Nikita Mikhalkov

Early acting career

Mikhalkov studied acting at the children's studio of the Moscow Art Theatre and later at the Shchukin School of the Vakhtangov Theatre. While still a student, he appeared in Georgiy Daneliya's film Walking the Streets of Moscow (1964) and his brother Andrei Konchalovsky's film Home of the Gentry (1969). He was soon on his way to becoming a star of the Soviet stage and cinema.

Directing

While continuing to pursue his acting career, he entered VGIK, the state film school in Moscow, where he studied directing under filmmaker Mikhail Romm, teacher to his brother and Andrei Tarkovsky. He directed his first short film in 1968, I'm Coming Home, and another for his graduation, A Quiet Day at the End of the War in 1970. Mikhalkov had appeared in more than 20 films, including his brother's Uncle Vanya (1972), before he co-wrote, directed and starred in his first feature, At Home Among Strangers in 1974, an Ostern set just after the 1920s civil war in Russia.

Mikhalkov established an international reputation with his second feature, A Slave of Love (1976). Set in 1917, it followed the efforts of a film crew to make a silent melodrama in a resort town while the Revolution rages around them. The film, based upon the last days of Vera Kholodnaya, was highly acclaimed upon its release in the U.S.

Mikhalkov's next film, An Unfinished Piece for Mechanical Piano (1977) was adapted by Mikhalkov from Chekhov's early play, Platonov, and won the first prize at the San Sebastián International Film Festival. In 1978, while starring in his brother's epic film Siberiade, Mikhalkov made Five Evenings, a love story about a couple separated by World War II, who meet again after eighteen years. Mikhalkov's next film, A Few Days from the Life of I. I. Oblomov (1980), with Oleg Tabakov in the title role, is based on Ivan Goncharov's classic novel about a lazy young nobleman who refuses to leave his bed. Family Relations (1981) is a comedy about a provincial woman in Moscow dealing with the tangled relationships of her relatives. Without Witness (1983) tracks a long night's conversation between a woman (Irina Kupchenko) and her ex-husband (Mikhail Ulyanov) when they are accidentally locked in a room. The film won the Prix FIPRESCI at the 13th Moscow International Film Festival.

In the early 1980s, Mikhalkov resumed his acting career, appearing in Eldar Ryazanov's immensely popular Station for Two (1982) and A Cruel Romance (1984). At that period, he also played Henry Baskerville in the Soviet screen version of The Hound of the Baskervilles. He also starred in many of his own films, including At Home Among Strangers, A Slave of Love, and An Unfinished Piece for Player Piano.

Mikhalkov's first wife was renowned Russian actress Anastasiya Vertinskaya, whom he married on 6 March 1967. They had a son, Stepan (born September 1966).

With his second wife, former model Tatyana, he had a son Artyom (born 8 December 1975), and daughters Anna (born 1974) and Nadya (born 27 September 1986).

Family

Maternal great-grandfather: Vasily Surikov (1848–1916), artist.

Maternal grandfather - Pyotr Konchalovsky (1876–1956), painter, People's Artist of the RSFSR (1946).

Father: Sergei Mikhalkov (1913–2009), children's writer. Hero of Socialist Labor (1973), Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1967).

Mother: Natalia Konchalovskaya (1903–1988), poet and translator.

Half-sister - Ekaterina Alekseevna Semenova (Bogdanova) (1931–2019), Natalia Konchalovskaya's daughter from her first marriage. She was married to the writer Yulian Semyonov (1931–1993).

Niece: Olga Semenova (born 1967), journalist.

Elder brother - Andrei Mikhalkov-Konchalovsky (born 1937), film director, People's Artist of the RSFSR (1980).

Nephew - Yegor Konchalovsky (born 1966), film director.

Wives and children

First wife (1966–1971) — Anastasia Vertinskaya (born 1944), actress, People's Artist of the RSFSR (1988). Son — Stepan (born 1966), producer and restaurateur. Grandchildren: Alexandra (born 1992), Vasily (born 1999), Pyotr (born 2002), Luka (born 2017). Great-grandchildren: Fyodor Skvortsov (born 2018) and Nikolay Skvortsov (born 2019), sons of granddaughter Alexandra.

Second wife (1973 — present) — Tatyana Mikhalkova (born 1947). Daughter — Anna (born 1974), actress, TV presenter; People's Artist of the Russian Federation (2025). Grandchildren: Andrey Bakov (born 2000), Sergey Bakov (born 2001), Lydiya Bykova (род. 2013). Son — Artyom (born 1975), film director and actor. Grandchildren: Natalia (born 2002) and Alexander (born 2020). Great-grandson Mikhail Stepanenko (born 2024), son of granddaughter Natalia. Daughter — Nadezhda (born 1986), actress, film director, TV presenter. Grandchildren: Nina (born 2011), Ivan (born 2013).

