Russians 'at Play

By J. E. M

. ARDEN

T is possible for the ordinary English reader Ito be reasonably well informed about the high- lights of Soviet politics. And he usually, too, has a pretty fair notion about the general objections, from the ordinary man's point of view, to totalitarian rule. The actual flavour and feeling of life under the Soviet system are not so easily conveyed. But a lot can be done by seeing what is officially written about various ordinary ex- periences which might be thought unpolitical.

As the advertisements for next year's holiday tours begin to appear in the British press it oc- curred to me to look at the Soviet attitude to, and organisation of, what is covered by the word 'tourism.' If you turn to the article 'Tourism' in volume 43 of the Large Soviet Encyclopaedia (passed by the censor on August 13, 1956) you find the following rather discouraging remarks :

In the USSR tourism is not only a means of acquiring knowledge of the mother country and other countries but also a constituent part of physical culture—one of the means used for Communist training of the masses.

. . . For the purpose of propagating tourism among the workers, especially amongst the youth, in 1939, the badge 'Tourist of the USSR' was instituted; candidates for this badge are required to fulfil theoretical and practical norms in tourism and undertake a test journey. In 1949 sports norms in tourism were introduced and also sports grades similar to those in other forms of sport (including the title 'Master of Sport') and tourism was' included in the united all-union sports scheme.

The badges and titles are hard-earned, at that. The booklet Tourist Itineraries in the USSR (pub- lished by the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions in 1956) gives the following instructions :

For participation in tourist journeys it is necessary to have a tourist voucher. . . . Can- cellation of vouchers is not recognised and money will not be refunded. Changing the period for which the voucher is valid is not allowed. There is no compensation for late arrival on a tourist itinerary or for departure before the tour is completed. . . .

Tourist bases organise and conduct training of holders of the badge 'Tourist of the USSR' where the conditions of work and location of the bases make this possible. To obtain the badge 'Tourist of the USSR' it is necessary to have medical permission for participation in the expeditions and a certificate of the first grade of the GTO [the paramilitary training scheme 'Ready for Labour and Defence']. Tourists who have fulfilled the established norms and require-

ments receive the badge 'Tourist of the U STShRe t

'

.irist must arrive at the first point of the tourist itinerary exactly at the time stated on the voucher. If the tourist arrives late and his group has gone on to the next point he must catch up with the party at his own expense.. . . Movement on the tourist itinerary is to be effected in an organised manner in conformity with• the established procedure for the main- tenance of' tourists on a specific itinerary. Wil- ful change of itinerary or following of the itinerary individually, outside the group, is not allowed. . . . On arrival at a tourist base all tourists must familiarise themselves with the regulations. . . . In cases of malicious infringe- ment of the regulations of the internal routine the directors are entitled to dismiss the offenders from the tourist base without compensation for the unused days.

The booklet gives a 'Specimen Daily Routine at Tourist Bases' : 7.0 a.m. reveille, 7.0-8.0 a.m. gymnastics and morning toilet, 8.0-10.0 a.m. breakfast, 10.0-2.0 p.m. excursion, 2.0-4.0 p.m. lunch, 4.0-7.0 p.m. rest, 7.0-9.0 p.m. supper, 8.0-11.0 p.m. cultural mass arrangements, 11.0 p.m. sleep.

Life at the Tourist Bases is real and earnest. And though some of its rigours merely recall those willingly suffered by visitors to holiday camps in Britain, Butlin veterans will be quick to remark a difference in tone. The 'Regulations for the Internal Routine at Tourist Bases' include such points as :

A tourist base accommodates tourists in buildings or in tents. Claims to allocation of a separate room or tent cannot be recognised. . . . At the tourist base it is forbidden to appear in the dining-room, study and other official rooms of the tourist base in shorts and vest. . . .

At night time (from 11.0 p.m. until reveille) it is forbidden to leave the tourist base and tourists are not allowed in other people's rooms or tents. . . . On excursions and during the time of expeditions tourists must carry out the orders of the excursion guides and instructors, and on expeditions without instructors—the orders of the senior member of the group. During ex- peditions wilful departure of tourists from the group is strictly prohibited.

The tours from these bases, as we have seen, are compulsory. Nor do all of them sound as if they compensate for the harsh life of the rank- and-file holidaymaker. The same booklet gives examples of tours. One ten-day stay at the Borodino Base (costing 266 roubles—i.e. almost exactly the then monthly minimum wage) in- cludes such items as : Tourists visit the local collective farm 'Borodino.' More than thirty members of this collective farm have been decorated with orders and medals for the excellent potato harvests and the field team-leader Ermakov has been awarded the title Hero of Socialist Labour.

The potatoes may be all they should be and Comrade Ermakov a most worthy citizen. But after a day spent looking at first one then the other one feels that an inmate, thinking of how differently things are arranged for the party bosses at Yalta and Sochi, might easily give way enough to find himself ex- pelled from the Tourist Base —if only (under Section f. of the regulations) for 'appearing in a state of intoxication' on a surreptitiously purchased bottle of Ermakov's prize potato vodka.