Sergey Vladimirovich Mikhalkov (russian: link=no, Серге́й Влади́мирович Михалко́в; 27 August 2009) was a Soviet and Russian author of children's books and satirical

fable Fable is a literary genre: a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals, legendary creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that are anthropomorphized, and that illustrates or leads to a particular m ...

s. He wrote the lyrics for the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

and Russian national anthems.

Life and career

Mikhalkov was born in Moscow, to Vladimir Aleksandrovich Mikhalkov and Olga Mikhailovna (née Glebova). Since the 1930s, he has rivaled

Korney Chukovsky Korney Ivanovich Chukovsky ( rus, Корне́й Ива́нович Чуко́вский, p=kɐrˈnʲej ɪˈvanəvʲɪtɕ tɕʊˈkofskʲɪj, a=Kornyey Ivanovich Chukovskiy.ru.vorb.oga; 31 March NS 1882 – 28 October 1969) was one of the most p ...

Samuil Marshak Samuil Yakovlevich Marshak (alternative spelling: Marchak) (russian: link=no, Самуил Яковлевич Маршак; 4 July 1964) was a Russian and Soviet writer of Jewish origin, translator and poet who wrote for both children and adults. ...

and Agniya Barto as the most popular poet writing for

Russophone This article details the geographical distribution of Russian-speakers. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the status of the Russian language often became a matter of controversy. Some Post-Soviet states adopted policies of derussi ...

children. His poems about enormously tall " Uncle Styopa" ("Дядя Стёпа") enjoyed particular popularity. Uncle Styopa is a friendly policeman always ready to rescue cats stuck up trees, and to perform other helpful deeds. In English, his name translates as Uncle Steeple. As a 29-year-old in 1942, Mikhalkov's work drew the attention of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

's leader

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet Union, Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as Ge ...

, who commissioned him to write lyrics for a new

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and Europea ...

. At the time, the country was deeply embroiled in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

and Stalin wanted a more patriotic theme for the national anthem, to replace

The Internationale "The Internationale" (french: "L'Internationale", italic=no, ) is an international anthem used by various communist and socialist groups; currently, it serves as the official anthem of the Communist Party of China. It has been a standard of t ...

. Mikhalkov penned words to accompany a musical score by the composer Alexander Alexandrov (1883–1946) that became known as

State Anthem of the Soviet Union The "State Anthem of the Soviet Union" was the national anthem of the Soviet Union and the regional anthem of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic from 1944 to 1991, replacing "The Internationale". Its original lyrics were written b ...

. The new anthem was presented to Stalin in the summer of 1943 and was introduced as the country's new anthem on January 1, 1944. Upon the death of Stalin in 1953, the lyrics, which mentioned him by name, were discarded during the process of

de-Stalinization De-Stalinization (russian: десталинизация, translit=destalinizatsiya) comprised a series of political reforms in the Soviet Union after the death of long-time leader Joseph Stalin in 1953, and the thaw brought about by ascension ...

and the anthem continued to be used without words. Mikhalkov wrote new lyrics in 1970, but they were not submitted to the

Presidium of the Supreme Soviet The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet (russian: Президиум Верховного Совета, Prezidium Verkhovnogo Soveta) was a body of state power in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).Soviet Constitution in October 1977. During the Soviet era, Mikhalkov and his wife, Natalia Konchalovskaya, sometimes worked for the KGB, for example by presenting undercover KGB staff officers to foreign diplomats, as in the case of French ambassador Maurice Dejean, who was compromised by the KGB in the 1950s. His younger brother Mikhail Mikhalkov was also a notable writer as well as a KGB agent. Use of the Soviet anthem, with Mikhalkov's lyrics, continued until 1991, when it was retired by President

Boris Yeltsin Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin ( rus, Борис Николаевич Ельцин, p=bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈla(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈjelʲtsɨn, a=Ru-Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin.ogg; 1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician wh ...

after the USSR dissolved. However, when

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

took over from Yeltsin in 2000, he began to clamor for a restoration of Alexandrov's music in place of Yeltsin's choice. Mikhalkov 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 filmmakers

Nikita Mikhalkov Nikita Sergeyevich Mikhalkov (russian: Никита Сергеевич Михалков; born 21 October 1945) is a Soviet and Russian filmmaker, actor, and head of the Russian Cinematographers' Union. Mikhalkov is a three-time laureate of the ...

and

Andrei Konchalovsky Andrei Sergeyevich Mikhalkov-Konchalovsky (russian: link=no, Андрей Сергеевич Михалков-Кончаловский; born 20 August 1937) is a Russian filmmaker. He has worked in Soviet, Hollywood, and contemporary Russian ...

