Mikhail Aleksandrovich Evstafiev (russian: link=no, Михаи́л Алекса́ндрович Евста́фьев; born in 1963) is a Russian artist, photographer, and writer. His interest in painting and photography began at an early age. His mother, grandmother and great grandfather – all prominent Russian sculptors – inspired him to develop his own

style Style is a manner of doing or presenting things and may refer to: * Architectural style, the features that make a building or structure historically identifiable * Design, the process of creating something * Fashion, a prevailing mode of clothing ...

in art. His work is listed in "Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon" (The World Biographical Dictionary of Artists). In the late 1980s he volunteered to serve in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

and spent two years in the

Soviet army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

, stationed in

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

, witnessing the numerous combat operations and the 1989 withdrawal of Soviet troops. He later published the novel '' Two Steps From Heaven'' about the

Soviet invasion of Afghanistan The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. Working for leading international

news organization The news media or news industry are forms of mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public or a target public. These include news agencies, print media (newspapers, news magazines), broadcast news (radio and television), and th ...

s in the 1990s, he also covered the wars and armed conflicts in

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

Chechnya Chechnya ( rus, Чечня́, Chechnyá, p=tɕɪtɕˈnʲa; ce, Нохчийчоь, Noxçiyçö), officially the Chechen Republic,; ce, Нохчийн Республика, Noxçiyn Respublika is a republic of Russia. It is situated in the ...

, Georgia,

Nagorno-Karabakh Nagorno-Karabakh ( ) is a landlocked country, landlocked region in the Transcaucasia, South Caucasus, within the mountainous range of Karabakh, lying between Lower Karabakh and Syunik Province, Syunik, and covering the southeastern range o ...

Tajikistan Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...

and Transdniestria, as well as the Soviet coup attempt of 1991 and the

Russian constitutional crisis of 1993 The 1993 Russian constitutional crisis, also known as the 1993 October Coup, Black October, the Shooting of the White House or Ukaz 1400, was a political stand-off and a constitutional crisis between the Russian president Boris Yeltsin and ...

. Mikhail Evstafiev's paintings and photographs have been exhibited in different countries, including in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, China, Russia and the United States, in places such as the Hofburg Congress Centre, the

State Kremlin Palace The State Kremlin Palace (russian: Государственный Кремлёвский Дворец), formerly and unofficially still better known as the Kremlin Palace of Congresses (Кремлёвский Дворец съездов), is a ...

, the Maly Manezh Exhibition Hall and the Central House of Artists in Moscow, and in the

Grand Central Terminal Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal located at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Grand Central is the southern terminus ...

in New York City. His paintings and photographs are in the collections of the

Moscow House of Photography The Multimedia Art Museum, Moscow (MAMM; russian: link=no, Мультимедиа Арт Музей, Москва) is a Russian state museum dedicated to the presentation and development of contemporary art related to new multimedia technologies ...

and SOLMS, Gallery der

Leica Camera Leica Camera AG () is a German company that manufactures cameras, optical lenses, photographic lenses, binoculars, Telescopic sight, rifle scopes and microscopes. The company was founded by Ernst Leitz in 1869 (Ernst Leitz Wetzlar), in Wetz ...

AG, and in private collections in

Andorra , image_flag = Flag of Andorra.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Andorra.svg , symbol_type = Coat of arms , national_motto = la, Virtus Unita Fortior, label=none (Latin)"United virtue is stro ...

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

, France,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, Russia and the United States. His work appeared in leading international magazines and newspapers and was published in numerous books.

References

External links

Mikhail Evstafiev's official websiteSlant Magazine review of I Am Cuba: The Ultimate Edition DVDThe Guardian on new publicationGalerie Am Roten Hof in Vienna presents paintings by M.Evstafiev (in German)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Evstafiev, Mikhail 1963 births Living people Writers from Moscow Russian photographers Soviet photographers War photographers Photography in Afghanistan 20th-century Russian painters Russian male painters 21st-century Russian painters Soviet military personnel of the Soviet–Afghan War Soviet military personnel 20th-century Russian male artists 21st-century Russian male artists

See also

References

External links