10.11.2015

The VI World Festival of Youth and Students was held from July 28 to August 11, 1957 in Moscow.

It was the brightest event of the Thaw era and the largest of all youth festivals. The festival was attended by delegations from 131 countries and 34,000 guests. The slogan of the festival is “For peace and friendship.” The symbol of the festival was the drawing by the famous French artist Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) “Dove of Peace” (a dove with an olive twig in its beak). Delegates represented 5 continents of the globe - Europe, Australia, Asia, America and Africa. The black delegates were mainly representatives of Europe, the Africans - representatives of Ghana, Liberia and Ethiopia.

In August 1955, active preparations began for the World Youth Forum in the USSR. The preparatory committee and main headquarters of the VI World Festival of Youth and Students were located at Zubovskaya Square, 3. Shock Komsomol construction began to boil - the construction of the Central Stadium in Luzhniki; all metropolitan students were required to work at the impact facility once a week. The MGK Komsomol was given an important task - to raise 100,000 pigeons in 2 years. Soon a resolution was issued by the Moscow City Executive Committee: to introduce pigeons into the capital and create the most best conditions for life. Moscow was supposed to look no worse to foreigners than other European capitals. On Red Square, citizens began to distribute envelopes with millet to feed the pigeons so that they would boldly walk on the paving stones. Rock pigeons populated Red Square, Manege, Gorky Street and Pushkinskaya Square. Thus, the dove became a symbol of peace and the youth festival. A pigeon commission was hastily created in Moscow. All factories and factories were involved in the cultivation of white, black and red pigeons. All enterprises received instructions on how to sort pigeon chicks and eggs by color. Moscow has turned into a “big incubator”.

The USSR was quickly swept by the festival race!

On July 31, 1956, the Central Stadium named after V.I. Lenin in Luzhniki, designed for 78,360 seats, was inaugurated. On October 10, 1956, the Gorky Automobile Plant produced the first GAZ-21 Volga passenger cars. Garment and textile factories made souvenir handkerchiefs with beautiful festival symbols. The “Tourist” hotel complex (“Selskokhozyaystvennaya Street, 17”) (1956) and the “Ukraine” Hotel (“Kutuzovsky Prospekt, 2/1”) (May 25, 1957) were put into operation. In 1957, the Riga Bus Factory produced the first “rafik” - a minibus of the “RAF-10 Festival” brand. Hungarian Ikarus buses appeared in Moscow for the first time. 400 streets, squares and bridges of Moscow were illuminated. Through the efforts of Komsomol members and youth, thousands of trees and 10,000 shrubs were planted, and 100,000 roses were grown. For the bouquets alone, the participants spent 8,000,000 flowers! Were written famous songs“If only the boys of the whole Earth” (music by V. Solovyov-Sedoy, lyrics by E. Dolmatovsky), “Moscow Dawns” (music by A. Ostrovsky, lyrics by M. Lisyansky), “The guitar is ringing over the river” (music by A. Novikov, lyrics L. Oshanina) and others. The march “Friends, we are glad to see you” and “Festival Waltz” (music by M. Chistov, lyrics by O. Kornitskaya and N. Khnaev) were published in the newspaper “Moskovskaya Pravda”. The very young Central Television of the USSR, which broadcast several hours a day, issued 3 badges - “Press”, “Cinema” and “Radio”. There was no “Television” badge, and television journalists had to work under someone else’s badges. Thanks to the youth festival, regular broadcasting began on the USSR Central Television, and a new genre appeared - television reporting. The “Festival” editorial office arose - later the Main Editorial Office of Programs for Youth.

A few days before the festival, many Moscow students received mysterious envelopes in the mail. The envelopes contained colorful pictures with simple designs. At the same time, there was a text application with a request: cut out the pictures with scissors along the contour and paste them in any visible place. The next morning Moscow was turned into a carnival city!

The opening day of the VI World Festival of Youth and Students has arrived - July 28, 1957. Into this sunny morning Millions of Muscovites of all ages took to the streets. The ceremonial car procession of festival participants began along the Youth Route from the All-Russian Agricultural Exhibition to the Central Stadium named after V.I. Lenin in Luzhniki. At 11:45 am, at the intersection of Yaroslavskoye Highway and Ostankinskaya Street, ringing fanfares were heard - 40 people arrived on white motorcycles with blue banners. They were followed by trucks carrying festival participants from around the world. Thousands of Muscovites greeted the guests with bouquets of flowers and shouts of “Peace!” and “Friendship!” The car march was supposed to cover the distance minute by minute - in 2 hours, but it took a long time. There was no trace left of the organized movement of the columns - multi-colored masses of people were seething. Buses carrying foreign delegations stopped; people came out, extended their hands to each other and looked at each other carefully. For example, one grandmother came up to a black man, slobbered on her finger and rubbed it over his face to see if it was made up with brown paint. In a closed country, where the word “foreigner” was synonymous with the word “spy,” everything changed overnight - the Soviet people saw thousands of guests from all over the world!

The opening of the festival was broadcast live by Central Television and All-Union Radio from more than 100 points in the capital. The broadcast from Moscow, relayed by plane, was first seen live by television viewers in Smolensk, Kyiv and Minsk. At the same time, the event was filmed on black and white and color film. TV journalists were supposed to speak on-air texts “on paper,” but to the horror of the GosLITO censors, everything did not go according to plan. From a residential apartment on the Garden Ring, a report on the opening of the festival was conducted by the USSR Central Television correspondent Leonid Abramovich Zolotarevsky (b. 1930), now a recognized master of domestic television journalism. The young journalist had a strict minute-by-minute travel schedule for delegations from different countries. In fact, a real dump reigned on the Garden Ring - for example, instead of the Congolese delegation, a delegation from Mozambique was passing through. But Leonid Abramovich was not at a loss and carried out a complete text improvisation, breaking away from the on-air text of GosLITO.

However, there was an incident that was successfully hidden by the leadership of the Central heating center. On the building of the Shcherbakovsky department store on Kolkhoz Square there was a crowd of people welcoming the guests. Suddenly there was a joyful cry of “They’re coming!” In a single impulse, the crowd jumped to its feet, and ... the roof collapsed - dozens of people fell down. The television cameras immediately switched to another point. In a few minutes, columns of foreigners were supposed to pass here. To hide the incident, a police cordon was immediately set up. They began to wait for information about the number of victims, and after a few hours it turned out that miraculously no one died! After the end of the festival, the ill-fated Shcherbakovsky department store was demolished.

At 15-00 at the Central Stadium named after V.I. Lenin in Luzhniki, the opening ceremony of the VI World Festival of Youth and Students began. A giant bowl was installed, surrounded by a banner with the word “Peace” inscribed in Russian, English, German, French, Spanish and Chinese. Members of the Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee appeared in the Central Lodge - First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev (1894–1971), Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR Nikolai Aleksandrovich Bulganin (1895–1975), Chairman of the Presidium Supreme Council USSR Kliment Efremovich Voroshilov (1881–1969), Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Nikolai Ilyich Belyaev (1903–1966), Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev (1906–1982), USSR Minister of Defense Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov (1896–1974), First Secretary of the Gorky Regional Committee CPSU Nikolai Grigorievich Ignatov (1901–1966), First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine Alexey Illarionovich Kirichenko (1908–1975), Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Otto Vilhelmovich Kuusinen (1881–1964), Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Mikhail Andreevich Suslov (1902–1982), Secretary of the Central Committee CPSU, first secretary of the Moscow State Committee of the CPSU Ekaterina Alekseevna Furtseva (1910–1974) and chairman of the Party Control Committee under the CPSU Central Committee Nikolai Mikhailovich Shvernik (1888–1970), candidates for members of the Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee - first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Uzbekistan Nuritdin Akramovich Mukhitdinov (1917–2008 ), Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Pyotr Nikolaevich Pospelov (1898–1979), First Secretary of the Sverdlovsk Regional Committee of the CPSU Andrei Pavlovich Kirilenko (1906–1990), First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Belarus Kirill Trofimovich Mazurov (1914–1989), First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Georgia Vasily Pavlovich Mzhavanadze (1902–1988) and Chairman of the State Committee of the USSR Council of Ministers for Foreign Economic Relations Mikhail Georgievich Pervukhin (1904–1978). The leaders of the USSR - the guests of honor at the opening ceremony of the festival - were greeted by those present with stormy, prolonged applause. A roll call of 2 groups of fanfare players began in the Northern and Southern stands. Then the orchestra began to play, and the leading column of standard bearers entered the stadium. A flurry of greetings swept through the stands. Young men in white tracksuits carried a huge festival emblem in front. The girls carried a 60-meter colored ribbon of yellow, blue, green, orange and red, symbolizing the 5 continents of the world. Then banners with festival emblems and flags of nations floated in the air. Delegations of 131 states began to pass through, dressed in bright national costumes. The festival participants lined up together on the green field. Then a group of girls - representatives of 15 union republics - rose to the Central Tribune. They presented bouquets of flowers to the leaders of the USSR, headed by the First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Nikita Khrushchev, the organizers of the festival and the heads of delegations. Chairman of the Committee of Youth Organizations of the USSR Sergei Kalistratovich Romanovsky (1923–2003) made a welcoming speech on behalf of the USSR. Then representatives of youth from 5 continents gave speeches - Charles Brezland (Australia), Chintamoni Panigrahi (India), Roger Ferreira (Brazil), Comfort Thea (Ghana) and Antoine Aumont (France). Soon, runners with relay batons arrived on the cinder track and presented the International Friendship Relay to representatives of the International Festival Committee to the stormy ovation of the stadium. The opening speech was made by Kliment Voroshilov, a member of the Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee, Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. His speech ended with a health message: “For world peace!” Greetings were heard in many languages, and a huge flock of white doves soared into the sky over Luzhniki. On behalf of the International Festival Committee, the VI World Festival of Youth and Students was opened by the Chairman of the Committee of Youth Organizations of the USSR, Sergei Romanovsky. A solemn fanfare rang out. A white flag with the festival emblem was slowly raised onto the mast. Over 100,000 people sang the “Hymn of Democratic Youth” in unison in different languages. Songs of the peoples of the world floated over Luzhniki. Mass performances by athletes and a colorful parade of athletes began. 3,200 boys and girls from the All-Union Voluntary Sports Society “Labor Reserves”, the State Central Institute of Physical Culture named after I.V. Stalin (Moscow) and State Institute physical culture named after P. F. Lesgaft (Leningrad). The opening ceremony ended with the dance suite “Blossom, Our Youth” with the participation of amateur creative teams union republics.

