and my Misha examined her in detail. An artist's point of view. Two weeks later, I mentioned it to him. “So the whole street was looking at her!” - the husband was indignant. That was the only story. He didn't give me a reason. We have always been rescued by the age difference. If we were the same age, we would probably run away. And so he was stimulated, kept in good shape by the looks that other men threw at me. (Smiling.)

Yes, you lasted longer than all your predecessors ... It is unlikely that only due to the difference in age.
Natalia:“It is difficult to articulate clearly. We both never believed that we could be together. The previous women really wanted to be with Misha, and they came, imposed themselves, settled almost by force, and I was set up so that I could disappear at any moment. Once he stopped me, sometimes not, and I returned myself. In a word, I did not cling. It both annoyed him and attracted him.

Do you like to arrange holidays? Who are your friends at home?
Natalia:“Misha loves feasts. Previously, we organized them often, but now we don’t have time - the schedule is tight. But, of course, friends stop by. Mostly they are people of other professions. non-media faces. From known to us come Yarmolniki. Oksana and Lenya are wonderful! Lenya knows how to make friends! He helps many people. Margulies do exist. Misha loves Andrei Makarevich, Evgeny Grishkovets, Sergei Solovyov, but they are rare guests with us. In principle, in Moscow everything happens on the run. Maximum - a large pot of crayfish is cooked, a couple of neighbors from our village are invited. And such real holidays, with a set table and a bunch of dishes from quality products, I start in Odessa, where we fly from June to October. It is during these months that the husband works fruitfully there, but he also has time to relax. At leisure, he can read his beloved Chekhov or simply exciting detective stories ... But what may be similar to his style, apparently, is ignored on purpose.

Does he write according to the schedule in Odessa?
Natalia:"Yes. He goes upstairs with coffee, suffers ... And if he starts building households, reprimanding us (either for our absence, then for our presence), then the process is going well. The irritability of the author, complaints that nothing is working out is the first sign. But in the evenings we go out to wind our way to our favorite restaurants: Katran at the 16th station, where they serve the freshest fish, a beer restaurant in the city garden, Dacha, Clara-Bara... And on weekends, as a rule, , we are leaving for a picnic outside the city, where there are not so many vacationers and the water is cleaner. He also takes an interest in gardening. We grow peaches, apricots, pears, plums, apple trees magnificently. But Misha insisted on tomatoes, cucumbers and all kinds of greens - we planted them too, but these crops must be carefully looked after, as it turned out. My husband dreamed of someone else grunting in the barn, but here I already opposed. And at the end of the summer season, we harvest - in every sense. As for literary works, on one of the September evenings Misha gathers everyone, we go to the barge outside the city, where a long table is set, a huge bundle of manuscripts is taken out of the briefcase and everything is read to the public. Performances usually go off with a bang. That's how every year there is a new program.

Odessa is famous for its unintentional humor. What is the mystery of this area, where both the seller and the waiter in the cafe can cheer you up?
Natalia:“I don’t want to offend anyone, but for the most part it arises on the basis of incorrect speech, where Russian, Ukrainian, Hebrew are mixed ... And in some cases, no doubt, natural abilities. Specifically, Zhvanetsky has absolutely paradoxical thinking, an original angle of view, and this gives such results. He is serious about everything. You will put him to a standstill if you ask him to specifically joke. Even those, as he says, sad, sad things that he puts on the table are probably funny if you read it. The miracle is that when you listen to it, it is always a discovery and one hundred percent coincides with your thoughts.

Once Mikhail Mikhailovich said that you are not too attentive to his work, you are not enthusiastic every second. Have you improved today?
Natalia:"Hardly. It is physically impossible to be permanently in rapture and awe. I'm busy with pots, a child, a lot of urgent troubles. Our cat, after all. I do not always know how to abruptly switch from the role of a housewife to the role of an intellectual interlocutor. Sometimes I say this: “At the moment I am frying cutlets. I'll finish it, then we'll talk." (Smiling.) It is clear that when it comes to a conversation, I have to be on the level. And when we go out to visit in the evening, I should be secular, spectacular, dressed with taste. I have to be a good mom too. And a friend to my numerous entourage. These are all the components of my life that I must comply with.

Is Zhvanetsky partial to pets?
Natalia:“To animals in general. When there are stories on TV about how homeless animal shelters are burned, dogs are poisoned, he immediately turns it off, gets upset. Hates hunting - does not understand how you can kill defenseless, small and fluffy. And our fat cat Maurice, also from Odessa, he loves. Although Maurice is completely devoid of any skills: he is lazy, falls from the windowsills, misses chairs, climbing a tree only a meter, flies with his back into a blackberry with a cry, comes out covered in thorns ... But on the other hand, he faithfully looks into his eyes, listens, you need to talk to him. And Misha constantly pesters me: does it seem only to him or to me, too, that our cat still understands a lot.

