SERGEY
ZAGRAEVSKY
ANSWERS
TO FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Lately I had to give a lot of interviews about myself
and my work, and there is a range of questions that are asked most often. So I thought:
why not to respond to them in writing? Surely these answers may seem incomplete
to someone, additional questions will likely arise, but the tradition of
"frequently asked questions", almost unknown to us in Soviet time,
has become ingrained in our lives. So why not to use it?
There is one more reason to write this
"FAQ". In 2001, I published the book of memoirs "My 20th
century". In it I fully described
the life of my great-grandfathers, great-grandmothers, grandmothers,
grandfathers, father and mother, and my own life – up to 2000. Since then many
years have passed. It is not yet time to write the second volume of memoirs
(God willing, I’ll write it in future), but now it is possible to use the
format of "frequently asked questions" and to describe briefly my
current life and view of the world.
So, hello, dear "virtual interviewer", take a seat, make yourself comfortable, I am ready to answer
all your questions no matter how sharp they are!
Question (usually asked first).
You are a versatile person,
you have so many professions... Tell us about them.
Response.
What profession are you
interested in? Which to begin with?
Question.
For a start, tell us about mathematics, your institute
diploma is in this area, and then you worked at the applied mathematics
chair...
Response.
To be exact, according to my diploma I'm not a
mathematician, but a specialist in system analysis. This
scientific discipline, fashionable at that time, studies and modelles "complex social and technical systems".
In short, I am an expert in complex systems. My scientific achievements in this
field never exceeded the average level of a Ph. D. (I spent only a few years at
the applied mathematics chair of Moscow automobile and road institute and left
it for business in the early nineties), but that profession gave me systematic
approach to any occupation and ability to manage the systems of any degree of
complexity. Very useful skill.
Question.
Then you were a businessman for a long time...
Response.
Not too long – also just a few years, but it was in
"hot nineties", and one year could be counted for three, as in a war.
Bandits, bribes, "black cash", bright red jackets, second-hand
prestigious cars and other "business cards" of that time were not
some action tale for me, but everyday reality. It is a separate topic how I
found myself in business. I came from poor (even by Soviet standards) family,
and when I got a chance to earn thick wads of money – I couldn't resist. It was
something like an intoxication, and it lasted since
1992 till
I told in details about systems analysis and business
in the book "My 20th century",
at the time of that book writing both these periods of my life ended happily.
Question.
You have remembered about useful skills that left from
system analysis. And from business?
Response.
I think that it is discipline (especially in financial
matters) and ability to carry responsibility, in particular for words.
Question.
Tell us about extrasensory practice. Did you do it
seriously?
Response.
Everything that I did in my life, I did seriously: I
never had time for non-serious occupations. Extrasensory practice was an
occupation that almost became a profession, and it was in the early nineties. I
wrote in details about it in the book "My 20th
century", and now can say just
briefly: long ago I stopped practicing as an extrasensory master (that is a
person who is able to control energy flows). By analogy with radar – I'm not in
active, but in passive mode, i.e. can look at the world through the
“extrasensory” eyes (in a certain mood I can see the flows of energy, auras,
chakras etc.), but take no actions on the energy level. But since we speak
about the useful skills each time, then I learnt above all to trust my
intuition. And I must say that I've rarely been let down by it.
Question.
You once organized Artists trade union of Russia, the reference book "United Art
Rating", electronic scientific library "Rusarch", "Art newspaper"... Is the organizer your profession too?
Response.
Perhaps it is just a way of life. I organize something
all my life, it is absolutely natural for me. The main thing is not to get
involved in this too much and not to produce non-viable (or even deadborn) projects, because active life position can be
constructive and can be destructive. I try to avoid the second as possible.
Question.
And philosophy, and theology?
Response.
With formal point of view, it probably became my profession,
because at the turn of millenium I wrote and published
several books on christological theme. But it turned out so: I said everything I wanted to say about Jesus
Christ, put forward my vision of his personality and teaching, and then
stopped. Not that there was nothing more to say, but I wrote those books in
some strange burst of inspiration (I mentioned it in the book "My 20th
century"), and then the
inspiration weakened naturally, and in the field of philosophy I did no
"scientific work", i.e. communication with colleagues, tracking of
the new researches, participation in conferences, publication of articles in
digests, profile Ph. D. thesis defense etc. I’ll explain why: around the same
time I had to engage professionally into history of architecture, and had to
choose. So chose the second.