Political activity

Mikhalkov is actively involved in Russian politics. He is known for his at times Russian nationalist and Slavophile views. Mikhalkov was instrumental in propagating Ivan Ilyin's ideas in post-Soviet Russia. He authored several articles about Ilyin and came up with the idea of transferring his remains from Switzerland to the Donskoy Monastery in Moscow, where the philosopher had dreamed to find his last retreat. The ceremony of reburial, also of Anton Denikin, a general whose slogan was ‘Russia, one and indivisible’ was held on 3 October 2005.

In October 2006, Mikhalkov visited Serbia, giving moral support to Serbia's sovereignty over Kosovo. In 2008, he visited Serbia to support Tomislav Nikolić who was running as the ultra-nationalist candidate for the Serb presidency at the time. Mikhalkov took part in a meeting of "Nomocanon", a Serb youth organization which denies war crimes committed by Serbs in the 1992–99 Yugoslav Wars. In a speech given to the organization, Mikhalkov spoke about a "war against Orthodoxy" wherein he cited Orthodox Christianity as "the main force which opposes cultural and intellectual McDonald's". In response to his statement, a journalist asked Mikhalkov: "Which is better, McDonald's or Stalinism?" Mikhalkov answered: "That depends on the person". Mikhalkov has described himself as a monarchist.

Mikhalkov has been a strong supporter of Russian president Vladimir Putin. In October 2007, Mikhalkov, who produced a television program for Putin's 55th birthday, co-signed an open letter asking Putin not to step down after the expiry of his term in office.

Mikhalkov's vertical of power-style leadership of the Cinematographers' Union has been criticized by many prominent Russian filmmakers and critics as autocratic, and encouraged many members to leave and form a rival union in April 2010.

In 2015, Mikhalkov was banned from entering Ukraine for 5 years because of his support for the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea. Despite his support for the annexation of Crimea he also called for the release of imprisoned Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov.

On 24 February 2022, he advocated the international recognition of the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic by Russia and supported 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, citing betrayal by Ukraine and the killings of Donbas residents. He also criticized those Russian cultural figures who oppose Russia's invasion, arguing that they were silent about the crimes against Donbas, and now, in his opinion, they are only saving their property abroad from sanctions and teaching their children there.

In December 2022 the EU sanctioned Mikhalkov in relation to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. In January 2023, Ukraine imposed sanctions on Mikhalkov for his support of 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

A number of Nikita Mikhalkov's actions have received mixed reviews from society:

On March 10, 1999, the director was holding a master class at the Central House of Cinematographers when two National Bolsheviks entered and began throwing eggs at him. Photos and videos show Nikita Mikhalkov kicking one of the hooligans in the face while he was being held tightly by the guards' arms. Marina Lesko wrote in the newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda that he behaved "like a nobleman – the plebs don't even know that only equals fight 'with their fists', and Nikita really behaved like a gentleman.".

In 2010, Mikhalkov proposed that the government introduce compensatory fees on the production and import of storage media and audio-video recording devices to finance cultural support funds in the amount of 5 rubles per piece of storage media and 0.5%, but not less than 100 rubles and not more than 10 thousand rubles, of the cost of the equipment. The bill proposed the following list of storage media: tapes, magnetic disks, optical, semiconductor and other storage media, equipment with an audio or video recording device and using magnetic, optical or semiconductor storage media (except laptops, photo and video cameras). In 2010, Rosokhrankultura transferred the right to the Russian Union of Copyright Holders (RUCH), headed by Nikita Mikhalkov, to collect 1% of all audiovisual information media sold in favor of copyright holders. A number of Internet users organized a campaign calling for sending a parcel with a delivery confirmation addressed to Mikhalkov, which would contain blanks and 6 coins worth 5 kopecks, which is a hint at the biblical 30 pieces of silver.

In 2010, a number of media outlets Information has emerged that Nikita Mikhalkov is preparing lawsuits against some well-known LiveJournal users (in particular, Artemy Lebedev) for publishing caricatures of the posters for his film Burnt by the Sun 2 in their blogs.

In May 2012, a letter signed by Nikita Mikhalkov and composer Andrei Eshpai was sent to the State Duma with a proposal to introduce a number of amendments to the Civil Code (CC) regarding copyrights and fees for distributing and listening to copyrighted content. The Russian Authors' Society (RAO) was going to demand a share of the income not only from movie theaters, television companies and radio stations, but also from the owners of all sites in the.ru and.рф domain zones.

For a long time, Nikita Mikhalkov was approached by the 37th Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus Filaret, public figures with a request for assistance in restoring the Church of the Holy Archangel Michael in the town of Zembin (Belarus), which was significantly damaged during the filming of one of the war episodes of the movie "Roll Call" (in this movie Mikhalkov played the role of a tank driver who drove a T-34 tank into the altar of the church and drove through the burial places of the clergy behind the altar). There were no responses to these requests.