For many years, Zhvanetsky has been appearing in Andrey Maksimov's program "Country Duty", and, judging by the ratings, people trust him. Has he ever had plans to go somewhere to power in order to change something?
Natalia:“Misha has an attractive appearance. And he really never lies, including under my pressure. (Smiling.) Even if somewhere he is afraid to tell the truth, he still speaks. And at the premiere performances with friends, if he doesn’t like something, he is not silent. Moreover, he does not scold, but praises so sinuously, and it becomes clear that everything is bad. That's how he goes everywhere and is disappointed. Thus, we have already lost half of our friends. But as far as politics is concerned, he is not a fighter. He will not be able to speak in debates, because if suddenly an opponent tells him in a fever that he is a Jew, had a lot of women, Misha will be offended and leave. He won't be able to defend himself, he won't be able to take a hit. There must be some kind of guard in front of him. In life, this is me. So politics is against him. He is a writer, and in his place.

His well-aimed statements and aphorisms have long gone to the people. His view of life comes through through the monologues he reads from the stage. His attitude to the latest events taking place in the country is of interest to millions of viewers.

Mikhail Zhvanetsky: biography

He is from Odessa. Born in Moldovan. His father is still remembered as a good doctor. Mom is also a doctor, but the son did not follow their path. Maybe because the teacher of literature at school instilled a love for the Russian language?

One of Mikhail Mikhailovich's monologues is dedicated to him. Boris Efimovich Drukker was terribly angry at all people who illiterately expressed their thoughts. But his students, who graduated from serious technical institutes, later became journalists, poets and writers.

Zhvanetsky Mikhail studied at an institute that trains engineers for the navy. At the end of it, he worked for a short time as a locksmith in the port. This gave the writer the richest material for future masterpieces.

At the same time, around 1958, he was engaged in an amateur theater, where they put on two performances based on his texts, met R. Kartsev and V. Ilchenko. Later, the duo of these artists will perform his miniatures for many years, and the expressions “what about you?”, “Stupid assistant professor” and other pearls will become Russian folklore.

In the theater of A. Raikin

In 1960, A. Raikin toured in Odessa. Among the theatrical youth, he singled out Zhvanetsky and his duet. Kartsev and Ilchenko became members of Raikin's troupe. After some time, Mikhail Zhvanetsky joined them as an actor and head of the literary part (1967-1969).

The Leningrad Theater of Variety and Miniatures puts on a program of his compositions, which is immediately disassembled into quotes. It was then that the famous monologue "In the Greek Hall" appeared.

Working with the venerable satirist, the young author hones his skills, sculpts characters with the utmost precision, adopts Raikin's intonations. An artist of another generation comes out of Raikin's school, taking over the baton of satire and humor. The Odessa accent is forever included in his texts.

According to Raikin's memoirs, the zavlit from Zhvanetsky was useless. The young writer had to convince, forbid - and this is not his element. Indeed, this is more of an administrative job than a creative one. There was a lack of tact and patience.

The exit was obvious. We parted warmly. Zhvanetsky dedicated a monologue to the teacher, where he confessed his love to him.

In 1970, he began an independent career by creating the Odessa Theater of Miniatures.

Who is the main duet

Mikhail Zhvanetsky together with Kartsev and Ilchenko create about 300 miniatures. The duet is recognized by replicas, popularity is growing. Mikhail becomes an artist of the conversational genre - that's what they called stand-up then. Tape recordings circulate throughout the country; in Leningrad, Raikin recognizes his achievements in them.

The Little Theater begins to tour. The image of a “man with a briefcase” has already been created, who pulls out a pile of handwritten texts from it and reads, referring to the audience. Later he will be immortalized in bronze, but for now - glory without money.

Since 1972, Zhvanetsky moved to the Moscow Theater of Miniatures (in the Hermitage Garden). He works there as a director, then at Rosconcert as a director, later as an employee of a publishing house, and, finally, as artistic director of his own Moscow Theater of Miniatures.

Since 1979, the duo Kartsev - Ilchenko, who also moved to Moscow, created, as it were, a "theater within the theater." This has already happened with the talented duet of Mironov - Menaker. Apparently, the theater cannot keep the variety direction. Performances are staged: “When we rested”, “Bravo, satire!”, “Bird flight” according to the scenarios of Zhvanetsky.

Family

Zhvanetsky Mikhail Mikhailovich does not like to talk about his personal life. It happened that he was unlucky in family life for a long time. It did not work out with Larisa, whose marriage did not stand the test of her mother-in-law. The young wife asked Mikhail for a divorce. Subsequently, she and her mother went to France.

