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The 111th Anniversary of Mikhail Sholokhov was Celebrated in Moscow

A grand meeting devoted to the 111th anniversary of Mikhail Sholokhov was held on May 24, in Moscow, at the monument to the writer in Volzhsky Boulevard. It was symbolic that the same day was celebrated the Day of Slavic Culture and Literature by the people of Russia.

To gather on the birthday of M.A.Sholokhov is a longstanding annual tradition which was born in the capital on the initiative of V.B.Zotov, chairman of Rostov fraternity in Moscow. The event was joined by delegations of public organizations, intellectuals, students, schoolchildren and cadets of the Moscow Presidential Cadet School named after M.A.Sholokhov. This year the writer’s grandchildren – Alexander Sholokhov and Tatyana Sholokhova – came to his monument.

One of the holiday guests of honour was Peter Tolstoy, the well-known TV journalist, who has been a friend of the Sholokhovs for long years. “Cossack traditions and the work of Mikhail Sholokhov are near and dear for me, – noted P.Tolstoy. And this holiday is another impetus for our young people to get interested in our Russian national history and literature. Sholokhov is undoubtedly one of those writers who were able to reflect more accurately the nature of the Russian people and its features we need today and will need in future. These are the qualities which the Russian politics and economy should be based on.”

Peter Tolstoy was an initiator of the contest of young reciters among schoolchildren “We Read Russian Classics”. It was held under the motto “Just to Love Russia”, and among the participants, which are over a thousand, very many children turned to the work of Mikhail Sholokhov.

The honoured guests of the meeting laid flowers to the monument of the writer, and the students of the Moscow Presidential Cadet School named after M.A.Sholokhov and the honour guard company marched. Folklore groups entertained the public with their performance.

Olga Bakhtiyarova

The photo: Andrey Rudoy, Alexey Belkin