So, the VI World Festival of Youth and Students has officially opened! The program of 15 festival days was filled with colorful and unforgettable events.

July 29 (2nd day). In the morning, international art competitions were solemnly opened in the Great Hall of the Moscow State Conservatory named after P. I. Tchaikovsky and in the Hall of Columns of the House of Unions. Speeches were given by: at the Moscow Conservatory - the General Secretary of the WFDM, Jacques Denis, and in the Hall of Columns - by member of the International Committee of the Festival, Hector del Campo Silva.

At 11-00 a philatelic exhibition opened at the State Library named after V.I. Lenin, where 400 stands with stamps were presented various countries peace.

Opened International exhibition artistic photography at the Moscow House of Artists (representatives from about 30 countries took part) and the International Student Club at Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov.

A gala concert of the Soviet delegation took place at the Central Theater of the Soviet Army. Concerts were held: by Bulgarian youth (Sokolniki Park), the youth of Egypt and Romania (Gorky Central Park of Culture and Culture), the youth of Yugoslavia (Great Hall of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory), delegations of Hungary, India and Czechoslovakia (variety venues of the All-Russian Agricultural Exhibition). In the morning, an international concert of delegates from Hungary, Cyprus, North Korea and Uruguay took place on the stage of Pushkin Square. In the evening, artistic groups and performers from Germany, Spain, Jordan, North Korea and the USSR performed. There were performances by the Romanian puppet theater “Cenderike”, the Polish student satirical theater “Bimbom” and the Argentine Drama Theater, as well as circus performances by artists from Poland, China, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia and other countries.

Representatives of the Finnish youth delegation visited the workers of the Kalibr plant, and young French chemists visited the Kauchuk plant.

A press conference of the Romanian delegation took place at the Central House of Journalists.

In the evening, the International Meeting Club opened (“Pushechnaya Street, 4”).

July 30 (day 3). The International Exhibition of Fine and Applied Arts opened at the Gorky Park. IN International club meetings, a meeting was held dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the publication in Amsterdam of the works of the Czech humanist educator, writer and public figure Jan Amos Comenius (1592–1670). The International Film Festival opened at the Udarnik cinema. Its program featured more than 180 films created by young filmmakers from more than 30 countries.

Meetings on professions and hobbies opened. At the All-Russian Agricultural Exhibition, the experiences of young peasants, farmers and tenants were exchanged. Amateur photographers met at the House of Scientists, Polytechnic Museum- radio amateurs, in the House of Architects - film enthusiasts, in the Central Aero Club named after V.P. Chkalov - aircraft modelers. International seminars for students of agricultural, cinematographic and economic educational institutions have opened at M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University.

Began sports competitions. Athletes, tennis and volleyball players performed at the capital's stadiums.

A large international concert was held at the Gorky Central Park of Culture and Culture with the participation of young people from Belgium, India, Morocco and Czechoslovakia. Concerts were held by youth delegates from Bulgaria (branch of the State Academic Maly Theater of the USSR) and Great Britain (Luch club). More than 40 international and national concerts took place in Palaces of Culture, clubs and open-air stages.

Artists from Finland performed at the Moscow Academic Satire Theater. Delegates from France, the Netherlands, Argentina and East Africa. Dramatic artists from China, Sweden and Chile demonstrated their art in theatres.

About 300 participants took part in the meeting of delegates from Bulgaria and Great Britain. An impromptu concert of the choir of Bulgarian girls and English brass band.

The club on Bersenevskaya Embankment hosted an evening dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the First World Festival of Youth and Students.

July 31 (day 4). In the morning, representatives of various youth organizations gathered at the International Meeting Club and discussed issues of cooperation and protecting the interests of youth.

A big circus performance took place at the Dynamo stadium. Moscow theaters presented several performances for festival participants.

The exchange of experiences between young peasants, farmers, tenants, miners and leather industry workers continued. A meeting of young railway workers and printers opened. Film, photography and radio amateurs again came to the meetings on interests. Heads of children's institutions from a number of countries discussed issues of education.

The ceremonial national programs of the DPRK, Poland, Germany and Yugoslavia were shown. Young performers from Hungary, Great Britain, Italy, China, Mongolia, Romania, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Bulgaria, Spain, USSR, Sweden, the Netherlands, Indonesia, Paraguay, Mexico, Norway, Finland, performed national concerts on the capital's stages, in parks and theaters. France, Albania, Egypt and Madagascar.

International art competitions continued. Young performers competed in playing the piano, bowed, wind and folk instruments, singing and dancing. The International Student Club hosted an amateur concert from Chile, West Africa, Hungary, Spain, Syria and other countries. WITH big program The Leningrad Pop Orchestra performed.

A meeting of American and Chinese delegations took place at the All-Russian Agricultural Exhibition. At the end, an impromptu concert took place. At first Chinese girls We sang several songs to the accompaniment of a small orchestra, then American jazz performed.

Young Christians met in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra (Zagorsk, Moscow region).

Volleyball players met on the summer courts of the Dynamo stadium. The Italian team beat the Austrian team with a score of 3:0. Basketball players from France, Belgium, Albania, the USSR and other countries competed in Sokolniki.

Members of a Ukrainian artistic group performed in front of the metallurgists of the Hammer and Sickle plant. Delegates from Finland, India, Great Britain, France, Syria, Germany and Morocco also came to the plant.

August 1 (day 5). At 10:00 a.m. the cycling race along the Kurkinskaya ring road began. Best time showed athletes from the Leningrad Textile Institute named after S. M. Kirov, who covered 99.2 km in 2 hours 31 minutes 58 seconds. In the city of Khimki, Moscow Region, the capital's youth and guests took part in the laying of the “Friendship Park”.

The ceremonial national programs of the GDR (Central Theater of the Soviet Army), Egypt (State Academic Theater named after E. B. Vakhtangov), Romania (branch of the State Academic Bolshoi Theater of the USSR) and Finland (Moscow Academic Theater) were shown. Musical theater named after K. S. Stanislavsky and V. I. Nemirovich-Danchenko).

Artistic youth from Great Britain, the Netherlands, China, Albania, Mongolia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Norway, Bulgaria, Belgium, Denmark, Iceland, Spain, Canada, Cyprus, North Korea, Tunisia, Czechoslovakia, France, Yugoslavia, the USSR and other countries performed national concerts .

International art competitions continued in the Big and Small Halls of the Moscow State Conservatory named after P. I. Tchaikovsky, the October Hall of the House of Unions, the Central House of Artists, the Moscow State Theater named after the Lenin Komsomol, the Moscow State University club named after M.V. Lomonosov, the Central House of Cinema and the Concert Hall named after P.I. Tchaikovsky. International art competitions continued - wind instruments, popular songs, classical singing and more.

