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Mikhail Yuryevich Abramov (Russian: Михаил Юрьевич Абрамов) (October 12, 1963, Moscow – August 20, 2019, Poros) was a Russian businessman and entrepreneur, founder and owner of the Museum of Russian Icons. Honorary member of the Russian Academy of Arts.[1]
Mikhail Yuryevich Abramov | |
|---|---|
Михаил Юрьевич Абрамов | |
Mikhail Abramov in 2014 | |
| Born | October 12, 1963 |
| Died | August 20, 2019 (aged 55) |
| Education | Moscow Institute of Technology of Light Industry |
| Occupation(s) | Businessman and entrepreneur, founder and owner of the Museum of Russian Icons |
He was born in Moscow into a family of doctors.
In 1981-1982 he studied at the Chemical Technology Faculty of Moscow Institute of Technology of Light Industry.[2]
In 1982-1984 he served in the Soviet Army on the Kola Peninsula. He finished his service with the rank of senior sergeant.[3]
In 1985 Abramov became an entrepreneur. He owned cooperatives for sewing leather and fur products.[4]
In 1991-2000 he headed the construction department at Ingosstrakh.
In 2001 he worked as deputy general director of JSC "Moscow Insurance Company".[5]
In 2006 he founded the public Museum of the Russian Icon from his private collection. According to Forbes, Mikhail Abramov spent tens of thousands of US dollars a month on the maintenance of the museum.[2]
In 2014 he participated in the preparation of the law «About collecting and private collections in the Russian Federation». In the same year, he was a member of the working group of the Commission of the Ministry of Culture on the acquisition of museum objects.[1]
In 2018 he became an Honorary Member of the Russian Academy of Arts.[1]
Mikhail Abramov died on August 20, 2019, in a helicopter crash in Greece off the coast of Poros Island. He was buried at the Vagankovo Cemetery in Moscow.[6][7]
In 1995 he founded the company Plaza Development.[8]
Plaza Development is considered one of the largest office owners in Moscow. The volume of offices built is 465 thousand square meters.[9] The company owns ten business centers in Moscow, their approximate cost is 46-56 billion rubles.[10][11]
80% of Abramov's income went to charity. He has sponsored projects in the field of culture and cultural heritage, including the construction of temples and the collection of exhibits for museums. He was a member of the boards of trustees of the Vysokopetrovsky male Stavropol Monastery in Moscow, Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery in Zvenigorod. Also he was a trustee of the church of St. Nicholas in the village of Aksinino (Odintsovo district).[12][13][14] In 2015 he donated 700 million rubles for the construction of two churches in Moscow.[15]
Mikhail Abramov financed the magazine Russian Art.[12]
In the 2000s he began collecting icons. On May 26, 2006, Mikhail Abramov opened Russia's first Museum of Russian Icons in the premises of the Vereyskaya Plaza business center. He established a charitable foundation with the same name.[5][3]
The main building of the museum opened in 2011 on Goncharnaya street in Moscow. The museum houses more than 5,000 exhibits, including about 1,000 icons.[14][16]
This collection is the only private collection of ancient Russian icon painting in Russia, which has received the official status of a museum.[14]
The museum joined the IСOM (International Council of Museums) under UNESCO. Museum visits, excursions, lectures and concerts are free of charge.[14]
Mikhail Abramov was married to Svetlana. They have son and daughter.[17][2]
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