Irina Alekseevna, 99, is almost a century! How does Murzilka feel at such a venerable age, are you tired?
Irina Antonova: Murzilka and the magazine itself feel good. The magazine is designed for children, and children are the youth, the future, a source of inspiration and knowledge. Everything is interesting for them, they are always positive, fantasies on edge. So “Murzilka” does not age – readers do not allow it.
This yellow fluffy Murzilka – is he a child himself or an older adult friend?
Irina Antonova: I often ask children about this during performances. There are several answers: a kitten, a bear cub and an alien. And everyone is right. And Murzilka is still the same age as her reader.
How old are your readers?
Irina Antonova: We said that from 6 to 12 years old. But the children have changed a lot. They are now so mature and wise. Our audience is therefore between 5 and 10 years old.
How do children get a magazine today? Is it possible to buy it at the kiosk?
Irina Antonova: “Murzilka” comes to the reader by subscription. It is currently not available for retail sale. Unfortunately, retail is not profitable for children’s media today. As soon as a new issue comes out, all unsold items from the previous one are removed from the counter.
But in reality, a magazine does not go out of fashion in a month…
Irina Antonova: That’s the goal! The fairy tales and poems we publish cannot become obsolete in a month. Therefore, many parents do not throw away “old” magazines, they keep them in their libraries.
I saw an advertisement on the Internet: a selection of vintage issues of Murzilka sells for several tens of thousands of rubles.
Irina Antonova: And we saw how someone on the web offered not very old and not at all rare numbers for a million. Laugh at the editors. We, of course, have such copies, on which, if sold, a lot of money could be earned. But we only exist by subscription.
What complicates Murzilka’s life today?
Irina Antonova: The main problem with children’s magazines is the lack of advertising. No, not in a magazine! Basically, we don’t advertise our numbers. But we don’t have enough to tell, to write, to show on television. It’s impossible, we don’t have that kind of money. We try to keep the price minimum for our readers. But we need information support.
Yes, many parents remember “Murzilka” with nostalgia, but they do not know that the magazine is coming out.
Irina Antonova: We come across this all the time in exhibitions. “Oh, are you going out again?” Not “yet”, we’ve been dating all this time! The magazine was not closed even during the Great Patriotic War. It is included in the Guinness Book of World Records as the children’s magazine with the longest publication period. It is very interesting to watch people when meeting childhood – how the facial expression changes, a smile appears. They say: “Yes, exactly, he was in my childhood, just as bright!” And I know our magazine well – it hasn’t always been the same as it is today. Today “Murzilka” is really colorful and produced on excellent paper. And it happened, he went to see the newspaper.
I know that “Murzilka” is also prescribed in Belarus.
Irina Antonova: Yes, in Belarus the subscription is done via Belpochta. By the way, we often publish Belarusian authors.
And how does the “editor’s kitchen” work in “Murzilka”?
Irina Antonova: We talk a lot about each subject. If you look closely, you can see how well the materials match each other. For example, we will not combine a nature poem and a play on one page. We have a large editorial portfolio, there are many authors. We review all manuscripts sent to us.
In Belarus, a subscription to “Murzilka” is issued in Belpochta. By the way, Belarusian authors are often published in the journal
How do children write letters now? Electronic? Paper?
Irina Antonova: And so, and so. There was more regular mail. We have many competitions. And here came a lot of parcels with crafts, photos. The courier was reversed on delivery for “Murzilka”. And it was a shame when something fell apart during transport. And now you can take great photos with any phone, and we allow you to send work photos only.
And how can a magazine compete with the Internet, with bloggers who have tens of thousands of fan subscribers?
Irina Antonova: Unfortunately, the magazine cannot compete with them. For the simple reason that you need a lot of publicity to be competitive. Take “Masha and the Bear”. At first, there was an anime series on television, then other products continued, including a magazine. And we really miss it.
However, it is not for nothing that “Murzilka” has been published for 99 years. Thus, he finds the key to the readers’ hearts.
Irina Antonova: Yes, we had a reader, we still have some and, I hope, we will have some. Librarians are happy to use our journal in their work, get ideas. “Murzilka” is not on the shelf. I was in different cities in different libraries, and everywhere the magazine “Murzilka” was always read. Universal human values ​​still remain. Kindness, honesty, empathy.
Murzilka itself looks very modern.
Irina Antonova: Many people don’t know that in the 1920s a puppy was the symbol of the magazine. But then he grew up and ran away for his adult dog business – that’s how I explain to kids. The magazine remained heroless for some time. But the children wrote letters, addressing themselves as if to a living being: “Dear Murzilka!”. My favorite letter was written by a girl in 1926: “Murzilka, if you are at the zoo, tell the crow not to greet the children so painfully!” And then a fluffy yellow fairy tale character appeared. This is how our hero appeared in 1937 before the artist Aminadav Kanevsky, and this is how he painted him.
Irina Alekseevna, you are a famous children’s writer. How do you find time for your own creativity?
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p class=””>Irina Antonova: I have been working at Murzilka for a long time, but I have only held the position of editor-in-chief and general manager for two years. So it was not up to me to decide, I had to take a time out. But there are thoughts, ideas and desires. Just have to find the time.
In May next year, the magazine will be 100 years old! Over the years, in the image of Murzilka, there was a puppy, a boy and a cub.
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Irina Antonova is a Russian children’s writer. The author of such books as “Once upon a time with my grandmother…”, “Beauty 5 “B”, “Prickly, eared, and above all – toothy”, “The Secret of Pomegranate Seeds”.
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