The Pionner Organization. The Evolution of Citizenship Education in The Soviet Union
The Pionner Organization. The Evolution of Citizenship Education in The Soviet Union
The Pionner Organization. The Evolution of Citizenship Education in The Soviet Union
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w) Copyright by
INA SCHLESINGER
1967
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THE PIONEER ORGANIZATION:
by
Ina Schlesinger
1967
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ABSTRACT
by Ina Schlesinger
model of the "new Soviet man" and the methods used to form him
youth.
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members and involve them in approved social action. In the
tional goals of the regime. Since Stalin's death and with the
stantly by lack of personnel and funds and often came into con
"new Soviet man" is still far from a reality. The model cry
stallized in the Stalin era and has changed but little since.
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3.
merits of the Leninist/Stalinist regime bent on more rapid
to the changes in the society and to the need for a new model
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ii
TABLE OF CONTESTS
Page
PREFACE..................................................... iii
PART I: BACKGROUND
Chapter
I. THE BACKGROUND..................................... 16
V. THE MODEL OF THE NEW MAN (l):THE EARLY YEARS .......... 128
BIBLIOGRAPHY................................................. 232
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iii
PREFACE
Along with the family, the educational system, and mass media,
resulting pressures produced the need for total control by the govern
with youth will emerge from this study. The leadership was bent on
producing a citizen who would be both obedient subject and eager par
its roots in the conflict between Marxist theory on the nature of the
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iv
concern for the individual and the paramount interests of the state,
While the image of the "new man” could never be fully realized,
it seems to have served the regime well as an ideal during the period
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V
seem unjustified in viev of the fact that the ideal "new man" is an
in his consciousness.
with the formation of the "new man" is also beset with problems.
and work among Soviet children and adults free of all the restrictions
and obstacles which hamper such research in the Soviet Union. Con
obtained during three visits to the Soviet Union for the purpose of
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1
INTRODUCTION
As the older generation hands down its traditions to the young, con
learns the first rules of behavior and it is the family which demands
and enforces conformity with the standards set by the adult world.
which he may find himself. Religion, ethics and politics all form
rules can be followed to achieve one’s aims and to gain the approval
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2
socializing agencies— the school, the church, the peer group— which
set their own standards, impose their own rules of conduct, and exert
their own authority. The code of conduct learned in the family may
or may not apply under these new conditions and the child is often
of his church may conflict with those of the school, the values of
the ethni c group to which he belongs may clash with the demands of
may arise. The sources of possible disagreement are many and varied.
state and to its very existence. Although the demand for such support
the state— all countries have their treason laws— the use of force on
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3
and feelings toward the political system and toward their role in it,
his ideas about the society in which he lives and his evaluation of
its members, all are acquired in early childhood. " . . . the process
At this time he comes into contact with many different views, some of
the outside influences run parallel with that of the family, they may
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«1
familial experiences. On the whole, one of the foremost students
since the spread of universal and compulsory education— are the schools.
ent ways to develop support for the policies which they advocate among
the young.
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enable it to cope with the complex tasks which confront it, and the
some direct contact with his government. The active cooperation and
government.
We are concerned here mainly with changes in what has been called
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what it should try to do. . . .As with the general culture of a society,
system will have to adapt to the new conditions if these changes are
to be accepted.
his life; participants are those individuals who realize that they can
take part in the political process and influence the acts of the
a premodem society.
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V
modernization, old -values become irrelevant and traditional loyalties,
which these new beliefs, attitudes and values will take will depend
can be identified.
2. Lucian w. Pye and Sidney Verba (cds.), Political Culture and Political
Development (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 19&5J* p. 13. For
a discussion of the development of citizenship in England see T. 5.
Marshall, Class, Citizenship and Social Development (Garden City, N.Y.:
Doubleday and Co., 1964).
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adjustment between the old values and the new. Traditional loyalties
may be preserved and accommodated into the new system, while a con
oriented.
