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Unique Exhibition is Opened in Sholokhov-Centre on the Eve of the New Year

On December 20, 2018, the Museum-Reserve of M.A.Sholokhov presented a unique and the biggest in its history exhibition “My Dear, Dear Family…” in Sholokhov-Centre of the Don region capital. The Rostovites and guests of the city will see more than 500 exhibits including over 100 of them brought from the house at the Estate of M.A.Sholokhov in Stanitsa Vyoshenskaya.

In 2019, the Museum-Reserve and the admirers of the great writer will mark the anniversaries: on January 11, it is the 95th wedding anniversary of Mikhail Alexandrovich Sholokhov and Mariya Petrovna Gromoslavskaya; on January 21, it is the 70th anniversary of the Sholokhovs moving into a new house built instead of that destroyed during the bombing of Stanitsa Vyoshenskaya in 1942.

This light mansion at the Estate in Stanitsa Vyoshenskaya is well-known in the world and is the main site of the National Museum-Reserve of M.A.Sholokhov. By the way, in the coming year, the Museum will also celebrate its anniversary – it was founded 35 years ago.

The new exhibition entitled with a line from the letter of Mikhail Alexandrovich tells about the life and traditions of the Sholokhovs family. “On the eve of the holiday we share with you the most valuable thing we have – the history of our family”, – said A.M.Sholokhov, the writer’s grandson, Deputy Chairman of the RF State Duma Committee on Culture, at the exhibition opening ceremony.

The great importance of the exhibition project for the Don culture was marked by I.A.Guskov, Deputy Governor of the Rostov Region: “As a rule, for security purposes, the memorial objects are not taken out from the main museum. But it’s not the first time that Sholokhov Museum takes such risks in order to enable the visitors of Sholokhov-Centre to feel the atmosphere and warmth of the house in Stanitsa Vyoshenskaya, where the family lived from 1949. It is very important for all of us to try to feel through these things the atmosphere of peace and good that reigned in the house and inspired the great Sholokhov for creation of his fine works”.

The first visitors learned about the history of the memorial house in Vyoshenskaya, saw the interior of the sitting-room, where the big Sholokhovs family gathered on holidays, and the interior of one of the rooms that was a nursery first and later was intended for guests including famous ones.

One of the halls is devoted to Sholokhov’s library. M.A.Sholokhov had a wide range of literary interests: in his library there are books of Russian and foreign poetry, atlases, books on history and geography, books of adventures and travels. The visitors saw the books similar to those of the prewar library that was lost during the years of the Great Patriotic War and could turn pages of the writer’s favourite books.

The viewers were attracted by the documents, letters and photos telling about the friendly family of the Sholokhovs, about warm and cordial relations between the family members. A real Christmas tree decorated with toys and flags of the mid last century, greeting postcards and presents of Sholokhov children to their parents, and vice versa, took the visitors to the New Year atmosphere.

The exhibition shows clothing items, headwear, other personal belongings of the writer and his wife, furniture, tableware from the memorial house, souvenirs brought from the foreign trips and presents from their guests, numerous photos, postcards, documents. Having toured around the exhibition halls of Sholokhov-Centre the residents and guests of Rostov-on-Don will have a unique opportunity, without leaving the city, ”to visit” the great writer and see how he lived, what objects surrounded him in his everyday life, to learn more about the big and friendly family of the Sholokhovs.

The exhibition “My Dear, Dear Family…” will run in Sholokhov-Centre of the Museum-Reserve of M.A.Sholokhov until February 24, 2019.

Tatyana Nektova 

The photos by Mariya Kim and from the archives of the Museum-Reserve of M.A.Sholokhov