Question.
And what useful skills remained from philosophy?
Response.
Philosophical view of the world. The system of
spiritual values. Personal integrity. Very important things in life.
Question.
And why exactly did you "have to" engage
into history of architecture?
Response.
Of course, no I was not directly
obliged to do that, but it was my duty to father, Wolfgang Kawelmacher, a classic of history of ancient Russian architecture and restoration.
He passed away in 2004, and the last few years of his life were overshadowed by
the fact that one of his disciples put questioned his most important discovery
– the
In that tragic for my father time – the late nineties
– I already oriented in history of ancient Russian architecture on the level of
"advanced amateur": I grew up near so great scientist as my father,
and so learnt very much from him. And when my father was isolated (this
isolation was doubly difficult for him, because the last years of his life he
lived in
So, "forcedly", I came to this field of
science. Now I can proudly say that already almost no one questiones
my father’s discoveries in Alexandrov
and his other no less brilliant scientific achievements, and certainly nobody
is able to conceal his name. Plus to this I edited and published nearly all of
his unfinished scientific works (including those which
existed in the form of drafts),
opened the Internet website dedicated to his memory, so, figuratively speaking, to the extent opportunities fulfilled my
filial duty.
Question.
And can you briefly and clearly describe your own
scientific achievements in history of architecture?
Response.
It's hard to do, since we are talking about
specialized field of knowledge. But I'll try to. Professionals may be
interested in it, and the rest can miss this list. So I hope that I managed:
– to clarify dates, original appearance and a number
of other issues of architectural history of cathedrals – Assumtion in Vladimir, first Assumption (of Ivan Kalita) in Moscow, Saviour in Andronik
monastery, Nativity of the Virgin in Suzdal, St. George in Yuryev-Polsky, St. Demetrius in Vladimir,
Nativity of the Virgin in Bogolyubovo, Old St. Nicholas (Peter and Paul) in Mozhaysk, churches – Intercession on the Nerl, St. Trifon in Naprudnoe, St. Nicholas in Kamenskoye, John the Baptist on the Settlement in Kolomna, Nativity of the Virgin in Gorodnya, Boris and Gleb in Kideksha, Saviour in Vladimir, St. Nikon in Trinity-Sergius Lavra, Metropolitan Alexei
(Crucifixion bell-tower) in Alexandrov, Golden gate in Vladimir;
– to reconstruct the process of white
stone mining in pre-Mongol Vladimir-Suzdal;
– to show the incorrectness
of the version of the advent of Yuri Dolgoruky’s
construction artel from Galicia and to identify immediate influence of Western European Romanesaque
on the architecture of Jury Dolgoruky;
– to show the key role of
Yuri Dolgoruky in the development of Romanesque in
Russia;
– to determine the
"limit of reliability" of old white-stone Russian church architecture;
– to identify Aleviz Novy as the likely author
of the ancient temples of Alexandrov Sloboda;
– to bring additional
arguments in favor of hip-roofed stone arcitecture
origin from wood architecture;
– to define the universal (exclusively
architectural) purpose of the chorus in the ancient temples;
– to show that in Ancient Russia the
"defense" monasteries and temples were widespread.
– to work out typological classification of
old Russian church architecture.
This is my personal opinion about my contribution to
science. Someone, perhaps, will disagree with this list or complement it. But
in general I can describe my research job in such a way: after retiring from
the life of the titans of the "golden age" of history of ancient
architecture, to whom my father
belonged, there remained a few historians of the "old school".
My father passed to me the main methodology of this school. I’m trying to
adhere to it.
Question.
You’ve forgotten to mention among your
scientific achievements that you are a Professor and
Ph. D. in architecture, and also the full member of
Response.