A meeting of delegates with famous mathematicians on the topic “Mathematics and its latest applications.” Presentations were made by the Deputy Director of the Institute of Atomic Energy of the USSR Academy of Sciences, Academician Sergei Lvovich Sobolev (1908–1989) and the Director of the Laboratory of Theoretical Physics of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research of the USSR Academy of Sciences, Academician Nikolai Nikolaevich Bogolyubov (1909–1992). They talked about the problems of machine mathematics and the technology of the future. The International Seminar of Law Students has opened. The meeting was opened by the Secretary of the International Union of Students Alexander Yankov (b. 1924) (Bulgaria). On behalf of Soviet students and legal teachers, the seminar participants were welcomed by the Dean of the Law Faculty of Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov, Dmitry Stepanovich Karev. The first day was devoted to a discussion of the principles of international law enshrined in the UN Charter.

A meeting of young textile workers opened under the motto “Live and work in peace and friendship.” Shoemakers from the Paris Commune factory were visited by workers from the shoe and leather industries of Italy, France, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Finland, Hungary, Bulgaria and Mongolia. The guests visited the workshops and talked with the workers. A rally took place in the factory yard.

Young peasants, farmers, tenants, printers and miners held final sessions to exchange experiences.

In the garden of the All-Russian Agricultural Exhibition, the Finnish delegation received guests from Poland.

Competitions took place in basketball, freestyle wrestling, swimming, table tennis and other sports.

August 2 (day 6). The central event of the day was an evening of solidarity with the youth of colonial countries in Ostankino Park.

Delegates from Bulgaria, Great Britain, Italy, Black Africa and other countries discussed the problems of vocational education. Deputy Director of Moscow Technical School No. 9 Solovyov introduced the delegates to the history of the development of educational institutions for labor reserves.

The presentation of solemn national programs continued: young artists of Albania (State Academic Theater named after E. B. Vakhtangov), artists of Bulgaria (branch of the State Academic Bolshoi Theater of the USSR), artists of Italy (Moscow Academic Musical Theater named after K. S. Stanislavsky and V. I. Nemirovich-Danchenko) and artists of Vietnam (Central children's theater). National concerts of young performers from China, Great Britain, Czechoslovakia, Romania, the Netherlands, France, Hungary, Mexico and other countries continued.

An international seminar of philology students has opened. The participants were greeted with an opening speech by the prominent Soviet writer Konstantin Aleksandrovich Fedin (1892–1977). The main topic of discussion was traditions and innovation in literature. A meeting of young journalists with the participation of representatives of newspapers, radio and television companies of various directions opened at the Central House of Journalists.

A meeting between artists from Arab countries and the USSR took place. The guests viewed an exhibition of works by polar artist Igor Pavlovich Ruban (1912–1996).

A meeting of youth from the countries of the Arab East took place at the House of Scientists. An international seminar was opened with the participation of about 300 students from technical universities. Presentations were made by the dean of the hydropower faculty of the Moscow Energy Institute, Professor Theodor Lazarevich Zolotarev (1904–1966) and the head of the department of “Machines and Automata” of the Moscow Higher Technical School named after N. E. Bauman, Professor Grigor Arutyunovich Shaumyan (1905–1973), professor from the People's Republic of China Shi Ji-Yan and others.

Meetings took place between young teachers, dockers, postal, telegraph and telephone employees, agricultural workers, builders, textile workers and journalists.

Solemn national programs were shown by young performers of the RSFSR (Central Theater of the Soviet Army), Mexico (Central Children's Theater) and Japan (State Academic Theater named after E. B. Vakhtangov). The youth of China, Poland, Great Britain, France, Belgium, Switzerland and Algeria performed national concerts in clubs, theaters and on stages.

More than 30 meetings of various delegations took place at the All-Russian Agricultural Exhibition.

At the seminar of film workers, an exchange of views took place on the problems of truth in art, the typical and accidental development of film technology. The results of the competition of feature, popular science and newsreel films, held during the seminar, were summed up by the honorary chairman of the jury, rector of the Prague Academy of Musical Culture, Professor Antonin Brousil (1907–1986). He noted rapid growth young talents of cinematography not only from Europe and America, but also from many Asian countries.

A group of Austrian delegates visited the Institute of Surgery of the Academy medical sciences USSR. The Austrian guests observed the operations performed by the director of the Institute of Surgery of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences, Professor Alexander Aleksandrovich Vishnevsky (1906–1975) and the head of the surgical department of the Institute of Surgery of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences, Professor Nikolai Ivanovich Krakovsky (1903–1976).

The International Meeting Club hosted an evening dedicated to the famous Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778).

The Kremlin hosted a Participants' Ball, at which late at night Thousands of boys and girls were having fun.

August 4 (day 8). In the morning, students from Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia performed in the Assembly Hall of the International Student Club. In the afternoon, the students were visited by members of the Chelyuskin expedition - the famous polar radio operator, Hero Soviet Union Ernst Teodorovich Krenkel (1903–1971), polar aviation navigator Valentin Ivanovich Akkuratov (1909–1993), polar meteorologist Olga Nikolaevna Komova (1902–19??), scientist-oceanologist, Doctor of Geographical Sciences, professor at the Department of Oceanology of Moscow State University V. Lomonosov Nikolai Nikolaevich Zubov (1885–1960), heads of polar stations on the drifting ice floes of the North Pole Pavel Afanasyevich Gordienko (1913–1982) and Hero of the Soviet Union Evgeny Ivanovich Tolstikov (1913–1987), other polar heroes. Club members listened with great attention to the stories of young geographers Mikhail Izvekov and Andrei Kapitsa about the work of the expedition of Soviet scientists in the Arctic and Antarctica. The teams of the drifting stations “SP-6” and “SP-7”, winterers of the Antarctic village of Mirny sent welcoming telegrams to the club. The center of attention was a polar bear cub brought to the club. Polar explorers gave a bear cub to their Chinese friends. The youngest conqueror of Antarctica, a student at Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov, Vladimir Igorevich Bardin (1934–1993), presented a photo album with views of Antarctica to representatives of the youth of Norway, the homeland of the outstanding polar explorers Roald Amundsen (1872–1928) and Fridtjof Nansen (1861–1930).

Hungarian music was played over Manezhnaya Square, performed by the Rechke folk orchestra. On Pushkin Square, an accordion ensemble from Germany performed classical works great German composer Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750). More than 60 concerts took place, including 4 gala concerts - in Arab countries, Mongolia, France and Czechoslovakia. Many of them took place in open areas in the presence of thousands of Muscovites spending their day off. A concert of delegates from Indonesia took place at the Gorky Central Park of Culture and Culture. Muscovites and delegates from Ceylon exchanged addresses, postcards and autographs with each other.

An evening of culture of the peoples of Black Africa took place at the Gorky Moscow Art Theater. Artists from Senegal, Guinea, Madagascar and Congo took part in it. Numerous spectators got acquainted with musical and choreographic creativity African peoples.

A meeting of young theater and cinema artists took place at the House of Journalists. Its participants spoke about the role of art in the formation moral qualities youth of different countries, touched upon many other issues affecting youth art.

The International Seminar for Students of Architecture and Construction Universities has opened. Delegates from 56 countries took part in it. Employees of the Mosgorproekt Institute told the guests about their work. In the afternoon, the participants took an excursion to the South-Western district of Moscow.

Professional meetings of young garment workers, knitters and food industry workers took place.

In the evening, an evening of dancing and humor took place at the student club. Delegates from the GDR, Norway and Paraguay were having fun.

A ball was given for the festival participants in the Kremlin - dancing, games and songs. The best artistic forces of the capital demonstrated their art. There was a repeat performance of Soviet ballet at the Dynamo stadium.

August 5 (day 9). A meeting of the delegations of the USSR and Yugoslavia took place in one of the Moscow clubs.

At the initiative of the Argentine delegation, a meeting of envoys from Latin America with representatives of the countries participating in the Bandung Conference. Delegates from Argentina, Syria, Mexico, Guatemala, Tunisia, India, China, Morocco, Brazil, Vietnam, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic spoke. The meeting of young people from European countries. Delegates from Kazakhstan spent several interesting hours at the meeting with the Chinese delegation. The Ukrainian delegates met with the Hungarian delegation and traditionally presented them with bread and salt. Delegates from Belarus met with the Italian delegation, delegates from the RSFSR - with guests from Great Britain. In turn, the DPRK delegation invited friends from Sub-Saharan Africa, Syria and Madagascar to visit.

