The master was smiling and looked very happy.
Nikita Mikhalkov organized a truly grand celebration for his birthday. The director was congratulated not only by colleagues but also by family.
The 80th birthday of the master of cinema was marked by reports about the life and work of Nikita Sergeyevich being aired on several TV channels, and of course, his films were shown. The celebration for the round date was held by Mikhalkov only a week later.
"We congratulate our beloved Nikita, Nikitonych, Nikita Sergeyevich, husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, friend, Creator, Master on his anniversary!!! Congratulations from everyone, including the theater workshop 12, the TRITÉ studio, friends, colleagues, like-minded individuals, and of course, family: children, 13 grandchildren, and 3 great-grandchildren. Live long and happily, create!" — this is how Tatyana Mikhalkova addressed her husband in her personal blog on Instagram.
In addition to the touching post, Nikita Sergeyevich's wife published a series of photos from the recent celebration. Naturally, the daughters of Mikhalkov, Anna and Nadezhda, often appeared in the frame. The director's brother, Andrei Konchalovsky, also made an appearance, of course, accompanied by his wife Yulia Vysotskaya.
Nikita Sergeyevich clearly enjoyed the celebration. At least, in all the photos, the master was smiling and looked very happy. For example, in a group photo with his son from Anastasia Vertinskaya, the artist was simply glowing. By the way, Stepan Mikhalkov rarely makes public appearances. He came to his father's anniversary with his wife and one of his sons.
Let us remind you that on March 23, 2022, Latvia declared Mikhalkov and 24 other Russian cultural figures as "undesirable persons," banning them from entering the country due to their support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine and justification of Russian aggression.
On December 16, 2022, against the backdrop of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Mikhalkov was included in the European Union's sanctions list for actively supporting Russia's aggression against Ukraine in his public statements, as well as spreading Russian propaganda, in particular, false narratives about the presence of biological weapons in Ukraine.
"Nikita Mikhalkov... actively supported Russia's aggressive war against Ukraine in his public statements. He has actively spread the Kremlin's propaganda narratives regarding Ukraine since 2014. He expressed support for the annexation of Crimea and the recognition of the independence of the so-called DNR and LNR. He justified Russia's war against Ukraine... He accused Ukrainians of so-called Russophobia, stating that the 'conflict' between the two countries was inevitable. He called the Ukrainian language a 'catastrophe' for Russia because it allegedly fosters hatred towards the country and spreads Russophobia. Mikhalkov called for the complete exclusion of teaching in the Ukrainian language in schools in Donbas. He supported the Kremlin's false narrative about biological weapons in Ukraine and glorified Russian prisoners of war fighting in Ukraine" - official journal of the European Union, Brussels, December 16, 2022.
On December 21, 2022, for similar reasons, he was included in Switzerland's sanctions lists. On January 7, 2023, he was added to Ukraine's sanctions list "for visiting occupied territories after the start of the invasion, participating in propaganda concerts, publicly supporting the war and Putin's regime," which entails asset blocking, complete cessation of commercial operations, and halting the fulfillment of economic and financial obligations. On July 20, 2023, he was included in Canada's sanctions list against "individuals using their art to promote Russia's invasion of Ukraine."
In January 2023, Mikhalkov published an open letter to members of the European Council. Pointing out the groundlessness of the sanctions imposed against him and explaining why he cannot be called a "Kremlin propagandist," he repeated in the letter the main myths and narratives of Russian anti-Ukrainian propaganda.
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