I don't consider as a scientific achievement that I’m
a Professor and Ph. D.: it is rather an organizational achievement, not mine,
but the deceased rector of the Institute of art of restoration Oleg Ivanovich Prutsin. In this
institute in the beginning of 2000-s I led a special course on white-stone
architecture for a few years for free, and he as a gratitude (agreed in
advance) gave me a professorship, and then used his endless connections (in the
Soviet he was a big restoration boss) and organized the defense of my doctoral thesis in architecture.
It must have been difficult, because I had the institute diploma and had
already been Ph. D. in another field of science (technique), but, however,
formally relevant education was not necessary to protect doctoral thesis, and I
satisfied the criterions of number and quality of scientific articles.
The same situation is with my membership in
Question.
But if you as an architectural historian follow in the
footsteps of your father, then, as a writer, probably in your mother's
footsteps? Inna Zagraevsky is a poet and playwrighter...
Response.
Formally this is so: we both are members of Writers
Union of Russia. But in fact, writing was never self-sufficient for me, unlike
my mother who did this her whole life as either the main or, at least, beloved
profession.
My first children's book "Twelve months",
which was released in the late nineties, was nothing more than detailed
captions to my pictures. And when I began to write "full" tales, it primarily expressed my public position: I tried to promote the
"eternal values" through the tales.
And my historical novels are written on the basis of my scientific research.
Question.
Your experience as a writer probably helps a lot in art-criticism, which you
are occupied in?
Response.
Art-criticism differs. I don't write regular reviews
of exhibitions and articles about artists since about 2003, so now I have only
one form of participation in art-critical process – the reference book "United Art Rating". But since the process of ranking artists is a concentrated form of
art-criticism (together with the colleagues by the Rating centre I need to take into account the
exhibitions, the sales, professionalism of artists, and many other factors), that is enough for me as an art-critic.
Question.
Well, tell us, finally, about your main profession!
Historian Zagraevsky, writer Zagraevsky,
art-historian Zagraevsky... For most of us another
phrase is familiar – painter Zagraevsky!
Response.
Yes, I also suppose that this is my main profession (although
some critics and colleagues perhaps will not agree with this). I went to this
profession my whole life, literally since preschool age, when firstly studied
painting under my father (who, like most of graduates of Architecture Institute
of his generation, was a very good draftsman), and then developed my own
painting style in Abramtsevo Studio of the wonderful
artist Tatiana Mavrina. So I was lucky with parents and neighbors (Mavrina
and her husband, a well-known graphic artist Nikolai Kuzmin,
lived in five minutes walk from our country house and were the friends of my
mother).
Later I never stopped painting, and in 1998, when I
began to hold exhibitions and to sell pictures, it became my main profession.
So I paint almost as long as I live in the world.
Accordingly, for me to write the pictures is almost like breathing. I paint at
any time, can paint almost around the clock, can do months-long breaks in the
work; can feel the flow of inspiration, can feel no – and still paint: the fist
moves like itself.
Question.
You’ve
just almost quoted a poem that Bulat Okudzhava wrote about you: "When he
moves on a picture his fist,
Response.
Probably it is too strong to call this a poem, it is
rather a small impromptu:
Tomorrow
there is one to drink Whisky with,
To
remember about Eternal Arts.
That
is the most Spring Naivist,
Sergey
Zagraevsky that is.
When
he moves on a picture his fist,
God
is at his assist.
God
is with him all his way.
That is the painter Sergey.
And the story of this impromptu is as follows. I
studied in the same class (in school No. 40, now No. 1250) together with Okuszhava’s son Anton, and my mother was friendly with Bulat Shalvovich himself. Okudzhava died in 1997, I did not hear about this impromptu
in his lifetime, and in 2001. I was interviewed by the journalist of "Narodnaya Newspaper" Anatoly Ivanushkin,
and he casually asked: "Are you that Zagraevsky
to whom Okudzhava devoted a poem?" I was
surprised, and he explained that in one of his conversations with Okudzhava they talked about "naive art", and Bulat Shalvovich read that
impromptu to him. Later this journalist published that impromptu together
with the interview.
Firstly I did not understand where that impromptu came
from, but then decided to ask my mother. She told that in the early-mid
nineties she met with Okudzhava, showed him the
postcards with my paintings, he liked them, they spoke about "naive
art", and he folded this impromptu. Mother did not remember that he wrote
it down then – probably he just remembered it by chance through some years.
