Maxim Soldatov

Architect · In the business since 2020

Portfolio

Fragments

I'm 30, and it hurts me to say it))

When I was born, my mum was 19 and my dad was 22.

Talking about what kind of person I am is serious stress for me. There are no absolutes I could apply to myself.

On the whole, I'm a very calm and level-headed person; I rarely show my emotions openly.

The most important thing for me is harmony and balance with myself.

There's a very vivid picture in my memory of riding a bike for the first time, at about six. Before that I just couldn't do it and was very upset. Mum said: "Ser, look, Maxim's riding!" Dad was opening a bottle of beer at that very moment, so he didn't notice straight away.

Once, when I was eight, my mum watched "Dirty Dancing" and signed me up for ballroom dancing, dreaming I'd become like Patrick Swayze. But it turned out Maxim could dance even better.

I have old videos of my father and my godfather dancing at parties. They really moved in a cool way; they danced like gods. I think that influenced me a lot.

At school I was always known as a polite, well-mannered boy who held doors open for people. And everyone was very surprised when I got drunk, climbed through a window into the school disco and shouted something while the deputy head led me out of the hall.

My father makes printed products for news kiosks. He's handy, can do anything around the house and has two university degrees. He has always worked for himself, as do I. He's kind, honest and fair, but his example shows once again that life is unfair, and people who deserve better don't get it.

By education I'm a specialist in information and measurement technology. I was supposed to check meters and develop measuring equipment for factories; in short, do something that was already outdated while I was studying. I'm also a qualified technical translator from English.

I don't let anyone walk all over me or ride on my back, at work or in personal matters.

Everything I have now is entirely my own doing.

A person is just a unit in the world who, in essence, is nothing special and has no global influence on anything. Nobody in this world needs us; everything would be fine without us. These words horrify me too, but it's a fact.

In difficult situations I immediately picture and accept the worst outcome that could happen. And when I realise nobody will die from it, I simply relax and stop worrying.

I'm a fatalist, and I believe I've already lived a pretty good life. And even if I'm destined to die soon, then so be it.

Sometimes you just need to stop and take in what's happening.

Relationships are there so you can achieve more than you could without them; that is, to make yourself stronger.

"I can't, I don't want to, I don't know" have nothing to do with me.

I take responsibility and my commitments seriously. I'm not such a flake after all.

I've always chosen the wrong girls for relationships, and I still do.

When my mum was 30, she already had an eleven-year-old son, and all I have growing are flowers on the windowsill. But at least they grow and don't wilt.

My second cousin, my uncle, influenced me a lot. He visited us sometimes: a cool two-metre guy in glasses who told funny stories and helped me figure out the computer. I looked at him and was inspired. In the end, thanks to him, I went into IT.

My favourite author is Erich Maria Remarque. I've read all his books.

The main principle of my life is that everything is relative. There's nothing good or bad, kind or evil; there isn't even such a thing as normal.

It matters to me to be better than I was yesterday, and that matters more than beating someone.

My life is a constant swing from "I'm the best" to "I'm so bad at what I do": a classic narcissist in a depressive phase.

When I win a competition, I'll go out and show off, play to the crowd, but inside there'll be this feeling: "Really? Seriously? They're applauding me? I came first?"

As a kid it was hard to find a dance partner for me because I was always short, and I still consider it my curse.

Hip-hop is an individual style: you dance, improvise and do it on your own. In social partner dancing you improvise with someone you've never seen before. I didn't understand that before and thought: how is that even possible? A few years ago I came back to dancing, and now I dance and teach bachata.

I don't ask myself "why do I dance?". That's simply who I am. It's an inseparable part of my life.

We are all individual and the same at the same time.

I have no trouble limiting myself in food, sweets or alcohol, but I just can't sort out my daily routine.

In beach volleyball, if you see your opponent dip psychologically at some point, you start pressing exactly there, and then the whole game is built around them and their weakness.

I have a predisposition to chat.

I'm selfish; I won't deny it.

I like comparing a conversation to a tree with branches growing out of it. Each topic is a separate branch with new ones growing from it. And you have to keep track of it all and hold it in your head so you don't forget to explore each one.

My own imperfection annoys me.

Don't underestimate my power.

Maybe humour is my defence mechanism against questions that require soul-searching.

I love making lists and structuring everything.

Last year, for Defender of the Fatherland Day, I gave myself a blacksmithing masterclass and forged a ring, like in the Middle Ages. Now I wear it all the time.

I'm not who I could be in my best version.

Never once in my life have I arrived at work by 9 a.m. or worked in an office with colleagues and a boss.

Someday I'll go to bed early.

If life forces me, I'll force it to go the way I need.

I regret spending so little time with my family.

The phrase "other half" implies that a person has problems they can't solve on their own and want to shift onto someone else, to fill something in themselves at the other person's expense, and that's wrong. I want to be a whole person and be with someone equally whole.

In the bachata scene, many people know me as the partner with the calmest and most comfortable lead.

Most people are wonderful once we get to know them better.

I finally left dancing for web development in 2013, when I learned that a dancer's earnings at the time topped out at around 100,000 roubles a month, and that was for people far above my level. I figured my head would let me earn more than my body could in the long run. And I was right.

The first website I made was about myself, my dance skills and achievements.

I like what I do, I know where I'm going and where I'm heading, but sometimes my motivation dips.

I work with a website, its internals and its external environment so that it ranks high in search engines: so that as many people as possible visit, and so there's a higher chance of conversions that bring the client profit.

What I like about my work is that I deal with different people and businesses, and that I have a certain freedom of action and choice over what to do and what not to do.

Few clients understand what an SEO specialist's work actually involves; it's sort of hidden from view. That's why there's a lot of deception in my field, and clients can be sceptical.

My experience has shown that first of all you need to build a good reputation and reviews. At the start of my career, money wasn't the main incentive; the main incentive was feedback. And it still works.

It means a lot to me when someone recommends me as a specialist or when clients come back after several years.

My strength at work is honesty and taking responsibility for my words, promises and guarantees, meeting deadlines and keeping agreements. Plus, I can set technical tasks for myself and close them by working with the website's code.

If I like a project and I'm really invested in the result, the result is achieved precisely and unconditionally; I'll do everything to get there.

In ten years I'd like to see myself in a leadership position. I'm aware of a certain capacity in myself to lead.

I'm good at negotiating with people and resolving conflicts; I choose my words well in those situations.

There are clients who motivate me and charge me up to achieve results. I learn a lot in those cases.

I'm comfortable working with people who don't get into anything and just pay the money, but I get no satisfaction from the result of that kind of work.

Unfortunately, I can't give myself a proper holiday and stop working completely, even for a while.

There are no bad clients, only people who aren't a good fit for each other.