After there were three attempts to live as a family with others. But when the maestro entered a respectable age, he met his muse. He has been with Natasha for more than twenty years, his son Mitya has grown up. Studying to be a psychologist. The gift of the storyteller passed to him from his father, and the tendency to help people - apparently from his grandfather and grandmother.

At the opening of the Odessa Club, he saw Her, fell in love and did not let her go. He courted chivalrously. Friends froze: has this reveler really settled down? Natasha did not know about her husband's past for a long time. “He was always with me, he didn’t give a reason to be jealous,” she explains and admits that if it weren’t for the big age difference (32 years), nothing would have happened.

Natasha believes that living with talent is a little more fun than with an ordinary person. When there is energy nearby, inaccessible to anyone else. She considers it a constant drive. Quietly walks around the house while her husband creates (he likes, like Pushkin, to write in bed at the beginning of the day). He is not distracted by his enthusiastic questions about the mind of the cat Maurice: "I fry the cutlets, then I will answer." And in the evening they go to a familiar restaurant where the cuisine is excellent.

Mikhail loves feasts, there are often guests in the house. Then the muse becomes the mistress of the salon and a socialite. At official events, she is his Fair Lady. They have long been a couple, and Mikhail Mikhailovich is comfortable with Natasha.

Duty officer for the country

Mikhail Zhvanetsky has been on duty around the country for about 15 years. According to the reviews of the program, he is respected by the people. His words are called "a breath of fresh air", and the author himself is a wise man. The transfer time flies quickly, only one thing is annoying - it comes out late.

One spectator remarked very touchingly: "The country will be orphaned without you." This is true. He, like an all-Russian grandfather, refuses to take extreme positions, reconciling, smoothing, appealing to humanity.

Young people are protesting against this - they are in the forefront, they do not need those who smooth the corners. But isn't this a mistake? What will you say in fifty or sixty years, young rebel? What will you tell your grandchildren who want to redo everything, refute, cancel everything?

And it is necessary to say something that everyone has long known. About conscience. About tolerance. By forgiveness. No wonder the duty officer keeps his finger on the pulse of the country.

Mikhail Zhvanetsky: aphorisms

For a long time we have been repeating the words from the texts of the master, without thinking where they came from in the folk piggy bank. Each miniature contains several aphorisms. How many have accumulated over the years! Here are just a few:

• "Be careful guys!"
• "While you measure seven times, someone else will already cut."
• "It is important not to cross the street into the other world."
• "Only a bad person can offend."
• "If I had five rubles yesterday!"
• "Yes, I'm Apollo!"
• "To help you or not to interfere?"
• "All in the web, all in bulls."
• "Okay, Gregory."

But love for the writer is manifested not only in this.

Confession

Mikhail Zhvanetsky - People's Artist of Ukraine and Russia. A monument was erected to him, a boulevard in Odessa, a small planet and ... cognac were named after him. The cognac factory in his hometown produced two versions: three-star and five-star. Now he has become even closer to the people.

Despite the fact that he has crossed the 80-year mark, Mikhail Zhvanetsky is full of creative energy, and you can listen to him at a concert. Do not deny yourself this pleasure.

Russian satirist and performer of his own literary works, screenwriter, TV presenter, actor

Mikhail Zhvanetsky

short biography

Mikhail Mikhailovich Zhvanetsky (Mikhail Manyevich Zhvanetsky; genus. March 6, 1934, Odessa, Ukrainian SSR, USSR) - Russian satirist and performer of his own literary works, screenwriter, TV presenter, actor. People's Artist of Ukraine (1999). People's Artist of the Russian Federation (2012).

Born in the family of doctors Manet (Emmanuel) Moiseevich Zhvanetsky and Raisa Yakovlevna Zhvanetskaya. He grew up in Tomashpol, where his father worked as a surgeon, and his mother as a dentist. The family returned to Odessa from evacuation after the liberation of the city in 1944. He graduated from the 118th secondary school for boys.

In 1956 he graduated from OIIMF - Odessa Institute of Marine Engineers with a degree in Mechanical Engineer of Handling and Transport Equipment of Ports. During his studies, he was a Komsomol organizer of the faculty of port mechanization. After graduating from OIIMF, he worked in the Odessa port together with Viktor Ilchenko: Mikhail was a crane mechanic, and Viktor was a forklift mechanic.

In his student years, he participated in amateur performances, where he began to write miniatures and monologues, which he often performed himself. In 1963, during a tour of the Leningrad Theater of Miniatures in Odessa, he met Arkady Raikin, who took his works into the repertoire of the theater, and in 1964 invited him to his theater to the position of head of the literary part.

It's a thing of the past, but I must say that, as he fills up, Zhvanetsky was no good. He lacked diplomacy, tolerance, elementary perseverance.

