Chichvarkin's divorce. Together and forever: the strongest and longest marriages of famous billionaires. Views and personal positions

Former co-owner of Euroset Evgeny Chichvarkin has been put on the international wanted list, RIA Novosti reported on Wednesday official representative Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation Marina Gridneva.

Evgeny Aleksandrovich Chichvarkin was born on September 10, 1974 in Moscow. His father was a pilot and his mother was an economic engineer at the Ministry foreign trade and the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations.

In 1991-1996, Evgeny Chichvarkin studied at the State Academy of Management with a degree in "Economics of Motor Transport Management." In parallel with his studies, he was engaged in trading at Moscow clothing markets, in particular, he managed several retail outlets at the Luzhniki market.

In 1996, Evgeny Chichvarkin entered graduate school at the academy, where he studied until 1998.

In 1997, together with his childhood friend Timur Artemyev, Chichvarkin created the Euroset company. Subsequently, Chichvarkin and Artemyev were written about as co-owners of the Euroset company, while information about exactly what share of the company belonged to each of them was not disclosed.

In 2001, Chichvarkin appeared in the central press as the manager of the Euroset trading house, and in 2002 - as the director of the Euroset trading network.

The rapid growth of the Euroset network of communication stores began after a change in development strategy, the main direction of which was a sharp reduction in prices for mobile phones.

By 2002, the Euroset company was already among the top three leaders in the Moscow market in retail sales mobile phones, accessories and contracts of cellular operators.

From January to December 2002, Euroset opened more than 100 communication stores, and in 2003, another 117 stores were added to them.

In 2004, the company opened more than 800 new communication stores.

From 2001 to 2004, Euroset became an official partner of such companies as LG, Motorola, Samsung, Siemens, Sony-Ericsson, Sagem, Philips, Pantech. In February 2004, the Euroset company launched digital cameras, MP3 players and DECT phones.

Since 2004, Evgeny Chichvarkin has been mentioned in the press as the chairman of the board of directors of Euroset.

In 2005, Euroset began opening not salons, but chain stores; 1,934 of them were opened. According to Dengi magazine, the company's turnover in 2005 amounted to $2.6 billion.

In 2005, Euroset acquired a chain of salons mobile communications"Techmarket" and the Voronezh company "Network of Russian Communications Stores", which allowed it to become the largest Russian companies retail.

In 2005, due to a scandal surrounding smuggled mobile phones detained by customs, Euroset found itself the object of attention from law enforcement agencies. In August 2006, the smuggling case initiated against Euroset was closed for lack of evidence of a crime.

In June 2005, the Euroset company was awarded the "Superbrand 2005" award, in October it received the "Brand of the Year/EFFIE 2005" award, and in December - "Company of the Year" in the "Business Reputation" nomination. The company's activities are awarded a Diploma Russian Foundation consumer protection.

According to data for 2006, Euroset included 3,150 stores, and in 2007 their number in 12 countries - Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Armenia and Azerbaijan - was already 5156.

In February 2004, Evgeny Chichvarkin was awarded the “Person of the Year” award in the category “Head of Retail Business”. Winner of the national stage of the "Entrepreneur of the Year" competition (2005), conducted by Ernst&Young, in the Trade nomination.

In mid-January 2009, Chichvarkin was charged with extortion and participation in organizing a kidnapping. According to the investigation, at the beginning of 2003, the vice president for security of Euroset Boris Levin, his deputy Andrei Ermilov, security officer Sergei Katorgin, together with other defendants in the case, kidnapped the company's forwarder Andrei Vlaskin, suspected of stealing a large shipment cell phones. Chichvarkin was charged as part of this criminal case because it is believed law enforcement agencies, the kidnapping of the forwarder and extortion were committed with the knowledge and consent of the then co-owner of Euroset.

Lyudmila Chichvarkina, the mother of the ex-owner of Euroset Evgeny Chichvarkin, gave one of her last interviews to the Life News portal.

Then, a year ago, as now, in last time she spoke with her son on March 8 - Evgeniy called to congratulate him on the holiday.

We didn’t manage to talk for a long time, but I know he’s alive and well. And he doesn’t consider himself guilty of anything.

- Evgeniy is accused of holding someone back in order to get his money back... Do you believe this?

Never... He did well at school, a normal boy. I don’t know, but if someone took money from him and didn’t give it back, he still wouldn’t hold anyone back by force. This is some kind of made-up accusation.

- Did he expect this to happen?

