The All-Union Pioneer Camp Artek, which is now the International Children’s Center Artek, opened in Crimea 85 years ago. Artek was founded as a camp for children suffering from tuberculosis following a proposal made by Zinovy Solovyev, the chairman of the Russian Red Cross Society.
The All-Union Pioneer Camp Artek, which is now the International Children’s Center Artek, opened in Crimea 85 years ago. Artek was founded as a camp for children suffering from tuberculosis following a proposal made by Zinovy Solovyev, the chairman of the Russian Red Cross Society. Photo: children staying at Artek with Mikhail Kalinin, chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR (bottom center), and Semyon Budyonny, Marshal of the Soviet Union (top center), 1946.
The establishment of the Artek children’s camp was announced on November 5, 1924, on a holiday dedicated to Moscow’s pioneers. The first 80 children came to Artek from Moscow, Ivanovo-Voznesensk and Crimea. Artek pioneers near the Swallow’s Nest Castle, 1958.
The first children there stayed in canvas tents. Light plywood houses were built two years later. By 1969, there were 150 buildings, three medical centers, a school, the Artekfilm studio, three swimming pools, a stadium seating 7,000 people and a playground.
In Soviet times, a ticket to Artek was considered a prestigious award for children from both the Soviet Union and abroad.
Only the best pioneers (who actively participated in pioneer groups, behaved and studied well, etc.) were awarded tickets to Artek. Photo: Chilean schoolchildren at the Artek International Pioneer Camp, 1973.
In its heyday, Artek issued 27,000 tickets each year. Photo: A Soviet pioneer and some young Americans at the Artek International Pioneer Camp, 1973.
From 1925 to 1969, 300,000 children came to Artek, including over 13,000 children from 17 foreign countries. Photo: Pioneers with a model aircraft at the Artek International Pioneer Camp, 1973.
Yury Gagarin visited Artek each time he took a vacation in Crimea. He opened an airspace exhibition there in 1967. The exhibition consisted of gifts from cosmonauts who visited the camp.
During Soviet times, the children visiting Artek dreamed of space exploration, so the members of the Young Engineer Club usually assembled lunar rovers.
Many children saw the sea for the first time at Artek.
Getting fresh air near the Black Sea was a part of Artek’s health program.
Artek traditionally held a farewell meeting around a bonfire on the beach.
Artek became less prestigious after the dissolution of the pioneer community, but the camp remains a popular resort for children.
Artek is currently owned by Ukraine and is called the International Children’s Center Artek. Sixty percent of the camp’s tickets, partly or fully funded by the government, are given to Ukrainian children. Children from poor families, children from large families, orphans, the disabled and gifted children get tickets to Artek.
