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“My Memory of Him will Live in Me as Long as I Live…”

On May, 18, 2015, it is the 85^th anniversary of Alexander Mikhailovich Sholokhov, the writer’s elder son.

Alexander Mikhailovich Sholokhov (1930–1990) in 1953, graduated from the Faculty of Fruit and Vegetable of the Moscow K.A.Timiryazev Agricultural Academy with honours. Alexander Mikhailovich was a Candidate of Agricultural Sciences. He worked as senior researcher in the Nikitsky Botanical Garden, in Yalta, in the Department of Fruit Crops, where he bred new varieties of apples and peaches. Later he was the head of the Department of Plant Mobilization and Introduction. In search of new raw materials he organized expeditions and individual business trips to Central Asia, India and different regions of the Caucasus, where valuable forms of the peach, apricot, cherry-plum and almond were found. He was a co-author of several plum varieties.

To answer the question what Alexander Mikhailovich was in appearance and character Svetlana Mikhailovna Sholokhova said: “In appearance he looked like our father: not tall, thickset, grey-eyed. He was very lively, vigorous, a passionate hunter and fisherman. He was very sociable, temperamental, had many friends, loved student companies, liked singing and playing the accordion. Sasha loved his job, he worked a lot.”

A fellow student of A.M.Sholokhov, V.D.Gorbunov from the Tambov Region, recalling the years of going through Timiryazev Academy together with him wrote in his letter: “Alexander Sholokhov and I studied together not only at the same course, but also in the same group, that is, Fruit and Vegetable one… I should say the student surrounding was heterogeneous. There were three “layers” according to the performance: the first – good achievers, the second – average learners, the third – poor learners.

Certainly, Alexander belonged to the first layer. He easily assimilated the academic material and was regular in attending the lectures. He was interested in the process of learning. By nature he was purposeful, responsive, friendly and perseverant in achieving his goals…”

V.Y.Kotovsky, who knew A.M.Sholokhov from his childhood, said: “Sasha from 10–11 years of age was very fond of reading books of fiction. Coming round to him I would always see him reading books. Especially he was fond of foreign literature…”

Besides reading, his favourite pastime, like that of all the Sholokhovs, was hunting and fishing. Every year on his leave he hurried to his native place, to Stanitsa Vyoshenskaya.

25 years ago, late in September, 1990, A.M.Sholokhov died. He was buried in the civilian cemetery of Stanitsa Vyoshenskaya.

“How inexorably, quickly the time flies, – wrote V.G.Sychov, a close friend of A.M.Sholokhov living now in the Crimea, to S.M.Sholokhova. I can’t believe that for so many years Sasha, your brother and my only favourite postwar friend, hasn’t been with us. When at the cemetery, please, bow from me to my dear grave. My memory of him will live in me as long as I live…”

Nataliya Kirsanova