Artek foreign guests read Alexander Pushkin in Russian

Participants in the educational project, International Smart Holidays, which is run by the Rosatom State Corporation, visited Artek on June 1 to mark International Children’s Day. The youngsters took a tour around Camp Lazurny, made friends with Artek students while playing the game Tropical Suuk-Su, visited the Space Museum and attended an arts and crafts workshop.

Artek has received guests from Armenia, Bulgaria, Zambia Egypt, Turkey and France for the 5th International Humanitarian Livadia Forum. The guests speak Russian, read in Russian and are fond of Alexander Pushkin’s poems, much like their hosts. At one of the forum events they will present the International Theatre Project entitled Performing Pushkin in Russian. So, it was not accidental that the Artek guests were staying at Lazurny, as the place is associated with the poet more than anywhere else at Artek.  

The guests learned from the hospitable campers that 220 years ago Alexander Pushkin had walked along the very same paths that they were currently following and had admired the sea, Mount Ayu-Dag and the Adalary Cliffs. At the observation deck, the youngsters had a view of Crimea’s stunning landscapes, which Pushkin paid tribute to in his poems and letters to his friends.   

Inspired by the views, Jonathan Mukanzo from Zambia recited his favorite extract from the poem “Ruslan and Lyudmila” by the monument to the poet on Pushkinskaya Square: “There once was I, and the learned cat / As near him ‘neath the oak I sat / And drank of sweet mead at my leisure / Told me full many a tale…”

Jonathan said that he knew a lot about Alexander Pushkin and loved his tales.

Raya Demirhan from Turkey said a tour of Artek had encouraged her to come to here for an entire session. She said she was very excited to see that the tours of Artek were conducted by youngsters and that all the exhibits at the Space Museum, which they had visited earlier on that day, were real.    

Another guest from Zambia, Maryann Musakanya, stayed at Artek during the fifth session this year. She said: “When we walked along a path, one team greeted us with the traditional cheer. I knew how to respond and also greeted them with a cheer. This is great and it could only happen at Artek! I’m happy to be here again. This is a wonderful place where you can meet interesting people from different countries.”  

Artek campers are happy to welcome old and new friends alike. They expressed the hope that the opportunity to spend one day at Artek would encourage youngsters from various countries to continue to read Alexander Pushkin and learn more about Russian culture.