Together with Zhvanetsky, Raikin staged the program "Traffic Light" in 1969, in which for the first time Zhvanetsky's miniatures "Avas", "Deficiency", "Age of Technology" were performed.

But the literary gift of Zhvanetsky, the sharpness and paradoxical nature of his sense of life, his ability to convey in the text the diversity of modern colloquial speech, his ability to capture the fantastic nature of reality - all this captivated me. So subdued that for some time Zhvanetsky became in our repertoire, so to speak, the author-premier

A. Raikin Without makeup. Memories

While working in the theater of A. I. Raikin, he creatively collaborated with Roman Kartsev and Viktor Ilchenko, for whom he wrote more than three hundred miniatures and monologues.

Then he performed independently at the Odessa Philharmonic, then at the Moscow Hermitage Theater, where he gained popularity.

The moment came when such a situation seemed offensive to Zhvanetsky. Entering a trolleybus and hearing some replicas of his own composition, [...] he sometimes wanted […] to draw the attention of passengers to the fact that he was the author ...

A. Raikin Without makeup. Memories

He was the artistic director of the Moscow Theater of Miniatures he created. In 1991, he made a cameo in an episode of the film Genius.

From April 2002 to the present, he has been a permanent host of the monthly TV show “On Duty in the Country”, the original format on the Russia-1 channel (produced by the ATV television company).

Personal life

• First wife Larisa
• The actual wife of Nadezhda Gaiduk
  • Daughter Elizabeth
• Actual wife Venus
  • Son Maxim Zhvanetsky
• Actual wife (since 1991) Natalya Suvorova - costume designer
  • Son Dmitry Zhvanetsky (born 1995)

In total, Mikhail Zhvanetsky has five children - two sons and three daughters.

Address in St. Petersburg

• While working in Leningrad, he lived on the street. Fortitude, d.19.

Performances

• "Bird Flight" (1987)
• "Favorites" (1988)
• "Political cabaret" (1989)
• "My Odessa" (1994)
• "Aged Tomboy" (1999)

Books

Alexander Kalyagin, Vladimir Putin
and Mikhail Zhvanetsky on the opening day of the new building of the theater "Et Cetera",
November 30, 2005

• "Meetings in the streets" (1980);
• "Year for two" (1987);
• "My Odessa" (1993);
• "Collected Works" in 5 volumes (2001, 2006, 2009, publishing house Vremya);
• "My Portfolio" (2004, publishing house Makhaon-Ukraine);
• "Odessa dachas" (2007, Vremya publishing house);
• “More carefully…” (2008, publishing house Vremya);
• “Hits. Audiobook on 2 CDs” (2008, Vremya publishing house);
• "Concert No. 2. Audiobook on 2 CDs" (2008, publishing house Vremya);
• "Odessa dachas. Audiobook on 2 CDs” (2008, Vremya publishing house);
• "Favorites" (2008, 2010, 2011, Eksmo publishing house);
• "Do not continue short" (2010, publishing house Vremya);
• "Hot Summer" (2011, publishing house Vremya);
• "Southern Summer (Read in the North)" (2014, Eksmo publishing house).

Screen adaptations

• 1985 - Goldfish (teleplay)
• 1984 - 1987 - work on the script and dubbing (voiceover text) of the animated satirical series "Contacts ... conflicts ..."

Awards and memberships in organizations

Assignment of the honorary title "People's Artist of the Russian Federation",
December 26, 2012

• 1970 - laureate of the VI All-Union competition of variety artists, together with Viktor Ilchenko and Roman Kartsev
• 1978-1991 - Member of the Writers' Union of the USSR
• 1990 - present time - President of the World Club of Odessans
• 1994 - Commander of the Order of Friendship of Peoples
• 1994 - laureate of the non-state Russian award "Triumph" for 1993
• 1994 - Arkady Raikin Cup winner, MORE SMEHA international festival, Riga
• 1994 - honorary citizen of the city of Odessa (according to other sources - 1997)
• 1999 - honorary title "People's Artist of Ukraine"
• 2001 - honorary title "Honored Art Worker of the Russian Federation"
• 2002 - laureate of the State Prize of the Russian Federation in the field of literature and art in 2001
• 2002 - honorary title "Honored Art Worker of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea"
• 2006 - Mikhail Zhvanetsky's program "On duty in the country" became the winner of the Russian national television award "TEFI-2006" in the category "Professions" in the category "Entertainment program: humor"
• 2009 - Commander of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, IV degree
• 2009 - By the decision of the session of the Odessa City Council of April 5, 2009, Art Boulevard (formerly Komsomolsky Boulevard) in the city of Odessa was renamed Mikhail Zhvanetsky Boulevard in honor of the 75th anniversary of the birth of the satirist writer
• 2012 - honorary title "People's Artist of the Russian Federation"
• Member of the Public Council of the Russian Jewish Congress

Some sources claim that Zhvanetsky was one of the last to receive the title of "People's Artist of the USSR" in 1991, along with A. B. Pugacheva, however, in Vedomosti of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR No. 52 for 1991 (the most recent issue) of his the name is not among the other awarded.

public position

In the fall of 2008, Zhvanetsky, together with Andrei Bitov, Yuri Mann, Inna Churikova, Mark Zakharov and other figures of science and culture, signed a letter of appeal to the State Duma deputies with a proposal to relocate the Gogol monument to Gogolevsky Boulevard.

