Why every Soviet child dreamed of going to the summer camp "Artek" and whether it was a paradise for children Bashny.Net

Oh, how I wanted to get into Artek Children's Camp As a child! If not as a child, at least as a counselor. Children from all over the Soviet Union were dying of envy for the lucky pioneers who lived in Crimea. But the truth is that not everyone could get into this camp, and the proximity to Yalta did not change that.

Mostly, everyone remembers. Artek's golden days after the '60s. This was the period when the pioneers believed that the camp would one day have its own spaceport. And about the dark past of this place, the authorities very carefully hushed up. Until unpleasant memories finally disappeared from the memory of decent citizens. What did Artek do, and what secrets are kept in its archives?

To reduce the degree of drama, we note that the best Artek was absolutely right. And the worst. Just the history at the children's camp is very diverse and divided into periods, besides, it has overgrown with some misconceptions. Interesting to know how and why it was founded. Artek camp. About what made him so special. About his legends, merits and, of course, scandals of international scale.



Few people know that Artek was primarily a health resort for children who suffered from tuberculosis. In the early twentieth century, this disease was difficult to treat, and the only salvation for recovery was increased immunity. And this sea air, proper sleep, good nutrition, hardening, sun and sports. The initiative was shown by the organization “Red Cross”, more precisely, responsible for this society on the territory of the USSR Zinovy Solovyov. Already in 1925, the camp met its first shift. At that time, 80 children had been sent.

The camp is located near Yalta, which is not surprising: people who have suffered tuberculosis have been sent there for centuries. wellness. Among them are Anton Chekhov, Isaac Levitan, Maxim Gorky and others. It was assumed that living in the fresh air will help weakened children to overcome the disease and gain strength. At that time, 4 impressive tents were built, sewn from tarp.

There was another reason for the establishment of the camp, political. The following year Artek received the first delegation of children from Germany. There came children from Spain and even Africa, children of famous Western partners, but also children fleeing the war. For the Soviet Union, Artek remained a camp for a select few children, and it has been since its inception. Sanatorium "Artek" was only a year, and soon turned into a place for children of party members or distinguished schoolchildren.

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It was possible to get there only by winning a big Olympics, having accomplished some labor feat or heroic act. I had to get into the newspaper. Or be born into a family of important politicians. The camp itself was promoted as paradiseAnd every child wanted to get into it.

From tent to cosmodrome: how 4 canopies turned into a huge complex Very soon, the organizers of this splendor realized that children have no place in tarpaulin tents. The weather near Yalta is often stormy, the wind regularly burst the tarp. Two years later it was decided to strengthen the camp. Several houses of plywood were built. Since then, it has begun. construction, and the place was greatly ennobled. Now it was a real small town with its own boiler house, power plant and water supply. In total, the camp had about 150 buildings, over the next 5 years about 35,000 children visited the camp.

In addition to construction, there was another need, namely the general form. Children's clothes rarely matched climbing on mountain slopes and sports. So a light form of simple, fast-drying material was introduced that opened the body to the sun. And, of course, Panama for protection from sunstroke. A distinctive feature served handkerchief, which acted as a tie. The red handkerchief is still an attribute.



Interesting traditions of the camp Artek Place very quickly became cult. People came here to improve their health, meet foreigners and feel special. Like any place of worship, Artek has its own traditions, stories and customs, which were born from 1920 to 1930. Let's remember the main ones.

The very first change of pioneers in the distant 1925 rose mountain I left a letter there. A large oak hollow was chosen as the cache, and the message itself was something like a message to future generations of pioneers. Since then, a tradition has emerged: each new shift climbed the mountain Ayu-Dag for a letter predecessor and left the following. Unfortunately, the oak itself burned down long ago due to tourists who made a fire right under it, but the tradition is still alive.

Another distinctive feature of Artek is that when asked about his age, the counselor will answer that he (or she) is 48 years old. The reason was that at the first set of counselors was given an ad in the Crimean newspaper with a small typo. And it turned out that the organizers are looking for counselors. 48 years old (Although it was probably thought to be 18.)