Remember the story with telephones three years ago? They were confiscated and on TV they all showed the same footage of the pipe being destroyed. My deputy at work had a friend who then called and offered phones for cheap. I dialed my son:

Zhenya, here are some telephone numbers at customs...

Mom, these are my phones,” he answered.

Have you not paid customs or state duties? - I ask.

Mom, I paid everything,” Zhenya said.

- Was Evgeniy worried when he sold Euroset?

He was very worried. I lost 10 kilograms. I didn’t sleep at night after such a blow. Zhenya worked a lot. When I visited him, Antonina’s wife always said:

After work, he retires for another hour and a half. Everything is spinning in his head.

He didn't want to leave. He had a school friend whose parents were in America. They offered him a good job and called him. And he said he would never leave the country. "I'm a patriot!"

- Do the lawyers tell you anything about your son’s case?

I saw a lawyer on TV. Three people were imprisoned there. Zhenya was very worried and said: as soon as Euroset sells, they will be released. But they weren’t released!

And when the trial took place, his defense lawyers were not invited. There was a government lawyer. Why does the court appoint its own lawyers?

- How did Evgeniy go into politics?

“Since Euroset has already been taken away, Mom, I’ll go into politics,” he told me.

What remains for him? To create something anew... I don't think it's possible. So he decided to go into politics. And Timur (Artemyev - Ed.) - his partner - is into science.

- Would you like to go to your son?

So the nanny went to London. And at the border they take away 7 thousand pounds and her cards. Nightmare. What, I’ll go and they’ll take all my money? You can transport this money without a declaration, why was it taken away?

Martha (Chichvarkin's daughter - Ed.) has two nannies. The second one just returned from London, and her apartment was searched. Woman exercising preschool education, works with her three-year-old daughter Zhenya. She has nothing to do with this matter.

But the investigators didn’t come to me. What do I have? There is one sofa in one room. In the other there is a bed. In the third corner closet. Let them watch, Lord.

- Isn’t leaving for London related to the desire to protect your family?

Maybe. Antonina's wife is now pregnant. It may be that he and Zhenya’s third child will be born in London.

- Did you ask Evgeniy for something after leaving? Is he helping you?

It’s not easy to live on a pension, but I didn’t take money from my son. Zhenya helped me, for example, in medicine. Now I can’t contact his assistant Natalya. Her cell phone doesn't answer. I also gave Natalya my passport. It expires in March, so I had to apply for a new one. Now, since everything was confiscated, they probably took him too.

Evgeny Chichvarkin has long attracted the attention of Russians, despite the fact that this moment lives in the UK. Founder of a chain of salons cellular communication Euroset was forced to leave his homeland back in 2008, when Russian authorities charged him with kidnapping two freight forwarders and extortion. The case was soon closed, but Evgeniy still has no plans to return to Russia.

He discovered his ability to do business in his youth, when he began selling things at the market. His father worked for many years civil aviation, and my mother was an economist at the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations. Parents often went on business trips abroad, from where they brought beautiful things. Perhaps it was then that the future businessman developed a craving for beautiful life. However, his mother and father did not immediately come to terms with the fact that their son was engaged in a frivolous profession, however, later they rejoiced at his success. For a long time, Chichvarkin’s personal life was strong and Friendly family However, after a change of residence, he got a new wife.

First marriage and raising children

The businessman met his first wife Antonina while visiting mutual friends. At the end of the 90s, their son Yaroslav was born, and eight years later the family was replenished with another member - daughter Marta. His wife did not work and devoted all her time to raising children and household. It was she who was with Evgeniy during the period when his business was just beginning, and then when a criminal case was opened against him. He did not want to leave his homeland and even planned to develop a fishing and tourism business near Moscow.

Evgeny Chichvarkin with ex-wife Antonina

Having settled in London with Antonina and the children, he not only developed his wine business, but enjoyed life in luxury country house. The co-founder of Euroset enjoyed digging in the ground and growing vegetables and herbs in his garden. In 2010, it became known that his mother was found dead in her apartment. He could not come to the funeral, as he was then put on the international wanted list.

The businessman’s first marriage was always considered strong and loving, and no one could blame Chichvarkin himself for infidelity or scandals. However, in 2016 it became known that his personal life with Antonina was in the past, and he had a new lover.

