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“Sholokhov Spring-2013” in the Homeland of Mikhail Sholokhov

For the 28^th time the Upper Don, Sholokhov country, was visited by those who appreciate the writer’s work, realize its importance, who love the true folk culture of the Don region. Thousands of people came to Vyoshenskaya to join the festival dedicated to the author who gained the top of the world literature of the XX century.

The holiday was also held in Kruzhilin Village, where Sholokhov was born, and in Stanitsa Karghinskaya, where he started his literary career, and in Vyoshenskaya, where he had lived and worked for long years among his fellow-countrymen dear to his heart.

In Vyoshenskaya, the day began with putting flowers to the tomb of the writer and to his bust at the Don embankment to follow with the museum activities for schoolchildren. They were devoted to the intransient value of bread and were entitled “Everything in the World Owes to Bread”. In the Children Museum Centre and the People’s House the young residents and guests of Vyoshenskaya shared their knowledge about bread, guessed the riddles, made souvenirs and  followed the way of a little grain from an ear in the field to a loaf on the table. The opening ceremony of the holiday took place on the square of Vyoshenskaya at 17. The public was greeted by Director of the National M.A.Sholokhov Museum-Reserve, A.M.Sholokhov, and the Rostov Region Minister of Culture A.A.Rezvanov. They wished to the young participants in the children literary and folklore holiday “Vyoshenskiye Vesnushki” to join the traditions laid by Mikhail Alexandrovich Sholokhov.

On the central stage there was invited a boy, who was born 8 years ago, on the day of the 100^th anniversary of the great writer, and in honour of him was given a name of Mikhail. A.M.Sholokhov greeted “the Museum’s god-child” Misha Kirillov and presented him a bicycle.

The children holiday “Vyoshenskiye Vesnushki” went on with the performance of young singers, dancers and school amateur groups.

In the evening the hall of the Palace of Culture was packed. The artistic and journalistic recital “The Great Son of the Don” was joined by the song and dance group of the Don Cossacks named after A.Kvasov, folk groups from Ukraine, Abkhazia and Mordovia.

An old admirer of Sholokhov’s art, the famous Spanish poet Antonio Perpetta, said in his greeting speech that he was glad to come to the writer’s homeland, where the air is impregnated with the big history events, where the lives of Sholokhov’s personages inspired the generations of men of letters for creative work.

The leaders of the concert including the writer’s great grandson, Pyotr Sholokhov, a student of the Rostov branch of the Saint-Petersburg University of Culture and Art, recited Sholokhov’s lines, passages from the books of his favourite authors, the words of the Don writers about the great countryman.

The second day of the festival, May, 25, was opened with a merry dramatized reveille, a march of the folk groups through the streets of Stanitsa Vyoshenskaya. The amateur performers aroused a festive mood for the whole day. The “Sholokhov Spring” filled and flourished the stanitsa with colourful folk dresses; Cossack songs were heard everywhere, the dancers enjoyed their merry competition. On the stages of the central square the folk groups from the Rostov, Krasnodar, Stavropol, Moscow, Volgograd, Ryazan, Penza regions, Alania, Mordovia, Ukraine and Abkhazia made a fascinating show of various music cultures and traditions.

The literary part of the holiday got a special emphasis: a presentation of the newly published “Sholokhov Encyclopedia” took place in the central district library of Vyoshenskaya. Deputy President of the Fund “Sholokhov Encyclopedia”, General Director of the Publishing House “Sinergia”, E.A.Bessmertnykh, said that it was a result of a years’ work commenced in 2001. He spoke about the stages of the work over such an ambitious edition, about its structure, difficulties they had to overcome within the ten years. The book has turned one-volume of 1217 pages containing 1000 illustrations, 114 authors, over 700 articles. The editorial board includes the members of the writer’s family – S.M.Sholokhova, M.M.Sholokhov, M.M.Sholokhova, A.M.Sholokhov. The edition had been financed by Gasprombank for the past 7 years.

Y.A.Dvoryashin, the chief editor of the Encyclopedia, Philology Doctor, professor, the leading scientist of the Institute of the World Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences, spoke about the contents of the encyclopedia, the authors, well-known Russian and foreign scholars of Sholokhov’s works, who tried to highlight most completely all the matters of life and art of the classic writer. The introductory article was written with the utmost truth by the writer’s son, Mikhail Mikhailovich Sholokhov.

A gift copy of the new edition was given to the National M.A.Sholokhov Museum-Reserve. L.P.Razogreyeva, Deputy Director, chief curator of the Museum, noted that 36 workers of the Museum-Reserve took part in writing the articles. The coverage of the material is huge, hundreds of materials were systematized and equipped with archival links. The edition of the Encyclopedia makes a good ground for the further work and proves that Sholokhov cannot be silenced.

The holiday of “Sholokhov Spring-2013” was joined by the Head of the Rostov Region Administration, V.Y.Golubev. He visited Kruzhilin Village, the house, where the writer was born, took part in the ethnographic festival in the Museum Cossack farmstead, visited the House-Museum in the Estate of M.A.Sholokhov in Vyoshenskaya, put flowers to the tomb of the writer, visited, Lebyazhy Yar, one of his favourite places.

He said that “Sholokhov Spring” is 28, it takes a special place in our life, and we must keep the tradition for the young people to know Sholokhov, the Don country and Cossacks. ”Sholokhov Spring” is a great experience to be spread all over the Rostov Region and the whole country, because the art of Sholokhov is closely connected with the Don, Russia and the most important stages of its history.

The centre of the stanitsa, as a tradition, turned into a busy fair of the Don arts and crafts. There were various souvenirs, original Cossack utensils, clay ware and wickerwork. Lots of attractions were to entertain the children.

Makeshift Cossack houses on the central square invited guests to try traditional Cossack cuisine, to sing songs and dance.

In the evening, a buoyant stage flourished with bright lights to start a festival gala concert performed by the song and dance groups from many parts of the country. The dramatized program “The Fate of a Man is the Fate of the Country” lasted for two hours. The Head of the Rostov Region Administration, V.Y.Golubev, made his greeting speech for the festival public. He said that the main line of the works of M.A.Sholokhov is love for people, life and his country. The Don land has raised many famous people, but the name of Mikhail Sholokhov always ranks first. The Governor wished a further prosperity and development.

The concert was followed by the great fireworks of an original design which was a bright illumination in the sky of Vyoshenskaya. According to the tradition, 108 small lit candles were let float down the river Don to symbolize the age of the writer.

Alexey Kochetov