SALON: Tell us about the history of your family.

 - My family comes from the ancient noble family of the Osorins, who owned the village of Lazarevskoye near Murom. At the beginning of the 16th century, my ancestor Yury Osorin married Juliana Nedurev, who was later canonized as Juliana Lazarevskaya. Then the Osorins family moved to the Kaluga province, where my great-great-grandfather was the governor and was called Osorgin. They lived in the village of Sergievskoe, the next three generations of the family lived there. Great-grandfather had seven children. One of them is my grandfather, who was also called Georgiy Mikhailovich Osorgin. He was born in 1893, graduated from military school and became an officer in the life guards of the cavalry-grenadier regiment. And my grandmother was from the Golitsyn family. In 1921, my grandfather was arrested, in 1922 he was released, he married my grandmother, and in 1925 he was arrested again and wanted to be shot. But then my grandmother communicated with Gorky's wife, Peshkova, and she was worried about the fate of her grandfather. The shooting was replaced by ten years in Solovki, where my grandfather was executed several years later ... But by that time my father was already born, and they, together with their great-grandfather and the whole family, emigrated to France. My great-grandfather, by the way, became a priest, lived in France, my father was also a priest, served first in Rome, and then came under the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate and transferred to Paris. He is now 80 years old, he still serves, but already in our home church, near Paris, in the town of Klyamar, where I was born.

I began to understand the history and nature of our family better after traveling to Solovki. A photograph of the grandfather and archival documents are stored in the Solovki museum. Grandmother also kept all the letters from her grandfather. They were secular people, but they did not attend the balls especially. For them, the main thing was the family, their property and the peasants who worked for them. At one time, the great-great-grandfather brought the best teachers from Moscow to Sergievskoye, so that they would teach the children of the peasants ...

Since my mother was also an immigrant, the Russian traditions in our family literally did not fade away. Once a week we visited the Russian school, celebrated all the Russian holidays, I studied the Law of God, history, geography, singing and literature in Russian.

S: And how did you celebrate the holidays at home?

 - Since I grew up in the house at the temple, the most important holiday, of course, was Easter. We prepared for it in advance: on Wednesday they used to bake cakes, on Friday they made Easter, on Saturday they painted eggs with grandmother. For us, these were very important moments: the whole family is in the collection, everyone is waiting for the joy of the holiday. And Christmas was just a fairy tale for me! I came to school on January 3, and did not come on the 6th or 7th. And I was very happy because we celebrated Orthodox Christmas: we went to the liturgy, to vigil, we received communion, then there was a big family dinner, a Christmas tree. My uncle played the balalaika, the guitar, the piano, danced, then Santa Claus would come and give gifts.

S: What do family nest and family values ​​mean to you?

 - This is primarily a family conversation, when not only parents and children get together, but when the whole family gathers - cousins ​​and second cousins, aunts and uncles, grandmothers and grandfathers. This is the only way to talk about the transfer of cultural traditions of the family. When I first came to Russia, I was met by my grandmother’s family from the Golitsyn side. I was afraid to go here, they told me that the Communists were here. And after a long journey on the train, after crossing many borders, after meeting with Soviet border guards who do not ask a single question, but they are looking into my eyes for a long time, I, a 15-year-old boy, went to Belorussky Station in confusion. And on the platform 50 relatives waited for me! .. They met me as if we had recently parted.

Later, after the wedding and the birth of children, I began to pursue the thought that I needed to return to Russia again. I yearned for Russian communication. Everything here happens absolutely amazingly at you: in the evening you can be invited to visit, you will come and suddenly you will meet with friends of a famous writer, artist or even minister! New acquaintances are made and your circle of friends expands. Therefore, when I was offered a job here, I immediately agreed. And the company for which I am currently working has interested me primarily because I asked here in Russia to create a project from scratch. It was very interesting. Besides the philosophy of AUDEMARS PIGUET is very close to me. This is an independent small company with family management. The board of directors is still relatives of Jules-Louis Audemar and Edward-Augusta Piguet. The plant is located in the mountains of Switzerland. Frost in Russia - 40-50 degrees. When I got there for the first time, I was very warmly welcomed. I am such a person that I value communication most of all.

S: Maybe work in the watch company is also interesting for you because the watch is also a kind of tradition?

 - Yes of course. In AUDEMARS PIGUET, traditions are very important. I did not understand why watches can cost so much until I saw the production with my own eyes. Every watchmaker who sits there, with such calm and joy, does its work, which alone is amazing! In the clock all the most important is inside. It is possible to put 250-300 parts together so that they spin and work, only in a state of complete peace of mind and love for their work. And here the traditions of craftsmanship and the transfer of ancient performance technologies are just important. that the company in which I work, adheres to this particular direction in the business, and not chasing the number of models and large volumes. We do limited, unique things that can be inherited. Because each owner of our watches is, in fact, the owner of the jewelry.

S: What role does the interior play in creating the right family atmosphere?

 - I do not like too modern interiors: they have no soul. For me the most important thing is to put the icon first, as I was taught, and then - around - the necessary furniture. I love traditional wooden furniture. I was brought up like that. When grandma read me fairy tales and described interiors there, she explained to me that she