In 1974 he graduated with honors from the Surikov Moscow Art Institute (workshop of Lev Kerbel).

Since 1993, he has been the head of the Department of Sculpture at the Surikov Moscow Art Institute.

[1] Rukavishnikov is a regular participant in all-Russian and international art exhibitions.

Rukavishnikov's personal exhibitions were held at the Central House of Artists and in the halls of the Russian Academy of Arts in Moscow, at the Nassau Museum of Contemporary Art (USA), at the Dielemann Gallery (Belgium) and in other museums and exhibition halls around the world.

[4] The works of Rukavishnikov are kept in the collections of the Tretyakov Gallery, the Russian Museum, the Ludwig Museum, Siemens, Hermes, John Wilson, and numerous private and corporate collections.