With over 35 years of experience as a decorator, he gained recognition not only in his native Jaiyl district but also beyond its borders, receiving offers from various organizations that provided him with materials for construction, housing, and even a car.
Mikhail Ivanovich was born on November 18, 1945, in the village of Novo-Nikolaevka, located in the Kalinin district (now Jaiyl). He grew up in a large family of collective farmers, where his parents worked in the Engels collective farm: his father was a pre-war disabled veteran and worked on the farm, while his mother worked in the sugar beet fields.
His mother’s words remained in his memory: “The hardest part was irrigation. We dug the ditches by hand, and when the water started to flow, its force washed everything away. To hold the ditch, women lay along its banks in the icy water.”
The family life of the Bondarevs was full of trials: three of Mikhail's brothers and his sister died under various circumstances, leaving him alone with his mother.
Despite all the hardships, Mikhail preserved his love for art. He graduated from a vocational school in Przhevalsk with a degree in carpentry, receiving a red diploma, and soon was drafted into the army.
A key moment in his life was the announcement of recruitment for the House of Folk Art in Frunze, where he chose the specialty of "drawing and painting."
“I was a good carpenter, but my heart always yearned for art,” he shares his memories.
In a unique way, Mikhail learned by sending his drawings from the army to his mother, who then passed them on to teachers in Frunze and returned them with comments. Thus, he completed the artist courses.
After his military service, several organizations invited him to work. He was engaged in decorating clubs, offices, production stands, and honor boards in a mechanized construction organization.
“I worked in the building of the MCO, which still exists today – it is located on Central Street (now Jaiyl Batyr). It was a club and a meeting place for builders who erected sheepfolds, collective farms, and apartment buildings,” Bondarev recounts.
Shortly thereafter, he was invited to the club of the Novo-Nikolaevka collective farm, where he was allocated materials for building a house. He then spent five years teaching drafting and drawing at the school in his native village. At his new workplace — in PMK-1 — he was provided with an apartment and a service car.
“The work of a decorator was not only creative but also extremely responsible. At a time when digital technologies did not exist, all slogans, wall newspapers, and sanitary bulletins were created by hand. Nowadays, this can be done using software, but back then, this work was the responsibility of only qualified and responsible people. The profession of a decorator was one of the most respected,” emphasizes Mikhail Ivanovich.
Today, reflecting on his life, he remains a devoted man to art.
