On May 16, 2014 the Murzilka children's literary and art magazine will celebrate its ninety anniversary. It has been published every month since 1924 and is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest-lived children's magazine.
Few people know that the magazine owes its existence to the Canadian artist and writer Palmer Cox. At the end of the 19th century, he published a cycle of poems about the little people "Brownie". And a little later, the Russian writer Anna Khvolson, inspired by the works of Cox, created her own series of stories, where the main character was Murzilka, a little man in a tailcoat and with a monocle.
In 1908, his popularity was quite high, and the editors of the Zadushevnoye Slovo newspaper began to publish an appendix - the Murzilki Journal newspaper.
In the twenties, this publication turned into an independent magazine, but had to abandon the "bourgeois" image of the protagonist. Murzilka has turned into an ordinary puppy with a good-natured smile, living with the boy Petya and comprehending the world. He flew in a hot air balloon, traveled with pioneers, slept in the same cage with a polar bear, etc.
In the thirties, thanks to the artist Aminadav Kanevsky, Murzilka acquired the image in which he has survived to this day, albeit somewhat modified - a yellow puppy in a red beret, a striped scarf, with a postman's bag and a camera.
In the late thirties, Murzilka disappeared from the pages of the publication and appeared only in the war years in the form of a pioneer. The magazine encouraged children to help military affairs, talked about exploits and much more. When the war ended, the usual yellow puppy returned again. At this time, S. Marshak, S. Mikhalkov, V. Bianki, K. Paustovsky, M. Prishvin, E. Schwartz and others began to print on the pages of the publication.
During the thaw period, the magazine's circulation grew to crazy numbers - about five million copies were released. Along with this, a new wave of talented authors appeared - A. Barto, V. Dragunsky, Yu. Kazakov, A. Nekrasov, V. Astafiev, etc. travel "Following the sun", etc.
In the seventies, thematic numbers began to appear, dedicated to rivers, space, fairy tales and other areas. Also, works by foreign authors began to appear - Otfried Preusler, Donald Bissetga, Astrid Lindgren, Tove Jansson.
During perestroika, a competent editor, Tatyana Filippovna Androsenko, took over the leadership of the magazines. It was thanks to her that the publication did not sink into obscurity. The circulation fell, the printing houses refused to print it, but all these problems were solved. Even new authors began to appear.
At present, Murzilka is a modern glossy publication that has not deviated from its traditions - the search for new young talented authors, high quality products, educational and entertaining materials for younger students.
