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M.A.Sholokhov: ”You Must Show the Truth about Soldier’s Life”

40 years ago, on June, 10, 1974, the camera crew of the film “They Fought for Their Country” met with M.A.Sholokhov in Stanitsa Vyoshenskaya. The film shooting was carried out near Vyoshenskaya, in Melologovsky Village the Volgograd Region, where in the summer of 1942, a fierce fighting took place. The writer himself suggested this site for filming.

S.Bondarchuk, V.Shukshin, Y.Nikulin,V.Tikhonov, G.Burkov, I.Lapikov, V.Usov, I.Lazarenko came to meet with the writer. Y.Nikulin reminisced: “During the film shooting we visited Mikhail Alexandrovich Sholokhov to consult and clarify some details. We came late in the evening, spent a night in a hotel. In the morning we called at the bookshop and bought books by Sholokhov for him to make his autographs for our memory. We were hospitably welcomed. I saw him for the first time. A firm handshake, a look of smart lively eyes. Mikhail Alexandrovich spoke quietly and unhurriedly. We asked him for his autographs at once.

“– No, no, – he protested. – I can’t write anything to such nice people in a hurry, not at any price! I will think it over and then write some good words to each of you. Don’t leave the books. I will send you mine.”

Then, sitting at a long table in the big room we were having coffee. We were talking lively mostly about the film: how to shoot, how to act and listened to the writer’s wishes.

Mikhail Alexandrovich spoke about the difficulty of writing and film making about war. “But you must show the truth about soldier’s life. Let everything be true. Soldier’s life needs no embellishing. It would be good to show how it was in reality. After all, the second year of the war was difficult for our army.”

We spent nearly three hours talking. Sholokhov was telling how he started writing that novel on the proposal of Stalin and how it was first published. We listened to Sholokhov with interest. He spoke vividly and convincingly.

At the end of the talk I asked Mikhail Alexandrovich, when finishing his novel, not to kill Nekrasov. I would very much like my Nekrasov to live to the victory, to live for the great number of those Nekrasovs, with whom I had fought together and who got no chance to see it.”

The meeting with Sholokhov produced an indelible impression on Shukshin. Recalling it Vasily Makarovich confessed: “Sholokhov turned me inside out… He infected me with his way of life. This sage resides in Vyoshenskaya; he lives and thinks, far from the light of city life… I have comprehended my life in a new way. We’ve got a lot of fuss, a lot of emptiness. But Sholokhov – this is serious. This is for life… No, I won’t dissipate my energies any more! This decision came to me after the meeting with Sholokhov.”

In one of his interviews M.A.Sholokhov said: “The film director made the right decision: to show the psychology of a soldier, his inner world, his maturing and hardening in the harsh ordeals of war. We often like to speak about a soldier in general, about a soldier who won in the Great Patriotic War, but the fact is that all the people fought, dressed in field shirts… Nikulin came here wearing just such a field shirt. He wanted to get used to the image… I am looking forward to watching the film personages of “They Fought for Their Country”. I think the film is going to be interesting. The film cast is very interesting too. The company is strong as well as the film director. And the film is gong to be powerful… I think they will succeed...”

And the film was really a hit. It gained a great success among the world TV onlookers, won awards at the international film festivals and entered the Gold Film Fund of the films about the Great Patriotic War.

Elena Popova