Jordanian envoys visited the V.I. Lenin Museum, the USSR Revolution Museum, the V.I. Lenin State Library and the Institute of Marxism-Leninism. The full delegation visited the Mausoleum of V.I. Lenin and I.V. Stalin and laid a wreath.

A seminar on the peaceful use of nuclear energy has opened at the International Student Club of Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov. The report was made by the director of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR Dmitry Ivanovich Blokhintsev (1908–1979). The seminar participants visited the pavilion for peaceful research of nuclear energy at the All-Russian Agricultural Exhibition.

Young workers from the electrical, energy and forestry industries, metallurgy and mechanical engineering met. The choir directors met puppet theaters.

Students studying geography met at Lomonosov Moscow State University.

The 2nd round of international art competitions has begun. Creative groups from the USSR, Indonesia and the DPRK performed.

Young flutists and oboists performed at the Moscow State Theater named after Lenin Komsomol. All 17 participated in the 2nd round Soviet performers on spiritual instruments. The 2nd round of the pianist competition took place in the Small Hall of the Moscow State Conservatory named after P. I. Tchaikovsky. The competition for classical singing of the peoples of the East has ended.

48 films from various countries were shown in the Udarnik, Coliseum, Forum and Khudozhestvenny cinemas.

The solemn national program was presented by the delegation of Hungary.

In honor of the festival, engineer of the Moscow Electric Lamp Plant Yuliy Zyslin wrote a “Song about Friendship” based on the words of mechanic William Kurguzov. Young electric lamp workers and delegates from the GDR learned it and sang together:

Let this song rush into the distance

And he will enter every home.

Our festival for the fight for peace

All youth are calling.

In the evening, a reception was held in the Kremlin in honor of the VI World Festival of Youth and Students. About 4,000 people took part in it - government officials, representatives of public organizations, festival participants, heads of delegations, honored guests, representatives of the Soviet and foreign press, heads of diplomatic missions and representatives of embassies. The leaders of the USSR were greeted with warm applause: members of the Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee - First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev (1894–1971), Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR Nikolai Aleksandrovich Bulganin (1895–1975), Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Nikolai Ilyich Belyaev (1903–1966), Minister of Defense of the USSR Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov (1896–1974), Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Otto Vilgelmovich Kuusinen (1881–1964), First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR Anastas Ivanovich Mikoyan (1895–1978), Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, First Secretary of the Moscow City Committee of the CPSU Ekaterina Alekseevna Furtseva (1910–1974), candidates for membership of the Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee - Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Petr Nikolaevich Pospelov (1898–1979), Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR Alexey Nikolaevich Kosygin (1904–1980) and Chairman of the State Committee of the Council of Ministers of the USSR for Foreign Affairs economic relations Mikhail Georgievich Pervukhin (1904–1978).

The first secretary of the Komsomol Central Committee, Alexander Nikolaevich Shelepin (1918–1994), delivered a welcoming speech. He wished the festival participants success in their noble activities for the benefit of peace and friendship. Reply speeches were made by representatives of 5 continents of the Earth: Charles Brezland (Australia), Abbas Usman (Indonesia), Luis Pedro Bonavita (Uruguay), Olu Ogantes (West Africa), Pavlos Vardinoyannis (Greece) and Bruno Bernini (WFDM). The guests' speeches were met with applause.

Then there was a concert of young artists and artistic groups of the USSR - participants of the festival.

During the reception, thousands of rockets soared into the sky. In different languages, the young men chanted: “Thank you for the warm welcome!” Young people from many countries had fun until late at night in the Kremlin Garden.

August 6 (day 10). All peoples of the Earth celebrated the 12th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. The Japanese delegates met with the driver of the 1st article of the cruiser “Varyag” Stepan Davydovich Krylov (1879–1963). With great attention they listened to the story of an old veteran of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905.

More than 400 boys and girls from the USSR, Japan, India, China, Indonesia, North Korea, Vietnam, France and other countries came together to, on behalf of the youth of the whole world, express their protest against nuclear war, demand a ban on nuclear and hydrogen weapons. In the evening there was a demonstration for peace and friendship.

At the International Composers Competition, the jury summed up the final results. Many works were dedicated to international solidarity, youth friendship and the struggle for peace. Gold medals were awarded in the following sections: symphonic works– composers Andrei Yakovlevich Eshpai (1925–2015) and Eino Martinovich Tamberg (1930–2010) (USSR), Mikis Theodorakis (b. 1925) (Greece) and Stanislav Skrowachevsky (b. 1923) (Poland); chamber works - a string quartet conducted by composer Konstantin Agaparonovich Orbelyan (1928–2014); cantata and oratorio works – composer Radu Paladi (1927–2013) (Romania). Also, gold medals were awarded to the songs of Soviet composers - Honored Artist of the RSFSR Vasily Pavlovich Solovyov-Sedoy (1907–1979), Honored Artist of the RSFSR Vano Ilyich Muradeli (1908–1970), Honored Artist of the RSFSR Anatoly Nikolaevich Novikov (1896–1984), composers of socialist countries - Peter Eben (1929–2007) (Czechoslovakia), Mau Ji-Zen (China) and Ilan Marinescu (Romania).

The ceremonial national program was presented by the delegation of Romania.

A chess match took place between the teams of the Central Research Electrotechnical Laboratory of the USSR Ministry of Power Plants and amateur chess players from Switzerland. Soviet chess players won the match against the Swiss with a score of 9.1/2:1/2.

Young machine builders - delegates from Finland, Denmark, Holland, France, East Germany and Germany - visited the Moscow Automobile Plant of Small Compact Cars.

A meeting of young sailors and fishermen opened. Young painters, sculptors, graphic artists and art critics from almost all countries of the world met at the Architect's House. Students studying philosophy discussed the problem: “Is it possible to scientifically foresee phenomena? public life?».

The International Student Club hosted a discussion on the topic “University and Society.” Soviet delegates from 15 union republics met with the youth of India. The meeting between the youth of the USSR and the Netherlands was cordial.

The first international gathering of tourists opened on Lake Seliger (Kalinin region).

August 7 (day 11). Pupils of Soviet choreographic schools performed at the International Student Club.

At the club of the Kompressor plant, young men and women of the Kalininsky district of Moscow welcomed young representatives of the people of Black Africa. Many Africans spoke about their discovery of the Soviet Union.

A meeting of young employees took place government agencies and leaders of amateur performances. Students studying history, archeology and art history had an interesting conversation. Meetings between the youth of the USSR, Argentina, Bulgaria, East Germany, India, Colombia, China, Mongolia and Syria were bright and interesting. An evening dedicated to the 250th anniversary of the birth of the famous Italian playwright Carlo Goldoni (1707–1793) took place.

Students of architectural universities held their seminar in Leningrad. 10 delegates from 55 countries around the world went to the “northern capital” for 2 days. Festival participants walked along the granite embankments of the Neva, visited Palace Embankment and Petrodvorets. On the morning of August 7, the delegates visited the new buildings of the Moscow Outpost, and with admiration became acquainted with new high-speed methods of constructing residential buildings. In the evening, an evening meeting between students and young architects of Leningrad and seminar participants took place at the House of Architects.

The international photo exhibition was visited by about 120,000 people. Photographic art by more than 300 authors from 37 countries was presented. 6 photographers were awarded gold medals: Igor Petkov (USSR), Roger Caterino (France), Giuseppe Medera (Italy), Dolph Kruger (Netherlands), Mirjana Knezevic (Yugoslavia) and Chan Loy (Vietnam). 17 participants received silver medals and 25 participants received bronze medals.

August 8 (day 12). The leaders of the French delegation held a press conference. Representatives of various French organizations participating in the festival, as well as Soviet and French journalists took part in it.

Young peace ambassadors met with active figures in the international peace movement. The festival participants were visited by the Chairman of the Soviet Peace Committee, Deputy General Secretary of the Union of Writers of the USSR, poet Nikolai Semenovich Tikhonov (1896–1979), member of the World Peace Council, writer Ilya Grigorievich Erenburg (1891–1967), executive secretary of the Soviet Committee of War Veterans, Hero of the Soviet Union Alexey Petrovich Maresyev (1916–2001), Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate Metropolitan Nikolai of Krutitsky and Kolomna (in the world – Boris Dorofeevich Yarushevich) (1892–1961), President of the English Peace Committee Denis Nowell Pritt (1887–1972), Turkish poet Nazim Hikmet Ran (1902–1963), Canadian Catholic priest and communist James Endicott (1898–1993), Venezuelan poet Carlos Augusto Leon (1914–1997), Chinese poet Amy Xiao (1896–1983) and other figures. The President of the English Peace Committee, Denis Pritt, announced an appeal from prominent public figures present at the meeting to representatives of the 5 continents.

