CRIMEA


This part is based on an article , in Dutch:
*Groeten uit de Krim 8 : Pionierskamp ARTEK / Jan Kaptein. - In OEF 2020 (jrg. 38) ; nr. 4. - p. 13-19 About: 'Greetings from the Crimea 8 : pioneer camp ARTEK': history, picture postcards, covers, postmarks, article in Dutch Download the article as pdf


ARTEK

The Artek pioneer camp in Crimea was founded on June 16, 1925. The camp started with a few tents on the beach, but quickly grew.

Postal stationery showing the camp and sanatorium of the pioneers in Crimea. The postal stationery was issued in 1929, Michel P 61
.
The Young Pioneers organization was founded in 1922 as a branch of the Komsomol for 10 to 15 year olds. They did not want a Scouting movement, because many scouts had fought in the White Army against the Red Army, but they did want a youth movement that passed on communist teachings to the youth. Of course, elements of scouting have been adopted: the slogan "Be Prepared". With an adjustment, the motto was given two parts: a call "Pioneer, prepare to fight for the cause of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union!" with the response "always prepared!" (version 1986).
Sports and outdoor skills were also important among the Young Pioneers and there was an almost military division into groups and departments. They also had a striking uniform with red neckerchiefs.


The address-side of the card above:
The cards have a number: this card with the pioneer camp has number 88 (bottom center).
As indicated on the left, it is a painting by I. Mashkoff/Mashkov. Circulation 60,000. The cards are reissues of cards from the Revolution Museum in Moscow. The three-line stamp at the bottom right indicates the sales price of the card in the museum: after January 1, 1961, the imprinted postage was no longer valid.


In the Soviet Union there were many Pioneer Camps with Artek in Crimea as the example. In 1973 there were as many as 40,000 of these camps in the Soviet Union, where approximately 9,300,000 children spent their holidays that year. In the Soviet Union, Artek was a household name, initially elitist: for the most deserving Pioneers and the children of the elites. After the expansion in the 1960s, there was room for 20,000 children annually.
In its flourishing period 27,000 children went on holiday to Artek every year. Artek was located near the town of Gurzuf and consisted of 10 smaller camps, each with its own name. In 1969 the area was 3.2 km². The big difference with Scouting in the west is of course the government control. Unlike Scouting, the Young Pioneers were incorporated into the communist system and the full name was the Vladimir Lenin All-Union Pioneer Organization. Membership of the Young Pioneers began an ideological trajectory for the young Soviet citizen.

Following this - at approximately the age of 14 - the children switched to the Komsomol, the communist youth organization. They remained members until they were 25-28 years old. Then one could try to become a member of the Communist Party.
Caption of the card above on the address side: АРТЕК. ФАНФАРИСТЫ, Artek. Fanfarists. The postal stationery was issued 3/VII 1954. Some enlarging is required to bring the card home to the Michel.
The imprinted stamp is available in more types. On the map, the imprinted stamp above the entrance to the mausoleum has two lines. Lenin and Stalin. Furthermore, the tower has vertical and horizontal lines: type 3. The state coat of arms, top center, has the text "proletarians of all countries unite" indicated by dots: type IVC. Then we arrive at Michel P 219A (green print). The number of the print order starts with Ш and the card is made of white/gray cardboard: P219A-IIa.

Many postcards with an imprinted stamp, i.e. postal stationery, were issued in the Soviet Union. A number of them have Artek as a theme (including 23/V 1962, 14/V-75, 1/II-78, 21.09.79, 28.10.86), but the cards from the fifties have something romantic and nostalgic.

This card, postal stationery, was issued 31/VII 1954. Caption on the address side: АРТЕК. МУЗЫКАЛЬНЫЙ МОМЕНТ, Artek. Music moment.



“Young Pioneer” songs were also sung, with titles such as:
Song about the first detachment of the young pioneer (A.Dolukhanian, S.Runge)
Our Country (Dmitry Kabalevsky, A.Prishelets)
Rise in bonfires, the blue nights (S. Kaidan-Deshkin, A. Zharov)
March of young pioneer groups (N.Gubar'kov, G. Khodosov)
May there always be sunshine (A.Ostrovsky, L.Oshanin)


Numerous envelopes with impressed seals have also been issued with Artek as the theme. The postal stationery from the 1950s and early 1960s are especially beautiful. The envelope here also has an occasion stamp with ARTEK.

This postal stationery was issued 4/X-61. The caption: the first line starts with Крым (Russian), the second line starts with Крим (Ukrainian). Also: В ПИОНЕРСКОМ ЛАГЕРЕ "АРТЕК", In the pioneer camp "Artek".

Finally, a number of stamps with the Young Pioneers as a theme have also been issued:
1938, 16 September: Mi. 621
1958: Mi. 2087-2088 1972: Mi. 4003-4007, 50 years pioneer-organization


1985, 16 June: Mi. 5523, 60 years pioneer-camp 'Artek', Crimea



Registered cover, sent from Artek.

Postmark post-office Artek

The ARTEK post office already existed in the 1930s.

In October 1991, the Young Pioneers organization was disbanded. Artek was given a new status within Ukraine. Since June 1991, Artek became the "International Children Center" with an emphasis on international programs. So in 2014 again within the Russian Federation. Now Artek is a federal state educational institution and operates under the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation. In 2014, 5,854 children came to Artek. When the renovation is completed in 2020, Artek will be able to accommodate 45,000 children per year.