Figure 1.--Here is the cover of "Journey to Artek". The book illustrates many of the activities at the camp. It also highlights the varied ethnic makeup of the children. Children were invited from all over the worlkd to attend Artek which was a prestigious or show case camp. Click on the image to see one of the camp activities--chalk drawing. |
A good example of a non fiction book is A Journey to Artek, a little booklet about life at a Soviet summer camp, in this case the prestigious Artek camp. It was published by the Novosti Press Agency Publishing House. in 1976. We do not know a great deal about the book, but we have some information on Soviet summer camps.
A Journey to Artek, a little booklet about life at a Soviet summer camp, in this case the prestigious Artek camp. It was published by the Novosti Press Agency Publishing House. in 1976. The book was written by M. Plakhova and N. Kirillova. I'm not sure who the illustrator was. The book illustrates many of the activities at the camp. A Canadian camper who attened a similar camp tells us, "They had the same activities at Artek as we did at Orlyonok ... and the iliistrations of dances, sidewalk chalk drawing competitions etc. in this book were identical to those I experienced." [Koza] It also highlights the varied ethnic makeup of the children. Children were invited from all over the worlkd to attend Artek which was a prestigious or show case camp. The Soviet regime had an official policy of racial equality. Many Russians privately, however, had very negative feelings about foreigners, especially blacks. There have been numerous reports of blacks being attacked in Russuan cities. Such actions were never allowed at Artek where an interesting mixture of Soviet patriotism and socialist internationaism was promoted.
We do not know a great deal about the book, but we have some information on Soviet summer camps. Perhaps the best known Young Pioneer camp was the Artek camp in the Crimea. I believe that it may have been one of the first such camps organized for the Young Pioneers. It developed into a prestigious camp attended by the children of the Soviet elite. Another well known camp was Orlyonok on Russia’s Black Sea coast. In addition to the presige camps there were specialized camps. While several of these camps were very well known, they were just a few of the hundreds of camps developed in the Young Pioneer summer camp system. Camps were set up throughout the Soviet Union.
Koza, Kirsten. E-mail, September 26, 2005. Kirsten as a little girl bought a copy of the booklet at the Canada-USSR Association's head office in Toronto before
going to Orlyonok, another prestigious Soviet Young Pioneer summer camp. Readers may be interested in her book, Lost in Moscow about her exteriences.
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