In June 2012, together with a number of other Russian cultural figures, he signed an open letter in defense of the punk band Pussy Riot.

In June 2015, at the TEFI - 2015 award ceremony, he delivered the monologue "Girl and Grandfather", ridiculing the pain points of modern Russian TV. As conceived by the author, it told about how a young employee of the TV channel taught a seasoned satirical writer to joke: “This is television, this is not for smart people, grandfather. For a rating in the forehead it is necessary. At home you will hint to your grandmother, and from the screen - with a reprise in the breath! He caused a disapproving reaction from those present in the hall during the presentation of awards figures of modern Russian TV. This monologue of Zhvanetsky did not get into the recording of the television version of the broadcast from the award on the REN TV channel, but attracted attention from various Russian journalists and the media.

In the summer of 2015, the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine included the satirist on the "white list" of artists who support the country's territorial integrity and oppose aggression.

Popular biographies Popular quote and aphorism topics Popular quote and aphorism authors Popular parables

- We met in November 1990 at the opening of the World Club of Odessans. One of the organizers of the event, a good friend of mine, asked me to help him deliver tea and coffee to the guests. Mikhail Zhvanetsky was the president of this club. Of course I knew him. I really liked his popular miniature about how to drive a tank to the market and ask the price: “Dap-dap ?!” Since that evening, they have hardly parted. Smart men with a sense of humor have always made a strong impression on me. Everything else - appearance, age, position - did not matter. The first years of our acquaintance, everyone except Misha, seemed insipid and stupid. (Laughs.) It was later that she learned to be more tolerant of people and not compare them with Zhvanetsky.

— Were you not embarrassed to talk to Mikhail Mikhailovich yourself? After all, a conversation with a smart, ironic person is scary.

“Fortunately, she was never afraid or shy, although, of course, at the age of 24, she could not say anything particularly impressive to him, an adult. I don’t think that I’m shining with intellect now, but nevertheless, during my long life together with Misha, I learned a lot from him. Next to him, for example, it is impossible to watch an average movie - after all, sometimes you want to bury yourself in some disgusting comedy. He silently boils, begins to itch. (laughs) It immediately becomes embarrassing, and I suggest: “Let's turn it off? The movie is terrible."

- What is Zhvanetsky at home?

- As cheerful and restless as you see him on the screen. Everything is interesting to him, he constantly comes up with something, delves into everything: who came? When? who is the letter from? where are the bills from? why did he call? and this one isn't? new bag? whose production? What wood is this cabinet? It would never even occur to me to ask so many questions. in terms of curiosity, he can be compared with a five-year-old child. As soon as Misha gets into a new car, all the panels start opening and closing, checking the instruments, pressing the levers. Our age difference - 32 years - is not felt at all. He is much more mobile than me. We are the last to leave the parties when they start to turn the chairs and the cleaning lady appears. Misha still jokes sparklingly in a narrow circle, and I have long been dozing side by side.

- Your main profession is the wife of a genius. Have you ever wanted to at least temporarily work for someone else?

No, it's absolutely impossible. Until the child grew up, I was attached to both of them, now that Mitya entered the university, all attention is switched to Misha: he needs my presence all the time. Sometimes he reluctantly lets go to his girlfriends, but preferably during the day, while he works alone in a city apartment (at home - we live outside the city - he gets discouraged: hangs out with a cat, with me, tries to talk to us all the time).

But it's a small sacrifice on my part. 22 years of continuous work as a duty officer at the wishes of Zhvanetsky is not a burden to me.

- Victoria Tokareva once talked about her romance with Georgy Danelia and noticed that they could never be together, because only a “notebook woman” can get along with the creator - the one who walks on the heels and writes down all the thoughts of a genius ...

“It's different in our family. Misha is a very responsible person, he writes everything down himself. He has notebooks - cut in half school notebooks in a box - a hundred pieces! Or maybe more ... He does not part with them, the thought came - he wrote it down.

- Is it true that the writer does not part with his famous portfolio all his life?