1. For a study of this process in Japan and Germany, see BencLix, op. cit.,
Chapter 6.
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may be in sharp conflict with those taught in the family and other
socializing agencies.
change, he held, could not take place until all conditions were ripe
for it, and his vision of Utopia applied only to a fully developed
were far from ripe. It thus became the task of the Bolsheviks when
political control, but the real enemy was cultural inertia. In the
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their own.'1' They condemned all values of the past in making their
the basis for all behavior and are applicable to all circumstances.
life; the state became merged with society, and private relations
tolerated.
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tool both for political control and for social change. The regime
the ideal Soviet citizen should believe in and actively work for
It became the ambitious aim of the regime to form a new type of man,
who would stand ready to vork selflessly for the common good. In
the scheme set forth above, this type of citizen would combine
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When they took power in 1917* they tried to speed this process by
made very easy, abortion was legalized and the status of illegitimate
them. From the first days of their life they will be under the
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not actively hostile, were sullenly indifferent to the new rulers and
and to their "dark" ways. Such parents, even had they wanted to,
shall see, the Bolsheviks reversed the roles in the family in the
and when the parent generation was b o m and brought up under the Soviet
regime, it remains the official view that the family cannot be fully
brought into ever greater harmony with their public upbringing," says
the 1961 Party program,^ which called for the expansion of the boarding
intensive efforts are still being made to direct and control the
1. The Camgnr^st Blueprint for the Future (New York: E. P. Button and
Company, 1962j, p. 213.
2. Ibid.
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Ill
old culture at the grass roots, they are today one of the main agencies
the age of seven and becomes a Little Octobrist. At the age of ten
universal in this age group today, while the next and last youth organ—
for many Soviet children, the Pioneer Organization offers the most
attitudes which they ever receive. While the most important task of
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The goals set for the Pioneer Organization, however, are hut
the movement has had to maintain close contact with the schools.
From the outset it was recognized that political leadership was not
While the Party and the Komsomol laid down the political guidelines
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PAST I : BACKSBOtJHD
vi
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16
CHAPTER I
THE BACKGROUND
view of the role of man in society. In the early days after the
with it. This view was in complete accord with the ideas of Marx,
"to comprehend that man’s ideas, views and conceptions, in one word,
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new society.
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the political needs of the regime. The period was one of considerable
1. A. Pinkevich, The Hew Soviet Education (Hew York: John Day, 1929),
p. 1^.
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after the Revolution. The old school system was replaced by the
opportunity. The new school was divided into two levels of five and
separate unit, closed off from the society which it served. It would
now become an integral part of the community, and children would learn
from "life itself"— i.e., from work and observations on farms and in
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choice with only over-all guidance from the teacher. Some enthusiasts
pedology; its aim was to devise the best possible conditions for
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at a r>-tnnnnT
War and civil war had devastated the country and depleted its resources.
undesirable; the need for more stringent practical controls was now
measures, the schools were still far from being the instrument of
proletarian rule which the reforms had sought to create. The First
areas; in the cities, the enrollment was more proletarian, but the
schools at this level never achieved the close contact with the
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factory which the Marxist program prescribed. The Second Level was
now divided into two cycles (five years altogether). It could admit
of these schools charged fees and they were fast becoming the training
ground for an elite. Proletarian children for the most part, did
1. The figure cited by Hans and Hessen is 3.5 percent. For a break
down of attendance figures, see Bans and Hessen, op. cit., p. 96.
