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He Fought for His Country

The exhibition “He Fought for His Country. The Last Role of V.M.Shukshin” will open at the festival “Shukshin Days in Altai” on July, 25, in the village of Srostki. This is a joint project of the two museums – the All-Russian Memorial Museum-Reserve of V.M.Shukshin and the National M.A.Sholokhov Museum-Reserve, – which is dedicated to the 85^th anniversary of the actor, film-director and writer.

The exhibition is based on the documents relating to shooting the film “They Fought for Their Country”, where V.M.Shukshin acted as Lopakhin, that became his last role. More than forty exhibits from the collection of the Museum-Reserve of M.A.Sholokhov will be displayed: a typewritten novel sheet edited by the author, one of the first publications of the novel chapters in the newspaper “Pravda” (May, 8, 1943), letters of veterans to Sholokhov with their review of the novel “They Fought for Their Country”, photos of shooting the film (1974) and its premiere in Stanitsa Vyoshenskaya (April, 17, 1975).

There are photos showing the visit of the camera crew in Vyoshenskaya and their meeting with M.A.Sholokhov on June, 10, 1974. On that day Sholokhov and Shukshin got acquainted. After the meeting Mikhail Alexandrovich said: ”I like Shukshin very much. He is serious about Lopakhin. In my mind he fits the character…

Reminiscing about the meeting Shukshin said: “To me, Sholokhov is a personification of a chronicler… Sholokhov has transformed me. He inspired me – not in words, but in his presence in Vyoshenskaya and in literature – that it’s no good in hurrying and chasing records in art, but you should seek for peace and quietness, where you can deeply comprehend the destiny of the nation… Sholokhov is a sage. A charming person. It turned out that he knew me better than I knew him…”

The exhibition “He Fought for His Country.The Last Role of V.M.Shukshin” will run in Srostki until October, 10. It is planned to be a travelling exhibition to be presented in the districts of the Altai Territory.

Oksana Turchina