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Hello and thank you for downloading witness history from the BBC World Service.

All this week we've been hearing stories from Ukraine in the light of the Russian invasion.

We're finishing with a look at a very different side of the history

of Ukraine's Crimea Peninsula. Under the Soviet Union, its Black Sea Resorts were home to holiday camps for thousands of children

from all over the communist state. Lucy Burns has been talking to a visitor to the most

popular camp of all, Artec.

It's the summer of all, Artec.

It's the summer of 1981, and 15 year old Maria Kim is one of thousands of children

from all over the Soviet Union having a holiday at Artec by the Black Sea in Crimea.

This were the happiest periods of my childhood.

It's a wonderful place.

So just to start with a really broad question at the beginning,

what was Artek?

I have two different answers to this question.

Little young pioneer Maria wants to answer that

Artark was a great place where the very best, the brightest kids from all the Soviet Union and actually all over

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