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non-members.
forced pace— the interests of the state became dominant and took
motivation, and the concepts of consciousness and purpose did not form
part of the approved psychology, these now became focal points for study.
needs; these differ from biological needs by the fact that they are
for social action. Eased on such needs, interests develop; these are
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2h
With the adoption of this view of the nature of man— the image
problem of shaping his motives and molding his character became more
important than ever before. With the state now setting ambitious
goals, the interests of society rather than the needs of the individual
abandon their efforts to find the best possible conditions for the
a citizen with the abilities and attributes needed by the state. ”It
is obvious that, since 1930, the emphasis has shifted more and more
clear objectives toward which the individual and his motives are
being molded, and these objectives have sis their goal the proper
„2
functioning of the Soviet system as a whole. In other words, if
and, youth leaders of the type of man required by the Soviet system if
its stated objectives were to be reached. The new Soviet man was to
2. Ibid., p. Ik2.
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society and those of his group above his own. He must be active,
take the initiative, steeled in the struggle for the common goal and
accept without question his superiors1 goals, will not display much
to come.
human nature was malleable and that the "new man" could be produced
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to adapt to the goals of the regime. The Unified Labor School was
graduated from the Unified Labor School with only the sketchiest
decree in 1931, which abolished the Unified Labor School and substituted
when higher education offered great prestige and high material rewards,
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were restored and the school again became a closed institution, shut
best conditions for his development. Pupils were often taken out of
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activities were banned and educators were told to abandon their child-
centered approach.
purposes forgotten.
Soviet educational system until after the Second World War. Throughout
the period of rapid industrialization and the war the schools supplied
the Soviet economy with the necessary number of university students and
theory pointed up the nature of the needed changes. The truth was,
While the economy was still in urgent need of skilled specialists, the
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training and its selective admission policies had been useful and
Soviet industry would have less use for unskilled labor, and the need
addition, the secondary school network had been expanded to the point
of the schools, and of various kinds of practical and shop work for
ways of implementing the Congress decisions. For the time being, the
The high prestige and great material rewards attached to higher education
in the Soviet Union and the great need for special skills during the
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itself as an elite group, and a wide gulf had developed between the
which had always felt the need for total control over society. The
and the advent of the classless society. Finally, the regime was
revolution or war, and had never felt the need for commitment to a
with their private lives and their personal careers.^ Some way had
to produce the devotion and the commitment which the regime desired.
and thus narrowing the gap between the intelligentsia and the rest of
1. For a discussion of the values of the young in this period, see Peter
H. Juviler, "Communist Morality and Soviet Youth," Problems of Communism,
Vol. 10, No. 3, May-June 19&1, pp. 16-24.
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regular school program for all secondary school pupils. The over
for the higher classes of secondary school and for higher education
had been abolished in 19 56) would spend part of their last year at
for at least two years after graduating from the complete secondary
school.
munist society had found its expression earlier: the Twentieth Party
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elite institution (as was widely held in the West), these schools
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3^
been expected. In the years that followed the school reform, difficulties
school pupils in plants and factories interfered with plan fulfilment and
graduates, and academic standards were lowered with the enforced con
the new Soviet school was neither maintaining a high academic level nor
is still in progress at this writing and may yet have far-reaching effects
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With the Introduction of labor courses into the Soviet school
and the call for a turn from the theoretical-academic to the practical,
who had received excellent marks in mathematics did not know hov to
measure a room, that graduates of the school physics course did not
knov hov to carry out the simplest experiments, and that children who
which paid no heed to the differences between pupils, all these timer-
is being worked out, and there is general acceptance of the fact that
a modem industrial society must train its children to think for them
manual and experimental work and a restatement of the need to reach every
child and arouse his interest. Educators today are being told to develop
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the ideas and theories of the twenties— academic standards remain high,
practice oust be kept in aind in studying the aims and methods of the
political goals and its educational aims was to harass the movement
and primary motive for the establishment of the Pioneers was political,
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CHAPTER U
tion before its take-over of power in 1917* Lenin vas veil aware of
the importance of winning over working youth and the turbulent students,
their practical activity with the plans of the Social Democratic Labor
1
Party. However, his concept of a small, tightly knit and conspiratorial
party left no room for the establishment of separate and auxiliary bodies.
