Maria Dmitriyevna Aksenova (born February, 23) is a Russian

public figure A public figure is a person who has achieved fame, prominence or notoriety within a society, whether through achievement, luck, action, or in some cases through no purposeful action of their own. In the context of defamation actions (libel and ...

media personality Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group due to the attention given to them by mass media. The word is also used to refer to famous individuals. A person may attain celebrity status by having great w ...

encyclopedist An encyclopedia is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge, either general or special, in a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles or entries that are arranged alphabetically by artic ...

, and

businessperson A businessperson, also referred to as a businessman or businesswoman, is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial ...

. She is best remembered for her fundamental ''Encyclopedia for Children'', a 63-volume edition of (circulation – 20 million copies). According to books and famous magazines, Aksenova is a publisher, poet and sportswoman. As of 31 October 2001, she controlled 55% ($16.5 million) of the Publishing House's revenue. Aksenova was the winner of the Russian President's Award in the field of education (2001); author of educational TV projects, an accredited MVP level

investor An investor is a person who allocates financial capital with the expectation of a future Return on capital, return (profit) or to gain an advantage (interest). Through this allocated capital the investor usually purchases some species of pr ...

of Moscow Seed Fund, and academician of the

Russian Academy of Natural Sciences The Russian Academy of Natural Sciences (Russian language, Russian: Российская академия естественных наук) is a Russian non-governmental organization founded on August 31 1990 in Moscow in the former Soviet Uni ...

Personal life

Born and raised in Moscow,

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, Maria Aksenova graduated from the Moscow school with a Silver medal. She graduated from the

MSU Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics The MSU Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics () is a faculty of Moscow State University. History Although lectures in mathematics had been delivered since Moscow State University was founded in 1755, the mathematical and physical department was ...

, where she received a first-class degree. Maria studied

Executive MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

RANEPA The Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA) is a federal state-funded institution of higher education located in Moscow, Russia. With the merger of Academy of National Economy (ANE), Russian Academy ...

. On March 7, 2001, Maria was speaker at the meeting of the President of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin with outstanding business women of Russia. She studied English and Spanish.

Hobby A hobby is considered to be a regular activity that is done for enjoyment, typically during one's leisure time. Hobbies include collecting themed items and objects, engaging in creative and artistic pursuits, playing sports, or pursuing other ...

ikebana is the Japanese art of flower arrangement. It is also known as . The origin of ikebana can be traced back to the ancient Japanese custom of erecting Evergreen, evergreen trees and decorating them with flowers as yorishiro () to invite the go ...

travelling Travel is the movement of people between distant geographical locations. Travel can be done by foot, bicycle, automobile, train, boat, bus, airplane, ship or other means, with or without luggage, and can be one way or round trip. Travel can ...

(32 countries),

rescue diver Rescue Diver is a scuba diving Scuba diving is a Diving mode, mode of underwater diving whereby divers use Scuba set, breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface breathing gas supply, and therefore has a limited but va ...

, old

daggers A dagger is a fighting knife with a very sharp point and usually one or two sharp edges, typically designed or capable of being used as a cutting or thrusting weapon.State v. Martin, 633 S.W.2d 80 (Mo. 1982): This is the dictionary or popular-u ...

, ethnic

jewellery Jewellery (or jewelry in American English) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment such as brooches, ring (jewellery), rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the ...

Qigong Qigong ()) is a system of coordinated body-posture and movement, breathing, and meditation said to be useful for the purposes of health, spirituality, and martial arts training. With roots in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chinese medicine, Chin ...

Family

Her paternal great-grandfather, ' was a Russian

Silver Age The Ages of Man are the historical stages of human existence according to Greek mythology and its subsequent interpretatio romana, Roman interpretation. Both Hesiod and Ovid offered accounts of the successive ages of humanity, which tend to pr ...

poet of the 20th century. Great-grandfather's father, ''Ivan Evdóshenko'' was a

nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

and managed some gymnasiums in

The Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. Her maternal great-grandparents, ''Alexei Plotnokov'' and ''Praskovya Danilova-Plotnikova'' were among of the leaders of the Revolution Movement in Podmoskovye,

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

and

Minusinsk Minusinsk (; ) is a historical types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. Population: 44,500 (1973). History "About 330-200 B.C. the iron age triumphed at Minusinsk, producing spiked axes, partly bronze and ...