New love

The fact that the 42-year-old businessman got married for the second time became known in the spring of 2017 thanks to a photograph in which he was captured with beautiful girl. Their formal outfits and the bouquet in the hands of the beauty indicated that the couple was performing a wedding ceremony. The hero of the occasion himself spoke about the change of his marital status: “There is a small break between the first and second.”

In the photo Evgeny Chichvarkin with his second wife Tatyana Fokina

His second wife, Tatyana Fokina, for a long time worked in a liquor store owned by Eugene. She grew up in St. Petersburg, where she received a philological education. Having moved to London, the girl worked for a Russian entrepreneur, and soon fate brought her together with the ex-co-owner of Euroset, who was then looking for a partner to open a wine store.

Quite quickly Fokina showed her professional quality and helped him develop a business – a chain of luxury wine stores “Hedonism Wines”. It is not surprising that he became interested in the beauty who captivated him with her work, and soon proposed marriage to her. In 2016, Chichvarkin came with Tatyana to Jurmala, where he had fun in the company of his famous friends. His young lady immediately charmed all the party guests, who thought that their union was simply perfect.

Evgeny Chichvarkin with his daughter. Photo https://www.instagram.com/tot_samy_chichvarkin

Now the businessman’s wife not only manages the store, but is also involved in the affairs of the Open University project. The couple have already become happy parents: they were born common daughter. Despite the fact that maintaining family business It takes a lot of time, Chichvarkin tries to communicate with his wife and play with his daughter.

Evgeny Chichvarkin created from scratch the largest retail network for the sale of mobile phones, Euroset. Today this brand is known to everyone. Having reached dizzying success, in 2008 he sold the business to entrepreneur Alexander Mamut and moved to London. He was subject to criminal prosecution in Russia in 2006-2012. In 2012, criminal cases against Evgeniy Aleksandrovich Chichvarkin were completely discontinued. Currently, the entrepreneur resides permanently in England, running the wine business.

 

The modern history of Russia at the end of the 20th - beginning of the 21st century is interesting material for young entrepreneurs to study the origin, development and establishment of a business from scratch, as they say, from scratch. When the only knowledge that could be relied upon was the experience of foreign capitalists. Considering the domestic mentality, not all successful Western and Eastern business models have taken root in Russian soil. Then I had to act on my own, develop own strategy, change tactics as you move. You had to become brave and arrogant, free and purposeful, resourceful and creative in order to win. Such a person is former co-owner Euroset, businessman, millionaire Evgeny Chichvarkin, whose biography is full of stories that can form the basis of a detective story, a tragedy, a comedy, and step by step instructions on creating a business.

The young and daring generation of the 90s

As the hero of this article himself says, he considers both capitals of Russia - Moscow and St. Petersburg (at that time Leningrad) to be his place of birth. The baby was born in Leningrad, after which he immediately moved to Moscow. Where the new citizen of the USSR, Evgeniy Aleksandrovich Chichvarkin, was registered. Date of birth: September 10, 1974. Like this unusual story the birth of a very unusual person.

A prosperous Moscow family (father is a pilot, mother is an economist), a cloudless childhood, student youth within the walls State Academy management (graduated in 1996), youth at the turn of a change of eras - these are the standard milestones of the beginning life path future star of Russian retail. The young generation of Russia in the 90s of the 20th century was given a unique opportunity to build their life the way they wanted, to make their wildest dreams and ideas come true. In the context of emerging new economic relations Young, poor, but daring guys appeared on the stage, about whom the whole country soon learned. They were able to as soon as possible build a business empire, become millionaires and billionaires, force people to talk about themselves and reckon with themselves. This turned out to be Evgeny Chichvarkin, an extraordinary, eccentric, talented, hardworking and very charming guy.

E. Chichvarkin about success: “Uniqueness and originality are an integral part of success”

Euroset is an explosive retail project

According to Evgeniy Aleksandrovich, the idea of ​​​​creating a cellular communication salon belonged to his childhood friend, housemate Timur Artemyev. They formed a successful tandem with a harmonious division of spheres of influence. Timur took up the organizational and financial side of the issue, Chichvarkin immediately took over the sales and promotion of the brand. In 1997, they registered a company called Euroset. The title doesn't have any meaning mysterious story occurrence, just beautiful word without any special meaning. A few years later it became known to literally every person in Russia. Starting with several stores in Moscow, Euroset already had about 2,000 points of sale throughout Russia by 2007. The company has focused on retail sales of inexpensive mobile phones, offering low prices and fast service. The history of Euroset is interesting and instructive. What allowed the brand to so quickly become one of the largest retailers in the country?

