The 20th century will be studied and assessed not only by memoirs and historical
works but also by evidence supplied by fiction. One of the most vivid examples
of such evidence is the novel “And Quiet Flows the Don”, written by Mikhail
Sholokhov. This epic portrays the drama of the Cossacks living on the River
Don in the south of Russia during the tempestuous years of World War One
and the 1917 Bolshevik revolution followed by the bloody Civil war.
The events of the novel take place on the Don, in the area where Sholokhov
was born and lived all his life. Drawing on his firsthand experience, Sholokhov
brings up a panoramic picture of the daily life of the Cossacks, revealing
their dramatic relationship with the new government of the Bolsheviks.
The centuries-old order and rite of Cossacks’ life was crushed by the new
ideology and practices. The official slogans proclaimed the beautiful idea
of creating a society of justice and equality. But the inhuman methods
employed by the authorities prompted fierce resistance and a loss of faith
in a bright future. One of the novel’s characters says to a Bolshevik activist
that by persecuting and shooting Cossacks the new government has done a
lot of harm and brought on an uprising. Sholokhov’s characters go through
numerous hardships. The love and hatred they experience are so all-consuming
that there remains no room for any compromise. 
Sholokhov was 20 years old when he started work on the novel and he finished
it at 35. The novel, which took 15 years of his life, caused him a lot
of trouble. A communist himself, Sholokhov had the courage to reveal the
tragic and criminal mistakes in the Bolshevik policy for the Cossacks.
Some critics overpraised the novel, others accused the author of anti-Soviet
attitudes. In the late 1920s the ardent supporters of proletarian art launched
a campaign of persecution against the writer. At first they tried to induce
him to rewrite several chapters and make the main character, Grigory Melekhov
a Bolshevik, at least, at the end of the novel. Sholokhov refused point
blank to change anything. Then slanderous accusations were brought into
play. The writer was accused of plagiarism, of having copied the novel
from the manuscripts of another writer. Sholokhov rushed to the capital
with his manuscripts and rough copies of the book. Shortly an official
refutation followed but despite this slander and rumours persisted for
several more decades. Sholokhov dismissed them with disgust and managed
to preserve his presence of mind and the respect and loyalty of his readers.
Translated into many languages, “And Quiet Flows the Don” gained the author
a Nobel Prize "for the artistic power and integrity with which… he has
given expression to a historic phase in the life of the Russian people,”
and world-wide acclaim. Sholokhov is probably the only Russian Nobel Prizewinner
in literature who was simultaneously recognized in this country. “And Quiet
Flows the Don” was followed by two other novels - “Virgin Soil Upturned”
and “They Fought for their Motherland” and the short-story “The Fate
of a Man.”
In the last 25 years of his life, however, Mikhail Sholokhov did not produce
anything significant. Ill-wishers said his talent was dead. But perhaps
the writer had his own reasons for keeping silent, and after having said
what he had to say he retreated into his inner life.
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