Avanta+ Publishing House

At the age of twenty, Maria came up with the idea of creating an encyclopedia for children, comparable to the

Great Soviet Encyclopedia The ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia'' (GSE; , ''BSE'') is one of the largest Russian-language encyclopedias, published in the Soviet Union from 1926 to 1990. After 2002, the encyclopedia's data was partially included into the later ''Great Russian Enc ...

. As a student at Moscow State University, she became a co-founder, then the chairman

board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

of the Avanta+, a leading producer of children’s encyclopedias: * "Encyclopedia for Children Avanta+" (many of them best sellers at top Russian stores); * "Modern Encyclopedia"; * "The most beautiful and famous" album book series etc. Encyclopedia for Children Avanta+ is recommended by the Ministry of General Education of the Russian Federation and the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

Academic department by International Center of Educational Systems (ICES), and is also recognized as a national project. Maria Aksenova as an author wrote more than 50 popular science introductory and 8 encyclopedic articles in . Nine employees of the Avanta+ Publishing House and Encyclopedia for Children's authors have become laureates of the Russian President's Prize in the field of education. The winners of the Award were: Maria Aksenova, Viktor Volodin, , Andrey Gryaznov, Elena Dukelskaya, Lyudmila Petranovskaya, Georgy Khramov, ValerySanyuk. Publishing House team's

mission statement A mission statement is a short statement of why an organization exists, what its overall goal is, the goal of its operations: what kind of product or service it provides, its primary customers or market, and its geographical region of operation ...

: "We present in an accessible form the sum of all knowledge".

The Printing Pioneer Fund

Since 2007, Maria Aksenova has been the chairman of the board of The Printing Pioneer Fund. Fund activities: * Educational TV programs; * Acceleration, exportand other programs for impact-startups; * International cultural and educational events (ex: International Wiki-Conference 2021). The Fund became the initiator and creator of the intersectoral impact cluster in The Moscow Innovation Cluster.

Entrepreneurial and investment activity

M. D. Aksenova is a co-founder and investor in a number of projects: * Sweets Empire Café, Marocana restaurant chain (

Moroccan cuisine Moroccan cuisine () is the cuisine of Morocco, fueled by interactions and exchanges with many cultures and nations over the centuries. Moroccan cuisine is usually a mix of Arab cuisine, Arab, Berber cuisine, Berber, Andalusian cuisine, Andalusi, ...

), Niyama Japanese restaurant chain ( franchise,

food production The food industry is a complex, global network of diverse businesses that supplies most of the food consumed by the World population, world's population. The food industry today has become highly diversified, with manufacturing ranging from sm ...

, IT, delivery); * , Avanta+ Publishing House; * Innovation project: EdTech, HealthTech, etc. As an investor, she has more than five exits. There are four startup impact in the current portfolio.

Organizations and business communities

Maria Aksenova was and is a member of organizations and business communities: * Business Women of Russia Confederation; * New Moscow Entrepreneurs Club; * a number of Boards of Trustees; * Russian Supreme Council of Ecology; * National Independent director Registry (as an

Independent director An independent director (also sometimes known as an outside director) is a member of a board of directors who does not have a material or pecuniary relationship with company or related persons, except sitting fees. In the United States, indepe ...

since 2002); * AngelsDeck Investors Club (since 2020).

Research work

Maria Aksenova is a researcher of the cultural and

religious Religion is a range of social- cultural systems, including designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relate humanity to supernatural ...

traditions of various countries, the author of a number of publications and speeches. In 1998, Obshchaya Gazeta published two articles on the death of

Carlos Castaneda Carlos César Salvador Arana (December 25, 1925 – April 27, 1998), better known as Carlos Castaneda, was an American anthropologist and writer. Starting in 1968, Castaneda published a series of books that describe a training in shamanism t ...

