Murzilka

a monthly children’s magazine issued by the Central Committee of the All-Union Lenin Communist Youth League (Komsomol) and by the Central Council of the Lenin All-Union Pioneer Organization. It has been published in Moscow since 1924. Among the founders were K. I. Chukovskii, S. Ia. Marshak, M. M. Prishvin, V. V. Lebedev, and E. M. Charushin. The magazine is intended for Little Octobrists (young schoolchildren who are preparing to join the Pioneers) and older groups of children in kindergarten. Murzilka features such items as short stories, poems, fairy tales, essays, and drawings. The past and present of the Soviet Union, as well as work, nature, school life, Little Octobrist activities, and children’s pastimes, are among the subjects covered in a lively, entertaining, and easily understood manner. Well-known Soviet writers and artists contribute to Murzilka; works by foreign children’s writers are also published. Circulation (1974), 5.6 million.