Founded 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. In 1941-1945, the camp was evacuated to the Altai Region in Siberia where 200 children and staff helped local hospitals, and gathered metal for tanks and aircraft production.

After the war, the damaged premises of Artek were rebuilt and the camp continued its work, welcoming not only Soviet children but also those from other countries, including Belgium, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Bulgaria, China, Korea, and Vietnam. The camp saw a number of high-level visitors: Clementine Churchill, the wife of Sir Winston Churchill, India's Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi (not yet prime minister at that time), as well as Vietnamese Prime Minister Ho Chi Minh and first man in space Yuri Gagarin. In 1983, American schoolgirl and peace activist, Samantha Reed Smith, visited the camp at the invitation of Soviet leader Yuri Andropov.

Artek became a truly international place hosting festivals and welcoming representatives of fellow communist regimes. It grew to have its own traditions and values, and became a cult destination for many generations to come. Only the most talented children, who stood out in public life, sports, arts or at school, received the rare and highly-coveted vouchers that the authorities gave out free of charge.

Children come from all over: the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Austria, Argentina, Bulgaria, UK, Germany, Denmark, Israel, Spain, Italy, Canada, Qatar, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, Mongolia, the Netherlands, United Arab Emirates, Poland, Serbia, Slovenia, Slovakia, the U.S., Turkey, Finland, France, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, South Korea, Syria and even children from Ukraine and Georgia!

By the way, Georgian government authorities recently reacted very negatively when they found out that a group of their schoolchildren had gone to Artek. The children and their teachers were invited to Artek after participating in a Russian language competition in Tbilisi, and still decided to go despite the current difficulties in Russian-Georgian relations. It's good to see such examples where children themselves rise above geopolitics in order to attend Artek.

While there are many obligatory activities, such as hiking on nearby Ayu-Dag Mountain, there are also optional activities that a child can choose. He or she might pursue something they are already good at, or try something new, for instance, eco-tourism, archeology, horse riding, sailing, nano technology or space engineering.

The majority of foreign children coming to Artek have at least some Russian language proficiency. They either learned Russian at home or have Russian relatives. So coming to Crimea is an opportunity to practice their Russian and explore the historical heritage of the peninsula, as well as make Russian friends.

In some cases, when kids with no Russian language skills come to Artek, the staff does its best to provide a translator. But this is a temporary solution – Russian is the most used language at the camp so those who don't know it well enough will miss out on some part of the conversation.

"We had five Chinese children in our camp, but they didn't try much to communicate with us," said Ivan, 15, from Moscow. "We were eager to make friends with them, but they preferred to focus on their smartphones and didn't mingle much."

Supervised by the Russian Ministry of Education, Artek aims to cultivate a generation of new leaders. Bringing together the most talented children from all over the country, this modern version of the Soviet Pioneer camp strives to give them a sense of what they're capable of and what they can achieve. There is no ideology, unlike Soviet times, but rather an attempt to teach kids how to decide for themselves and learn to live in a multicultural world.

"Artek always was and will remain a reflection of a child's dream, and the main task here is to maintain this reflection," Artek's director explains. "Our goal is to attract as many children as we can and we do not bet on multiculturalism because of the Soviet past. The world of the future will be one without borders, so we're consciously working towards bringing this world closer. Our kids will live in a multicultural, multinational and multi-confessional environment."

Lais, 16, from Syria: "Me and my sister came to Artek after receiving free vouchers from the Russian government. I can speak Russian because my mother is Russian, but I also know Arabic and English. I learned about veterinary science and I really enjoyed it. Overall, I can say that every day here was busy and full of events, and it's always much fun."

Sultan, 13, from Tashkent, Uzbekistan: "My parents asked me if I wanted to go to Artek and I said yes. At home, I professionally ride horses, so I decided to do it here. I really like it here. I like our group leaders and all sorts of activities that we do. Every day we have a different schedule, so it's always interesting. My friends here are from Sevastopol, Moscow and Smolensk, and we really get along well."

Iovanna, 16, from Serbia: "I came here because my school sent me as part of delegation. We don't have much free time but we swim twice a day and it's very beautiful. There are also kids from countries such as Germany, France, and Pakistan; so there's the opportunity to make international friends. I definitely recommend everyone to visit Artek."

Ivan, 15, from Moscow, Russia: "Every day was full of events. One day we had a concert, another day we did a flashmob with Muz-TV (Russia's music TV channel), then we had a meeting with the Russian Finance Minister…What I loved most was the hike to Ayu-Dag which we transformed into a sort of "hobbit" adventure trying to recreate Lord of the Rings. I tried kickboxing and learned astronomy during my three weeks here. There was too little free time, however. Everyone just wanted to swim and have fun, and at first it was hard without my family, but overall I liked the experience. We went on trips to Sevastopol, Simferopol and saw the southern part of Crimea. Generally, I can't say that this experience changed my way of thinking, but I will continue to keep in touch with some of the friends I made here."