Among the characteristic realities which came to this impromptu there is
whiskey – indeed, at that time I started to earn good money and drank expensive
whiskey, and mother, telling Okudzhava about her son,
mentioned that.
Question.
Okudzhava wrote about the "naivist". So your
art style is called "naivizm"?
Response.
Yes, I recently called my style just so, and the
mother must have remembered it at the meeting with Okudzhava.
I’ll explain, where this term came from. My works do not fit formally the terms
"naïve" and "primitive", because these terms are
usually used for the painting of “pensioners” (as Henri Rousseau or Grandma Moses) or "non-professionals from people" (as Niko Pirosmani). For such artists the term "primitivism" is also often used,
though it is not entirely true: the suffix "ism" usually means
styling, and "primitivism" is more adequate for creativity of artists
of other genres, who for some time wrote in characteristic
"primitive" manner (as Mikhail Larionov or Joan Miró). And I'm neither a pensioner, nor a "non-professional from
people", never worked in other genres, so "primitivism" also is
not a suitable name for my style. Hence "naivism"
appeared as a kind of an alternative to “primitivism”.
Recently someone in Internet called my painting "neochildish". I think it was said as a joke, but I
like this term better than "naivism". My
painting style is really much closer to childish than to "pensioner".
Question.
Your painting really reminds childhood. And it is so
bright, colourful, joyful... Is this the influence of
Tatyana Mavrina? Her late works are indeed also
bright, similar to children's...
Response.
There is no doubt about the influence of Mavrina creativity of the sixties and seventies (i.e. the
exact period when she gave me lessons). But since that time about forty years
passed, and my creativity remained "neochildish".
So the fact is not only the influence of Mavrina.
Question.
And what else?
Response.
I think that my position in life. I believe that my
duty as an artist is to make the world brighter and happier. If at least one
person, who looks at my paintings, becomes more kind and pure soul, – so there
is a reason for me to be a painter. Once I wrote the article "From naive art to
art of soul warmth", it was written
as about myself.
And, of course, my work was influenced
by the fact that I was engaged in Christian theology, and therefore could not
pass by the famous episode in the Gospel of Matthew: "At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus,
saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him
in the midst of them, and
said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little
children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this
little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven"(Matthew
18: 1-4).
Perhaps these are my favorite and most heartfelt words of the Bible. I also
paid a lot of attention to them in my philosophical and theological books.
Question.
And are your photoworks somehow connected with your painting?
Response.
For me as the author – no. These are not only
completely different kinds of creativity, these are quite different creative
methods. As a painter I do not only portray the world around me, but put on the
canvas my own internal picture of the world, so the painting appears as if out
of me. But the photos appear as if from outside: I photograph what I see
around, with purely aesthetic preferences. To put it simply, my paintings
depict what I see, and the photos – what the camera "sees". And if to
put it sleeker, the picture is the essence of eternity, and the photo is a
stopped moment. In each case there is a fundamental difference.
Question.
So in the end, how many professions do yoy have?
Response.
I think today there are two: an artist and an art-critic
(in the narrow sense, a historian of architecture). The rest are the retained
skills, or, shall we say, occupations. Besides, some people consider that the
profession is only that brings money, I do not quite agree with this, but today
make living with these two main professions.
Question.
Professions, occupations, skills... In each case you
have a lot of work. Do you have enough time for everything?
Response.
Not enough if to do everything simultaneously. So I
have have to prioritize. And, in turn, discipline is
necessary to meet the priorities. Without false modesty I can say that I have
it. For example, it somehow turned out that I never in my life was late to any
meeting. In Russian reality it is quite a rare feature, and sometimes I even
feel myself a "black sheep" in this sense.
And I have one more feature: I can get ready for a
long time, ponder for a long time, but if I have decided something – I do it
quickly and intensively. For example, a picture writing may take only a day or
two (not counting the necessary intervals for drying of the layers of paints),
but before that the plot can be ripened for months. The same thing is with my
books and articles: if the plot is thought out in all the intricacies, the
actual process of writing is slightly slower than the work of a professional
typist (I learned fast typing in my youth, when I reprinted the verses of poets
banned in the
Question.
