Associate Professor, PhD L.V. Batalova¹
Dr.Sc.Hist., Professor G.V. Merzlyakova^1
1Udmurt State University, Izhevsk

Keywords: children’s and youth tourism, sport-and-health tourism, Udmurt Republic        

Background. Practical experience of the last few decades has clearly demonstrated that only those nations may have a strategic advantage in the modern rapidly changing world that are most efficient in employing the available innovative and developmental resources – mostly through the efforts of young people who may be considered the major developmental resource of the nation in the XXI century. However, due initiatives need to be taken to help cultivate healthy lifestyles and natural needs for physical activity in young people. Top priority is given today by the government agencies of every level to the efforts to find the most effective forms for the young people's engagement into all kinds of activities to help cultivate healthy lifestyles, with the children’s and youth sport-and-health tourism being considered a universal solution in this context. Modern governmental agencies strive to solve regional problems based on a profound knowledge of the local specifics, and solutions may be successful only when designed on comprehensive studies and knowledge of the valuable historical experience of the regional tourism.

Objective of the study was to analyse the historical experience of the children’s and youth sport-and-health tourism in the Udmurt Republic and offer promising institutional forms and methods for its development.

Methods and structure of the study. We applied a systemic approach as a theoretical and practical basis for the historical studies of the regional tourism to critically assess a variety of the existing theoretical views and tourism development concepts applicable to our country. Methodologically, the present study was based on the principles of objectivism and historical perspective that imply all the relevant phenomena and processes being studied in their development and interconnections, with a widest variety of information sources being employed. The multifactor approach to the analysis of the events and phenomena in the sector made it possible to have a variety of economic, political and cultural aspects of the history of tourism covered by the study.

Study results and discussion. Historically, the children’s and youth sport-and-health tourism in Udmurtia was established and built up in line with the national governmental general developmental policies and trends for the sector. Apart from the general trends, the growth of the children’s and youth sport-and-health tourism in Udmurtia was quite specific due to a variety of local political, economic, geographical and social factors. It was typical and traditional for the Udmurt Republic that the children’s and youth sport-and-health tourism was dominant over other types and forms of tourist activity, with its progress being facilitated by the rich natural resources as opposed to the relatively modest historical and cultural potential.

The children’s and youth tourism in Udmurtia sprang up in the late XIX century and initially was limited to the educational schoolchildren’s excursions and walking trips within the Vyatka Province of the Russian Empire [1]. The sound institutional basics and core developmental vectors of the children’s and youth sport-and-health tourism in the Udmurt Republic were formed in the Soviet period of 1930 to 1960ies, with the following infrastructure being created at that period: Republican Children’s Excursion and Tourism Service Station (1931); and the Children’s Excursion and Tourist Service Bases in the towns of Izhevsk, Votkinsk, Sarapul and Glazov that provided management and practical services to the children’s and youth sport-and-health tourist groups in the Republic [6, Op. 1. D. 11. L. 23]. Special tourist divisions, groups and clubs were created at the Pioneers’ Palaces under control of the relevant tourist activity management officers from the district/ municipal educational departments of the government bodies. The children’s and youth sport-and-health tourism management system was formed to schedule, design and manage mass tourist events including festivals, competitions, tourist walking trips and adventures.

With time individual festivals and practical and theoretical competitions became traditional for the All-USSR expeditions of schoolchildren and pioneers since they were convenient for the process design, scheduling and management purposes. It may be pertinent to mention a few large-scale tourist events of that period, including the All-Russian tour of schoolchildren and pioneers “Lenin’s Dream Roads” (1969-70) [3, Op.7. D.389. L.77.]; the All-Russian tourist and local history research expedition of schoolchildren and pioneers “My Fatherland” (1970-72) [4, Op. 1. D. 778. L. 54]; and the All-USSR tourist and local history research expedition of schoolchildren and pioneers “USSR, my Motherland” (1973-85) [5, Op. 5. D. 75. L. 18]. These mass campaigns were unparalleled the world over in terms of their scopes, goals and versatility and may be described in fact as the large-scale national educational, cultural and health programs for the young generation.

The national government at that time gave a high priority to the children’s and youth sport-and-health tourism development initiatives and supported the All-Russian tours and All-USSR expeditions of young people as the efficient ideological and patriotic education tools and health improvement projects. The political context of the large-scale events secured due governmental support and staff for the initiatives.

In the period of 1970-80, the mass schoolchildren's and pioneers’ mobilizing campaigns in the Udmurt Republic were dominated by the All-Russian tours and All-USSR expeditions with the children’s and youth sport-and-health tourist initiatives considered a separate vector of the mass tourism process.

A special role in further sporting of the children’s and youth sport-and-health tourism in the Republic was played by the Russian Physical Culture and Sports “Ready for Labour and Defence” (GTO) Complex tests that were made obligatory in 1972. The new regulations at that time gave the right to 14+ years-old schoolchildren to qualify for the “USSR Tourist” badge [2, Op. 1. D. 989. L. 14]. These initiatives and regulations provided an extra impetus to the children’s and youth sport-and-health amateur tourism in the Republic.

It is a tourist walking trip that has always been considered the most universal, mass and efficient form of the children’s and youth sport-and-health tourism. The tourist trips and expeditions became an obligatory form of the off-class and off-school activity for every school and every off-school establishment in the Udmurt Republic. The tourist walking trips of schoolchildren were organized and served by the Republican schools and off-school establishments, Republican Children’s Excursions and Tourism Service Station, pioneers’ and schoolchildren’s houses, different camps (municipal pioneers’/ tourist/ recreation camps), tourist bases and the relevant cultural and elucidation institutions in charge of the children’s recreation services. The Republican Children’s Excursions and Tourism Service Station, for instance, had its own stock of rentable tourist equipment and provided it freely to the schoolchildren for tourist trips, including skies, bicycles, boats and canoes.