- Yes, this old, tattered, patched, stapled briefcase seemed to belong to Misha's dad. My husband is so used to it that it even seems to me that he considers him a talisman. Takes to all performances. Papers are placed in a briefcase, a briefcase - in a large bag. He takes care of him like a musician takes care of a Stradivarius violin.

- I noticed that all the texts of Zhvanetsky are written in the old fashioned way - by hand.

- It's right. The husband does not recognize the computer. And almost never corrects the texts, does not rewrite. He has such a manner - to cross out phrases only slightly. And then he reads them, then he doesn’t, depending on the reaction of the audience.

- Are you the first listener of the new text?

- No, Misha does not have any one specific "checker". All summer we live in Odessa, where he writes lyrics for his concerts. When everything is ready, he gathers friends, 30-40 people, in a restaurant equipped on a barge, and reads his new miniatures - so to speak, rolls the program.

- Natasha, where is Mikhail Mikhailovich's favorite place in your house?

- In the bedroom on the bed. He loves to lie down with a book or watch the news on TV. The second entertainment is to talk to the cat, our huge, fat Maurice. They adore each other, Michal Mikhalych considers him an ideal companion. He is silent when the husband tells him something. But mostly I hear: “Handsome, handsome…” (With laughter.)

Does the husband solve household issues with ease?

- Life is completely on me. It happens that Misha interferes in the process and rushes to buy a refrigerator, TV or something else useful. I'm trying to say that I can handle it myself, because he will certainly get the first one that comes across, but the most expensive, beautiful and with a bunch of useless gadgets. However, he does not hear me and does everything in his own way.

“But it’s hard for a woman to bear!”

He's not always at home. (Laughs.) Traveling, concerts, recording TV programs, working on books - all this occupies him much more than everyday life. He leaves for a couple of days, and my son and I are immersed in a calm state. With dad, this is impossible: when he is at home, he disturbs everyone.

- Do you accompany your husband on tour?

- It is extremely rare, and so we practically do not part. We hardly go to concerts either: Misha does not like it when my son and I are in the hall. He often talks about our family: she cooked borsch incorrectly, got offended, burst into tears, locked the cat, punished the child - it's all about me. I normally perceive such "revelations", but for some reason he is uncomfortable in my presence.

- Of course! In his “wife’s monologue,” the wife is not very affectionate: “Go sharp, creature, laugh, bastard, just try not to laugh!”

- Not knowing exactly how Misha's works are created, many people think that he simply tells the truth about the family - it sounds so reliable. The husband's cousin takes everything very close to her heart. as soon as she listens to Zhvanetsky, she immediately calls him: “Mishenka, how could you write THIS about your wife ?!” Of course, much of his monologues came from life. I recognize myself, and our son, and acquaintances ... Misha refines what he heard from us - and a new miniature is obtained.

He likes to listen, but he is not interested in banal stories, you cannot gossip with him. (Laughs.) One of my Odessa girlfriends loves Mikhal Mikhalych and, when she visits us, she tries to talk to him. And somehow he shares with me: “When I told him how to whip butter, he listened very carefully. And she began to say smart things - she switched off. Well, it's smart from her point of view. (Laughs.) Misha is only interested in information from which something can be gleaned.

- Returning to the "wife's monologue" ... But really, the writer Zhvanetsky should be stimulated and forced to work?

- Like any person, he is sometimes visited by the blues. And then it sounds: “Nothing works! Everyone, I'm retiring!" I answer: “It will not work! You have a young wife and child." Of course, this sounds frivolous, but, on the other hand, we are responsible for those we have tamed. In addition, Misha constantly helps someone financially - friends, relatives, even, sometimes, completely unfamiliar people. Someone's house burned down, someone's breadwinner died - the husband responds to other people's troubles.

- Mikhail Mikhailovich talks about women with such love and knowledge of the matter that you involuntarily begin to envy you - it is probably very easy to negotiate with him, he is so versed in female psychology!

- We must give my husband his due: he always clearly explains his behavior and his position. This is an indispensable quality in family life. Misha does not allow me to be hysterical and tormented by doubts about how to behave correctly, what to ask him and what not to ask. He says in plain text: “Now I'm in a bad mood. It doesn't apply to you." Or: "Now the child annoys me." At the dawn of our life together with him, he could return home in the morning. I, like any wife, did not like it. But he said, “Don't make me go home terrified. A man should return joyful, then it will happen more often. Well ... I pulled myself together, stopped being nervous, and he began to linger less and less somewhere.

Scandalizing and shaming a man is a road to nowhere. Before, when we fought, I turned around, slammed the door and walked out into the night. And when she came back, she heard: “You should not do this. How can you leave, leaving me without food, in a dirty apartment and with an unironed shirt? I argued: “You offended me! Do you think I should have cleaned, cooked dinner, washed, ironed shirts, washed floors and then left? “Yes,” my husband answered in all seriousness.