The British delegation visited the Moscow First Ball Bearing Plant.

Foreign delegates got acquainted with the Moscow metro.

2,500 boys and girls from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Ceylon, Indonesia and other countries visited the V. I. Lenin House Museum in Gorki Leninskiye, Leninsky district, Moscow region.

At the All-Union Industrial Exhibition, guests admired a model of the Tu-104 passenger aircraft, a walking excavator and other examples of Soviet technology.

Art competitions closed solemnly. 3,109 boys and girls from 47 countries took part in festival competitions. 280 individual performers and creative teams were awarded gold medals. 376 silver medals and 289 bronze medals were awarded.

Artistic performances took place in national programs of Africa, Yugoslavia, Indonesia and Vietnam. 39 national concerts were presented. At 6 international concerts Representatives of youth from different countries took part.

August 9 (day 13). At the State Academic Bolshoi Theater The USSR featured festival laureates - winners of art competitions. The concert was attended by a member of the Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee, Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Mikhail Andreevich Suslov (1902–1982), candidates for members of the Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee - Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Pyotr Nikolaevich Pospelov (1898–1979) and Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR Alexey Nikolaevich Kosygin (1904– 1980). A choir of Bulgarian girls and a courageous dance of Macedonian youth “Oro” performed by a youth ensemble of Yugoslavia performed. The Koreans performed a girl's song, the Chinese girls performed the grandiose "Peacock" dance, and the Ukrainians danced the "Hopak" fire dance. Young Romanian singer Ladislav Konya performed Igor's aria from Alexander Borodin's opera Prince Igor. German ballet soloists Heinrich Petzold and Ursula Heinrich danced to the music of Frederic Chopin. Japanese ballerina Kaoru Ishiya performed Edvard Grieg's Dance of Anitra, and Japanese singer Takizawa Mieko soulfully performed the monologue Cio-Cio-San from Giacomo Puccini's opera of the same name. Leningrad ballet dancers Alla Osipenko and Alexander Gribov talentedly performed “Adagio” from the ballet “The Tale of stone flower» Sergei Prokofiev. Romanian dance ensemble"Karapats" performed the "Oltyansky Suite".

One of the central events of the festival, Labor Day, took place at the All-Union Industrial Exhibition. Young employees from more than 20 countries held the third and final day of the meeting. They visited some capital institutions, learned about the working conditions of young Soviet employees and their pay.

More than 100 festival participants visited the Moscow City Council executive committee. In a conversation with them, Chairman of the Moscow City Executive Committee Nikolai Ivanovich Bobrovnikov (1909–1992) spoke about the activities of the Moscow City Council, the procedure for electing deputies and answered questions of interest.

This day was the last for professional meetings. 6,500 people took part in 24 professional meetings.

The festival film competition has ended.

Young workers from many sectors of industry and agriculture got to know the lives of colleagues from other countries, shared experiences and exchanged opinions. The meeting on professions concluded with a meeting of working youth and Labor Day.

2 international meetings opened - for students of biology and geologists. The only meeting of the festival that did not require the participation of translators was the meeting of Esperantists. Representatives of different nationalities easily communicated with each other in Esperanto and talked about the role of Esperantists in strengthening international ties.

Festival participants continued to honor the memory of prominent figures of the world artistic culture. An evening dedicated to the great Indian writer, poet and thinker Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941) took place. His poems were sung in Russian, Hindi, Urdu and Bengali. The festival delegates celebrated the 150th anniversary of the birth of the great American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–1882).

In the capital's theaters and concert halls National programs of Algeria, Hungary, the Netherlands, Egypt, North Korea, Latin American countries, Poland, Czechoslovakia and the USSR were performed.

An international art exhibition was held in one of the pavilions of the Gorky Central Park of Culture and Culture. The exhibition featured paintings by artists from France, Canada, Germany, Egypt, Sudan and other countries. Each author could leave his work in the studio and discuss it with fellow artists. Creative discussions took place daily and were the most interesting in the studio’s work. More than 200 artists, graphic artists and sculptors visited the studio every year.

August 10 (day 14). The International Meeting Club hosted last meetings according to interests. The last meeting was called “Until we meet again.”

The student seminars have completed their work. The secretary of the Union of Composers of the USSR, People's Artist of the RSFSR Dmitry Borisovich Kabalevsky (1904–1987) spoke at one of them. The famous composer spoke about the development of musical culture in the USSR. Famous violinist, Professor of the Moscow State Conservatory named after P. I. Tchaikovsky, People's Artist of the USSR David Fedorovich Oistrakh (1908–1974) gave open lesson and performed several works for violin.

A large group of delegates from Germany visited the Moscow Electric Tube Plant and got acquainted with its history and production. About 500 festival delegates from New Zealand, Finland, Algeria, Italy, Romania, Bulgaria, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Japan and Nigeria visited the Paris Commune factory.

Boys and girls from Syria, Hungary, Peru and Spain took a walk along the Moscow Canal on the Soyuz and Mir motor ships. In total, more than 15,000 guests from around the world took part in the boat trips.

A grand youth carnival took place in the parks, streets and squares of Moscow.

Foreign delegates were presented with sets of long-playing records and rolls of tapes for tape recorders with recordings of Russian and Soviet songs. The largest delegations received as a gift a whole film about the festival, which was prepared by the Central Studio at the request of the International Festival Committee documentaries.

August 11 (day 15). The last day has arrived. Buses carrying festival participants from around the world solemnly drove through the streets of Moscow towards Luzhniki. Along the way, they were accompanied by thousands of Muscovites.

In the evening, the closing ceremony of the VI World Festival of Youth and Students began at the Central Stadium named after V.I. Lenin in Luzhniki.

Present at the Central Tribune were members of the Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee - Secretaries of the CPSU Central Committee Averky Borisovich Aristov (1903–1973) and Mikhail Andreevich Suslov (1902–1982), Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, first secretary of the CPSU Moscow City Committee Ekaterina Alekseevna Furtseva (1910–1974), candidate members Presidium of the Central Committee of the CPSU - First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Latvia Jan Eduardovich Kalnberzin (1893–1986) and Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR Alexey Nikolaevich Kosygin (1904–1980). Those gathered in the stands greeted their appearance with prolonged applause.

The combined orchestra of the All-Union Voluntary Sports Society “Labor Reserves” appeared on the emerald field of the stadium. An unusual platform in the form of a huge festival badge was built in the center of the field, onto which members of the International Festival Committee climbed. Columns of standard bearers appeared to the sounds of the march and the applause of the spectators. 5 young men carried white banners with the emblem of the festival, then carried 131 national flags of the countries participating in the festival. The standard bearers lined up in the center of the field. Thousands of multi-colored balls rising above the stadium bowl filled the evening sky.

Chairman of the Committee of Youth Organizations of the USSR Sergei Kalistratovich Romanovsky (1923–2003) delivered a farewell speech. WFDY President Bruno Bernini announced the statement of the International Committee of the VI World Festival of Youth and Students for Peace and Friendship “Strengthen friendship always and everywhere!” The statement was met with applause and listened to attentively. The Chairman of the Committee of Youth Organizations of the USSR, Sergei Romanovsky, on behalf of Soviet youth, addressed a warm farewell speech and declared the VI World Festival of Youth and Students closed. The festival flag was slowly lowered from the South Stand tower. The participants unanimously sang the “Anthem of Democratic Youth” in different languages, the last words of which were drowned in applause. Boys and girls of all delegations chanted together 2 Russian words “Peace and Friendship”.

A huge white-winged dove was hovering over the stadium in the spotlights. Suddenly the spotlights went out, and in the darkness a river of fire poured out of the gate and spread across the field. To the alternating sounds of Pyotr Tchaikovsky's waltz, fabulous pictures of a fantastic dance appeared. Girls danced in white outfits with sparkling clubs and scattering sparklers. A blue luminous wave rolled down the rows of the East Stand, and the stadium froze with delight. The podium flashed with blue, green, lilac, red and purple colors - as if a fairy-tale box with Ural semi-precious stones had opened! To the beat of the music, the athletes changed the flags, illuminated by the beams of spotlights, and 3 huge letters lit up - “PEACE”. This word originated in English, French, German, Spanish and Chinese. A multicolored wave splashed across the stands, leaving the silhouette of a huge dove of peace. And the festival’s motto appeared - “For peace and friendship!”

The announcer's voice was heard above the stadium: “Dear friends, our holiday is over. Now we invite you to the stadium grounds – to sing, dance and have fun.” A farewell festival ball took place on the squares and alleys of Luzhniki, on the embankments of the Moscow River, flooded with festive illumination. Huge festive fireworks bloomed in the sky. Thus ended the VI World Festival of Youth and Students in Moscow - the most famous event of the Thaw era.

