Orlyonok

For the ekranoplan, see A-90 Orlyonok.

Location Orlyonok in Russia

Location Orlyonok in Black Sea coast

Orlyonok (Russian: Орлёнок, Eaglet in English) was one of the main Soviet Young Pioneer camps and is currently the main Children's Center in Russia.

Orlyonok's name is taken from the title of a popular Young Pioneer song "Orlyonok" ("Eaglet") about a 16-year old Red Army soldier about to be executed by enemies.

History

The Orylonok camp was established on July 12, 1960 by the decision of the Council of Ministers of the Russian SFSR (March 27, 1959). It is located on the Black Sea coast near the town Tuapse, Krasnodar Krai, Russian SFSR, at 44°15.5′N 38°49′E / 44.2583°N 38.817°E / 44.2583; 38.817. Orlyonok was intended for Russian children who were notable for excellent study, prize winners at various Student Olympiads, contests, or sports competitions, or notable Komsomol or Young Pioneer organization activists.

In 1960 the camp hosted 520 children, but by 1973 annual attendance increased to near 17,000. Orlyonok grew to 3 square kilometers in area, with 60 buildings, including the living ones, the "Young Pioneer Palace" (with a winter swimming pool filled with sea water, and a cinema), a secondary school, medical building, the "Museum of Aircraft and Cosmonautics," an astronomy observatory, a sports stadium; many playgrounds, the winter sports hall. There were more than 200 hobby groups of 50 different kinds, mostly in polytechnics, sports, and aesthetics. Orlyonok had its own passenger ship, 45 yachts, many motor boats and rowboats.

Statue Orlyonok in camp

Orlyonok

Orlyonok

In the early 1990s, when the Young Pioneer organization of the Soviet Union was dismantled, camp attendance in Orlyonok greatly decreased; however, attendance has increased since 2000, as many Russians began to associate Young Pioneer camps with patriotism and former Soviet dominance. Between 1960 and 2004, Orlyonok hosted over 800,000 children, with the present count at approximately 19,500 per year.

A minor planet, 2188 Orlenok, was discovered in 1976 by Soviet astronomer Lyudmila Zhuravlyova and is named in honor of the camp.^[1]

Cultural references

The book Lost in Moscow (sometimes called Lost in Moscow: A brat in the USSR) by Kirsten Koza, chronicles the true-life experience of an eleven-year-old Canadian girl's summer at Orlyonok during 1977. Lost in Moscow was published by Turnstone Press in 2005.

See also

• Artek
• Young Pioneer camp
• Young Pioneer organization of the Soviet Union

Footnotes

1. ^ Schmadel, Lutz D. (2003). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names (5th ed.). New York: Springer Verlag. p. 178. ISBN 3-540-00238-3. http://books.google.com/books?q=2188+Orlenok. 

External links

• Russian Children Center "Orlyonok", official homepage