Anton Semyonovich Makarenko (Ukrainian, 1888 - 1939), was an important Soviet educator and writer, one of the founders of the Soviet pedagogy, who elaborated the theory and methodology of upbringing in child collectives and introduced productive labor into the educational system of the USSR.

He established self-supporting orphanages for street children left orphaned by the Russian Civil War and WW I, including the Gorky Colony and later, under Stalin's auspices, the Dzerzhinsky Commune which successfully managed to create the first Soviet "Leica", which became known as the FED.

This beautiful folk-art wooden plaque, was hand-carved in 1957, to commemorate Makarenko, by an orphan named Vasyl Semenovych Kvasha, "From the Myrgorod Orphanage" in Ukraine. Evidently Vasyl was a very talented artist as the plaque is finely chip-carved and is an accurate and expressive portrait of the beloved Makarenko.

The plaque measures 12" x 18" and is carved of one piece with the exception of a nailed on wood frame to finish it off. There are photos of the writing on the back.

collection Bill Parkinson

Some additional materials in Russian regarding some of the facts from biography of Makarenko and his educational methodology:

http://zt1.narod.ru/metodika.htm