And do you have time for leisure?
Response.
It depends on what to undestand
as leisure. Of course, there is no time for "blissful idleness", and
I'm not a fan of this. And time for active recreation – sport (especially
martial arts), walking in fields and forests, autocross (especially for this I
have the good old car "Niva") – must always
be, otherwise not only health deteriorates, but also the head ceases to think.
And if there ist so firm “must”, by hook or by crook
I find time. Again, all depends on prioritization and discipline.
Question.
And time for hobby?
Response.
I do not like the word "hobby" – just
imagine how someone tinkers something of matches. And what "hobby"
can I have when I have abundance of more or less professional and favorite
activities?
But I’ll say frankly: I have one hobby (perhaps even
love), which did not become a profession, and even can't be called
"occupation". It is Russian poetry. I did not study it
systematically, and do not write poetry myself, just love it
and know it quite well. This love was instilled in me in childhood by my
father, who was not only the restorer and architectural historian, but a literary critic. In his
youth he graduated from postgraduate studies in
Literary Institute and wrote a Ph. D. thesis on the poetry of Blok (you can
read more abou this in my memoires about the father). Shortly before his death he returned to literary criticism and left
many drafts, which I later processed, edited and published as a separate book. Probably, it had not been under my force, if not my own love for
poetry. So my "hobby" has proven to be useful to perpetuate the
memory of the father.
Question.
Your father was German, and the mother?
Response.
Jewish. Such nationalities of the father and the
mother are written in my birth certificate. But my father was half Russian, and
one of my mother's grandfathers was a Cossack from the Don. So a lot of bloods
are mixed in me. For example, one of my great-great-grandfathers on my father's
side was the Archimandrite of Donskoy monastery Basil Rudnev, the well-known
Church writer of the late XIX – early XX century.
Question.
And to what nationality do you refer yourself?
Response.
It is impossible to refer oneself to any nationality
with such abundance of national roots. I wouldn't have referred if others had
not referred. And I noticed a curious pattern: for some reason "national
themes" most care detractors. On an anti-Semitic basis I even was attacked
by "skinheads" some years ago (I repulsed, martial arts helped, only
broke a finger on one of them). And if you read about me in Internet, "jewish theme" pops up mainly when someone wants to say
something negative. And one more thing: my great-grandfather and
great-grandmother on the maternal line with most of their family were killed by
Nazis in
And it turns out that
the anti-Semites of all kinds and colors do not let me forget that I'm a Jew.
But my ideological position is that I am a convinced internationalist and think
that so-called "national question" is the source of endless conflicts
and brings people evil.
Let us remember the
words of Apostle Paul: “And have put in a new man, which is renewed in
knowledge after the image of him that created him, where there is neither Greek
nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scyth’i-an, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in
all” (Col. 3:10-11).
Question.
You have quoted the Bible again... And what is your attitude
to religion? Only philosophical, or there is some kind of personal faith?
Response.
Probably that and another. My philosophical and
theological position was expressed in my books, which I have already told
about, and my personal faith... It is
personal, so it is difficult to put it into words.
I try to put it briefly and generally: I believe in
God and eternal life, but belong to no religious confession. But since the system of my philosophical
views includes ecumenism, I relate to any
confession with respect and find the common language and understanding with its
representatives.
Question.
And you relate to money philosophically, too?
Response.
Yes. of course. As to all that surrounds me. And
specifically in respect of money my philosophy is that it is not something
self-sufficient, but only a tool.
Question.
This means that you don't like money?
Response.
The question if I like money or not, belongs to the category
of questions if I like I or not, for example, the hammer, which I use to hammer
a nail into the wall. The way the world works is that for the most effective
hammering a nail into a wall a hammer is needed, and for the implementation of
many vital plans and for ensuring of some set of life necessities money is
needed. That's all. Nothing personal, as they say. I have no emotions about
money. Its presence, of course, is better than its absence, but it is a truism
like the favorite saying of my grandfather from Odessa Mikhail Naumovich Zagraevsky: "It is
better to be rich and healthy than poor and sick".
