Mikhail Alexandrovich
Sholokhov
1905-1984
Mikhail Alexandrovich Sholokhov was a Soviet writer, journalist, and screenwriter who was a member of the USSR Academy of Sciences from 1939. He served as a war correspondent during the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) and was awarded the rank of colonel in 1943. Sholokhov received several prestigious awards, including the Stalin Prize, Lenin Prize, and Nobel Prize in Literature. He was also twice awarded the title of the Hero of Socialist Labour. Sholokhov’s most famous work is the novel «The Quiet Don», which was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1965. The novel is a powerful epic that depicts the life of Don Cossack people during a time of historical change.
The monument to Mikhail Sholokhov is located in Gogol Boulevard, next to the Creative Union of Artists. It is the second monument to the writer in Moscow, after the one at the intersection of Volgogradsky Avenue and Volzhsky Boulevard. The idea for the monument was conceived in the 1980s when the sculptors Julian and Alexander Rukavishnikov, along with the architect Igor Voskresensky, won a competition. Originally, it was planned to erect the monument in Zubovskaya Square, but this project never came to fruition. In the 2000s, a different composition was implemented. The monument consists of a bronze statue of Sholokhov seated in a boat on the Don River. He is wearing a padded jacket and staring into the distance, with his oars discarded. Behind the boat are granite horses, sailing in the opposite direction, spreading out like a fan, symbolizing Russia’s division during the Civil War. A boat and a slab with horse heads are placed at the centre of the boulevard, facing the pedestrian zone. A fountain that feeds water to the stove adds a touch of realism to the overall composition. The location of the monument was not chosen randomly: M.A. Sholokhov faced Sivtsev Vrazhok, the place where he lived. The idea for the monument was conceived by Alexander Rukavishnikov, who finished the project started by his father.
Address: Moscow, Gogol Boulevard