If we focus on the most interesting components of the company’s development strategy, we will get something like this:

• Aggressive promotion policy. Having arrived in the regions, Euroset opened outlets in large centers, in pavilions at bus stops, and in stalls in markets. There was only one goal - to capture all the most advantageous positions in terms of customer traffic. The sales point opened as soon as possible, with minimal investment, immediately starting to earn money.
• Ability to conduct business wars. It is known that regional telephone sellers greeted Muscovites unkindly, if not hostile. There were even cases of arson at Euroset pavilions. Chichvarkin defeated everyone, responding with maximum price reductions, opening new stores and taking over competitors.
• Features of personnel policy. Chichvarkin is known as a stern and eccentric leader who always personally kept his finger on the pulse, invisibly present next to every manager of the company. He repeatedly said that every employee should bring maximum benefit to the company. Evgeniy Aleksandrovich liked to personally pay visits to stores to check the quality of employees’ work. Such inspections often ended disastrously for some workers. Perhaps not always fair. Chichvarkin himself speaks about this with his characteristic directness and self-irony: “I fire idiots and bastards with pleasure. I quickly form an idea of ​​a person. True, it’s not always right.” His unique letters to company employees, which deserve a separate publication, also went down in history. It is said that he did not pay sellers a fixed salary, offering solely a percentage of sales. Controversial decision. But, be that as it may, Euroset employees had a powerful motivation for personal sales and were always in good shape.
• Advertising policy. Chichvarkin always personally took part in the development of advertising campaigns, slogans and selling texts. The Euroset advertisement is so original and scandalous that it requires a separate chapter.
• Evgeny Chichvarkin, being an educated and inquisitive person, always attached importance to constant self-development, reading specialized literature and training. At the same time, his active nature is very accurately reflected in the words of Richard Branson: “To hell with everything! Take it and do it!

E. Chichvarkin about money: “People work to get money. Money is a means of achieving freedom. If money earned with pleasure allows you to fill your life with impressions and satisfy your passion for knowledge, life is good. If you work in such a way that you don’t see the white light, why are you working?”

Food for thought: today it is quite difficult to open a mobile phone store and make it successful, despite the high profitability of the business. It is necessary to take into account many factors, including the leading positions of large federal players in this market.

Advertising on the verge of a foul

Advertising slogans, videos and promotions of Euroset were so provocative that they were even banned by Rospotrebnadzor. It seems that in today's reality they simply would not see the light of day. The bet was made on a play on words using obscene language. The company’s banners featured phrases in which part of the word was replaced by an ellipsis, but any native resident of Russia could easily read what the advertisement wanted to convey to him.

No less eccentric was the “Come naked and get a free phone!” campaign. Despite the absurdity of the proposal, the action was a success. They actually came to the salons naked people and received telephone numbers. Still, Chichvarkin knows the Russian mentality well, being himself capable of extraordinary actions.

One can have different attitudes towards such shocking approaches, but the fact remains: with a minimum of costs, advertising events had a huge public response and excellent results in terms of sales. Evgeny Chichvarkin brought elements of show, shocking, entertainment, and laughter to business advertising. And he won. Chichvarkin generally has an excellent sense of humor. Once, when asked where the company got additional funding, he replied: “We are powered by the energy of space.”

E. Chichvarkin on business promotion: “Purchasing should be an adventure. A person must have something else left besides the product. There’s nothing in our urban world that a person is willing to pay more for than for an experience.”

Intrigues, scandals, investigations

Euroset is associated with the name of entrepreneur Evgeniy Aleksandrovich Chichvarkin and his brainchild scandalous story with a criminal twist. Since the details and details of this case are very vague and not known to the general public, it is best to talk about it with a great deal of caution, dryly stating the facts and not drawing conclusions.

In 2006, a criminal case was opened against the businessman on charges of violating the law when importing mobile phones. The case was related to the detention at customs of a large batch of Motorola phones for Euroset. Soon the criminal case was dropped for lack of evidence of a crime. In 2008, a criminal case related to kidnapping was again opened against the entrepreneur. Chichvarkin was even put on the international wanted list. As a result of many years of proceedings, all charges against the entrepreneur were dropped, criminal prosecution completely discontinued in 2012.

In 2008, the founders and co-owners of Euroset, Evgeny Chichvarkin and Timur Artemyev, sold the business to large entrepreneur Alexander Mamut, according to various sources, for $300-400 million. A little later, VimpelCom-Communications became the new owner of the retail network.