Hardly any thought vas given at this time to the political education of
children. The Party's concern for this age group vas confined to prob
lems of child welfare. Bie 1903 party program called for the abolition
of child labor (for children under the age of 16), and for the intro-
2
duction of free, compulsory general and professional education. The
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and by working youth. The war had brought about a considerable in
replace men mobilized for service, and many youngsters in their teens
take and keep power. "Whoever obtains the following of working youth,
_2
to him belongs the future, proclaimed Krupskaia, Xenia's wife and one
and contempt for other nations. -That such training can be successful
in deceiving youth as to where their civic duty lies vas proved, she
this influence, working youth must unite in its own organization and
carry on civic education based on class principles and the struggle for
3
the liberation of the working class. Krupskaia also stressed the
3. Ibid., pp. 72-74. Shat the proposed youth organization vas to in
clude children was made clear in this author1s suggestions for the
formation of a youth league, in which she expressly stated that the
league should admit adolescents (podrostki). Ibid., p. 79*
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then that they are too young and ignorant to be able to fora their own
and are permeated vith the bourgeois point of view. To counteract the
Bust go to youth openly, discuss political questions and give then the
Russia at the outbreak of the Revolution vas the Boy Scout aoveaeat.
An earlier group— the Poteshny— had been started after the Russo-Japanese
War by nationalist and nilitarist groups, but had not lasted for more
than a fev years. The Boy Scouts were founded in Russia in 1910 and,
affiliations.
The new League decided to admit "the broad masses of still uncommitted,
vorker and peasant youth, rather than confine itself to Party members.
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Ho thought was given to the establishment of a separate group for
for the League, one delegate suggested twelve years for cities and
fourteen for rural youth, while another proposed setting a lower limit
of fourteen for rural youth only; both members agreed that rural youth
matured more slowly and thus should be admitted later than proletarian
one group of working youth reported that 80 per cent of its membership
O
was below the age of sixteen, and many of the Komsomol cells included
children increased during the years of civil and foreign war when
many of the older Komsomols were mobilized for the fighting fronts and
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efforts were made in different localities to combat the influence of
the Boy Scouts and to remodel the movement for Bolshevik purposes.
Bival groups were formed in several cities which borrowed many of the
sharply for “slavishly" imitating Boy Scout methods and for propagating
bourgeois values. The list of rules which Yuki were asked to obey
seems to bear her out. Members were enjoined to "Be modest, thrifty,
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v
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cratic ideas in vogue at the time. The way to teach Yuki the meaning of
Communism and the purpose of the new Soviet Republic, she submitted, is to
bring them into immediate contact with the Communist youth organizations
in the work of such groups, Yuki would learn to believe in the ideals of
Communism and would become ready to lay down their lives for them. How
ever, devotion to the cause was not enough; children also had to be taught
the broadest possible scale. Even if they made some mistakes, she
obedience, and habits of collective work. Only in this way can the
Mainly for political reasons, neither the Party nor the Komsomol
agreed that the Yuk movement should be remodelled into a Communist organiza
tion and developed on a mass basis. The Second Komsomol Congress, held in
1919> condemned both the Scout movement and the Young Communists and called
for the dissolution of both. The Scouts were accused of political disloyalty
— the Congress said they were "leaning in the direction of the White
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Guards . . . la all towns"1— and of inculcating is young people
qualities quite unsuited, to the new society. "In the Scout organiza
strict rule froa the top and, on the other, submission froe
bourgeois content."^ Both its neabers and the leaders were for the
■ost part old Scouts. Control by the Party could not be established
Although the Boy Scouts and the Young Co— unists lingered on
for a tine after the Congress, their organizations were dooned. The
the need for organized work with children was becoming ever aore
for as a result of the war and civil war years, and aany others were
2. Ibid.
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All of then were run by local leaders and none received direction or
clear need had arisen to define the Komsomol's role in the political
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to devote his vork and his strength to the ccroon cause. This is
they are able to achieve practical results vith this vork, can they
become Communists.
on the young. The generation which made the revolution is fit only
those who are nov fifteen years of age. They must study and absorb
one of the tasks of the Komsomol to see to it that the young are cor
raise the Msses from an early age, from the age of twelve, in conscious,
j?
disciplined labor.