Misha is a very smart person. I began to do as he saw fit. We quarrel - I take a rag, wash the floors, prepare compote, iron a shirt. Until I finish, I forgot about the insults. (Laughs.) In general, it’s better to never leave your husbands anywhere. You need to understand that they may not go on your search. In addition, it is stupid to run out of the house in slippers alone. Leaving go! Take money, passport, child, cat, suitcase. When you get ready, think a hundred times.

My husband and I rarely fight, sometimes I quite consciously start: “Oh, you don’t like my borscht ?!” He happily picks up the skirmish: “Yes, absolutely terrible!”

Misha is my teacher. Thanks to his upbringing, I became an ideal wife. I stopped asking who called, where he went and when he would return. But now, for some reason, the husband is again dissatisfied: “Why don’t you ask who is calling me and when I will be ?!”

“Women also terribly love to delve into the past of their husbands and find out who they loved before them ...

- In my youth, I also climbed on the rampage. I wanted to hear: "I did not love a single woman, you are the first love." Let it be a deliberate lie, but I would have believed with joy. However, Misha hates lies, so he answered all questions evasively.

I have a stubborn nature. I think that it was the willingness to leave at any moment that ultimately united us. Both of us did not believe in our union for a long time, we believed that everything was temporary - well, a year, maybe two ... When I periodically left, Misha's friends went in search of me, brought me back ... This independence, probably, melted his wariness.

- What does it mean "Misha's friends were looking for", but Mikhail Mikhailovich himself did not consider it necessary to do this?

- He had an interesting position: "If the woman is mine, she will not leave." So many men think so ... That is, bring her as much as you want, if you can stand it - yours. If you can't stand it, then it's not your person.

But Mishino's entourage, all his friends, treated me warmly from the very first meeting. I think they're just fed up with the endless string of his girlfriends. Still, whatever one may say, a 50-year-old man who changes young girlfriends looks like an idiot. I suppose that our relationship was also approved by the wives of his friends, all the more they did not like the young girlfriends of Zhvanetsky. In a word, literally everyone wanted us to be together. Therefore, they helped us in every possible way not to leave. The first person Zhvanetsky showed me to was Shirvindt. Alexander Anatolyevich immediately said: "You'll be a fool if you don't get married."

“Adult men are terribly afraid that they will be swindled, circled around their fingers by young predators ...

- Funny! When we started living together, Misha had a one-room apartment in Moscow, an old Mercedes and a dacha in Odessa. Everything else has already been purchased by me. It seems that he left a lot to the women from whom he left.

- Natasha, I wonder what Mikhail Mikhailovich thinks about the eternal female conviction: a man must always guess what his beloved has in his mind?

- And it seemed to me that he should guess my desires. I could even afford to throw a tantrum about it. For example, we go to visit, I have nothing to wear. Misha asks: “Why didn’t you tell in advance?” “What, you don’t see yourself?” And in tears! “No, I don't. I like the way you are dressed. Tell me if you need to."

- Your husband is generous, won't he refuse?

- Never. It just seemed to me that he himself should buy what I want. But on his own initiative, my husband never gives me anything - why should he puzzle over what I want? Once in Israel, in the window of a jewelry store, I saw an incredibly beautiful and terribly expensive pearl bracelet. The saleswoman, a stately woman in her sixties who spoke Russian poorly, asked: “Do you like it?” "Yes... But it's so expensive." “But this is a world-famous brand! Where is your husband? Show it to me." I pointed to Misha, who was walking not far away. She confidently says: “Call! He will buy." As soon as I hinted that I liked the bracelet, my husband paid at the same minute.

Misha taught me to speak openly about my desires and feelings. This is the wisest tactic for family life. Do you want dialogue? Then go offended for at least a year, no one will ever understand what the matter is.

Over the years, I have never been bored next to him, we have not annoyed each other. Of all the close friends, I was the only one who had a strong marriage. Although, as I said, we could not even imagine that our story would be for a long time. When it became clear to both of them that time was running out, and feelings did not fade away, Misha started talking about the child.

- And why not, in this case, honestly say about your desire to become a mother?

- This is, perhaps, the only case when a woman has to wait for the decision of a man. It is dishonest to get pregnant and put the husband before the fact. Until he himself wanted a child, I did not start a conversation about it. I think Misha understood: the time will come, I will want to give birth, and he will have to choose - to stay with me and become a father or leave. The son appeared because the husband wanted me to stay close.

- And what kind of father did Mikhail Mikhailovich come out of?

- While Mitya was little, he did not amuse him at all and did not particularly interest him. I don’t remember touching pictures of how dad messes with his son. Mitya often stayed with the nanny, and we went on tour. Relatively recently, about four years ago, Misha finally became interested in communicating with our son. When they are together, I try to leave, not to interfere. I think they are proud of each other.

