Anton Makarenko

Anton Semyonovich Makarenko, a Russian and Soviet educator, social worker and writer, became the most influential educational theorist in the Soviet Union; he promoted democratic ideas and principles in educational theory and practice. As one of the founders of Soviet pedagogy, he elaborated the theory and methodology of upbringing in self-governing child collectives and introduced the concept of productive labor into the educational system. Makarenko is often reckoned among the world's great educators, and his books have appeared in many countries.In the aftermath of the Russian Revolution of 1917 he established self-supporting orphanages for street children — including juvenile delinquents — left orphaned by the Russian Civil War of 1917-1923.