Sergey Mikhalkov, patriarch of Soviet poetry and author of two anthems, celebrates his 96th birthday in good health and high spirits. The piece tells of his family, his creative path, which began at 15, and the astonishing scale of his literary legacy, about 400 million copies of published books.
Patriarch of Soviet poetry, author of two anthems and numerous children’s poems, Sergei Mikhalkov, in good health and high spirits, is celebrating his 96th birthday today.The birthday celebrant intends to set aside his affairs only for today in order to receive congratulations. The day before yesterday, he went to the International Community of Writers’ Unions, where he serves as chairman of the executive committee.
The celebration, of course, will be more modest than last year’s, when the gala evening marking his 95th anniversary took place at the Bolshoi Theatre. This time everything will be limited to the family circle, which, however, is also quite large. In addition to two very grown sons — the famous directors Andrei Konchalovsky and Nikita Mikhalkov — Sergei Vladimirovich also has ten grandchildren and almost as many great-grandchildren already. Moreover, the Mikhalkov family turned out to be not only extraordinarily prolific, but also talented, which the head of the dynasty is especially pleased about.
Sergei Mikhalkov himself took up writing at a young age: he was only 15 when his poem “The Road” was published by the magazine “On the Rise.” To date, the total circulation of the books he has published amounts to a fantastic figure — about 400 million copies. And his works, which have already become classics, continue to be reprinted.