Instead of an epilogue.

During the festival days there were many funny cases. A public order protection point was hastily created with the task of hastily escorting annoying guests away. Morally stable Komsomol members were engaged in other delicate tasks. A real sexual revolution took place in the USSR - the appearance of foreigners in Moscow turned the heads of young girls. To combat debauchery in Moscow, motor brigades of Komsomol members were provided with hand-held lanterns and hairdressing clippers. Komsomol members combed the capital's parks, caught girls, politely apologized to foreigners and shaved the girls almost bald. After the end of the festival, many girls wore headscarves. In the spring of 1958, young girls with baby strollers appeared on the streets of the capital, in which lay a variety of babies - black, yellow, cross-eyed, black and the like. These were the "festival children".

After the VI World Festival of Youth and Students, fashion for jeans, sneakers, rock and roll and badminton spread in the USSR. The musical super hits “Anthem of Democratic Youth”, the song “If only the boys of the whole Earth” and others became popular. At the closing ceremony of the festival the song “ Moscow evenings"(music by V. Solovyov-Sedoy, lyrics by M. Matusovsky) performed by the Moscow Art Theater actor Vladimir Konstantinovich Troshin (1926–2008) and the soloist of the ensemble “Friendship”, student of the Faculty of Philosophy of the Leningrad State University named after A. A. Zhdanov Edita Stanislavovna Piekha (b . 1937). The hit "Moscow Nights" became a hit for many years business card USSR. One of the festival competitions became a regular TV show and laid the foundation for the mass distribution of the “Club of the Cheerful and Resourceful” / “KVN”. In memory of the Moscow festival, on December 13, 1957, by decree of the Moscow City Executive Committee, the streets 1st Meshchanskaya, Bolshaya Alekseevskaya, Bolshaya Rostokinskaya, Troitskoye Shosse and part of the Yaroslavskoye Shosse were renamed into Mira Avenue, which became one of the largest highways in the capital. On the wall of house No. 2 on Mira Avenue there is a memorial plaque: “PEACE AVENUE IS NAMED IN HONOR OF THE INTERNATIONAL PEACE MOVEMENT AND IN CONNECTION WITH THE FESTIVAL HELD IN MOSCOW.”

The Moscow festival took place in the middle of the “thaw” and was remembered for its atmosphere of freedom and openness. The Moscow Kremlin and the M. Gorky Central Park of Culture and Culture were open for free visits. Soviet people began to learn to speak and communicate openly. Foreigners who arrived communicated freely with Muscovites - this was not pursued by the KGB. The festival participants left Moscow with the brightest and most joyful impressions. For the first time, Moscow was wide open to all guests from 5 continents of the Earth.

Kirill Lobanov, member of the Kemerovo regional movement “Komsomol Veterans”.

World festivals of youth and students as holidays of peace, friendship and freedom were based on the important concept of uniting all youth organizations in the world against war and fascism. This idea was also reflected in the visual culture of the festival movement, which has its own history.

The main symbol of the World Festivals of Youth and Students is a daisy with five multi-colored petals, a globe and a white dove in the center. This emblem is now known throughout the world and continues to be the official symbol of the festival movement.

Few people know that she was born festival daisy only for the VI World Festival of Youth and Students thanks to the Soviet artist Konstantin Mikhailovich Kuzginov.

The first festivals, held in Prague (1947), Budapest (1949), Berlin (1951), Bucharest (1953), Warsaw (1955), had their own symbolism, united by a single artistic style. The idea of ​​peace and friendship was expressed very clearly in them - in the images of young boys and girls holding hands, a white dove hovering above them.

A white dove with an olive branch in its beak appeared in the symbolism of festivals thanks to the Spanish artist Pablo Picasso in 1949 and flew around the world. The first version of Picasso's dove, depicted on the poster of the World Peace Congress in Paris, was very different from the one we are used to seeing on badges and postcards. It was a realistic depiction of a dove with furry legs and no olive branch in its beak, but later this image was supplemented.

Postcard of the 1st World Festival of Youth and Students, 1947

Picasso loved pigeons; he inherited the tradition of depicting these birds from his father. He painted pictures of doves and let little Pablo Picasso finish painting their legs.

Ilya Ehrenburg later recalled his meeting with Pablo Picasso:

“I remember lunch in his workshop on the opening day of the Paris Peace Congress. That day, Pablo had a daughter, whom he named Paloma (in Spanish, “paloma” means dove). There were three of us at the table: Picasso, Paul Eluard and me. First we talked about pigeons. Pablo told how his father, an artist who often painted pigeons, let the boy finish drawing the legs - his father had become tired of the legs. Then they started talking about pigeons in general; Picasso loves them, always keeps them in the house; laughing, he said that pigeons are greedy and pugnacious birds, it is not clear why they were made a symbol of peace. And then Picasso moved on to his doves, showed a hundred drawings for a poster - he knew that his bird would fly around the world”.

(from the book “People, Years, Life” by Ilya Erenburg. In 3 volumes. M.: Text, 2005).

Perhaps Picasso himself did not realize what significance his image of the dove would have for the festival movement in the world, but that same year the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts awarded Picasso’s “Dove” the Pennell Memorial Medal.

Pablo Picasso. Poster of the 1st World Peace Congress in Paris, January 1949.

In 1957, before the festival, according to tradition, an All-Union competition was announced to create the emblem of the VI World Festival of Youth and Students in Moscow. More than 300 sketches were submitted to the competition, including a daisy with five petals by artist Konstantin Mikhailovich Kuzginov. By that time he had experience creating such materials - he had made a number of posters that decorated festivals in Budapest and Berlin in 1949 and 1951.

In one of the interviews, Lyubov Borisova, daughter of K.M. Kuzginova, told how her father came up with the idea of ​​​​creating a festival emblem:

“I wondered: what is a festival? And he answered like this - youth, friendship, peace and life. What more precisely can symbolize all this? While working on sketches of the emblem, I was at the dacha when flowers were blooming everywhere. The association was born quickly and surprisingly simply. Flower. Core - globe, and around there are 5 petals-continents.” The petals frame the blue globe of the Earth, on which the festival motto is written: “For peace and friendship”“(from an interview with Lyubov Borisova on the official website of the XIX WFMS 2017 http://www.russia2017.com/posts/18).

The jury immediately liked Chamomile for its simplicity and at the same time the deep idea it carried - the winner was determined quite quickly.

It was difficult to come up with such a laconic symbol for the festival, so in 1958 the Vienna Congress of the World Federation of Democratic Youth decided to take the daisy as the basis for all subsequent festival emblems.

Later, for the XII Festival in 1985, the daisy was supplemented with a graphically stylized image of a dove, the very same Picasso dove. The author of the updated version of the festival daisy was the Soviet artist Rafael Masautov.

Emblems of the World Festivals of Youth and Students 1957, 1985 and 2017

In 1957, at the opening ceremony, thousands of girls and boys created a bright background of the festival daisy, then the new festival symbol was introduced to the whole world for the first time. A whole collection of bright postcards with a festival daisy was invented, dedicated to the first festival in the USSR.

Photos of postcards were sent by participants of the All-Russian action “Diaries of the World Festival of Youth and Students - Moscow, 1957, 1985”

Festival symbols were also harmoniously integrated into elements of city decor, pictograms, directional signs, and printed posters, which created an atmosphere of celebration and boundless free communication at the festivals of 1957 and 1985.

Ceremonial procession on the opening day of the VI World Festival of Youth and Students, Moscow 1957. Photo from pastvu.com

By the XII World Festival of Youth and Students in 1985, elements of the Olympic symbols were still recognizable in decorated Moscow, but the Olympic bears in store windows had already been replaced by colorful souvenir dolls in sundresses and kokoshniks.

The multi-colored daisy at the XII World Festival of Youth and Students was supplemented by another symbol, loved and remembered by everyone. An image of the girl Katyusha in a bright red sundress and kokoshnik. The kokoshnik, as conceived by the author of the emblem, resembled that very festival daisy of 1957, which perfectly suited the Russian folk costume of Katyusha.

In an interview with the Russian State Library for Youth, Mikhail Veremenko recalled how the idea for Katyusha came about:

“I went home, I was sitting on the bus, and suddenly the driver started playing the song “Katyusha.” I thought, wow, what an interesting idea, because the song is known all over the world. It is performed in English, Japanese, Chinese, and no one has tried to create this image. And suddenly the idea immediately appeared in my head to turn this festival daisy into a Russian kokoshnik. And then everything was simple, I came home and started drawing. I drew the head, drew the kokoshnik, it came together very well. Well, the kokoshnik suggests a Russian sundress, and at the bottom along the hem there should be an inscription - “XIIMoscow 1985.” I decided to fold my hands on my chest and let her hold the dove. The dove is a symbol of peace, everything is very suitable for the festival. I called the festival committee, arrived, they said: “This is probably what we need.” And we began to develop this image further.”