, the latter of which had dropped part of his name "Mikhalkov-Konchalovsky" when he left Russia. But when Putin's push to restore the old anthem began to pick up momentum, Mikhalkov decided to write new lyrics to go with Alexandrov's score. The result was the

National Anthem of Russia The "State Anthem of the Russian Federation" is the national anthem of Russia. It uses the same melody as the "State Anthem of the Soviet Union", composed by Alexander Alexandrov, and new lyrics by Sergey Mikhalkov, who had collaborated with ...

, which was officially adopted on December 30, 2000. 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

. He was awarded three Stalin Prizes (1941, 1942, 1950) and numerous other awards. He resided in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. On his 90th birthday in 2003, Putin personally visited him at his home to present him with the 2nd class Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", citing him for his contributions to the

culture of Russia Russian culture (russian: Культура России, Kul'tura Rossii) has been formed by the nation's history, its geographical location and its vast expanse, religious and social traditions, and Western influence. Russian writers and p ...

. Mikhalkov was also decorated with a

Hero of Socialist Labour The Hero of Socialist Labour (russian: links=no, Герой Социалистического Труда, Geroy Sotsialisticheskogo Truda) was an honorific title in the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries from 1938 to 1991. It repre ...

and the

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration ...

, among others, for his work during the Soviet period. In 1936, Mikhalkov married Natalia Petrovna Konchalovskaya (1903–1988), granddaughter of

Vasily Surikov Vasily Ivanovich Surikov (Russian: Василий Иванович Суриков; 24 January 1848 – 19 March 1916) was a Russian Realist history painter. Many of his works have become familiar to the general public through their use as illus ...

. They remained married for 53 years until her death. In 1997, Mikhalkov married physics professor Yulia Valeryevna Subbotina. Mikhalkov died in his sleep at the age of 96 in a Moscow hospital. His funeral, held at the

Cathedral of Christ the Saviour The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour ( rus, Храм Христа́ Спаси́теля, r=Khram Khristá Spasítelya, p=xram xrʲɪˈsta spɐˈsʲitʲɪlʲə) is a Russian Orthodox cathedral in Moscow, Russia, on the northern bank of the Moskv ...

, was attended by family, friends, and government officials. He was buried at

Novodevichy Cemetery Novodevichy Cemetery ( rus, Новоде́вичье кла́дбище, Novodevichye kladbishche) is a cemetery in Moscow. It lies next to the southern wall of the 16th-century Novodevichy Convent, which is the city's third most popular touris ...

in Moscow with full military honors.

Honours and awards

Russian Federation

Order of St. Andrew (13 March 2008) - the highest Russian honour; for outstanding contributions to the development of national literature and for many years of creativity and social activities. * Orden_for_Service_II

Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 2nd Class (13 March 2003) - for outstanding contributions to the development of national culture. * Orden_of_Honour

Order of Honour (13 March 1998) - for great personal contributions to the development of domestic multi-national culture. * Orden_of_Friendship

Order of Friendship The Order of Friendship (russian: Орден Дружбы, ') is a state decoration of the Russian Federation established by Boris Yeltsin by presidential decree 442 of 2 March 1994 to reward Russian and foreign nationals whose work, deeds ...

(20 February 1993) - for great personal contributions to the development of arts and literature, and the strengthening of inter-ethnic cultural relations and productive social activities. * Zhukov_rib

Medal of Zhukov The Medal of Zhukov (russian: медаль Жукова) is a state award of the Russian Federation initially awarded to veterans of the Great Patriotic War but now awarded to serving members of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. It is ...

