In his welcome address to the guests of the Sholokhov Spring festival, which is traditionally held in May in Veshenskaya, State Duma (the lower chamber of the Russian parliament) speaker Boris Gryzlov said: "The works of the writer portray the traditions of the Russian culture and national folklore." Gryzlov thanked the residents of Veshenskaya for "preserving the creative heritage of the prominent Russian writer of the 20th century."
State Duma vice speaker, chairman of the State Duma committee on Northern Caucasus Vladimir Katrenko said he considered Sholokhov "one of the brightest stars in literature. As Pushkin is considered a prominent star in the poetical sky, Sholokhov is a genius in prose, an elegant writer-humanitarian."
Katrenko called the Tikhy Don his favorite novel written by Sholokhov. "The novel describes the fates of people, the problems and events at the important turns of our history."
Chechen President Alu Alkhanov, who is among the guests at the festival, said he likes Tikhy Don the best among other Sholokhov's works.
Chairman of the Central Election Committee (CEC) Alexander Veshnyakov said he could certainly relate to Tikhy Don as a reader. He reminded the participants of the festival that the writer received the Nobel Prize for Literature "for authentic portrayal of the 20th century people."
"Thanks to Mikhail Sholokhov, we followed the fates of people who lived, created, fell in love and went to war," Veshnyakov said. "Visiting the Don region, one can certainly realize that "the scenes described in the novel become real here." The head of the CEC said he considered his name being consonant with the name of Sholokhov's birthplace (Veshnyakov - Veshenskaya).
A literary-folklore festival Sholokhov's Spring, dedicated to the 100th anniversary of Mikhail Sholokhov, is held in the village of Veshenskaya in May. Heads of Russian regions, ministry and state officials, parliamentarians, writers, actors and scientists came to Veshenskaya to celebrate the anniversary of the author of such famous works as "And Quiet Flows the Don," "They Fought for their Country," "The Fate of a Man," etc.
The program of the Sholokhov Spring festival includes performances of folklore groups from more than 15 Russian regions, Sholokhov's readings, various meetings and literary events
