Poet.  Surkov was born in the village of Serednevo (now Rybinsky) in 1899.  Surkov took part in the Russian Civil War and later partook in fights in World War II.  Surkov began publishing his songs and poems in the 1930s.    Surkov was editor of the Literary Gazette (1944-1946), Ogonyok (1945-1953), and from 1962 until his death The Concise Encyclopedia of Literature. From 1953 to 1959 Surkov was the First Secretary of the Writers Union.  Throughout his life Surkov was an important figure in the Writers Union and in the literary life of the Soviet Union. In 1969 Surkov was awarded the Hero of the Socialist Effort.