Russian children’s magazine – the world’s oldest

Murzilka, a monthly literary and art publication for children aged 6 to 12, has been listed by the Guinness World Records as the longest running children's magazine in the world.

It was launched on May 16, 1924, and has appeared monthly and without interruption for its 87 years of existence, except for 25 double issues in the years 1931 to 1933 and the war period between 1939 and 1946. Overall, 1,015 issues have been produced as of December 28, 2010.Murzilka publishes fascinating stories, drawings and poems for children, as well as educational articles, riddles and so on. Russia’s classics of children’s literature and most renowned artists have published their works here. Even today Murzilka remains relevant, the editors point out.The magazine has a recognizable character of the same name – a little yellow cartoon man which was created by artist Aminadav Kanevsky in 1937. However, its prototype dates back to the 19th century, when Canadian illustrator and author Palmer Cox published a series of humorous verse books and comic strips about fairy-like sprites, the Brownies. Later, Russian author Anna Khvolson, who wrote a series of stories based on Cox’s illustrations, invented the name Murzilka , which was later adopted by Kanevsky for his character.