The image of Katyusha contained a deep idea; it was bright, understandable and close to everyone, so it was quickly picked up by ensembles, school clubs and art workshops.

In addition, this image was very suitable from an artistic and design point of view for creating festival badges, beautiful souvenir dolls, posters with her image, postcards, stamps, etc.

One of concert performances festival program of the XII World Youth Festivaland students, Moscow 1985

For the 1985 festival, 500 picturesque panels, 450 text slogans and appeals with festival symbols, hundreds of flag compositions, and 129 dynamic light installations were produced. Festive decorations looked especially impressive when illuminated by the evening lighting design.

Exactly one year later, the 19th World Festival of Youth and Students will be held in Sochi: on Friday, October 14, the countdown to the start begins.

The last time this rather irregular festival took place was in 2013 in the Ecuadorian city of Quito. Judging by the scale, this time the organizers intend to repeat the success of the VI festival, which took place in Moscow in 1957.

Then, despite its ideological nature, the festival became a real event in the life of the capital. 34 thousand people from 131 countries came to Moscow. All city services were preparing for the influx of foreigners; eyewitnesses recall how the city was transformed: the central streets were put in order, Hungarian Ikarus buses appeared, Luzhniki and the Ukraine Hotel were completed. Much has been said and written about the amazing atmosphere of openness that reigned then.

But what remains today of the 1957 festival?

Today we are reminded of that festival, first of all, by Moscow toponymy: Mira Avenue, so named in the year of the festival, and Festivalnaya Street itself, which appeared on the map already in 1964. It is along this street that you can walk or get to Friendship Park, which was created by young architects, graduates of the Moscow Architectural Institute, for the 1957 festival.

One of the designers, architect Valentin Ivanov, recalled how the park was created, how they - a group of young architects - came up with risky solutions in order to meet the deadline. For example, on the night before the opening, daisies, a symbol of the festival, were arranged from flowers in glass jars.

On the opening day of the park, about 5 thousand guests arrived there, who, among other things, planted specially prepared seedlings. This tradition was continued during the XII festival, held in Moscow in 1985.

The main achievement of the 1957 festival was the communication between ordinary Muscovites and “guests of the capital”. This communication took place right on the streets. Eyewitnesses say that already on the first day, cars with participants were late for the grand opening in Luzhniki. Due to the lack of transport, it was decided to put the delegates in open trucks, and a crowd of people simply blocked the movement of cars along the streets.

Among those who arrived was the US delegation. Experts say that it was then that the Soviet Union learned about rock and roll, jeans and flared skirts.

The festival took place at the height of the thaw. Two years later, the Moscow Film Festival was resumed, which opened world cinema to Soviet viewers. At the same time, in 1959, the American exhibition was held in the capital, at which they sold, for example, Coca-Cola. There were still several years left before Khrushchev destroyed the exhibition of abstract art in Manege.

After the 1957 festival, the expression “children of the festival” or “festival children” became firmly rooted in everyday life. It was believed that 9 months after the “youth festival” a “colored” baby boom occurred in Moscow. The famous jazz saxophonist Alexey Kozlov in his memoirs describes the atmosphere of liberation that reigned in the evenings. It is believed that people from African countries were of particular interest to Soviet girls.

Perhaps these impressions were somewhat exaggerated, and all this is nothing more than a stereotype. According to historian Natalya Krylova, the birth rates of mestizos were small. But one way or another, it was after the festival that universities began to create faculties for teaching foreigners everywhere in the country.

It was during the festival days that the program “Evening of Fun Questions” (or VBB for short) appeared on television. It was broadcast only three times, and 4 years later the same team of authors came up with KVN.

“Moscow Evenings,” written in 1955, became the official song of the VI Festival of Youth and Students. The recording was made by actor Moskovsky art theater Mikhail Troshin, and the author of the music, composer Vasily Solovyov-Sedoy, even received the First Prize and the Grand Prize gold medal festival

Since then, the song has become something of an unofficial anthem of Moscow. It is often performed with pleasure by foreigners. For example, pianist Van Cliburn loved to sing and accompany himself. Particularly colorful, of course, in the pronunciation of foreigners is the phrase “you look askance, bowing your head low”... if, of course, the performer gets to this place.

The symbol of the Festival of Youth and Students, not only the Moscow Festival, was the dove of peace. In 1949, Pablo Picasso's famous drawing became the emblem of the World Peace Congress. The same image migrated to the emblem of the Festival of Youth and Students. For the VI festival in Moscow, the city authorities specially purchased pigeons, which the participants then released into the sky. It is believed that that year the number of pigeons in the capital exceeded 35 thousand.

Generations of Muscovites who remember the 1957 festival still talk about it with pleasure today. And yes, it was an ideological festival, but it was a real holiday, and people could enjoy what was happening, regardless of their views and beliefs. Mothers, wearing heels and fashionable skirts, took their children by the hands and went for a walk along the central streets. Just to look at what is happening around.

A real holiday of peace, friendship and freedom, surprising in its scale and unusually bright program, brought together more than 34 thousand guests from 131 countries of the world at its venues in Moscow. It was the most memorable holiday in the entire history of the festival movement.

Aleksey Kozlov, a participant in the VI World Festival of Youth and Students in Moscow, who later became a famous musician and jazzman, vividly wrote about the atmosphere of the festival and the bright events of those days in his book of memoirs “Goat on the Sax”:

“The atmosphere of the festival, despite its strictly prescribed regulations, turned out to be light and relaxed. The enthusiasm was genuine, everything was tied to the slogan “Peace and Friendship”, music and songs specially prepared for this event were heard from loudspeakers everywhere, such as “We are all for peace, the people take an oath..." or "If the boys of the whole Earth...". All of Moscow was hung with emblems, posters, slogans, images of Pablo Picasso's Dove of Peace, garlands, illumination. The festival consisted of a huge number of planned events of various types and simple unorganized and. uncontrolled communication between people on the streets in the center of Moscow and in the areas where the guests were accommodated."

Video from the opening of the 1957 World Festival of Youth and Students

The VI World Festival of Youth and Students was held at the height of the thaw, it opened new page in the history of the country, memorable dates which at that time were still permeated with the echoes of the Second World War.

It was in the difficult post-war period that the history of the World Festivals of Youth and Students began - then the World Conference of Democratic Youth for Peace was held for the first time in London in 1945, and as a result the World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFYD) was created.

A solemn procession on the opening day of the VI World Festival of Youth and Students. Moscow, July 28, 1957. Photo from the festival archive

Later, in 1946, the 1st World Congress of Students took place in Prague, at which the International Union of Students (ISU) was created. Both organizations proclaimed their goal to be the struggle for peace against fascism and colonialism, for the rights of youth and democratic educational reform. They were the main organizers of the World Festivals of Youth and Students for many years.

The idea of ​​holding the first World Festival of Youth and Students in Paris was adopted at the session of the Council of the World Federation of Democratic Youth in 1946, exactly at the time when W. Churchill in Fulton gave his speech on the beginning of " cold war".

However, this was not accidental: it was in Czechoslovakia in 1939 that thousands of students and teachers took part in a demonstration against the occupation of the country by the troops of the Third Reich. As a result, 1,850 students were arrested, 1,200 of them were subsequently sent to concentration camps, and all higher education institutions were closed.

Parade of participants of the 1st World Festival of Youth and Students in Prague in 1947

Despite massive restrictions and bans on participation in the festival for young people, more than 17 thousand representatives from 71 countries of the world took part in the First World Festival, and every year the festival gained momentum, uniting all larger number young people from different parts of the world.

On the eve of the holiday, delegates of the first festival helped restore destroyed Czechoslovak cities, the Yugoslav railway, and laid flowers on the graves of Soviet soldiers who died in the battles for Czechoslovakia.

On July 25, 1947, the grand opening of the festival took place at the Strahov stadium to the anthem of the Democratic Youth, written by the Soviet poet Lev Oshanin to the music of Anatoly Novikov.

At one of the concerts on the territory of the All-Russian Agricultural Exhibition during the festival. Moscow, 1957

In subsequent years, festivals were held every two years in the capitals of Eastern Europe: Budapest (1949), Berlin (1951), Bucharest (1953), Warsaw (1955). At the V Festival in Warsaw, the festival acquired its own slogan: “For peace and friendship.” It reflected the desire to unite all youth organizations in the world and faith in the reconciling power of friendship, which can tame any wars.

