Mikhail Smokhinov Grigorievich

Soviet artist. Mikhail Grigoryevich Kopchenko was born in 1913 and grew up in the village of Gremyachevo in the Kulebak district of the Nizhny Novgorod region. His passion for painting was manifested in him from an early age, and after graduating from school, he remained there to teach painting. In 1938, Kopchinov moved to the city of Navashino, where he became the head of the design department of the shipbuilding plant, and later headed the art studio. His outstanding talent is noticed by well-known Murmansk artists, academician of the painting I.S. Kulikov, VA Afanasyev, Mikhail Grigorievich begins to exhibit in Navashino and Murom. In the 1960s, Navashino becomes the artistic and cultural center of the region – in the House of Culture, there are meetings and exhibitions of many famous artists: Murom Morozovs (father and son), Kulebak Vlaskovs (father and son), Gorky Kamanin (father and son), Navashin Yu. N. Obukhova, IP Markova, I.Ya. Shcheglova, V.V. Gubkin and many others. One of them is smoked. For a long creative life, the artist created more than 150 works, half of which was presented at his personal anniversary exhibition devoted to the 65th anniversary in Navashino, Mikhail Grigorievich drafted a museum of history of the shipyard “Oka” of Navashino, a memorial complex opened in the city on the day The 30th anniversary of the Victory in the Second World War, pioneer camps and tourist areas of the region. In 2003 Mikhail Grigoryevich Kopchenko was awarded the title “Honorable Citizen of the Navashinsky District”. His works are located in the Navashinsky Historical and Local History Museum, in private collections in Russia and abroad.

Photo by: M. Kopchenko “The Pioneer Camp” 1961