Question.
And what is your philosophical attitude to honorary
titles, awards etc.?
Response.
That everyone is equal before God and Art. That talent
and fame of the artist are more important than any award. That posterity will
evaluate us not by titles, but by accomplishments... All these are truisms,
too.
Question.
But you're not alien for titles – Full member of
Russian Academy of Arts, Honored cultural worker of Russia, Professor etc...
Response.
I’m not alien only for one reason – the titles are
useful in everyday life, the more in Russian realities. For example, if you
write a letter to the district administration about some housing and communal
problems, it acts much more effectively if it is signed by a "honored
academician".
Question.
And does philosophical view of the world exclude the
presence of political position? Or you still have it? And if so, what?
Response.
My philosophical views and political position do not
exclude each other, rather even help each other. I even call my articles on
socio-political issues "social and
philosophical publicism".
And my political position is that I support true (not
declarative) democracy in combination with strong state power. The first
without the second is anarchy, the second without the first is dictatorship.
And appropriate political traditions are necessary to bear the optimal
combination of the first and the second. In
Question.
And are occupied with politics yourself?
Response.
I have to. The post of Chairman of Artists Trade Union of Russia obliges. And it is a Russian tradition that popularity willy-nilly
engages in policy.
Question.
What do you need popularity for? To sell pictures
better?
Response.
Paintings sales are, of course, important for any
artist, but it's not the main thing. Why an artist (as every public figure)
needs popularity – it is a philosophical question. Like many of my colleagues,
I have something to say to the world. And I say as much as possible – both
literally and figuratively. Either by my paintings, or by my books and articles,
or in lectures and interviews,
or in "talk
shows"... And if we say
something, we usually expect to be heard. And I believe that popularity is the
best way to ensure that the world hears you.
Question.
And what do you want to tell the world?
Response.
All that is necessary to slightly improve this world,
to make it better, kinder, cleaner and more informed (this is also very
important). It's not a huge, but an infinite field of activity.
Question.
You act so much in mass media also to make the world hear you?
Response.
Of course. Modern human, paradoxically, is more
controlled psychologically than medieval. The last was to be beckoned by the
paradise and intimidated by the hell, tortures and executions, and modern media
can inspire almost all that is required. Can "fool", but can
"lift".
Question.
But do modern media in general, in your opinion,
"fool" or "lift"?
Response.
Unfortunately, so far, the tendency to
"deceive" clearly prevails over the tendency to "elevate".
Yes, there is a lot of very interesting and useful information, there are good
movies, but when it's all punctuated by some unimaginable “spiritual gum”...
I’ll say so: the wave of petty-bourgeois bad taste overwhelms the weak shoots
of useful information.
Question.
And what to do, in your opinion, with "spiritual
gum"? To forbid?
Response.
I do not call to forbid in "Soviet style"
any phenomenas of culture (only if this not a direct
propaganda of extremism, violence, violation of territorial integrity of the
country, etc.). I call to create optimal conditions for penetration of true
culture and highest spiritual and moral values into the minds and hearts of
people. This is possible primarily through mass media (although we must not
forget, for example, the need to improve education system). And commercial attractivity of "pop culture" will not disappear,
it is just desirable, as they say, to budge it a little bit.
Question.
They say one always has to start with himself... Did
you overcome your own vices?
Response.
Probably nobody can fully overcome all vices (as you
know, there are no sinless people in the world), but I will say without false
modesty that I really managed to overcome some. In the nineties I drank,
smoked, could play whist for many hours (sometimes all night), visited night
clubs, had casual sexual connections, and even tried drugs in
As Kornei Chukovsky said: "It is necessary to live long in
Question.
And now you are...
Response.
A staunch
teetotaler, non-smoker, athlete, opponent of any
gambling... Of course, I’m not an angel, but still
observe at least the minimum requirements for healthy lifestyle. Some years ago
even started to swim in ice holes.
Question.
You even were able to lose much weight within last
years...
Response.
Yes, thirty kilos or more. Now my weight is about 90
(with the growth of 190), and I maintain it.
Question.
