Mikhail Kravchenko does not fit into the canonical image of a wealthy Russian businessman. He lived modestly, did not shine at social events, was not famous for his craving for luxury, he loved to create in furniture design, he loved to go to the Papuans. He dreamed of a free society, able and able to reveal talents.
Biography
Kravchenko Mikhail Vyacheslavovich was born on March 25, 1966 in the town of Balkhash, Karaganda region. Parents are geologists. He spent his childhood in the Urals, in the Sverdlovsk region. Parents ended up there by distribution.
Mom and Dad became an example of responsibility and efficiency for their son. They did not shy away from any work.
Misha thought about how to make a million while still in school. There was a case when a son and mother saw how the neighbors threw out the sofa. They came up with the idea to renovate it. In 3 evenings they did it. And Misha asked: "How much do you get, mom?" “120 rubles,” she replied. The sofa costs 160 rubles. Misha suddenly dropped: “It’s probably easier to assemble and remake such a sofa and sell…” Years passed.
In 1994 M. Kravchenko had a degree in economics and a defended candidate's dissertation. There were management skills and understanding of the economics of the enterprise. He also had the idea of his own business, which did not leave him for a minute.
The path to the furniture business
Kravchenko thought more and more seriously about where to transform himself. In search, he visited Italy, Germany, South Africa. I looked at different types of business: making ceramics, batteries, juice and wine. I got to a furniture exhibition in Cologne and realized that furniture was interesting for him. She is aesthetic, beautiful and needed in every home.
Further, desire and interest merged. To understand the whole mechanism of production, Mikhail built the first sofa himself. Later he hired several people and himself explained the intricacies of the furniture business. Gradually, I managed to negotiate with several stores on the sale of products. And everything spun, spun …
M. Kravchenko bought a dying factory on the outskirts of the capital, acquired some equipment. At that time, everything was not easy, imported furniture dominated the Russian market. There was fierce competition among artisanal producers.
Thorny furniture path
Furniture factory "March 8" was born in 1996. By 2010, the factory already resembled a holding, which included 4 production facilities, and the profit was calculated in the millions.
M. Kravchenko was a kind of person and entrepreneur. He did not like standard approaches, he always delved into production himself and was imbued with the fate of people in need of help.
He felt social responsibility and implemented it in many projects. At the initiative of Kravchenko, a citywide competition was held to create jobs for people with disabilities and youth under 18 from problem families. Mikhail planned to raise bells from sunken ships in the Arctic Ocean. I wanted to compose an exposition of the exhibits found in the Museum of Pomor Life in Suzdal. In Plyos I wanted to restore an abandoned estate.
For several years he sponsored a show in Animal World and helped organize expeditions to exotic countries. Many times, with his famous friend Nikolai Drozdov, he went to the Papuans and aborigines. He was drawn to places where there is no civilization. He liked such a vacation more than spending time in elite hotels. His car always had a sleeping bag and other accessories necessary for spending the night in an emergency.
Literary field
M. Kravchenko was a creative person. He was engaged in science, published the almanac "The Lost World". He wrote poetry and prose. Lyrics by M. Kravchenko are light, simple and unobtrusive in understanding. Mainly love, philosophical, landscape and civic lyrics.
Mikhail wrote several books in co-authorship
He played in the documentary “Ivan the Terrible. Portrait without retouching. The role of the Tsar suited him very much. Participated in collective amateur performances. I put them with friends and workmates. I tried myself in directing. He shot a historical film about Boris Godunov.
Personal life
Kravchenko married young. He loved his wife Svetlana and daughter Masha very much. In 1996, a tragedy struck. Beloved and dear people of Mikhail died in a car accident.
Heritage
Mikhail Kravchenko passed away on May 20, 2012. Another mournful inscription “Mikhail” appeared on the memorial stone. He was buried with his wife and daughter at the Vostryakovskoye cemetery.
Mikhail Kravchenko lived a short life, but left an impressive material condition - a powerful furniture holding "8 Marta". Michael also presented spiritual values, modest, but worthy of attention. His poems are touching, and travel books give the reader an impression of an unknown distant world.
