News

News

The 85th Anniversary of the First Edition of the Works by M.A.Sholokhov in Foreign Languages

In February of 2014, it is the 85^th anniversary of the first foreign language edition of the works by M.A.Sholokhov, the world-known Russian writer, the winner of the Nobel and State prizes.

The first publication in a foreign language was the short story “Alyoshka’s Heart” issued in Polish by the Moscow publisher “Inoizdat” in February of 1929.

In October, 1929, in Berlin, the first book of the novel “And Quiet Flows the Don” translated into German by Olga Gabbor (Galpern) was issued by “Literatur und Politik” publisher. It was the first foreign edition of the novel. The second book of the novel was issued by the same publishing house in October of 1930. The annotation to the book reads: “…Three years ago for the first time in Russian literature we heard the name of this young Cossack, who is known now to be one of the most talented writers of new Russia… Sholokhov in his novel “And Quiet Flows the Don” portrays Cossacks of the Don, descendants of Stepan Razin, Bulavin, Pugachov, those insurgents, whose deeds still shine forth in the history…” (Weiskopf F.,”Die Linkskurve”, 1929, № 3 (October).

In 1929, following the publication of the novel, German literary critics wrote: “Sholokhov’s “And Quiet Flows the Don” is a fulfillment of the promises which the young Soviet literature made for the West who began harking to it. The novel “And Quiet Flows the Don” shows how the new literature is developing, the literature, which is strong by its originality, broad and boundless like the Russian steppe, young and invincible like the new generation there, in the Soviet Union. And what was only in the bud in the works of young Russian novelists (“The Defeat” by A.Fadeyev, “The Bars” by F.Panfyorov, stories by M.Babel (Ivanov))– a new point of view, approach to the problem from an unexpected aspect, power of artistic representation – all these  have been entirely developed in Sholokhov’s novel. By the grandeur of its conception, diversity of life and profoundness of its embodiment the novel “And Quiet Flows the Don” resembles “The War and Peace” by Leo Tolstoy.

In January, 1930, in Paris, a French translation of the novel “And Quiet Flows the Don” by M.A.Sholokhov was published followed by those issued in Swedish in Stockholm (August), in Spanish in Madrid (October), in Czech in Prague (November) and in Dutch in Amsterdam (December).

O.Ferber, professor of Slavic studies, said about the work of M.A.Sholokhov on the pages of “Die Literatur” ( Stuttgart, 1930): “Of the many books about war we have lacked in the outstanding Russian work… “And Quiet Flows the Don” is an event not only from the literary point of view. It is simultaneously a discovery of the people. And the fact that the circulation of “And Quiet Flows the Don” exceeded the one of Remark’s novel “There are No Changes on the Western Front” makes us turn our look from the narrow world of decrepit Europe at the peoples of the East…” (p. 152–153).

In 1931, this novel by M.A.Sholokhov was published in Tokyo in Japanese and in Shanghai –in Chinese.

In Denmark all the three books were published during 1932–1934. The first book of the novel “And Quiet Flows the Don” was issued in the publishing house of “Gyuldendal” (Denmark, Kopenhagen) in Danish translation by Anna Chemerinskaya-Kon. The second book of this novel was issued by the same publisher in March of 1933. The Danish newspaper “Lolland-Falsters Venstreblat” (May, 13, 1932) went that “Sholokhov is the great Russian writer, a new Tolstoy who has come out of the trenches” and that “his novel “And Quiet Flows the Don” is magnificent in description of the maelstrom of human lives and great in his art of narration…”

In 1933, in Denmark, there appeared the first publication of the novel “Virgin Soil Upturned” translated by Edward Shimann, under the editorship of the writer Gervart Valden.

In 1934, the works of M.A.Sholokhov were published in foreign languages in Warsaw, London, New-York and Sofia. In March, the publishing house “Putnam” in London issued the first two books of the novel “And Quiet Flows the Don” in one volume. That year the publisher “Putnam” carried out 10 publications of the novel with a total circulation of 98150 copies (Priyma K.”The Quiet Don” is Fighting”. Rostov.1983.p.205).

Within May and July of 1934, the Sunday supplement of the English newspaper “Sunday Grahpic” (London) began publishing the chapters from the novel “And Quiet Flows the Don” announced with: “And Quiet Flows the Don” is the book that surprised the world! None of the works of late has come close in its strength, emotion and ruthless realism to this magnificent saga of Russian life… Today, “Sunday Graphic” starts publication of the outstanding, one of the most sensational, truthful and charming novels ever written”. (A.F.Struchkov. “Russian Epic of the XX century”.//”Literaturnaya Rossiya”. 2004. N 4 (p.13–14).

On July, 15, 1934, the American newspaper “The New-York Times” declared that “Sholokhov is a true artist, who has widely glorified himself in Europe. His novel “And Quiet Flows the Don” seems to breathe with poetry, all its pages are imbued with scents of spring and flowering Cossack steppe. He shows real human feelings living under the surface rudeness. Throughout the novel Sholokhov remains an artist, but not a propagandist, though he does not disguise his Soviet ideology.

In August of 1934, a literary critic Edwin Siver wrote in the American newspaper “The New Republic”: “…The novel “And Quiet Flows the Don” overwhelms with a deep realism depicting a historical shock… But for Sholokhov it would take several generations of writers to understand objectively the nature of the socialist revolution in Russia…”

In 1934, the Polish publishing house “Roj” issued the novel by M.A.Sholokhov “Virgin Soil Upturned” translated by H.Pilichowska. Several months later the first two parts of the novel “And Quiet Flows the Don” translated by A.Stavar were published. The following parts of the novel “And Quiet Flows the Don” except the last two parts were issued in 1935 and 1938 in translation by A.Stavar and W.Rogowiez.

In 1935, the works of M.A.Sholokhov were published in Budapest and Zagreb. Later, in 1941, in Hungary the novel “And Quiet Flows the Don” was published in a highly abbreviated form. The publisher was arrested and accused of high treason by the Procuracy (Lendel B. Sholokhov in Hungary. Moscow, 1980).

In1941, in England, the third and the fourth books of the novel “And Quiet Flows the Don” translated by Stephen Garry were published in one volume.

In 1946, the first book of the novel “Virgin Soil Upturned” was published for the first time in the German Democratic Republic. In the Federal Republic of Germany the novel “And Quiet Flows the Don” was published in three books (printed in the publishing house of H.F. Kraus, New-York).

In 1950, in Beijing, the novel “Virgin Soil Upturned” translated by Zhou Li Bo was issued by the publisher “Shenho” (“Life”).

1957. The story “The Fate of a Man” translated into French and with the foreword by Jean Cathala was published in the “Littérature Soviétique”. In Germany, the monthly “Sonntag” published the story “The Fate of a Man” translated into German by O.Brown.

In 1959, “The Tales from the Don” and “Golden Steppe” in Bulgarian were published in Sofia. In Paris, a complete edition of the novel “And Quiet Flows the Don” translated by Antoine Vitez was issued in the publisher “René Julliard”.

The novel “And Quiet Flows the Don” translated into English by Robert Daglish came out in the “Publisher of Literature in Foreign Languages”, Moscow.

In 1960, the newspaper “Borba” of the “Soyuzny Veche” organ (Belgrade, Yugoslavia) published the novel by M.A.Sholokhov “Virgin Soil Upturned” in a complete version. Bratko Kreft, a writer, academician of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Art, wrote, that the Soviet literature owing to the novel “And Quiet Flows the Don” ranks first in the modern world novel” (Lyublyana, 1956).

From 1960 to 1962, the newspaper “L’Humanité” (Paris) published the entire novel “And Quiet Flows the Don” in chapters. André Stil, chief editor of the “L’Humanité”, wrote: “And Quiet Flows the Don” is a living breathing of the history not in the abstract ideas, dates, numbers, but from the height of the Man, together with his life, aspirations and sufferings, his everyday concerns and hopes, that is, this novel bears in itself unusually bright and affordable images, thoughts, facts of life, which every man and every woman can see with their own eyes and appreciate, for this is a novel of the undying and passionate love”.

1960. The publisher “Putnam” in London edited the second book of the novel “Virgin Soil Upturned”. The following year, “The Tales from the Don” in English were published by “Putnam” and New-York publisher of Alfred A.Knopf.

Within 1962–1964, collected works of M.A.Sholokhov in eight volumes were published in Bulgarian.

In 1964, the publishing house “Gallimard” in Paris issued the novel “Virgin Soil Upturned” translated into French and supplied with a foreword by Jean Cathala.

In 1966, the novel “And Quiet Flows the Don” in complete version was published in Teheran by the “NIL” publisher in a Percian translation by Bekh-azin… In Beirut the novel “And Quiet Flows the Don” translated into French by Michele Suleiman was published in a complete version.

1967. In Moscow, the “Publisher of Literature in Foreign Languages” issued the novel “Virgin Soil Upturned” (the second book) translated by Robert Daglish.

In Poland, the publisher “Panstwowe Institut Wydawnicze, Warszawa, edited the story “The Fate of a Man”.

The works by M.A.Sholokhov, exciting, profoundly realistic and true national, are highly appreciated by the world readers’ community, as evidenced by numerous international and domestic awards. The works of the world-known Russian writer were published 1408 times in total circulation of 105 349 943 copies in more than 90 languages.

Galina Zhidkoblinova