About the book: year / The tragic fate and truth of "Quiet Don", this great novel - the topic of the book by the famous literary critic and critic, member of the RAS correspondent F.F. Kuznetsov. The author talks about the history of the search for draft manuscripts of the first two books of the novel, purchased, with the help of V.V. Putin, by the Russian Academy of Sciences, and for the first time scientifically examines the manuscript as indisputable evidence that the novel “Quiet Don” belongs to M.A. Sholokhov. The book examines for the first time the prototypes of the heroes of “The Quiet Don” - the Cossacks of the village of Vyoshenskaya and nearby farms, primarily Kharlampy Ermakov, the prototype of Grigory Melekhov and the commander of the army of Vyoshenskaya rebels Pavel Kudinov. The book examines the creative biography of M. A. Sholokhov in the 1920s and 1930s, reveals the organic continuity of “Quiet Don” with “Don Stories” and “Virgin Soil Upturned”, and convincingly shows the unsubstantiated and untenable speculations of “anti-Sholokhov scholars.” While deeply scientific, the book is read with unflagging interest. It is accompanied by a wealth of documentary and illustrative material, which helps establish the truth: the great “Quiet Don” was written by the genius of Russian literature M. A. Sholokhov.