And Quiet Flows the Don

And Quiet Flows the Don or Quietly Flows the Don (Тихий Дон, literally "The Quiet Don") is an epic novel in four volumes by Russian writer Mikhail Aleksandrovich Sholokhov. The first three volumes were written from 1925 to 1932 and published in the Soviet magazine October in 1928–1932, and the fourth volume was finished in 1940. The English translation of the first three volumes appeared under this title in 1934.

The novel is considered one of the most significant works of Russian literature in the 20th century. It depicts the lives and struggles of Don Cossacks during the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and Russian Civil War. In 1965, Sholokhov was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for this novel. The authorship of the novel is contested by some literary critics and historians, who believe that it was written mostly not by Sholokhov.

Plot summary

The novel deals with the life of the Cossacks living in the Don River valley during the early 20th century, probably around 1912, just prior to World War I. The plot revolves around the Melekhov family of Tatarsk, who are descendants of a cossack who, to the horror of many, took a Turkish captive as a wife during the Crimean War. She is accused of witchcraft by Melekhov's superstitious neighbors, who attempt to kill her but are fought off by her husband. Their descendants, the son and grandsons, who are the protagonists of the story, are therefore often nicknamed "Turks". Nevertheless, they command a high amount of respect among people in Tatarsk.

Gorky Film Studio

Gorky Film Studio (Russian: Киностудия имени Горького) is a film studio in Moscow, Russian Federation. By the end of the Soviet Union, Gorky Film Studio had produced more than 1,000 films. Many film classics were filmed at the Gorky Film Studio throughout its history and some of these were granted international awards at various film festivals.

History

In 1915, Mikhail Semenovich Trofimov, a merchant from Kostroma, established the Rus' film production unit (Russian: "Киноателье «Русь»") with studio facilities. In 1936, the studio was transferred to Butyrskaya Street in Moscow. The Rus' studio, employing many actors from Stanislavsky's Moscow Art Theatre, specialized in film adaptations of Russian classics (e.g., Tolstoy's Polikushka, 1919).

In 1924, the Rus' studio was renamed into the International Workers Relief agency (Russian: Международная рабочая помощь (Межрабпом)), abbreviated as Mezhrabpom-Rus' (Russian: Межрабпом-Русь). The first Soviet (sci-fi) film, Aelita, was filmed at this studio in 1924.