‘Quiet House’ Host Sergey Sholokhov Dies at 67

On 18 July, Sergey Sholokhov passed away — a man who combined youthful lightness, irony, and the deep professionalism of a journalist and film scholar. He always looked young, and his signature “bye-bye” set the tone for those around him.

Sergey Leonidovich Sholokhov was born in 1958 in Leningrad. His father was paleontologist Leonid Glikman, his mother architect Galina Sholokhova. His maternal grandfather was painter Leonid Sholokhov, paternal grandfather chemist Sergey Glikman. Such a lineage could have predetermined a scientific career, but he chose a different path.

He graduated from a school with advanced study of Hindi, where, according to him, they constantly watched Indian films, sang songs, and did yoga. Then he entered the Philological Faculty of Leningrad State University (LGU), and completed his postgraduate studies at the Leningrad State Institute of Theater, Music and Cinematography (LGITMiK). He wrote his dissertation on the topic «“Mozart and Salieri” by A. S. Pushkin in Theater, Cinema, and Television.» In those years, he was more oriented toward theater: he considered an evening without a performance wasted. He attended all productions of the Moscow Art Theater (MKhAT) and the Taganka Theater, and frequented the rock club and the Saigon café (a Leningrad bohemian hangout).

He had to do serious work at the publishing house «Plakat» (Poster), where Sholokhov called Moscow to approve portraits of Politburo members. He recalled: «Gromyko’s right ear is red. Gromyko under the knife.» This experience proved useful to him in television.

He started at Leningrad Television as an editor in the film department. But fame came with the program «Fifth Wheel», which he launched with chief editor Bella Kurkova. Sholokhov said he met her in Israel, where he was stung by a jellyfish in the sea, and Kurkova saved him. The program quickly became popular: according to polls, nearly half of Leningrad watched it.

Sergey Kuryokhin with his «Pop Mechanics» became Sholokhov’s ally. Together they created the famous segment «Lenin-Mushroom», where Kuryokhin with a serious face asserted that Lenin was a mushroom and a radio wave. It was January 1991 — a time when culture reached a fever pitch. Sholokhov and Kuryokhin, according to him, were just fooling around, but they struck a nerve of the era.

Sholokhov was at Harvard during the August 1991 coup. He recalled: «I watched our country crumble while sitting at Harvard, watching the program “Vremya”. Of course, after watching, I went back to the bar… Honestly, I was in shock.» After his return, he was given the green light, but according to him, the cultural wave began to decline as early as 1992.

Sholokhov’s next project was called «Quiet House» — a pun on the novel by his namesake writer (Mikhail Sholokhov’s «And Quiet Flows the Don»). The name also reflected his own irony. The story began in 1986, when Sholokhov was invited as an expert in a pornography case: a sailor had a cassette confiscated with Tinto Brass’s film «Caligula». He brilliantly proved that it was a work of art, and after that decided to talk more about cinema.

Initially, «Quiet House» covered various art forms, but in the 2000s it focused on film festivals. Sholokhov, with a light smile, conversed with Alexei German, Alexander Sokurov, Pedro Almodóvar, Quentin Tarantino, Catherine Deneuve, and many others. The program received the Grand Prix «Golden Pen» and the «Golden Ram» award.

In addition to «Quiet House», Sholokhov created documentary films about directors: «Alexei German — Lionheart», «Nikita Mikhalkov — One of His Own», «Kirill Lavrov — Grandfather and Grandson», «Alexei Balabanov: In Search of Happiness». He particularly valued Balabanov for his sincerity and St. Petersburg spirit. In response, Balabanov cast him as the Host in the film «I Also Want» (Ya tozhe khochu).

Sergey Sholokhov was not just a TV host, but a true Kulturtreger (culture bearer), a thought leader, who with St. Petersburg irony, wit, and delicacy built bridges between the world of cinema and the viewer. His passing is a great loss for culture. Thank you for his life. Bye-bye!