World Festival of Youth and Students in Moscow: review, history and interesting facts

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:42

The program of the 19th Festival of Youth and Students in Moscow and Sochi has recently ended. And this means that it's time to remind the history of the festival to those who are already familiar with it, and to eliminate gaps in knowledge of those who have not heard anything about it.

How did it all start?

In the fall of 1945, the World Conference of Democratic Youth was held in London, where they adopted a resolution on the creation of the World Federation of Democratic Youth.

The purpose of the organization was to promote understanding between young people on various issues, as well as to ensure the safety and upholding of the rights of young people. It was also decided to celebrate World Youth Day on November 10 every year.

Almost a year later, in August 1946, the 1st World Student Congress was held in Prague, at which the International Union of Students (ISU) was created, which declared its goals to be the fight for peace, social progress and the rights of students. It was under the auspices of WFDY and MSS that the very first festival of youth and students was held in the Czech Republic.

Promising start

To the festival17,000 participants from 71 countries came to Prague.

The main theme was the continuation of the fight against fascism and the need to unite all countries for this. Of course, the results of the Second World War were also discussed, the issue of preserving the memory of people whose lives were given in the name of victory.

The emblem of the festival depicted two people, black and white, their handshake on the background of the globe symbolized the unity of the youth of all countries, regardless of nationality, in the fight against the main world problems.

Delegates from all countries prepared stands telling about the reconstruction of cities after the war and the activities of the WFDY in their country. The Soviet stand was different from the rest. Most of it was occupied by information about Joseph Stalin, about the constitution of the USSR, about the contribution of the Soviet Union to victory in the war and to the fight against fascism.

At numerous conferences within the framework of the festival, the role of the Soviet Union in the recently won victory was emphasized, the country was spoken about with respect and gratitude.

Chronology

The World Festival of Youth and Students was originally held every 2 years, but soon the break was extended to several years.

Recall the chronology of its holding:

1. Prague, Czechoslovakia - 1947
2. Hungary, Budapest - 1949
3. GDR, Berlin - 1951
4. Romania, Bucharest - 1953
5. Poland, Warsaw - 1955
6. USSR, Moscow - 1957
7. Austria, Vienna - 1959
8. Finland, Helsinki - 1962
9. Bulgaria, Sofia - 1968
10. GDR, Berlin - 1973
11. Cuba, Havana - 1978
12. USSR, Moscow - 1985
13. Korea, Pyongyang - 1989
14. Cuba, Havana - 1997
15. Algiers, Algiers - 2001
16. Venezuela, Caracas - 2005
17. South Africa, Pretoria - 2010
18. Ecuador, Quito - 2013
19. Russia, Moscow - 2017

For the first time in the USSR

The first Festival of Youth and Students in Moscow was held in 1957. It brought together 34,000 participants from 131 countries. This number of delegates is still unsurpassed.

The country rejoiced at the opening of the Iron Curtain, the entire Soviet Union and the capital carefully prepared for the festival:

• new hotels were built in Moscow;
• destroyed Friendship Park;
• A "Festival Edition" was created on Central Television, which released several programs called "An Evening of Funny Questions" (a prototype of modern KVN).

The slogan of the festival "For Peace and Friendship" reflected its atmosphere and mood. Many speeches were made about the need for the independence of peoples and the promotion of internationalism. The famous Dove of Peace became the symbol of the Festival of Youth and Students in Moscow in 1957.

Interesting facts about the VI Festival

The First Festival of Youth and Students in Moscow was remembered not only for its scale, but also for a number of very interesting facts:

• Moscow was covered by a real "sexyrevolution". Young girls willingly got acquainted with foreign guests, started fleeting romances with them. Entire squads were created to combat this phenomenon. They went to Moscow streets at night and caught such couples. Foreigners were not touched, but Soviet young ladies had a hard time: combatants cut part of their hair with scissors or machines so that the girls had no choice but to cut their hair bald. Nine months after the festival, dark-skinned citizens of the Soviet Union began to appear in the world. They were called - "Children of the Festival".
• At the closing ceremony, the song "Moscow Evenings" was performed by Edita Piekha and Marisa Liepa. Until now, many foreigners associate Russia with this particular composition.
• As one of the journalists who came to Moscow at that time noted, Soviet citizens did not want to let foreigners into their homes (he believed that the authorities had instructed them to do so), but on the streets Muscovites communicated with them very willingly.

