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Vyoshensky Memorial and Historical Complex

Exhibition “At Hunting and Fishing”

At the memorial estate, where M.A. Sholokhov lived and worked from 1927 till 1935, one of the outbuilding offices displays an exhibition “At Hunting and Fishing”. All the exhibits exposed are authentic, the writer’s personal belongings.

Fishing and hunting were a favourite rest for Mikhail Alexandrovich. Enjoying the nature, meeting with interesting people, easy talks enriched the writer, produced indelible impressions on him. Sholokhov seldom set out for hunting or fishing alone. Usually he was accompanied by his friends, relatives, very often his wife, Mariya Petrovna, also a good shot, joined him. The outing parties often lasted several days or even weeks, and were prepared thoroughly.

The exhibition displays a tent and easy folding furniture, which were taken by the Sholokhovs to the expeditions, plates and kitchen utensils, a trivet, a water cask and dry firewood.

The centre of the exhibition is a boat, in which Sholokhov went fishing and hunting on the River Don and lakes. In the cupboard there is a hunting coat, boots, a hunting belt, a beret, rubber boots, field-glasses. There are devices for making cartridges, fishing-lines, hooks, spoon-baits, baits, nets. The visitors are particularly attracted by big round constructions made of willow rods – hutches for fish.

Sholokhov was fond of books about nature, he subscribed to the magazines “Hunting and Hunting Husbandry”, “Fish-Breeding and Fishing”. Many lines of Sholokhov’s letters were devoted to reflections about the ecological condition of the Don region, to impressions from meetings with interesting people, funny cases occurred in hunting and fishing expeditions. The exhibition allows to get acquainted with some of them.