Viktor Pelevin Victor Olegovich Pelevin ( rus, Виктор Олегович Пелевин, p=ˈvʲiktər ɐˈlʲeɡəvʲɪtɕ pʲɪˈlʲevʲɪn; born 22 November 1962) is a Russian fiction writer. His novels include ''Omon Ra'' (1992), ''The Life of Insects' ...

's "The Last Joke of a Warrior" and Maria Aksenova's "Who Left This World?". Maria Aksenova tells about unknown details of Classics writers' fates and their works in her book – "Do We Know Everything About the Classics of World Literature?" ().

Poetry

A book combining a collection of poems "Cascade Splashes" of the Silver Age poet, ''Peter Evdóshenko'', and a collection of poems "Blues of Emptiness" of his great-granddaughter Maria Aksenova was published in 2007 ().

Do We Know Russian?

In 2008-2012, Maria Aksenova and her colleagues conducted work on the study of the history of Russian words, names, adages. The work resulted in a cycle of television programs, events and books: * 168 episodes of "Do Russians know Russian?" TV show; * Three-Volume Edition "Do We Know Russian?" (1st volume: ; 2nd volume: ; 3rd volume: and 2nd combined edition: ). In 2012, the 1st and 2nd volumes was shortlisted for the Enlightener Prize by the

Dynasty Foundation ''Dynasty Foundation'' was Russia's only private funder of scientific research. It was created by VympelCom founder Dmitry Zimin in 2002. After the Russian Ministry of Justice added ''Dynasty'' to its list of foreign agents in 2015 due to Zimin ...

; * meetings with readers and schoolboys.

On TV, Films and Radio

Author's and acting works: * 2003 – "The Taming of the Success" talk show ( TV channel) * 2006 – "Outlook beyond the

MKAD The Moscow Automobile Ring Road (), or MKAD (), is a ring road running predominantly on the city border of Moscow with a length of 108.9 km (67.7 mi) and 35 exits (including ten interchanges). It was completed in 1962. The speed lim ...

" on radio station; * 2008-2010 – a series of documentaries "A Novel in Stone" ("World masterpieces of love"); * 2008-2010 – poetic art videos based on the poems of Russian poets; * 2008-2012 – 168 episodes of "Do Russians know Russian?" TV show.

Selected filmography

Sport

* 1980s – finalist of the national championship, 4-time champion of

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

Russian Draughts Russian draughts (also known as Shashki or Russian shashki) is a variant of draughts (checkers) played in Russia and some parts of the former USSR, as well as parts of Eastern Europe and Israel. Rules As in all draughts variants, Russian draught ...

. * 2000s – PADI

Rescue Diver Rescue Diver is a scuba diving Scuba diving is a Diving mode, mode of underwater diving whereby divers use Scuba set, breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface breathing gas supply, and therefore has a limited but va ...

Awards and honors

* Laureate of the Russian President's Prize in the field of education for the development of a scientific and methodological concept for the presentation of educational materials and the creation on its basis of the fundamental book series the Encyclopedia for Children (2001). * Winner of Manager of the Year award in the nomination "Publishing Business" (2001,

Kommersant (, , ''The Businessman'' or Commerce Man, often shortened to Ъ) is a nationally distributed daily newspaper published in Russia mostly devoted to politics and business. The TNS Media and NRS Russia certified July 2013 circulation of the daily ...

Publishing House). * Among the Top 100 businessperson of the rating "Who manages the finances of Russia" in 2001 – the first and only woman.

References

Works cited

* * *

External links

* by Maria Aksenova * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aksenova, Maria Russian encyclopedists Russian women in business Russian women poets Writers from Moscow 21st-century Russian women writers Moscow State University alumni Russian women television presenters 20th-century Russian poets 21st-century Russian poets Russian publishers (people) Russian women activists Soviet draughts players Russian draughts players Players of Russian draughts Russian science writers Russian women company founders Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Businesspeople from Moscow