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 luxury, loved to create in furniture design, 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 city of Balkhash, Karaganda region. Parents are geologists. His childhood passed in the Urals, in the Sverdlovsk region. Parents were there by distribution.
Mom and Dad became an example of responsibility and efficiency for the son. They did not shy away from any work.
About how to earn a million, Misha thought back to school. There was a case when a son and mother saw how the neighbors threw out a sofa. The idea came to them to repair it. For 3 pm they did it. And Misha asked: "How much do you get, mother?" “120 rubles, ” she replied. A sofa costs 160 rubles. Misha suddenly dropped: “It is probably easier to assemble and remake such a sofa and sell
."Years passed.
In 1994, M. Kravchenko had a degree in economics and a Ph.D. thesis. There were management skills and understanding of the enterprise economy. There was also the idea of own business, which did not leave him even for a minute.
The path to the furniture business
Kravchenko thought more seriously about where to translate himself. In search of he visited Italy, Germany, South Africa. I looked at different types of business: making ceramics, batteries, juice and wine. I got to the furniture exhibition in Cologne and realized that the 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 himself built the first sofa. Later he hired several people and himself explained the intricacies of furniture. Gradually 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. Among artisanal manufacturers there was fierce competition.
Thorny Furniture Path
The furniture factory “March 8” was born in 1996. By 2010, the factory was already reminiscent of a holding, which included 4 manufactures, and the profit was estimated in millions.
M. Kravchenko was a peculiar person and entrepreneur. He did not like standard approaches, he always delved into production himself and was imbued with the fates 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. Michael planned to raise bells from sunken ships in the Arctic Ocean. I wanted to make an exposition of the found exhibits in the Museum of the Life of Pomors in Suzdal. In Ples, I wanted to restore an abandoned estate.
For several years he sponsored a program in Animal World and helped organize expeditions to exotic countries. Many times with a famous friend Nikolai Drozdov went to the Papuans and natives. He was drawn to places where there is no civilization. He liked this rest 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 an almanac "The Lost World". He wrote poetry and prose. Poems by M. Kravchenko are easy, simple and unobtrusive in understanding. Mostly love, philosophical, landscape and civic lyrics.
Michael co-authored several books.
He played in the documentary "Ivan the Terrible. Portrait without retouching." The role of the King was very suitable for him. Participated in collective amateur performances. Put them with friends and workmates. I tried myself in directing. He made 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 occurred. Beloved and dear people of Mikhail died in a car accident.
