Artek head Alexei Kasprzhak
told the president about the work to restore the camp in 2015 and 2016, as well
as plans for the development of the complex.
GURZUF,
June 24. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the children’s camp
Artek in Crimea ahead of the Samantha’s Smile holiday session on Saturday.
Telling
the president about the world’s largest holiday youth camp, Artek head Alexei
Kasprzhak briefed Putin on development plans and promised to show some of the
facilities, noting that "the weather is favorable" for the visit.
Although, Putin asked him jokingly: "Is it?" since there was a short
but heavy shower when he arrived at the camp.
In
the children’s canteen, Putin tasted a traditional Russian dish, the blini and
said they were delicious. Also, Putin wished a happy birthday to a child
holidaying in Artek. Then, he was shown round the gym, a campus building and a
standard room for children’s accommodation.
Accompanying
the president, Deputy Prime Minister Olga Golodets drew his attention to photo
stands demonstrating the Artek condition just a few years ago, when
"everything was falling apart," according to her.
"As
you rightly said, the area was meant to be carved up and grabbed piece by
piece," Putin responded.
Apart
from that, Putin oversaw the construction site of Solnechny (Sunny) camp from
the viewing platform and was shown round the oldest square of the international
youth center where first tents used to be put up and first Artek lineups used
to take place.
Putin
put his signature on the memorable plaque of the Grand Artek Alley. "It
will become an object d’art," the camp director promised.
The
Artek international children’s holiday canter incorporates ten camps, as nine
of them have been refurbished. The number of camps is expected to total ten at
the end of 2018. The new holiday camp Solnechny (Sunny) is expected to
accommodate simultaneously 1,000 children with a total area of 6.1 hectares.
Source: ITAR-TASS 25-06-2017