- Wikipedia says that Zhvanetsky, in addition to Mitya, has four more children ...

“No one really knows how much, and it doesn’t matter. I know for sure that there is a son who lives in America. Here he was born with Misha's consent. The rest were simply presented to him. Once I told Mitya about his American brother. He was very surprised and took this news very seriously, wanted to get to know him. Of course, this will have to be done. It turns out interesting: we, adults, cannot even imagine how important some, from our point of view, formalities are to our children. For example, when Mitya found out that his father and I were not scheduled, he was also shocked.

Why didn't you register your relationship?

“Of course I wanted to sign. Mostly for the peace of mind of my parents. They did not understand how it is possible to live and not work, besides, with a man much older, and even unsigned ... Although they adore Misha. So, for a couple of years I asked to be taken to the registry office, but Misha did not express great joy and desire. He said that as soon as we signed, problems would begin, that he was afraid to jinx it ... Is it true or man's tricks, who knows. Well, I spit on all these formalities, stopped thinking about them. And suddenly one day, about two years ago, he asked why I did not want to sign with him. The devils danced in my head, there was a desire to say: yes! Don't want! But she pulled herself together. (Laughs.) We signed in Odessa, modestly, without witnesses, guests and feasts.

Has something changed in the relationship?

- Misha thinks that I behave differently now. Bold and uncompromising. (Laughs.) And the fact that I just got older, he forgets. I am 46 years old, but for him, apparently, I still remain young.

- His words: “Loyalty, devotion is a tightly tightened tie. Loyalty is a slight sign of a lack of intelligence. I wonder how to live with a man who actually thinks so? Or does he write one thing and think another?

- It is likely that we are talking about that all-consuming devotion of women when they look into the mouth and catch every breath of men. From such devotion, they get tired very and quickly. Do not betray your husband, be his true friend, but remain independent - that's what I wish our women.

- And the last question: what should women do if they are faithful, but their husbands are not?

- Misha says so: of course, a spouse can be tracked down, but you have to decide what to do with it. If you can’t imagine life without your man, then why do you need to know a lot? For example, I don’t ask about so many things - why get upset? (Laughs.)

Mikhail Zhvanetsky

Family: wife - Natalia; son - Dmitry (17 years old), student of the psychological faculty of Moscow State University

Education: Graduated from the Odessa Institute of Marine Engineers

Career: in his student years he participated in amateur performances, where he began to write miniatures, which he often performed himself. From 1964 until the early 1970s, he worked at the Leningrad Theater of Miniatures together with Arkady Raikin, Viktor Ilchenko and Roman Kartsev, for whom he wrote more than 300 miniatures and monologues. Since 1988, he has been the artistic director of the Moscow Theater of Miniatures, which he founded. From 2002 to the present, he has been a permanent host of the monthly TV show "On Duty in the Country" on the Russia channel. People's Artist of Russia

Born March 6, 1934 in Odessa (Ukraine) in a family of doctors.
In 1956 he graduated from the Odessa Institute of Marine Engineers with a degree in "Mechanical Engineer of Handling and Transport Equipment of Ports"

In his student years, he participated in amateur performances, where he began to write miniatures and monologues, which he often performed himself. In 1963, during a tour of the Leningrad Theater of Miniatures in Odessa, he met Arkady Raikin, who took his works into the repertoire of the theater, and in 1964 invited him to his theater for the position of director.
Together with Zhvanetsky, in 1969 Raikin staged the program "Traffic Light", in which the legendary miniatures "Avas", "Deficiency", "Age of Technology" were played for the first time.

While working in the theater, A.I. Raikin creatively collaborated with Roman Kartsev and Viktor Ilchenko, for whom he wrote more than 300 miniatures and monologues. He, having found his own individual style, left the theater of A.I. Raikin and began to work independently. Working at the Odessa Philharmonic, and then at the Moscow Hermitage Theater, he gained all-Union fame.

In 1988 he created the Moscow Theater of Miniatures, of which he has been the permanent artistic director to this day. In the theater, based on his works, the performances "Bird Flight" (1987), "Favorites" (1988), "Political Cabaret" (1989), "My Odessa" (1994), "The Elderly Tomboy" (1999) were created.

Published books:
"Meetings on the streets" (1982), "Year for two" (1987), "My Odessa" (1993), "Collected Works" in 4 volumes (2001).
President of the World Club of Odessans.
Member of the Writers' Union of the USSR (1978-1991), member of the Writers' Union of Russia (1992).

People's Artist of Ukraine (1999).
Honored Artist of the Russian Federation (2001).
People's Artist of Russia (2012).