Jubilee Medal "50 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" The Jubilee Medal "50 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" (russian: Юбилейная медаль «50 лет Победы в Великой Отечественной войне 1941–1945 гг.») is a state commemorativ ...

Jubilee Medal "60 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" The Jubilee Medal "60 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" (Russian: Юбилейная медаль «60 лет Победы в Великой Отечественной войне 1941–1945 гг.») is a state commemorativ ...

Medal "In Commemoration of the 850th Anniversary of Moscow"

Soviet Union

Decorations

(1973) *

(1939, 1963, 1973, 1983) * Order october revolution rib

Order of the October Revolution The Order of the October Revolution (russian: Орден Октябрьской Революции, ''Orden Oktyabr'skoy Revolyutsii'') was instituted on October 31, 1967, in time for the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. It was conferr ...

(1971) *

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner (russian: Орден Красного Знамени, Orden Krasnogo Znameni) was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of th ...

(28 February 1945) - for exemplary performance in command assignments at the front in the struggle against the Nazi invaders, and for displaying courage and heroism. * POL Order Wojny Ojczyźnianej 1kl BAR

Order of the Patriotic War The Order of the Patriotic War (russian: Орден Отечественной войны, Orden Otechestvennoy voiny) is a Soviet military decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to partisan ...

, 1st Degree (1985) * Orderredbannerlabor rib

Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour (russian: Орден Трудового Красного Знамени, translit=Orden Trudovogo Krasnogo Znameni) was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to th ...

(1967, 1988) * SU Order of the Red Star ribbon

Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star (russian: Орден Красной Звезды, Orden Krasnoy Zvezdy) was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 193 ...

(7 March 1943) - for exemplary performance in command assignments at the front in the struggle against the Nazi invaders, and for displaying courage and heroism. * Order_friendship_of_peoples_rib

Order of Friendship of Peoples The Order of Friendship of Peoples (russian: oрден Дружбы народов, translit=orden Druzhby narodov) was an order of the Soviet Union, and was awarded to persons (including non-citizens), organizations, enterprises, military unit ...

Medal "For the Defence of Odessa" * Defsevastopol

Medal "For the Defence of Sevastopol" * SU_Medal_For_the_Capture_of_Budapest_ribbon

Medal "For the Capture of Budapest" The Medal "For the Capture of Budapest" (russian: Медаль «За взятие Будапешта») was a World War II campaign medal of the Soviet Union established on 9 June 1945 by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USS ...

Medal "For the Capture of Vienna" * Liberationprague_rib

Medal "For the Liberation of Prague" * Order_of_Glory_Ribbon_Bar

Medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" The Medal "For the Victory Over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" (russian: Медаль «За победу над Германией в Великой Отечественной войне 1941—1945 гг.») was a military dec ...

Medal "For Valiant Labour in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" The Medal "For Valiant Labour in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" (russian: медаль «За доблестный труд в Великой Отечественной войне 1941–1945 гг.») was a World War II civilian labour awar ...

Medal "Veteran of Labour" The Medal "Veteran of Labour" (russian: медаль «Ветеран труда») was a civilian labour award of the Soviet Union established on January 18, 1974 by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR to honour workers ...

Jubilee Medal "Twenty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945" A jubilee is a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term is often now used to denote the celebrations associated with the reign of a monarch after a milestone number of y ...

Jubilee Medal "Thirty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" The Jubilee Medal "Thirty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" (russian: Юбилейная медаль «Тридцать лет Победы в Великой Отечественной войне 1941–1945 гг.») was a ...

Jubilee Medal "Forty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" The Jubilee Medal "Forty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" (russian: Юбилейная медаль «Сорок лет Победы в Великой Отечественной войне 1941—1945 гг.») was a s ...

Jubilee Medal "In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin" The Jubilee Medal "In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin" (russian: link=no, Юбилейная медаль В ознаменование 100-летия со дня рождения Владимира И ...

Jubilee Medal "50 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" The Jubilee Medal "50 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" (russian: Юбилейная медаль «50 лет Вооружённых Сил СССР») was a state military commemorative medal of the Soviet Union established on December 26, 1 ...

