News
Sholokhov and Gagarin: A Historic Meeting
07.03.2014
On March, 9, Yury Alexeyevich Gagarin, the first cosmonaut of the planet, would be 80. On this day the people of Vyoshenskaya, with a high emotion, will remember this man, who illumed with a radiant smile his unprecedented feat and glorious earthly course.
Y.A.Gagarin and M.A.Sholokhov, the two most famous people of the XX century, were in very warm and hearty relations. Stanitsa Vyoshenskaya gave a warm reception for the first cosmonaut on June, 13–14, 1967. Everywhere he was accompanied by admiring glances of the residents. The writer’s son, M.M.Sholokhov, remembered Gagarin: “A charming boy, my God!.. Gagarin was a person appealing with his charm just within a moment and particularly by his remarkable human qualities”.
That unforgettable meeting remains in the memory of P.I.Mayatsky, the former First Secretary of the Vyoshensky District Communist Party Committee, G.E.Vashchayev, the former First Secretary of the Vyoshensky District Young Communist League Committee, Larisa Vasilyeva, a poetess, and many others. A vivid evidence of the hearty reception in Vyoshenskaya is the photos kept in the collection stores of the Museum-Reserve.
V.I.Chumakov, a photo correspondent of the local paper, imprinted the touching moments of visiting the Upper Don by the first cosmonaut and a group of young writers who came with him. Look closely at these photos and you will see a friendly atmosphere, easy communication and mutual interest of all the participants of that historic meeting.
Larisa Bukina
