- Sergey Mikhalkov
Infobox Person
image_size = 150px
name = Sergey Vladimirovich Mikhalkov
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birth_date = birth date and age|1913|03|13
birth_place =Moscow ,Russian Empire
death_date =
death_place =
occupation = Chairman of theUnion of Writers of the RSFSR , writer and lyricist, playwright
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children =Sergey Vladimirovich Mikhalkov ( _ru. Сергей Владимирович Михалков) (born
March 13 ,1913 ) is a Russian author of children's books and satirical fables who had the opportunity to write the lyrics of his country'snational anthem on three different occasions, spanning almost 60 years.Mikhalkov stemmed from the noble family of
Mikhalkov s and had tsarist admirals, governors, and princes among his grandparents. Since the 1930s, he has rivalledKorney Chukovsky andAgniya Barto as the most popular poet writing forRussophone children. His poems about enormously tall "Uncle Styopa " ("Дядя Стёпа") enjoyed particular popularity.As a 29-year-old in 1942, Mikhalkov's work drew the attention of the
Soviet Union 's leaderJoseph Stalin , who commissioned him to write lyrics for a newnational anthem . At the time, the country was deeply embroiled in World War II and Stalin wanted a Russian theme for the national anthem, to replace theInternationale .Mikhalkov penned words to accompany a musical score by the composer Alexander Alexandrov (1883–1946) that became known as
National Anthem of the Soviet Union or the "Hymn". The new anthem was presented to Stalin in the summer of 1943 and was introduced as the country's new anthem onJanuary 1 ,1944 .Upon the death of Stalin in 1953, the lyrics, which mentioned him by name, were discarded during the process of
destalinization and the anthem continued to be used without words. Mikhalkov wrote new lyrics in 1970, but they were not submitted to thePresidium of the Supreme Soviet untilMay 27 ,1977 .Fact|date=August 2008 The new lyrics, which removed any reference to Stalin, were approved onSeptember 1 and were made official with the printing of the new Soviet Constitution in October 1977.Use of the Soviet anthem, with Mikhalkov's lyrics, continued until 1991, when it was retired by President
Boris Yeltsin after the USSR broke up. However, whenVladimir Putin took over from Yeltsin in 2000, he began to clamor for a restoration of Alexandrov's music in place of Yeltsin's choice.Fact|date=August 2008Mikhalkov was 87 years old by this time and long since retired; in fact, he is better known in modern Russia (or rather - by the new generation of Russians) as the father of popular film makers
Nikita Mikhalkov andAndrey Konchalovsky – who had dropped part of his name "Mikhalkov-Konchalovsky" when he left Russia. His younger brotherMikhail Mikhalkov was also a notable writer as well as aKGB agent. But when Putin's push to restore the old anthem began to pick up momentum, he picked up his pen once again, and wrote new lyrics to go with Alexandrov's score. The result was theNational Anthem of Russia , which was officially adopted in 2001.Apart from the national anthem, Mikhalkov produced a great number of satirical plays and provided scripts for several Soviet comedies. He also successfully revived a long derelict genre of satirical
fable . He was awarded threeStalin Prize s (1941, 1942, 1950) and numerous other awards.He currently lives in
Moscow , and on his 90th birthday in 2003, Putin personally visited him at his home to present him with the 2nd class Order For Service to Fatherland, citing him for his contributions toculture of Russia . Mikhalkov was also decorated with aHero of Socialist Labor and theOrder of Lenin , among others, for his work during the Soviet era.See also
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Three Plus Two External links
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* [http://www.sovlit.com/bios/mikhalkov.html Encyclopedia of Soviet Writers]Persondata
NAME=Mikhalkov, Sergey Vladimirovich
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=writer, lyricist
DATE OF BIRTH=March 13 ,1913
PLACE OF BIRTH=
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