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He Devoted His Life to His Father’s Country

On May, 23, 2015, it is the 80^th anniversary of Mikhail Mikhailovich Sholokhov, the writer’s younger son.

Mikhail Mikhailovich was a Candidate of Philosophical Sciences, a docent, he taught philosophy in the Rostov State University, then worked as the head of the Rostov faculty of the Moscow branch of the legal distance education of the Academy of the USSR Ministry of Home Affairs.

He wrote about himself: “I am a biologist by education. But after graduation from the Moscow State University I got interested in philosophy, completed my postgraduate course and became a philosophy teacher in the Rostov University. In this connection my father jokingly called me a philosopher from biology. When I was transferred to work in the Rostov faculty of the Academy of the USSR Ministry of Home Affairs, he asked me in his letter to explain: ”How, Mikhail Mikhailovich, can I call you now – a philosopher from militia or, better, a militiaman from philosophy?”(Sholokhov M.M. About My Father. Essays and Reflections of Different Years. Rostov-on-Don, 2009).

In 1992, he retired in the rank of colonel of the Ministry of Home Affairs, moved to live in Stanitsa Vyoshenskaya and began working as leading scientific worker and chief consultant of the Museum-Reserve of M.A.Sholokhov. Mikhail Mikhailovich made a great contribution in the formation and development of the Museum.

He was a good teacher, adviser and assistant for his new fellow-workers.

In 2004, the book “About My Father.Assays and Reflections of Different Years” by M.M.Sholokhov was published. This work was awarded the International M.A.Sholokhov Prize. The book contains valuable and interesting information about particular events in the life of the writer and his family, talks between the father and son about the events of political life of the country and some philosophical questions.

Mikhail Mikhailovich was the author of a number of articles in periodicals and journals devoted to the writer and Sholokhov country (“Vyoshensky Vestnik”(Sholokhov Study Papers), “Russky Mir”(Russian World) and others).

He helped a lot in holding the All-Russian literary and folklore holiday “Sholokhov Spring”, which has become unique and widely popular, and the children and youth environmental movement “Sholokhov Source”, which is joined by young ecologists from Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Russia.

Thanks to M.M.Sholokhov that the Museum has strengthened its connections with the universities, schools, museums and other institutions. Mikhail Mikhailovich was the member of the Academic and Scientific-Methodical councils of the Museum-Reserve. His numerous travels about Russia and abroad, learning about the culture of other peoples was greatly important for taking competent decisions on the subjects of the Museum activity.

For his long and diligent work on the preservation of cultural heritage M.M.Sholokhov was marked with the Gratitude of the Russian Federation Minister of Culture (2007), with a Letter of Thanks of the Rostov Region Minister of Culture (2009). He was awarded a medal “For Military Cooperation” by the Minister of the Ministry of Home Affairs (2009). In 1990, he became the first chieftain of the established Union of Cossacks of the Voisko Donskoye Region. Later he participated in the work of the Public Chamber of the RF President (2006–2008), was the Honoured Professor of the Moscow M.A.Sholokhov State Humanitarian University, and the winner of the International Prize of M.A.Sholokhov (2004).

Mikhail Mikhailovich died on October, 21, 2013, he was buried in the civilian cemetery of Stanitsa Vyoshenskaya.

Nataliya Kirsanova