News

News

I Pledge to Serve Your Interests

On December, 12, 1937, Mikhail Alexandrovich Sholokhov was first elected to the highest representative body of the state power – the Supreme Soviet of the People’s Deputies. The voters trusted their countryman, writer, to represent them in the following years, and Sholokhov performed his parliamentary duties until the end of his life.

On November, 30, 1937, meeting with the voters at the Novocherkassk S.M.Budyonny Locomotive Works MP candidate Sholokhov said that he highly appreciated the trust of the voters and moreover, he was glad to run for by one of the Don electoral districts.

The writer was serious about performing the deputy duties. He regularly met with the voters, conducted a reception in the district Executive Committee of Vyoshenskaya, where he had a deputy reception room, and in his study at home. Sholokhov said: “The deputy duties are difficult. The deputy must be responsive to all requests and complaints of the voters. The deputy is an active worker and a zealous supervisor on implementation of the government’s decisions in the field. I pledge to serve your interests…”

In his efforts to fulfill the voters’ mandate he got a deeper insight into all the economic problems. In 1946, speaking at the meeting with the voters of Stanitsa Vyoshenskaya Mikhail Alexandrovich said:” The Government has allotted a lot of money for revival of the Vyoshensky District. But it is necessary to exert every effort and a lot of energy in order to use the local opportunities. Our task in the coming year or two is to turn the ruined Stanitsa Vyoshenskaya in the beautiful and prosperous place as it was before the war.

The writer’s secretary, A.A.Zimovnov, remembered: “Mikhail Alexandrovich was critical and judicious about the order of the voters. He said: “The order of the voters should be real; taking the mandate it is necessary to consider the possibility of its implementation. The voters will not be offended if they are explained the impossibility of the performance, but to promise and fail is an empty rhetoric; who likes it?”

As the deputy of the Supreme Soviet, Sholokhov contributed a lot in the development of the Don country, Vyoshensky District, Stanitsa Vyoshenskaya. Under the writer’s support the largest cotton mill was built in Shakhti, the North Caucasian Centre of high education was founded in Rostov-on-Don, the Starocherkassk Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve was opened, many cities and villages of our region were well arranged.

Owing to the deputy work of Sholokhov Stanitsa Vyoshenskaya in the 1930-s was provided a telephone connection and radio, a new hospital, maternity house, X-ray study, pharmacy, power plant, Pioneer House, kindergarten, library, bathhouse, Farmer’s House were built. In 1933, Mikhail Alexandrovich had an agricultural pedagogical school opened, which was later reorganized into a teacher training school.

In the 1950 – 60-s, with the support of the deputy Sholokhov, the power station was reconstructed, cinema “Don”, food factory, feed mill, bank, shops, Palace of Culture, the houses of police station, recruitment office, school were built in Stanitsa Vyoshenskaya, the national road Millerovo – Vyoshenskaya was constructed, which connected the north of the Rostov Region and the railway Station, and the regional centre. The construction of roads to the Rostov Region villages began. On the initiative and support of Sholokhov a television repeater was constructed, and in 1967, the countrymen of Stanitsa Vyoshenskaya and other Upper Don villages could watch telecasts from Moscow.

The writer contributed his Lenin Prize won for the novel “Virgin Soil Upturned” for a school construction in Stanitsa Karghinskaya. After a year and a half the school was built. Following it a number of schools in Bokovsky and Vyoshensky regions were opened.

In the 1970 – 1980-s, under the deputy support of Sholokhov a medical and health resort “Vyoshensky” and a modern airport were built.

In June of 1982, according to the deputy request of Sholokhov, a construction of gas pipeline in the Vyoshensky District was included in the plan of the Ministry of Gas Industry. Later a gas distribution station was built. In the same year, on the deputy initiative, a construction of a bridge across the River Don began and came to completion late in 1985. Mikhail Alexandrovich took part and helped in planting pine-trees on the sands around the stanitsa, in solving many acute environmental problems.

According to A.A. Zimovnov, the countrymen of Vyoshenskaya and villagers came to the deputy at any time of day especially they liked to visit him early in the morning before the agricultural work started. They came to him with their problems, troubles and complaints about the local authorities, with requests and proposals. He listened attentively to everyone leaving no request without consideration. The problems concerning the local authorities were discussed on the telephone in no time. Sometimes a visitor had not got home yet, when his problem had been already settled. Naturally, the people liked it, so the credibility for the deputy grew enhanced…”

A great deal of daily correspondence of Mikhail Alexandrovich was a few postman bags. The people wrote to him from all parts of the country; personal and official letters covered quite a wide range of subjects. As a deputy, Sholokhov tried to participate in the life of each person in need.

M.Fomenko, Secretary of the Rostov Regional CPSU Committee, recalled: “Mikhail Alexandrovich is a permanent deputy of the USSR Supreme Soviet. He is in extensive correspondence with the voters. The people propose, consult with him and ask for assistance. And he wants to answer every letter, to support everything useful; he knows very well that behind the letter is a living person. It is Sholokhov, who from one must learn the responsibility in implementation of deputy duties!”

Many letters are marked that they were sent to the Supreme Court, to the Regional Administration or to the CPSU bodies. Generally, the deputy petitions of Sholokhov got positive responses: a disabled was sent a wheelchair or a car, a sick child was put to hospital or sanatorium, a veteran of war or labour was allocated a flat, a person, who violated the law, but was fully aware of his guilt, was reduced a sentence.

An invalid of the Great Patriotic War, G.I. Kochetov, applied to the writer for help in obtaining a sanatorium pass to recover his health. The answer came after three days: Sholokhov asked what type of sanatorium he needed. The invalid got a pass for Kislovodsk. G.I. Kochetov recalled:” He breathed a new life into me. I often think: such a great man, a writer, he found time to take care of us, soldiers, peasants, workers. It must be because he himself was on the front, in the trenches, he saw the people’s blood shed in the fight for their country, and, certainly, he could not but give his help to a veteran”.

The people of the Don region nominated Sholokhov a candidate and elected him the Deputy of the Supreme Soviet for several terms running. A.T.Kalinina, a farmer of the Sholokhov collective farm, said:” Sholokhov is our countryman, a truly national writer. He came from the people and keeps a close relationship with us. The works of Mikhail Alexandrovich are very popular not only in our country, but also among workers all over the world. As the deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the second convocation Mikhail Alexandrovich honorably acquitted the trust of our people, and I won’t be wrong to nominate him again”.

Sholokhov was the deputy of the 1 – 10 convocations of the USSR Supreme Soviet. He said: “I feel the closest relationship with the lives of my countrymen. Collective farmers and workers – I live among them all my life, I work with them side by side…”. The writer saw his task “to serve man-worker with his art, to do his best to make the life of his countrymen better.

Tatiyaya Galitsyna