Chichvarkin left Russia in 2008, flying to London, where he currently lives.

Life after Euroset

During the heyday of Euroset, Evgeny Chichvarkin’s fortune was estimated at $2.5 billion. According to Forbes magazine, Chichvarkin has not been among the 200 richest businessmen in Russia for a long time. According to information from various sources, the entrepreneur’s fortune is now estimated at less than $1 billion.

Having lived in England for many years, Evgeniy Alexandrovich is engaged in the business of selling wine. He opened a stylish wine store, Hedonism Wines, which offers a wide range of wines and other alcoholic beverages. Chichvarkin is again doing what he likes and enjoys. With his characteristic curiosity, he delved into the study of all the nuances new activity. The businessman spends a lot of time in his store, personally changing vinyl records on the turntable and greeting customers. You can see how this happens in this video.

E. Chichvarkin about customer service: “If a person is disgusted (or ashamed) to serve, let him work as a watchman in a vacant lot.”

Russian businessman and English entrepreneur

Evgeny Chichvarkin, whose biography contains both dizzying ups and rapid falls, remains a very open and easy-to-communicate person. He is not characterized by snobbery and star fever affecting many successful people. His non-standard and eccentricity is manifested in his views on life, appearance, a way to formulate and express thoughts. While using extravagant techniques in business that shock the public, Chichvarkin remains a modest and calm person in his personal life. His personal life is not a subject gossip and rumors. He has been married for a long time, has a daughter and a son and is quite happy. He is also an unusually charming, witty and cheerful person.

In one of his interviews, Evgeniy Aleksandrovich summed up the interim results in such a unique way: “I had a moment in my life when I was scared, it seemed to me that my life would end soon. I thought very quickly about what I had done and thought I did great. I did everything amazing. Much better than I could have done. I made a lot of mistakes, but I did so many good things.”

In Mayfair, our compatriots are strongly associated with the name of Evgeny Chichvarkin. Although he himself often talks about the achievements of his “fighting friend” Tatyana Fokina. As managing director, it was she who was responsible for opening the store and bringing it to self-sufficiency. At the same time, she opened Hide and was involved in the launch of the Open University educational platform. Tatyana told ZIMA editor-in-chief Katerina Nikitina how a graduate of the St. Petersburg philology department got into the London retail and restaurant business, and how she managed to combine several complex projects at the same time. There were also some personal questions.

You know what they sometimes say about women: she works three jobs to feed her family. Your situation is different, you don’t have to feed your family, but you still have three jobs. Which one are you paying the most attention to right now?

There is a cliché that projects are like children. And when a family is born new baby, everyone rushes around him for a while. So I feel almost as if I had a third child - the Hide restaurant. When we opened it, I went to Hedonism (as if I was afraid that he would be offended, although this is quite absurd), stood there for a few minutes and mentally said: “We still love you. You’re still our first project.” This was a sentimental and superstitious act. It is clear that the restaurant is now receiving the most attention. Because, firstly, it only opened in April. And secondly, this project is still very large and very ambitious. Opening a restaurant in the very center of London, with 174 seats at once, is indeed very brave.

What ambitions are associated with the restaurant? Evgeniy always says about Hedonism Wines that it is the best wine store in the world. Is there a plan to make Hide the best restaurant in the world?

The store is truly the best in the world. With a restaurant, everything is a little more complicated. There is a list of the world's top 50 restaurants. In general, the rating is very subjective. We, of course, want to be represented there and, most likely, we will be able to get there. But our goal is not to be the best restaurant in the world, but the most loved restaurant in London. We are constantly asked: “Where to go in London, what’s new?” So we want 70 out of 100 people who are asked the same question to say: “You need to go to Hide.” For me personally this is the goal. (The conversation was recorded before the restaurant - approx. ZIMA)

Six months have passed since April. Do you feel like you are achieving everything you set out to do?

Yes, definitely. We are following the reviews of visitors and critics, so far not a single question has arisen about the food itself, the majority are very complimentary. Although a couple of weeks before the opening there was an incident in Salisbury, and this, of course, did not help us at all. Many discussed the “Russian money” invested in the project. Sometimes our compatriots come into the restaurant and ask: “Why don’t you have a menu in Russian? Where are the cheesecakes for breakfast? We are definitely very flexible and service oriented. But in general, if you come here, you will quickly understand that this is not a Russian restaurant. Actually, there is nothing Russian in it, except for us. Only perhaps there is also a cover for the menu in one of the private dining rooms.