Jubilee Medal "60 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" * 70_years_saf_rib

Jubilee Medal "70 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" The Jubilee Medal "70 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" (russian: Юбилейная медаль «70 лет Вооружённых Сил СССР») was a state military commemorative medal of the Soviet Union established on January 28, 198 ...

Medal "In Commemoration of the 800th Anniversary of Moscow" The Medal "In Commemoration of the 800th Anniversary of Moscow" (russian: Медаль «В память 800-летия Москвы») was a state commemorative medal of the Soviet Union established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Sov ...

Prizes and awards

* Lenin Prize (1970) - for poetry of recent years for primary-school children * State Prize of the USSR (1978) - for the Russian satirical newsreel "Wick" (latest edition) *

Stalin Prize Stalin Prize may refer to: * The State Stalin Prize in science and engineering and in arts, awarded 1941 to 1954, later known as the USSR State Prize The USSR State Prize (russian: links=no, Государственная премия СССР, ...

, 2nd Degree (1941) - for poetry for schoolchildren *Stalin Prize, 2nd Degree (1942) - for the film script "Front-Girlfriend" *Stalin Prize, 2nd Degree (1950) - for the plays "Ilya Golovin" and "I want to go home" *State Prize of the RSFSR Stanilavsky (1977) - for the satirical play "Foam", performed at the Moscow Theatre of Satire Medal of N.K.Krupskaya Medal of K. D. Ushinsky

Foreign awards

OrderOfSaintCyrilAndSaintMethodiusRibbon

Order of Saints Cyril and Methodius The Order of Saints Cyril and Methodius is an award conferred by the Republic of Bulgaria. History It has had three incarnations : * first on 18 May 1909 by the Kingdom of Bulgaria, * second on 13 December 1950 by the People's Republic of Bulga ...

, 1st class (

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

) *

OrderOfThePeople'sRepublicOfBulgariaRibbon

Order of The People's Republic of Bulgaria, 1st class (Bulgaria) * Order_of_Friendship_Rib

Order of Friendship (

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

) *

GDR_Star_of_Friendship_of_Nations_-_Gold_BAR

Star of People's Friendship, Gold star (

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In t ...

, 1983) *

50_Years_Anniversary_of_the_Mongolian_Revolution_rib

Medal "50 Years of the Mongolian People's Revolution" (

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million ...

) *

POL_Odznaka_honorowa_Zasluzony_dla_Kultury_Polskiej

Decoration of Honor Meritorious for Polish Culture The Decoration of Honor Meritorious for Polish Culture ( pl, Odznaka Honorowa "Zasłużony dla Kultury Polskiej") or Meritorious for Polish Culture, is a Polish departmental decoration in Arts awarded by the Ministry of Culture and National He ...

(

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

) *

Order of the Smile (Poland) * PMR_Order_of_Honour_ribbon

Order of Honor (

Transnistria Transnistria, officially the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR), is an unrecognised breakaway state that is internationally recognised as a part of Moldova. Transnistria controls most of the narrow strip of land between the Dniester riv ...

)

Religious awards

*Order of the Blessed Prince Dmitri of the Russian Orthodox Church "For mercy" (1998) *Order of St. Sergius, 2nd Class (1993), Russian Orthodox Church (1993)

References

External links

*
Sergei Mikhalkov
Obituary, The Economist, Sep 10th 2009

- Daily Telegraph obituary {{DEFAULTSORT:Mikhalkov, Sergey 1913 births 2009 deaths Writers from Moscow People from Moskovsky Uyezd Mikhalkov family Russian nobility Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Eighth convocation members of the Soviet of Nationalities Ninth convocation members of the Soviet of Nationalities Tenth convocation members of the Soviet of Nationalities Eleventh convocation members of the Soviet of Nationalities Russian children's writers Russian dramatists and playwrights Russian male dramatists and playwrights Russian satirists Russian lyricists Fabulists Soviet children's writers Soviet male writers Soviet poets Russian male poets National anthem writers Soviet songwriters 20th-century Russian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Russian male writers 20th-century Russian poets Heroes of Socialist Labour Recipients of the Decoration of Honor Meritorious for Polish Culture Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 2nd class Recipients of the Order of Honour (Russia) Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery