Among the representatives of the Russian Foreign Ministry there is no person whose speech would be quoted as often as the speeches of Maria Vladimirovna Zakharova. The confident blonde made a significant contribution to the development of domestic diplomacy and became the first woman to hold the post of head of the Foreign Ministry's Press and Information Department.
Childhood and youth
Maria's biography began in Moscow in 1975. However, the girl spent her childhood in Beijing, the capital of China, where her parents went in the early 80s. Maria's father is a diplomat, specialist in oriental philology, worked for many years at the embassy, dealt with issues of Russian-Chinese cooperation. Since 2014, Vladimir Yuryevich began teaching, giving lectures to students-economists and future orientalists. Mother Irina Vladislavovna is a specialist in art history. A researcher at the Museum of Fine Arts has thoroughly studied the traditions and cultural heritage of China. The Zakharovs published a book for children, retold and illustrated 12 Chinese fairy tales dedicated to animals - zodiacal symbols.
As a child, Masha was no different from her peers, she built houses for dolls, was fond of miniatures. Parents passed on to her a love for oriental culture. They argue that the daughter had a craving for diplomacy in her early years. Instead of children's programs and cartoons, she watched the "International Panorama" with interest.
Carier start
In 1998, the girl successfully completed her studies at MGIMO, received an education in 2 areas at once: international journalism and oriental studies. The work days of the graduate began in the "Diplomatic Bulletin" edition. After that, Zakharov was enrolled in the staff of the Department of Press and Information of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, and soon Maria was entrusted with managing the department. Her unit carried out operational monitoring of the media. In addition to professionalism and hard work, colleagues noted her ability to work in a team. Maria was once taught this style by her grandmother, who said that any job should be done perfectly, even if no one would check its result. Teaching her granddaughter to embroider, she repeated that it was necessary to sew so that the pattern would be equally beautiful and neat on both sides.
In 2003, Maria received her Ph. D., presenting a scientific work on the Chinese traditions of celebrating the New Year. Maria is fluent in English and Chinese.
Since 2005, Zakharova headed the press service of the Russian mission to the UN in New York. She held this position for 3 years. The period of work was marked by many memorable events: the election of new presidents in a number of states, the world economic crisis, armed conflicts in Abkhazia and Ossetia.
At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
In 2008, Maria returned to the Russian capital. At first she worked in her previous position in the DPI, but soon took the chair of the deputy head of the Department. Her job was to organize briefings for the Foreign Ministry staff. Maria has always actively used the Internet, so she managed to organize the effective work of the official accounts of the ministry on the network. This provided great informational support for the trips of the head of the ministry, Sergei Lavrov, abroad. In 2014, the Department was recognized as the best nominee among the media and mass communications for the Runet Prize.
High post
Since 2015, Maria has been participating in the discussion of issues of the country's foreign defense and is a member of the Foreign Ministry collegium. Zakharova took over the leadership of the Department of Press and Information of the domestic foreign economic department. Prior to this, the history of diplomacy did not know a case for this position to be occupied by a woman. As an official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Vladimirovna has been meeting daily with representatives of the press for several years. She maintains a patriotic blog at the Ekho Moskvy radio station. One of the significant events of 2015 for Zakharova was the organization of the Eurasian Women's Forum in the northern capital. In 2017, the diplomat was awarded the Order of Friendship and another high diplomatic rank. In her personal professional piggy bank there are many prestigious awards and certificates of honor.
Maria gained particular popularity after she became a frequent guest on numerous television talk shows, as well as thanks to her comments on politics and society on social networks. Zakharov tries to explain the position of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a relaxed and informal manner. Her rhetoric is harsh, sometimes even aggressive, and causes a lot of discussion among the audience. Journalists and political analysts expressed the opinion that with the arrival of Zakharova in the Department, great changes have taken place. The usual ministerial officialdom has changed, the presentation of information has become different, sometimes controversial. In her work, Maria takes into account her own foreign experience and tries to keep up with the times. The statements of the head of the Department on Russian relations with the countries of the near and far abroad, as well as the problem of terrorism, cause particular resonance.
Personal life
Maria Vladimirovna carefully hides her family from the eyes of reporters. In 2005, when Zakharova worked in America, she married Andrei Makarov. The husband has an engineering education and works as a manager in one of the Russian companies. The couple are raising their daughter Maryana.
When Maria has free time, she devotes it to creativity, writes poetry and songs. Her works are performed by famous Russian artists. At the Moscow Film Festival, Alexander Kogan performed the song "I am looking for you", and the song "Bring back the memory" performed by the singer Nargiz, dedicated to the Russian soldiers who died in Syria, made many listeners cry.
In a short time, Zakharova became famous and gained popularity. It attracts the attention of even those who are far from politics. Russians admire Mary's ability to combine femininity and cruelty. Its simplicity and objectivity are appreciated by politicians from many countries of the world.