You have been involved in the restaurant since its conception. Before this – just as I understand it, from scratch – they opened a large store. Did you learn this somewhere?

No, I didn’t think at all that I would ever work in retail. I studied at the philological faculty of St. Petersburg state university, at the Italian branch.

Was this your choice?

It was absolutely my choice. Although, of course, I did not have the option of not going to university. Both my father and mother are university teachers. Mom is in the past, and dad still teaches at St. Petersburg State University. He is now also a professor in Italy, teaching biology at the University of Pisa. As they would say here, I have a very academic family. I’m not sure that I have the right to say about myself that I am a St. Petersburg intellectual, but my family was definitely extremely intelligent.

Were you an excellent student at school?

I was almost an excellent student. But I had a very bad behavior, and my parents were called to school all the time. At the same time, nothing much could be done with me, because I studied very well.

Why, for example, could your parents be called to school?

I ran away from classes, especially as a teenager, and communicated with everyone quite brazenly. Then it came to me during teaching practice at the philology department. I came to my own school to teach French to high school students. And I saw the same girls in short skirts who sat impudently in class and wrote notes. But at the philology department I eventually received a diploma with honors.

Did you end up in London straight after university?

Yes. I graduated in June, and came here in September. This was, it turns out, nine years ago.

Was London your ultimate destination? Did you want to come here?

No, I never wanted to leave Russia at all. I was and remain in the correct, original sense of the word, a patriot. Although now it’s almost a shame to pronounce this word, it seems to me, since its meaning has become clouded. I came to London for love, let’s put it this way. And in the first year I went home 12 times, despite the fact that I had practically no money. I went home every month because I absolutely did not understand why I was here and what I was doing.

So you came for the love of a man, but stayed for the love of the city?

I stayed for the love of work. I said from the very beginning that I would move, but if I didn’t find a job that suited me, I would move back. Because I can’t help but work, I’ve been working all the time since I was 18, and I work a lot. I had some savings, but I remember walking around central London and thinking that a bus ticket costs this much, going somewhere costs this much, and a dress at Zarya costs this much . And I can’t say that this somehow motivated me. Rather, I was angry that I was in this beautiful city, where I can do so many things, try so many things, but I can’t afford it.

What job did you end up finding?

I bet that I have very good English and very good Russian. This was my competitive advantage. All the jobs I was looking for were based on this combination. These were real estate agencies, PR agencies - in general, quite corporate positions. Before joining Hedonism Wines, I became an assistant to a Russian businessman. And it was an absolutely wild experience. It was as if I was constantly in a gangster film or Timati’s video from those years, where everyone jumps into the pool, dousing themselves with champagne. This opened my eyes to an unsightly parallel reality. When they hired me, they warned me: “Our previous assistants only lasted a week at most.” I was curious to know where my limit was. And as soon as I realized that I had lasted 10 months, I said: “That’s it, thank you very much, it was priceless, but I can’t be here anymore.” I was already handing over my cases when the agency called me and said that they were looking for an assistant for Evgeniy Chichvarkin.

Did you know him at that time?

No. But I knew about him because of the conflict around Euroset. By the way, this was a business that, when I was in Russia, caused me nothing but negativity. Zhenya himself says that in St. Petersburg they did not like Euroset very much.

Because St. Petersburg is a very intelligent city, and Euroset behaved as unintelligently as possible?

Yes. She always evoked some kind of feeling of wariness, to say the least. And I certainly wasn’t interested then in who owned it and who created it all. But then, since we have a very politicized family, I found out about the circumstances due to which Zhenya was forced to move here, and about what happened after. And I followed his story and somehow empathized with him as a human being. We only met at an interview. We talked for a very long time, then there were three more interviews, we still talked for a very long time, I didn’t even really understand what we were talking about. There were questions about favorite films, books... And in the end another girl became an assistant.

Were you looking specifically for PA?

Yes, we were looking for RA. But Zhenya told me that he had a wine store project in his head, and asked if I would like to do it. I agreed because it was very interesting, although I knew very little about wine at the time. But I understood that if you have good organizational skills, then you can organize anything: a meeting, elections, the Olympics, a liquor store. I was also reassured that Zhenya knows well what retail is. But everything, of course, turned out to be more complicated. At first, we went to the people we needed and said: “We want to open the best store in the world.” People twisted their heads and answered: “Great. Good luck to you". Zhenya has long wanted to collect all the refusal letters that we received in the first years: refusal to open a bank account, refusal to rent out premises, refusal to supply wine. For the English establishment, our idea seemed wild and hardly feasible.