The amateur school tourist trips were classified into one-, two-, three-day and longer non-qualification trips by Class I, II and III difficulty routes. The children’s tourist trip routes were compatible with the relevant tourist norms of the GTO Complex tests [8, Op. 1. D. 11. L. 3]. The tourist trips and adventures, qualifications for the “Junior Tourist” and “USSR Tourist” badges, trainings of tourist instructors and qualified tourists – were ranked among the main performance indicators of the tourist activity reported by the Republican schools and off-school establishments. Every school work plan at that time included tourist trips and GTO qualification tests, qualifications for the “Junior Tourist” and “USSR Tourist” badges and qualification and non-qualification tourist expeditions across the Republic and abroad [9, Op. 1. D. 357. L. 97]. In the school year of 1970-71, for instance, the Udmurt Republic reported 5209 tourist trips, 3786 qualifications for the “USSR Tourist” badges, 3151 qualifications for the “Junior Tourist” badges, and 932 qualifications for the junior tourist instructor class [6, Op.1.D.125.L.61.]. In the school year of 1980-81 the Udmurt Republic reported 7920 tourist trips, 22375 qualifications for the “USSR Tourist” badges, 13973 qualifications for the “Junior Tourist” badges, and 1536 qualifications for the junior tourist instructor class [6, Op. 1. D. 171. L. 31].

The Republican Junior Tourism Service Station, giving a high priority to the children’s and youth sport-and-health tourism, explored the tourist potential of the Udmurt Republic and developed and approved a set of qualification and non-qualification standard tours for children [7, Op. 1. D. 273. L. 13].

The 1980ies was the time when the children’s and youth sport-and-health tourist competitions and festivals were put into system. There were many Republican special tourist competitions categorised by types of tourism at that time (including skiing, walking, mountain, sport orienteering tourism etc.) to improve the tourist skills of the local schoolchildren and nominate the strongest tourist teams of the Republic for participation in the All-Russian events. In this context, the tourist competitions were designed with a special emphasis on the sporting aspect. We should note good progress made by the Udmurt Republican school teams in the All-Russian skiing and walking tourism and sport orienteering events where they were multiple champions at that time.

The sound foundation laid in the Soviet times enabled the children’s and youth sport-and-health tourism to survive in the difficult situation of the transitional period in early 1990ies, to demonstrate that it is still in high demand by the society and hold its position in the modern advanced education system despite the ongoing commercialization of the children’s and youth sport-and-health tourism system taking place nowadays.

Conclusion. The children’s and youth sport-and-health tourism as a government-supported system unparalleled the world over proved its high benefits for the society for its almost 100 years-long Soviet history. The modern tourist sector specialists need to respect and explore the precious experience accumulated by the national tourism system at that time.

References

1. Batalova L.V., Vasilyeva L.V. Turizm v Udmurtii: istoriya i sovremennost [Tourism in Udmurtia: history and the present]. Izhevsk: Udmurt university publ., 2012, 444 p.
2. State Archive of the Russian Federation. Fund P-7576. Committee of Physical Culture and Sports of the USSR. (In Russ.)
3. State Archive of the Russian Federation. Fund P-9563. Ministry of Education of the USSR. (In Russ.)
4. State Archive of the Russian Federation. Fund P-9520. Central Council for Tourism and Excursions of AUCCTU. (In Russ.)
5. Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History. Fund M-5. Bureau of International Youth Tourism (BIYT) "Sputnik" CC LYCLSU. (In Russ.)
6. Central State Archive of the Republic of Udmurtia. Fund P-1254. National Children's excursion and tourist station of the Ministry of Education of the Udmurt Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. (In Russ.)
7. Central State Archive of the Republic of Udmurtia. Fund P-1592. Udmurt Regional Council on tourism and excursions. (In Russ.)
8. Documentation Centre of the recent history of the Udmurt Republic. Fund 4967. Bureau of International Youth Tourism (BIYT) "Sputnik" Udmurt regional committee of AUCCTU. (In Russ.)
9. Documentation Centre of the recent history of the Udmurt Republic. Foundation 92. Udmurt regional committee of AUCCTU. (In Russ.)

Corresponding author: batalova25@mail.ru

Abstract

The article gives a historical overview of the children’s and youth sport-and-health tourism in Udmurtia. Objective of the study was to analyse and summarise the specific historical experience of the children’s and youth sport-and-health tourism in the Udmurt Republic with a special focus on its institutional forms and methods. The children’s and youth tourism is interpreted herein as the tourist activity designed for children’s and adolescent’s groups composed of 18- year-old people. The children’s and youth sport-and-health tourism in Udmurtia emerged and developed much in the same way as was traditional for the nation on the whole. However, the Udmurt Republic was different in the sense that the children’s and youth sport-and-health tourism dominated over the other types and forms of tourist activity. The Udmurt children’s and youth tourism emerged in the second half of the XIX century, but its sound institutional basics and core developmental vectors were formed in the period of 1930 to 1960ies. It was in 1970-1980ies that the children’s and youth sport-and-health tourism shaped up as a separate tourist sector. The study demonstrates that it was the tourist walking trip that comprised the most popular and efficient institutional form of the children’s and youth sport-and-health tourism at that time.