Healthy, involved in a hundred activities CHILDREN OF YAKUTSK ‘Distance is no obstacle to friendship’ By JAMES LEECH’ A big evergreen tree on the eve of the New Year. Festivities ram- pant. Children appear in the dress of the countries of the world, per- forming songs and dances of many lands. The theme is: peace and friendship among the children of all the world. Where are we? In the city of Yakutsk, capital of the Yakut Au- tonomous. Republic in eastern Siberia. Many of the children are the same ones I met at the Yakutsk Palace of Pioneers about two months earlier. (The Young Pioneers organization has a membership of more than 25 mill- ion Soviet children, aged 10 to 15. But Pioneer activities also engage non-members, children consider- ably younger, and guides and ad- visers above the membership age.) It’s easy to picture this New Year festivity for I was forewarned of it when I stopped by the Pioneer Palace on an Oc- tober Sunday and found the chil- dren deep in activities of dozens of kinds. The group in the Inter- national Friendship Club even prepared a friendship greeting to Canadians, and members read it aloud in French and English, after — I signed their friendship As to the international concert around the tree, there is more to it _ than a one-time event. The pic- ture developed in a chat with the Palace’s director, a woman whose expressive face and ges- tures, her fond explanations, re- vealed her love of her work with the children. q Phaina Avdeeva, director of Pioneer Palace, with Sergei Buranov, Novosti editor who travelled with Canadian Tribune editor, James Leech. Phaina Avdeeva, a teacher by profession, who still wields a Pointer when putting across an important fact, has .been in Yakutia since 1942, a war-time military nurse, and teacher. - 186 Courses “Both these trades are de- signed for peace,”’ she stated.. She was one of the adult leaders of Pioneer work, and became di- rector of the Palace in 1953. She is also a membey of the local peace committee. There are 186 courses open to the city’s children, she related, not just the Pioneers themselves — and it appeared that a great many of them were in progress that day ina variety of fascinating rooms. *“*Any child can apply,’’ Ay- deeva pointed out. ‘‘We try to at- tract particularly children who’ve had a difficult background.” The courses offer more than just de- velopment while they are chil- dren, and sometimes help in de- ciding careers. The Palace has a dancing Just under 100 countries have broken the fetters of im- perialist colonial rule since the October Revolution in 1917. While in 1919 over 1,200 mill- ion people lived in colonial and semi-colonial conditions the figure has dropped to roughly 12 million today. — The accumulation of data has tremendous historical Significance, for the USSR played a direct and indirect role in their liberation. The following countries won independence after 1945: 1945: Indonesia (since 1963 including West Iran), Korea, Laos, Vie- tnam; 1946: Jordan, the Phil- lippines; 1947: India (since 1961 including Goa, Diu and Daman), Pakistan; 1948: Bur- ma, Ceylon (since 1972 called Sri Lanka); 1949: Bhutan: 1951: Libya, Nepal; Also, 1953: Cambodia; 1956: Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia; 1957: Ghana, Malaysian Fed- eration; 1958: Guinea; 1960: Dahomey, Ivory Coast, Ga- bon, Cameroon, Congo (Braz- zaville, since 1969 People’s Republic of Congo), Congo Colonialism smashed in 100 lands since 1917 (Kinshasa, since 1971 Zaire), Mali; Madagascar, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Upper Volta, Senegal, Somalia, Togo, Chad, Central African Republic, Cyprus; Also, 1961: Kuwait, Sierra Leone, Tanganyika (in 1964 united with Zanzibar to ‘form Tanzania); 1962: Algeria, Burundi, Jamaica, Rwanda, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, - Western Samoa; 1963: Kenya, Zanzibar, Malaysia; 1964: Malawi, Malta, Zambia; 1965: Gambia, Maldive Islands, Sin- gapore; 1966: Barbados, Botswana, Guyana, Lesotho; 1967: People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen; Also,. 1968: ‘Equatorial Guinea, Mauritius, Nauru, Swaziland; 1970: Fiji, Tonga; 1971: Bahrain, Bangladesh, Qata, Oman, United Arab Emirates; 1973: Bahamas, Guinea-Bissau; 1974: Grena- da; 1975: Angola, Cape Verde Islands, Mozambique, Sao Tome and Principe, Surinam, Papua and New Guinea; 1976: Comoro Islands, Seychelles. Ukrainian-American PACIFIC TRIBUNE—JANUARY 6, 1978—Page 4 A section of the new children’s course open to children from the age of six. Other activities jn- clude: theatre, music, brass band, violin, book club, English, chem- ical, chess, bone carving, carpen- try, photography, plants and ani- mals. : Bone carving is traditional among some of the nationalities of Yakutia, as is work with eather § and fur. Since ‘the advent of = socialism, the northern peoples have been encouraged to rehabili- tate their arts. : . ‘In Yakutia,’’ Avdeeva explained, “‘there are many diffe- rent nationalities living. We try, in this palace, to develop the na- tional traditions of all people who live here. We teach the children to respect the national traditions of all nationalities of the Soviet Un- ion; (there are more than 100) but with special respect toward the traditions of the people of the north.”’ : Canedian Delegates Alerted As a matter of fact, this respect for many nations is really interna- tional. Last year an International Festival of Children was held in the Artek Pioneer camp in the Crimea. Children from 103 coun- tries came. Among those repre- senting the USSR were some from Yakutia. Twelve attended from Canada. The Pioneers from Yakutsk took with them to that festiva] — with its theme: May there always be sunshine — 200 handicrafts to be used by: the organizing Com- mittee to familiarize Visitors with the national arts of the USSR. The Yakutsk Pioneers are now preparing similar souvenirs for the World Youth Festival which takes place in Havana this coming summer. There were delighted cheers and applause when I said J would ask the Canadian delegates to keep a special lookout for art- works from Yakutia. They wel- comed that link: So, how about it, Canadian delegates? The Club of International Friendship was organized here jn 1972, and 240 children are mem- bers. They dedicate themselves to the slogan: For friendship and peace all over the planet. Electric Guitars Not everything is so global]. One club helps guard the area’s ecology. Different schools have been assigned duties as ‘‘inspec- tors’’ to help keep control of the state forests. On a tour of the building, I thought at times the forest had been brought indoors. Some rooms were lush with plants the children were nurturi and studying. Small animals tog, palace under construction in per. .mafrost conditions. ' children The palace of Yo Other rooms offered artworks of various kinds, a brass band at re- hearsal, 4 group with electric guitars, and individual students of piano and accordion. In the Palace library of 7,000 books, I found a couple by Ernest Thompson Seaton. Pioneers dis- played puppets with which they had been helped by the famous Obraztsov Theatre in Moscow. In the auditorium, older participants were rehearsing a dramatic play. ““We want to teach through the arts, the best traits of human na- ture throughout the world,’’ Av- deeva remarked with sensitivity. The youngsters have also taken their talents out of the building and visited the townsite of the builders Of the Baikal-Amur . Mainline railway, where they per- formed songs and dances. ‘They helped tell the workers from other parts of the Soviet Union about the north,” said Av- deeva. ‘‘I hope it helped them to understand the north and the cul- ture of the local people, and,” with the twinkle of an enthusiast, “perhaps helped them make up their minds to stay for good.” In preparations for 1979 — the United Nations proclaimed Year of the Child — parents and chil- dren are being given more infor- mation ON Medical care. Older children are getting lectures on first aid; and younger ones les- sons ON aVOiding certain every~ day dangers, Socialist Enterprises The community itself is con- cerned for the Pioneer Palace. ‘All . loca] €nterprises help Pioneer Palaces,” Avdeeva an- nounced. “Neither we nor the could imagine it any other way, because these are the children of the workers in those enterprises. She might have re- minded the farremoved Cana- dians that the trade unions of those workers in socialist enter- prises play 4 determining role in running the enterprises. But then, that’s socialism, “Two years ago,” the director went On, ‘‘the all-union (country-wide) Subbotnik money went to a fund, part of which was allocated for a pew Pioneer Palace in Yakutsk!"" (A Subbot- nik, from Subbota, Saturday, is 2 voluntary Work shift, the earnings from which Xo for a particular state purpose.) ung Pioneers in Yakutia’s capital city has 186 course : for children — music to botany, folk crafts to puppets. 3 ‘lic,’’ the Pioneers’ director said, “it helps us bring up the repub- helps in the upbringing in inter- — 4 ‘people, working for peace MOTTE IIRC eens arene Of £ i i The new building, or doubl ‘building, connected by a glas corridor, heated from a central heating plant, and costing $5 million, had its plans approved i 1975. It is now ared brick beauty, — rising on the permafrost. Inside will be space for 700 Pioneers at a time, and a concert hall for 600, with rotating stage. Moscow’s Theatre Projeci Research Insti- tute designed the concert hall, an ~ Azerbaijan designer helped plan the palace itself, but the mai “work was done by the local design _ institute of Yakutia. In one week. it may embrace the entire chil population of the city, she con- fided. : garden,’’ Avdeeva explained, a welcome burst of vegetation amid _ Yakutia’s wintry deep-freeze. (A recent report put the temperature there at -60°C i.e. -76°F!) ‘When you enter you are forced to smile,” said Avdeeva, smiling at the idea. I had smiled when Yakutia’s premier, Alexandra Ovchinnikova pointed out to me the winter garden in the building housing her office. “There has also been a deci- sion of the city Communist Party 23 Committee, and the City Council, Me that they allocate a small apart- ment in each district, for teachers _ and pioneer leaders who will par- ticipate in the cultural life ofthose apartments,’’ Avdeeva explained. These will be called Pioneer Corners and will engage the young folk of the apartments in activities like those of the Pioneer Palace. ‘Because the Yakut Republic | is a sort of international repub- ~ lic’s children in the spirit of inter- nationalism. Other nationalities helped the Yakut people even be- fore the revolution, and this also nationalism.”’ Extending this outlook, all the city schools adopted one country which they will study, and they’re to seek pen pals. When the Youth Festival opens in Cuba next summer, national days will be held at the Pioneer camps. aS Meanwhile, the New Yeartree will look down on a mini- © international festival of young | ard bs friendship.