From the sanatorium for sick weakened children remained a different tradition. Yes, that was no longer necessary. But in the camp, great importance was attached to each kilogram gained, which indicated that the child was getting stronger. So, regular It became a must.

Children's camp "Artek": scandals are not necessary to go far. In our XXI century, the camp was accused of creating a children's pornographic studio on its territory. But even before that there were problems of no less serious scale.

For example, one day a change of pioneers made one African boy eat lemons. When the counselors came to deal with the hooligans, they built innocent faces. They justified themselves by thinking that children in Africa like to eat lemons. The photo below shows the monument “Friendship of the Children of the World”.



Wikimedia, at least remember to visit of the American Ambassador in 1945. Then the pioneers gave him a farewell coat of arms and offered to hang it right in his office, as a memory. That's what the ambassador did. And only after 8 years it turned out that a small bug of a new generation was hidden in the coat of arms, which could not be detected with the naked eye. Thus, the Soviet Union for years received directly from the negotiating table.

The sad story of Alla Rusanova The tragic death of artekova Alla Rusanova It happened in 1950 and threatened to close the camp. The situation was so trembling that top officials in Moscow were notified of it until 6 days later. The reason was the negligence and complete lack of professionalism of the counselor. Valentina Kulikova 25 years old. She came to work at the Artek Children’s Camp the same year the tragedy occurred.

Valentina took a group of pioneers uphill. Among the more than 20 girls, there were 6 who, according to the medical recommendation, could only climb to the middle of the route. They had to stay at a level safe for their health and wait for the group to continue the more challenging climb. Of the 6 girls, Kulikova left only two at the foot of a steep mountain, the rest she took with her and walked not in front, but in the middle, violating the rules. By this time, she had lost control of the children. But that wasn't the worst.



The problems began when Valentina Kulikova finally lost track. The ascent became not just dangerous, but deadly. Pioneers clinged to mountain ledges and bushes in the hope that they were about to climb the trail. At that time, they were already at an altitude of 400 m above sea level.

The inevitable happened: the stone, breaking from above, hits one of the pioneers, and she rolls down the rock. Trying to intercept her friend, Alla Rusanova 14 years old rushes to the aid of her friend and breaks down. The first girl, who was named, was caught. Gala ShulgaBut Alla Rusanova is already flying down. Behind her is an avalanche of rocks.

The blood trail behind Alla stretched 30 meters down. She lay on the rocks, still alive, begging for a drink. But neither the counselor nor the children could go down to her, it was simply impossible physically. Therefore, when a team of workers came to the girl, who heard the screams, Alla took a single sip of water and died.



The case of Alla Rusanova for a long time walked through various authorities, no one knew (or did not want to know) what to do with the camp. The case was transferred from one authorized body to another, until after all, a decision was made to hold stringent.

During these checks, it turned out that the camp was not a paradise for children at all, to say the least. The uniform was sewn of material of terrible quality, it broke and wore out for a shift. The clothes themselves were dried poorly, because of this, the children often became ill. For food. followedAnd only children from shifts with special, especially important children ate well. While schoolchildren from ordinary families were malnourished and could barely beg for an egg for breakfast.

Despite the fact that almost all vouchers were paid (and expensive), the proceeds went into the pockets of responsible persons. Provision for the same reason was minimal, most of the funds and products lingered in the wallets and on the tables of those looking at the sanatorium. For example, managers voronkova and ovchunkovaThe second day after the death of the girls went hunting instead of dealing with the tragedy. The children were watched out of hand badly, basically everyone did what they had to do.



Wikimedia Counselors, too sleevedNot all of them are responsible for their work. And the case of Alla Rusanova was a confirmation of that. By the way, the second girl suffered a long and difficult treatment in the Yalta hospital, the doctors literally fought for her life.

All major inspections were carried out closer to 60. That's when it starts. golden age of Artek! And now the organization was closely watched not only by the Soviet, but also by foreign authorities. Children who visited Artek during this period called the summer season. best of their lives. It was Artek that initiated the total madness at children's camps, became the gold standard of this trend. But not everyone knows what the cost was. You knew?