Restoring this camp to its former glory became the main goal for the new Russian administration in Crimea.įounded in 1925 as a health camp for children who suffered during the years of civil war, Artek gradually transformed into a year-round educational complex that never stopped working, even during World War II. "Everything was worn out and in desperate need of not just repair work, but overall reconstruction (…) Such a large camp is really expensive to maintain and Ukraine couldn't finance it, let alone develop it further," recalls Alexei Kasprzhak, the current director of Artek. In 2014, when Crimea was reunited with Russia, Artek was in a very poor state.
Just three years ago, however, the camp looked very different. Around 2,000-3,500 children attend the school every three weeks, and 300 kids from the neighboring towns of Gurzuf and Yalta attend it on a regular basis. There's even a year-round school on the premises that allows children to visit Artek during the academic year without missing classes.
Out of ten camping complexes that comprised the original Artek complex, nine have been renovated and are operational.Ī state-funded institution, Artek recently received the special status of an innovation educational platform to test and implement new forms of teaching. Today, its size is larger than Monaco (218 hectares in total, with 102 hectares of parks) and has two swimming pools, six dining halls, 15 sports grounds, three tennis courts, plus a climbing wall and a rope park, among other things. In 2014-2017, the Russian government invested 10 billion rubles ($171 million) to revive the legendary camp.
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