Vladimir Mashkov

Vladimir Mashkov visited the Crimean festival “Tavrida”, where he held a creative meeting with the participants. Answering questions, the folk artist described how he treated those who left Russia due to special operations, and described Hollywood actor Arnold Schwarzenegger as “a stone with eyes.” We have collected interesting quotes from Mashkov’s speech.

About Russia and those who left the Russian language

Leaving the greatest country for a place where you will never be felt is a failure. I really don’t want and won’t change my consciousness in this way. Gentlemen, if you want to get out of here, get out. But I want to live in my complex language system and with complex people. The Russian language is the richest, most sensual of languages. Our word is unique. And artists must forget the Russian word for work abroad and reproduce the behavior of Americans.

About Arnold Schwarzenegger and foreigners’ inability to play Russian

Can you name at least one American, English, French artist who reproduced the behavior of a Russian person? Who is Arnold Schwarzenegger?! (Schwarzenegger’s name was addressed to one of Mashkov’s questions by someone from the auditorium. – Approx. ed.) This non-acting eyed stone will never, ever reproduce. or understand the meaning of Russian words! That’s the problem. There are none, including the greatest De Niro, Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffman. We are different and we act differently. We act differently, we have a different pressure!

About the conflict with his daughter Maria Mashkova due to different opinions on the special operation

I don’t want to talk about it.

On EU sanctions imposed on him

Sanctions are business. What sanctions can be imposed on a person’s consciousness, feelings, emotions – in what way? I firmly believe that the era of sanctions will come to an end and that many will see the horror of what they have done, the destruction of our multinational ties, of ties between peoples. Some countries’ political decisions will go to hell. It is hell in the soul, in the mind.

About US Samples

from now on [выхода фильма “Вор” в 1997 году] I was invited to America. At that time I knew only one word: “Es”. I studied the English text written in Russian letters on the plane. And I noticed that the melody of the voice of the English language is getting louder, they are always raising their intonation: “Hello! How are you?”. And the whole Russian language falls out of intonation, did you notice? And so I cheated on the examples. He took the English text and began to pronounce it with Russian intonation. It sounded threatening. His legs were shaking with fear!

They seemed to understand what I was saying, but they did not understand the purpose of my questions. And to fight, they needed someone comparable to American artists. We needed a rival for Tom Cruise so the audience could believe it: wow, he barely survived! And my number got stronger. They even gave me a green card: then it was given to those who succeeded in their country. By the way, they made a mistake and sent me two green cards. The first came and a week later the second came.

Mashkov did not stay in the USA. He built his acting career in Russia: today he is People’s Artist of the Russian Federation and heads the Oleg Tabakov Theater. The only daughter of Mashkova Maria lives in the USA, where the actor now has a strained relationship. The conflict arose because of Russia’s military special operation in Ukraine: Mashkov supported him, and Maria sharply condemned it. Mashkov also urged his daughter to return to Russia. Maria spoke several times about the argument with her father.

Vladimir Mashkov with his daughter Maria