They wrote about him as an official who was pleasant in all respects, charming and secular, with a fair amount of healthy cynicism. Mikhail Shvydkoi, probably, fully corresponds to his last name, which means “smart” and “fast” when translated from Ukrainian. Many note his ability to find a common language with people of various beliefs, he is everywhere his own among the "patriots" and among the "liberals".
early years
Mikhail Efimovich Shvydkoi was born on September 5, 1948 in the small Kyrgyz town of Kant. There, his father, a veteran of the Great Patriotic War and a military man, was sent to serve. Mom arrived by distribution, after graduating from a medical institute. When he was 5 years old, his parents divorced. His stepfather is a musician (playing the trombone), like his brother, who plays the trumpet at the Bolshoi Theater.
My grandmother was mainly engaged in the upbringing of Michael, although he himself says that his stepfather is beautiful. They did not live well, little Michael always wore the same shapeless sweatshirt. His classmate, the popular actor Igor Kostolevsky, recalls that Mikhail had a phenomenal memory. He could read a page of text and immediately retell it by heart.
At the Moscow school where he studied, he had no equal in physics and mathematics. In other subjects, academic performance was also at its best. Together with a friend, they organized a jazz band, the only real instrument in which was the piano, on which Mikhail Shvydkoy played well. He was probably too emotional to choose the natural sciences, so after school he applied to the State Institute of Theater Arts.
Work days
After graduating from the institute with a degree in theater studies, he was assigned to Ulan-Ude to teach foreign literature at the East Siberian Institute of Culture. After working honestly for three years (from 1971 to 1973), he returned to Moscow, where he got a job as a correspondent for the journal Theater. Here he worked until 1990, gradually rising through the ranks, and reached the position of deputy chief editor.
In these years, for the sake of earning money, Mikhail Shvydkoy undertook almost any job: he wrote articles and books on theater and cinema, taught at institutes, and rode around the country with lectures. When he went out to deliver lectures in the hinterland with his school friend Kostolevsky (through the Knowledge Society), he was listened with no less interest than the popular actor. He himself warmly recalls those times, especially how he went on business trips abroad with some theater. They tried to save on everything, and even somehow he cooked soup in the sink with the help of a boiler.
Career takeoff
With the beginning of perestroika, Mikhail Shvydkoy took up the post of General Director of the Culture publishing complex. Which in 1993 was closed, according to his former employees, largely due to the fact that he was engaged in art projects, ignoring the commercial component. The directors of the bankrupt enterprise were invited to work as deputy minister of culture.
In 1997, he worked in senior positions at the All-Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company. He was one of the founders of the channel "Culture", which for a long time hosted the weekly talk show "Cultural Revolution".
Minister of Restitution
From 2000 to 2004, he served as the Russian Minister of Culture. He gained fame as a supporter of the restitution of works of art, in particular, the return of Germany, the so-called Bremen collection of graphics. A valuable collection of watercolors and drawings was brought to the USSR by Captain Baldin, after the war. In 2004, he became chairman of the Federal Agency for Culture and Cinematography.
After the abolition of the agency in 2008, he was appointed special representative of the president. Mikhail Efimovich Shvydkoy is responsible for the development of international cultural cooperation, in particular, he is engaged in cooperation on the restoration of cultural monuments in Syria. At the same time, he is responsible for culture at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as ambassador on special missions. She also teaches at a number of higher educational institutions, writes books.