In other countries, the slogan was later clarified and supplemented, for example, in Sofia (IX Festival, 1968) it was: “For solidarity, peace and friendship!”, “For anti-imperialist solidarity, peace and friendship!” - this was the slogan of the festivals in Berlin (X Festival, 1973), Havana (XI Festival, 1978) and Moscow (XII Festival, 1985).

Badges with the emblems of the VI and VII World Festival of Youth and Students

In addition to the memorable slogan “For Peace and Friendship” on bright badges, postcards and souvenirs, the 1957 festival remains in the memory of Moscow today - Prospekt Mira street, named so in the year of the festival, Festivalnaya Street, along which you can drive to Friendship Park, planted specially for the 1957 festival. On the opening day of the park, more than 5,000 guests planted prepared seedlings. This joint action was repeated during the XII World Festival of Youth and Students in 1985, which was hosted by Moscow for the second time.

Joint planting of seedlings with foreign delegates at the VI World Festival of Youth and Students. Moscow, 1957

The 1957 festival gave a lot famous songs. At the closing ceremony, the song “Moscow Nights” was performed for the first time by Vladimir Troshin and Edita Piekha; it became a kind of anthem of the festival and thanks to it gained fame throughout the world.

In the summer of 1957, Muscovites experienced a real culture shock. Living behind the Iron Curtain, the capital's youth had the opportunity to freely communicate with their foreign peers, which had far-reaching consequences.

Atmosphere of openness

The year 1957 turned out to be extremely busy for our country. It was marked by the testing of an intercontinental ballistic missile and the launching of the nuclear icebreaker "Lenin", the launching of the first artificial satellite into Earth orbit and the sending of the first living creature - Laika - into space. In the same year, passenger air service was opened between London and Moscow, and finally, the Soviet capital hosted the VI World Festival of Youth and Students.

The festival created a real sensation in Soviet society, closed from the outside world: the capital of the USSR had never seen such an influx of foreigners. 34 thousand delegates from 131 countries came to Moscow. Many witnesses to the events are nostalgic for these bright and eventful days. Despite the ideological background of the festival, representatives of the different cultures and political preferences. To make the leisure time of international youth more comfortable, Moscow authorities have made free access to the Kremlin and Gorky Park.

For the movement of foreign delegations, open trucks were allocated, from which guests could calmly observe the life of the capital, and townspeople could observe foreigners. However, already on the first day of the festival, cars, attacked by sociable Muscovites, were stopped on the road for a long time, which is why the participants were massively late for the grand opening of the forum in Luzhniki.

During the two weeks of the festival, over eight hundred events were held, but young people were not limited to the official regulations and continued to communicate even late at night. The capital was buzzing all day long, eyewitnesses of the events recall. Late in the evening, guests of the capital and Muscovites concentrated in the center - on Pushkinskaya Square, the roadway of Gorky Street (modern Tverskaya) and on Marx Avenue (now Mokhovaya, Okhotny Ryad and Teatralny Proezd streets). Young people sang songs, listened to jazz, and discussed forbidden topics, in particular, avant-garde art.

Symbols of the past

City services prepared for the influx of foreigners in advance and the capital, according to the recollections of eyewitnesses, was noticeably transformed. The then outlandish Hungarian Icaruses appeared on the streets that were put in order, and the domestic auto industry also tried, producing the new Volga (GAZ-21) and the Festival minibus (RAF-10). By the time the events began, the Luzhniki Stadium and the Ukraine Hotel were completed.

To this day, Muscovites are reminded of this event by city toponymy: Mira Avenue, Festivalnaya Street, Druzhba Park. The latter was created specifically for the festival by young specialists - graduates of the Moscow Architectural Institute.

During the festival, the program “Evening of Fun Questions” (abbreviated VBB) appeared on Soviet television for the first time. True, it was aired only three times. Four years later, the BBB author's team will create a new product that has become a television brand for many decades - the KVN program.

Two years after the youth forum, the Moscow Film Festival was resumed, where Soviet viewers had a unique opportunity to get acquainted with the latest in world cinema, including Western cinema that was practically unknown in the country.

In 1955, the poet Mikhail Matusovsky and composer Vasily Solovyov-Sedy wrote the song “Moscow Nights” for the Spartakiad of the Peoples of the RSFSR, but the work was so loved by Muscovites that they decided to make it the official song of the VI Festival of Youth and Students. It not only became one of the musical symbols of the capital, but also the most recognizable Soviet melody by foreigners.

Communication with benefits

Among the delegations that visited the USSR was an American one; at the height of the Cold War, perhaps the closest public attention was focused on it. Experts say that it was then that the Soviet Union first learned about rock and roll, jeans and flared skirts.

Meeting at the festival with American culture became more developed: two years later the American National Exhibition came to the capital, which, according to the organizers, was supposed to stun the Soviet people, deprived of many basic things. It was since 1959 that the Pepsi-Cola drink became widespread in the USSR.

But let's get back to the festival. For the youth forum, the Soviet light industry produced clothing with festival symbols in batches. Treasured scarves or T-shirts, decorated with a stylized flower with five multi-colored petals, sold like hot cakes. There wasn't enough for everyone. This is where the black marketeers surfaced, offering the coveted goods at exorbitant prices.

However, not only Soviet citizens, but also crowds of foreigners walking along the Moscow streets became targets for speculators of all stripes. Most hot commodity there were American dollars, which the black marketeers bought from foreigners at a little higher than the official exchange rate, set at 4 rubles for 10 dollars. But they resold the “green” ones to their fellow citizens at a 10-fold markup.

It was during the Moscow festival that the vigorous activity of the future tycoons of the country’s illegal currency market began - Rokotov, Yakovlev and Faibyshenko, whose high-profile trial in 1961 ended with a death sentence.

"Children of the Festival"

For Soviet society, squeezed within the framework of ideological control in matters of sexual behavior, the festival became a kind of marker of sexual emancipation. Eyewitnesses recall how crowds of girls from all over Moscow flocked to the outskirts of the city to the dormitories where the delegates lived. It was impossible to get inside the buildings closely guarded by the police, but no one forbade guests to go outside. And then, without any preludes, the international couples retired into the darkness (fortunately the weather allowed) to indulge in forbidden pleasures.

However, ideological bodies, which considered it their duty to monitor the moral character of Soviet citizens, very quickly organized flying squads. And so, armed with powerful flashlights, scissors and hairdressing clippers, the guardians of morality looked for lovers, and part of the hair on the head of lovers of night adventures caught at the scene of the “crime” was cut off.

The girl with a bald “clearing” on her head had no choice but to shave her head. Residents of the capital then looked disapprovingly at young representatives of the fairer sex who wore a tightly tied scarf on their heads.

And 9 months after the youth festival, the phrase “children of the festival” firmly entered into Soviet everyday life. Many claimed that a “color baby boom” occurred in Moscow at this time. The famous jazz saxophonist Alexei Kozlov, recalling the atmosphere of liberation that reigned in Moscow in the summer of 1957, noted that immigrants from African countries were of particular interest to girls in the capital.

Historian Natalya Krylova is not inclined to exaggerate the scale of the birth rate of mestizos. They, in her words, were small. According to a summary statistical extract prepared for the leadership of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs, after the festival the birth of 531 children of mixed races was recorded. For Moscow with a population of five million, this was negligible.

To freedom

The main result of the VI World Festival of Youth and Students in Moscow was, albeit partial, the opening of the “Iron Curtain” and the subsequent warming of the social climate in the country. Soviet people took a different look at fashion, behavior and lifestyle. In the 60s, the dissident movement made itself known loudly, and bold breakthroughs were made in literature, art, music and cinema.

The festival itself pleased and surprised visitors with the intensity and variety of events. Thus, the Udarnik cinema showed 125 films from 30 countries, most of which just yesterday would have been classified as banned cinema by censorship. An exhibition of abstract artists was held in Gorky Park with the participation of Jackson Pollock, who did not fit into the canons of socialist realism promoted in the USSR.

In 1985, the twelfth festival of youth and students returned to Moscow. It became one of the symbols of the emerging perestroika. Soviet authorities They hoped that the festival would be able to dispel negative perceptions of the USSR abroad. The capital was then thoroughly cleared of unfavorable elements, but at the same time, other Muscovites were protected from close contact with foreign guests. Only persons who had passed a strict ideological selection were allowed to communicate. Many then noticed that there was no such unity of youth as in 1957 in pre-perestroika Moscow.