Zhenya has long wanted to collect all the refusal letters that we received in the first years: refusal to open a bank account, refusal to rent out premises, refusal to supply wine.

How long did it take to open the store - from the idea to the first working day?

I came in September 2010, and we opened in August 2012, when the Olympics were in London. Our entire head office, it seems to me, didn’t sleep at all before the opening. I came home at two in the morning, took a shower and drove back - by five I was back in the office. It seems to me that I was literally floating above the ground then; from lack of sleep, I had bruises under my eyes almost up to my chin. At first everything went very slowly. We're now looking at our revenue in the first months - it's about one tenth of our daily revenue today. But we understood that everything would come. It was just difficult to learn patience. It’s impossible to live here without him. These endless permissions, meetings, mandatory personal communication... You can solve everything with one phone call, but you have to go to a meeting and sit there for two hours discussing the weather. I always mentally worried that I could have accomplished so much in those two hours. In this regard, it was already easier with a restaurant - we knew in advance that everything would be more expensive, longer and more complicated than we would like, and we decided to try not to waste our nerves again. In the end, of course, they also spent, but not as much.

How quickly did Hedonism Wines start making money?

It quickly became self-sufficient. Net profit we started receiving three years ago. Only then did I move a little away from operational issues, although I still actively participate in everything and know thoroughly what is happening in the store. But I understand that we have the right people working for us and I don’t need to check their every step. Before that, it seems to me, I had a copy of all the emails that were sent to the company. I was afraid that someone would answer incorrectly, understand incorrectly, etc. After all, the vision was mine and Zhenya’s, and probably only we could fully realize our idea.

Was it easy for you to find a common language with Evgeniy?

Zhenya has a rare quality, due to which, it seems to me, he is largely successful - this is the ability to find the right people and not interfere with their work. Quite quickly he gave me complete freedom of action. Although, as I now understand, he checked me for quite a long time. I could call on a Saturday morning and say: “Let’s bring Citizen Poet to London.” I say: “Well, we have a construction site there... But in general, so what. Let's!" And in addition to my main tasks, I also took on organizing the concert.

Evgeniy calls you “my fighting friend.” Do you like this definition?

Partially. I'm just against many other definitions.

And the wife?

We are not married.

Like this? But what about that beautiful photo from Instagram that spread all over the media? You are in a white dress, Evgeny is in a tailcoat.

This good example how the media works nowadays. We were going to the ballet, and I had what I thought was more of a ballet dress. As soon as we left the house, someone shouted: “Congratulations!” We realized that we really looked like the bride and groom, and decided to play with this theme. We found almost the last remaining bouquet there in a flower stall in Covent Garden and came up with a signature that could be interpreted in different ways. Into what it is wedding photography, our friends and even my mother believed then. They called and were indignant that we didn’t tell them anything. Although I don’t walk around with a banner that says that I will never get married, because I don’t see the point in it. I always correct everyone: I’m not a wife. “Girlfriend” also sounds pretty stupid. And the definition of “fighting friend” in general really reflects the essence of our relationship.

Did you like Zhenya right away?

I immediately liked him as a person. In life, he is not the way other people often see him. In an interview with Dudem, they saw Zhenya for who he is and immediately began to admire him. Many people have a far from reality image of such an arrogant boor, but in fact he is very educated, with a good sense of humor, simple, open. So from a human point of view, I immediately liked him. But why do office romances happen? Because people who like each other spend a lot of time together. This is an organic process: you already know each other very well, you have gone through some kind of stress together, you have seen each other in tears and banging your head against the wall. We have a bench in the garden near the office - it seems that all our employees cried there, especially before the opening of the store, since emotions then simply went off scale.

Why do office romances happen? Because people who like each other spend a lot of time together.

Who found the office romance more difficult – Evgeniy as the boss or you as his employee?

It was harder for me because I had to prove that I was doing all the projects because I was doing my job well, and not because Zhenya and I were a couple. I still do this subconsciously, although it seems like I haven’t needed to prove anything to anyone for a long time. I was always the first one to come to work and the last one to leave. But we have a whole team of workaholics. Moreover, the team we work with in the office consists of only British people. And this is an absolutely unique situation when I can write an email at 5 am and, most likely, someone will answer it right away. Such a corporate approach is very rare in this country; people here are used to working from 9 to 5. It seems to me that we have brought all caring people into one office. And this is our main success.

