Natalya Konchalovskaya and Sergei Mikhalkov: a creative union as the secret of family longevity

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

They say that marriages are made in heaven, at least when it comes to love marriages. However, when it comes to the marriage of Sergei Mikhalkov and Natalia Konchalovskaya, there is no doubt that their meeting was predetermined by fate, which decided to unite these creative people from famous families.

Life before the meeting

The beauty Natalya Konchalovskaya has never known a lack of fans. And since she moved in the circles of intellectuals and people of art, but they looked after her beautifully, with poetic dedication. But Natalya was in no hurry to rush into the pool with her head. And her first passionate love happened only at the age of 23 - Aleksey Bogdanov, a merchant who dreamed of making a career as a pianist, became the chosen one. With him, Natalya fled to America without parental blessing. There, by mail, Alexei received a divorce from his first wife, and married Konchalovskaya. True, the hopes of the newly-minted spouses were not justified either in terms of a career or in terms of a strong marriage. They returned to their homeland already free from marriage bonds. It was this that later saved Natalia from being shot after her ex-spouse.

In the mid-thirties of the last century, fate managed to bring together the granddaughter of the famous artist V. I. Surikov Natalia Konchalovskaya and a hereditary nobleman, poet and playwright Sergei Mikhalkov. They met in a house that belonged to Natalya Petrovna's family.

Having left for Kharkov, a young but already recognized poet (known as the author of "Uncle Stepa"), he realized that he could not live without the woman who had captivated him, that he was hopelessly in love. Directly from Kharkov, he called Natalya Petrovna and confessed his love to her. And right there, right on the phone, he made an offer.

Konchalovskaya was surprised at this turn of events, but, apparently, a young and energetic poet sunk into her heart, felt a kindred spirit in him. And she agreed to get married. Under Mendelssohn's march, two ancient creative families united, leaving a considerable legacy to all mankind. And it should be said that Sergei and Natalya were worthy representatives of their famous names.

Sergei Mikhalkov was a talented poet and playwright, and his wife was a writer and translator. It turned out to be an interesting literary couple! Mikhalkov was not embarrassed by the age of his wife, Natalya was ten years older and she had a daughter from her first marriage.

Ekaterina, daughter of Konchalovskaya from her first marriage, was adopted by the young husband as his own, and later adopted her. Natalia Konchalovskaya and Sergei Mikhalkov had two sons - Andron and Nikita Mikhalkov. Despite the difficult relationship with her husband, the wise woman managed to keep her family and raise children.

Why not simple ones? The fact is that Sergei Mikhalkov was an incorrigible ladies' man and a great lover of female society. Natalya Petrovna loved and respected her husband, and her family was in the first place. So she had to stoically endure her husband's amorous hobbies. This wonderful woman was not only a creative person, but also a skillful hostess, had time to do housework and household chores.

Family nest

It was not just a creative tandem, but a real literary family. Mikhalkov wrote a lot, Konchalovskaya was the first to read his works, suggesting ideas and rules for texts. Maybe it was in the successful creative tandem that the secret of the longevity of the marriage of Konchalovskaya and Mikhalkov was?

In addition, an economic and religious woman led the household simply brilliantly. With the money she earned, she lovingly set up a park at the house on Nikolina Gora. She got up early in the morning, and the household always saw her working at a typewriter. And she also had time to bake bread, cook delicious food. And what a needlewoman she was: she sewed, embroidered, restored things.

The youngest son Nikita became a long-awaited late child. The mother was already forty-five years old, they say, she prayed for a long time to send her this baby and her request was heard in heaven. And although Sergei Mikhalkov was especially close to the highest echelons of power, his wife still decided to baptize her children and taught them to go to church. The house even had a small iconostasis, housed in a small cabinet.

Guests often gathered in the house of Konchalovskaya and Mikhalkov. The hospitable hostess always treated her with her pastries, various dishes and gave them tea. The meetings were never complete without reading poetry, discussing literary novelties.

While Mikhalkov traveled around the country on duty, Natalya Petrovna was a real stronghold for the whole family. She was always ready to listen, help, bless the household. She devoted the last years of her life to her husband, family and home on Nikolina Gora, as well as to the park and the orchard. And even with her family, she continued to take care of herself, always dressed well.

The Mikhalkov-Konchalovskaya couple have been married for 53 years. Natalia Konchalovskaya died in 1988. In his memoirs, Sergei Mikhalkov wrote that his first wife was an intelligent and talented mistress of the house, the core and stronghold of the whole family. Even if the feelings between them cooled down somewhat over the years, the union of like-minded people persisted until the last days.