Twelfth or second

The twelfth overall, and the second in Moscow, the Festival of Youth and Students was held in 1985. In addition to the participants (and there were 26,000 of them from 157 countries), many famous people also took part in the festival:

• Mikhail Gorbachev spoke at the opening; "peace race" was opened by the chairman of the Olympic Committee Samaranch;
• Anatoly Karpov showed the skill of playing chess on a thousand boards at the same time;
• German musician Udo Lindenberg performed at music venues.

Not the same anymore?

This freedom of speech, as in 1957, was no longer observed. According to the recommendations of the party, all discussions should have been reduced to a certain range of issues prescribed in the document. They tried to avoid provocative questions or accused the speaker of incompetence. However, most of the Festival participants did not come at all for political discussions, but to communicate with delegates from other countries and make new friends.

The closing ceremony of the Festival of Youth and Students in Moscow was held at the Lenin Stadium (current Luzhniki Stadium). In addition to speeches by delegates and politicians from different countries, famous and popular artists performed before the participants, for example, Valery Leontiev presented his songs, scenes from Swan Lake performed by the Bolshoi Theater troupe were shown.

Nineteenth or third

In 2015, it became known that the festival of 2017 would be hosted by Russia for the third time (although, to be precise, Russia hosts it for the first time, because the USSR was the host country the previous two times).

June 7, 2016, the cities where the XIX World Festival of Youth and Students will be held - Moscow and Sochi were named.

In Russia, as always, with diligence began to prepare for the upcoming event. In October 2016, a clock was installed in front of the Moscow State University building, counting down the days until the start of the Festival. The passing of norms was timed to coincide with this event. TRP, presentation of the cuisines of the world, a concert with the participation of Russian stars. Similar events were held not only in Moscow, but also in many other cities.

The opening of the Festival of Youth and Students took place in Moscow. The carnival parade started from Vasilyevsky Spusk and walked 8 km to the Luzhniki sports complex, where a grandiose concert was held with the participation of contemporary Russian pop stars. The holiday ended with a big fireworks display that lasted 15 minutes.

The grand opening took place in Sochi, where artists and speakers of the festival also performed.

Festival program - 2017

The program of the festival of youth and students in Moscow and Sochi was very intense. The capital was given the role of "framing" the event, its colorful opening and closing. The main events unfolded in Sochi:

• During the cultural program, a jazz festival was held, organized by Igor Butman, Manizha, who became famous on Instagram, performed. The participants watched the play "Revolution Square. 17" performed by the Moscow Theater of Poets, enjoyed the music of a multinational symphony orchestra and even took part in a dance battle from Yegor Druzhinin.
• The sports program also included a lot of events: passing the TRP standards, master classes, the 2017 meters race, meetings with famous Russian athletes.
• The educational program of the festival has become no less extensive and important. During it, the participants met with scientists, businessmen,politicians and experts in various fields of science, visited numerous exhibitions and lectures, took part in discussions and master classes.

The final day of the Festival was marked by the personal presence of Vladimir Putin. He addressed the participants with a pep talk.

The World Festival of Youth and Students in Moscow, October 22, has ended. The organizers have prepared an impressive pyrotechnic show to the music written especially for the closing of the Festival.

The festival of youth and students in Moscow is getting richer and brighter every year. Probably, he will not return to our country as soon as we would like, because there are still a lot of states that want to accept him on their territory. In the meantime, we will cherish the memory of the three past festivals and wait for new victories and discoveries from the Russian youth.