Does the fact that you and Evgeniy work together affect your relationship in any way? Does it hinder or help?

It gets in the way. I try not to discuss work at home, but it works very poorly, and sometimes we still argue about work issues. How does evening happen in ordinary families? A husband comes home from work, his wife asks him: “How was your day?” This can’t happen with us, because I know thoroughly how Zhenya’s day went – ​​if only because mine, most likely, went partly the same way. We only do sports separately. Zhenya loves polo. I tried to do it, but realized that it took a lot of time. I feel comfortable working out early in the morning. I usually get up at 6 and go to yoga, tennis or skating by 7 am.

Ice rink? In London?

Yes, I go to the Queens Ice Rink - the only one in central London that's open. all year round. Somehow I suddenly realized that my childhood in St. Petersburg passed without skates, although I love them very much. I was a child of perestroika, and my parents clearly had no time to take me to sports clubs - they were trying to make ends meet. So I decided to try it now. It is clear that I will not be an Olympic champion at 30 years old. But I enjoy doing it, and there is still progress.

Three years ago your daughter was born. Has motherhood changed you in any way?

I think I've calmed down a little. If earlier I could react emotionally to some problem and took everything to heart, now I think more and more often: “Do I have the strength to tear and throw? No. Should I do this? No". Only now, it seems to me, a balance has appeared in my life between work, daughter and social life. It took me quite a long time to get to this point.

Only now, it seems to me, a balance has appeared in my life between work, daughter and social life.

Were you scared by the idea of ​​motherhood, considering how much you were doing at the time?

I felt like I was drowning in missed calls and unread emails. Moreover, I overestimated my capabilities so much that I hoped to cope with everything myself and did not even want to hire a nanny at first. Alice was born on Friday, and on Monday I came with her to the office to introduce her to everyone there. It turned out that no one at work knew that I was pregnant. I didn’t talk about this myself and thought that this topic was not discussed out of a purely British sense of tact. But they really didn’t notice. I usually wear robes and during pregnancy I ran all the time - nothing has changed in my behavior. About a week after Alice was born, I returned to work.

You are running another project that I wanted to ask you about. This is Khodorkovsky's "Open University". Why did you start doing it?

Because Mikhail Borisovich suggested that I take up this area. When I heard about the concept of online political education, I didn’t immediately agree, to be honest, and even took some time to think about it, which is uncharacteristic for me. But the matter seemed very important and interesting to me. Together with other team members, we developed the concept, then began to think about how it would look visually. Then they found the performers. We decided that our first course should be somewhat similar to “Namedni” - such an educational program for the new generation. We went to Moscow and studied at Arzamas, which had also just opened. At the first stage, right up to the launch, I was closely involved in this. I guess my participation can be described as a project manager. This happened almost simultaneously with the birth of my daughter: Alice was born, two months later the Open University was launched. We started with Yuri Saprykin’s course “Culture as Politics”.

Are you still doing it now?

Yes, but now I'm more of a quality control person. I report on the work done and try to keep this project going. The Open University is very difficult to develop, especially in Russia. They are constantly closing something, or declaring one organization undesirable, then another, then another site. PR is also not particularly successful, because few people in Russia have the courage to be associated with Khodorkovsky’s projects. Our main partnership is with Dozhd. By the way, I have always studied at the Open University absolutely free of charge. Some people devote themselves to charity, but for me this is probably my feasible contribution to the development of society.

Do you and Evgeniy go to rallies?

I'm walking. Although I do not always agree with his position. Basically, we are on the same side, but often we disagree on some specific people and reasons. Zhenya is more radical and actively supports Navalny, for example. I can't say that about myself. The last big quarrel we had on near-political topics was over the World Cup. Zhenya said that everything was bought there for the Russian team. And this is where my patriotism came in. I was speechless, then I found it and expressed everything I thought about it. Zhenya took back his words after our team’s performance. And I went to Russia for both the semi-finals and the finals of the championship. Without Zhenya, unfortunately, because he is not allowed to enter Russia.

How do you look today at the path that you have traveled over these 9 years in London? Could you ever imagine it?

No. To be honest, my approach to it is this: coincidence right place And right time. My path is just a chain of coincidences. The main thing that I can take credit for is that if interesting opportunities arise, I am more likely to agree to participate and try to take advantage of the chance. I'm always for trying.