And what is "the secret of weight lose by Zagraevsky"?
Response.
There is no secret, even Maya Plisetskaya
said gruffly, but to the point: "Gorge less!" And really, I eat
everything that I ate always, no special diet, but two or three times less than
before. And carefully watch the eaten amount. In the end, everything comes down
to notorious discipline. Not long ago I wrote the article “Thirty simple advices for those who are inclined to
corpulence and dream to get rid of excess weight”.
Question.
And does discipline help to know so much to play
intellectual games on TV? You even took part in the program "Jeopardy"…
Response.
I think it isn't discipline, since I never prepared
specifically to such games (unlike the real masters of this). Just always liked
to read and read very much. And modern electronic readers give opportunity to
read anytime and anywhere, so it is not necessary to lug bulky books.
Question.
And you speak in the media on such a wide range of
issues... Also reading helps?
Response.
Speaking in general, Michelangelo has always been my
ideal: not only a great artist, but an extremely versatile personality – an
architect, a sculptor, a poet...
Question.
And tell me honestly: do you consider yourself a
genius, if not on the level of Michelangelo, but somewhere next to him? Or just
talented?
Response.
In my opinion, the naming (and especially self-naming)
a genius at life is indecent, and, thank God, I’m still alive and not going to
die. And concerning talent – it is a complex question. Personally, I consider
my father and mother much more talented than myself. I have other (something
that my parents often missed): tenacity, efficiency, discipline, clear system
of values and goals in life. And the talent... Let descendants judge.
Question.
And what is your system of values?
Response.
It is impossible to tell about this in a concise
format of "frequently asked questions". As a whole, this is general gumanistic ideal (also in the spirit of Renaissance), and
specific values are expressed in my philosophical-theological books and (in a more succinct and aphoristic form) – in "365 reflections
about human and humanity".
Question.
Well, then tell at least about life goals...
Response.
Sorry, but let it remain my little professional
secret. Let me just say that goals a large-scale and far-reaching (of course,
by my own standards). God willing, I have some other decades of active life, so
I’ll try to make it. The main thing is not to confuse our goals and our
desires. It is necessary to look real at the life.
Question.
And life plans – at least for a few next years?
Response.
As it is known, if you want to make God laugh, tell
him your plans. This is possible to paraphrase: if you want to make people
laugh... Or like this: if you want to laugh... So I try not to make long-term
plans. I have somewhat different principle. Every day, waking up in the
morning, I ask myself: "What am I going to do today?", and in the
evening, before sleep, ask: "What have I done today?". And so, step
for step, I'm trying to achieve my life goals. Will I achieve them or not –
time will show.
Question.
Are your life goals and plans connected with
Response.
Even if I try to think in a global world scale, I do this
through the prism of the country where I was born and to whose culture belong.
In the end, I think in Russian...
Question.
And what other languages do you know?
Response.
Good (on the level of almost free and grammatically
correct speaking and writing) – only English. I learned it in secondary school,
where English was taught "deeply", plus a lot of traveling around the
world.
My mother lives in
In youth I graduated from French language courses and
for some time even worked in technical translation. But I did not use this
language for some last decades, so it is in deeply passive mode, although, of
course, I can remember it if necessary. It's the same with Esperanto: in youth
I learned it and was an active Esperantist (taught at the courses), but since
that time, just did that forgot this wonderful international artificial
language, which I sincerely love. Still in the same youth time I studied for
about a year at the courses of Japanese and so now have some idea about this
language, but nothing more.
Question.
You've traveled much around the world, and didn’t
think about emigration?
Response.
I thought about a lot of things in my life, and of
course about emigration too. And the result of my reflections (and life observations,
because I talked with a lot of compatriots abroad) was such: it is useful to
emigrate only when in homeland there is an immediate threat to life or at least
to freedom.
The fact is that in emigration we in each case lose
many years before beginning to speak, read and write perfectly in the language
of the new country, before owaising there and
beginning to feel ourselves as “full” people. And the older we are in the time
of emigration, the shorter is our new life "there". Will we be able
to achieve "there" all that we had been able to acieve
"here"? Will “there” fate be more favorable to us and our works?
