Personal items

It all started with Yegor. We are sitting at his home, in an apartment with almost no furniture, drinking tea and talking about things that have special meaning for him.

“ I don’t have random things,” says Yegor. - This old set - a sofa and two armchairs - was assembled over the course of two and a half years. First I found one chair. I liked it, I asked for it to be restored and brought it home. Then, in the corridor of Mosfilm, I came across a discarded, collapsed sofa, upholstered in the same old, worn-out velor as my chair. He also took it and restored it. And a year later I found a second chair. It was upholstered in the same velor and stood... with my army commander. These things somehow warm you up in a special way...

I'll show you one unique thing. — He goes into another room and a minute later returns with a small green box. - On the day when I was leaving abroad for good, in 1988, I was going as if to visit, but my family knew that I was not going to return here - I came to my mother to say goodbye, and she told me: “The doctors will come now.” , they will take Maria Lvovna to the hospital...” Maria Lvovna is the widow of the Soviet writer Marvich. It’s unlikely that anyone remembers him now. She was dying. Mom looked after her. I went to say goodbye to her. And suddenly she took off this gold “Victory” watch from her weak, sore hand and handed it to me. As a gift. — He opens the treasured green box. Here they are, the same ones... - After the Great Patriotic War, a certain number of such watches were made for particularly distinguished officers. Some went to the writer Marvic. When this watch came to me, it was running very poorly. I restored them and wore them for a very long time, always and everywhere. They are very beautiful, aren't they? This is one of my favorite things. Abroad, in the first month, I was overcome by such nostalgia that I decided: I will sell this watch and return to Moscow. It seemed to me that they cost a lot of money. I went shopping. The elderly madam, having weighed the watch, said that she could give me mere pennies for it - Soviet gold was considered illiquid. Now I understand that I was lucky, but then I was terribly upset.

— Was it a good time when you studied at Cambridge University? Did you keep anything about him as a keepsake?
- A robe. I had to wear it to class. But it doesn't represent much value to me. It's like a school uniform.

— In the Cambridge photograph, the ring on your hand is the same as what you have now. What's connected with it?
“One day, as a family, we decided to stop hiding the fact that we are Russian princes.” Mikhalkovs. Then my father and I ordered these rings. They were made in London, in the shop where they make rings for the Queen of England. All members of our family wear such rings - father, Nikita, Stepan, Tema, Anya... Grandfather does not. Grandfather doesn’t wear rings at all. This ring depicts the coat of arms of the Mikhalkov family.

By the way, about the coat of arms. I recently discovered something completely unexpectedly. This one,” he places in front of me a small bronze figurine of the Venus de Milo. — It was kept by my mother. I remember this figurine from childhood. You see, here, at its base, someone has been diligently picking at it with a nail. Maybe I am. But just recently, after I put the ring with the family coat of arms on my finger, I suddenly saw an imprint of our coat of arms on the bottom of this Venus. This is not just a figurine. This is a seal. Family stamp for sealing letters with wax.

If we’re talking about belonging to the Mikhalkov family, I can’t help but show you two more small family heirlooms. Here is also our coat of arms. These are little books, the prototype of a modern notebook. In one there is a record of which Mikhalkov was born when and when he died, and in the other there is a catalog of the Mikhalkov library. Of course, there are no books for a long time, only notes.

I keep these things quite deservedly, because to be honest, I am the successor of the family - the eldest son of the eldest son.

It was these words that gave me the idea to talk to the elder Mikhalkovs - Andrei Sergeevich and Sergei Vladimirovich. They are also the eldest sons of eldest sons, heirs and continuers of the family.

Sergei Vladimirovich spent a long time convincing me over the phone that “all this is empty,” but in the end he still agreed to give some comments. Andrei Mikhalkov-Konchalovsky was making films in England in those days. Egor suggested that when he went to see his father in London, he took my questions and recorded his father’s answers on a tape recorder. It turned out to be a little more than personal belongings. Probably very personal. Conversation between father and son.

I'm not participating. I pass it on.

E. M.-K. — Andrey Sergeevich... Tell me, how much importance do you attach to things in life? That is, how important are the objects around you?
A.M.-K. - Very important. I really love objects. I just don’t like it when there are a lot of them.

E. M.-K. — What are your favorite things?
A.M.-K. - Favorite ones? Perhaps these are books. But a book is a little different; I don’t perceive a book as a thing. You see, I find it difficult to say exactly what my favorite things are.

Sergey MIKHALKOV

— Sergey Vladimirovich, do you have any favorite things?
— My favorite things are good furniture. I love old furniture because it's comfortable. This is not antique furniture, but well made by the hands of good craftsmen.
I bought it sometimes in thrift stores, sometimes on occasion. I have nothing left of my parents. And I couldn’t stay, because when my father died in the city of Georgievsk, I transported my mother and my two younger brothers to Moscow, and then I had to sell everything for almost nothing.

Magazine "Ogonyok" No. 18 dated 05/11/1997, p. 18

MIKHALKOVS - ELDER SON OF ELDER SON