Unlikely. And the worst thing is to be in emigration on the bottom of life,
seeing around the success of those who have only one advantage before us: they
are at home.
Question.
Our "virtual interview" is coming to the
end, and I would like to paint a few "touches on your psychological
portrait". Please answer as briefly as possible. Who is your favorite
writer?
Response.
Dostoevsky.
Question.
Favorite book?
Response.
"Idiot".
Question.
And other authors?
Response.
It is harder to say because much depends on the
current mood. Perhaps at the moment – "Anna Karenina" and
"Resurrection". Tolstoy was able, as no one, to present his personal
ideology in a sincere, unobtrusive and objective way.
Question.
And contemporaries? Just briefly, please.
Response.
Solzhenitsyn, "Cancer ward".
Question.
And of your generation?
Response.
Perhaps, Pelevin,
"Generation P".
Question.
And foreign?
Response.
Kafka – "Castle", Orwell – "1984",
Marquez – "One hundred years of solitude".
Question.
Who is your favorite poet?
Response.
Pasternak. And Pushkin, Blok, Mandelstam, Tsvetaeva.
Question.
And from the contemporaries?
Response.
Voznesensky. And from the living – Alexey Tsvetkov.
He emigrated in the seventies, is known little in
Question.
And foreign poets?
Response.
Goethe (firstly "Faust"), Edgar Allan Poe. But
in general, I'm cold for foreign poetry. In my opinion, poetry of no country
can be compared with Russian. These are, apparently, features of Russian
language.
Question.
Your favorite artist?
Response.
Rembrandt.
Question.
And the favorite painting?
Response.
Of quite another era. "The appearance of Christ
to the people" by Alexander Ivanov. This love
came from childhood, and can not be striked from my
heart by any postmodernism.
Question.
What music do you love?
Response.
"Bards". First of all, of course, Okudzhava. This is also from childhood.
Question.
Favorite architectural monument?
Response.
Transfiguration Cathedral in Pereslavl-Zalessky.
And Trinity Cathedral in Trinity-Sergius Lavra, and the
Question.
Who did mosty influence your
personal formation, except parents?
Response.
Grandmother Lydia Petrovskaya and grandfather Moses Averbakh.
Question.
And outside the family?
Response.
Of course, Tatiana Mavrina, and also the scientific supervisor of my Ph. D.
thesis Alexander Vladimirovich Efremov.
Question.
Whom do you love the most?
Response.
I love my relatives and friends, including the
deceased. And like many other people, both living and dead. And love God. All
these senses are, of course, different, and it is impossible to say, whom more
and whom less I love. If love can be measured as "more-less", then it
is not love.
Question.
Do you love your enemies, as it was commanded by Jesus
Christ?
Response.
I try, but still can’t. But I respect worthy enemies.
Question.
And do you have many enemies?
Response.
Like any person with an active lifestyle, I have many.
But I usually remember the words from the song of Yuri Vizbor:
"Thank God, we have enemies, then we also have friends".
Question.
Do you hate someone or something?
Response.
Nobody and nothing. This I was able to learn.
Question.
Are you afraid of someone or something?
Response.
Learned to be afraid of nobody and nothing even in the
nineties, when was engaged in business.
Question.
What feature in people do you value most?
Response.
Probably tolerance for the opinions of others in
presence of an own opinion.
Question.
What do value less of all?
Response.
Meanness in all its manifestations. I apologize for
the unoriginal response.
Question.
What is your favorite saying?
Response.
Of others? I have my own 365... If from others, then, probably, "Nothing in life can knock us
out of the saddle". Konstantin Simonov.
Question.
Aren’t you tired?
Response.
Of our "virtual interview"? No.
Question.
But still it is time to finish. The question was about
global fatigue. So to speak, of life.
Response.
When one performs his duty to people and God, there is
no right even to think of such things. And then, I have a simple method of
dealing with any kind of fatigue: take a walk in fresh air, and then to get
enough sleep. Helps perfectly.
Question.
Were you disappointed by something in life? Please
answer briefly and clearly.
Response.
If briefly and clearly, no.
Question.
Are you happy?
Response.
If briefly and clearly, yes.