2. Ibid.
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in a Communist spirit and to develop people who will he fit to
in the Komsomol; this decision would make work with the remaining
with children who were too young to Join. A set of theses entitled
"On the Work of the BK5M with Children" was approved by the delegates,
to Komsomol cells were rejected, and the Komsomol was urged to concentrate
fact that, only one year later, the childrens1 sections were revived
and became the nucleus of the future childrens' movement. The reasons
given for the decisions of the Third Congress— that the Komsomol should
and that the proposed sections would not be able to admit all children
and would thus tend to create a privileged group— were as valid in 1921
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Baere was no doubt, however, that the sain task of the League
and subbotnik! (voluntary group vork for the good of the coamunity).
entire Soviet state and the Coanunist movement, including the KK5M,"
the Congress also resolved to appoint cadres froa the political educa
vas one of mounting concern for the morale and ideological dedication
the regime felt that efforts had to be redoubled to retain the allegiance
1. Fisher, op. cit., p. Jk, thinks that the rejection of the childrens *
sections vas due to the Party's fear that the Eoasoaol vas not yet
surely enough under its control. If this is the case, it is not clear
vhy they vere reinstituted in 1921 in a period of mounting difficulty.
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k8
bourgeois Influence.
of them roamed the streets making a living as best they could. They
revive childrens * groups under Komsomol guidance and to lay the founda
Party, named a coamission which vas to organize such groups and lay
down the guidelines for their work. It included Krupskaia and several
Koasoaol committee.
charter drawn up by the commission, the goal vas "to develop in children
to train them for their future role in society and "prepare them for a
1. for an account of this period in the Komsomol see Fisher, op. cit.,
pp. 79-88.
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future life in social labor and for the straggle in the interests of
the proletariat;" vhile at the same tine ensuring their full individual
struggle; it vas decided that the movement vas to be class based. Bie
She cosmission also found a nane far the new movement: "Young Pioneers
imeni Spartaka."
vhich vas to elect its own leader; larger units however— detachments
tion of Soy Scout usage, every link and detachment vas to have its
banner or flag, and every Pioneer vas to wear a red kerchief. 2he
slogan of the organization vas "Be ready!" to vhich the members had
those of the Boy Scouts, the Lavs and Customs laid down for it differed
little froa those of the Yuki vhich Krupskaia had so sharply condemned.
1 . Sasha smena, p.
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Somewhat surprisingly, only one of the six Lavs could be said to have
any political content at all; while the Young Communists had been told
of class consciousness, but does not sake any great dexutnds on the
Pioneer himself* Other Lavs vere even more innocuous; Pioneers vere
("and never downcast")* They must also learn to love labor, respect
out of bed willingly in the mornings, to wash their necks and ears and
brush their teeth, and to sit and stand up straight; they are forbidden
to pat their hands in their pockets and to smoke. Perhaps the strangest
Pioneers are to make their own beds without waiting for others to do
this for them.’*’ Although there seems to have been no doubt about the
ultimate aims of the new organization, it seems obvious that forms and
Luring the winter and spring of 1922, the moscov Komsomol com
mittee started vork with several Pioneer detachments; the first case
1. Ibid., pp. 3^-35. This gives the text of both Lavs and Customs.
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made vere that detachments are now referred to as "groups," vhich are
lowered to ten.
ical role assigned to the Pioneers. The new organization vas given
children" who had been members of these organizations could apply for
tion upbringing and training of the masses in the struggle for the
2
interests of the proletariat." This represented a noticeable shift
Pioneers vere revised and sharpened to give them a more emphatic polit
are not values for themselves, but must be judged by the end vhich they
serve, the new lavs now set definite goals. "A Pioneer is faithful to
the working class and to Communism," reads the first Lav. Young as
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they are, Pioneers have a role to play in the society. "A Pioneer
a Pioneer must cultivate, and this is driven home in the "Solemn Promise"
every day, that I know the lavs of the Pioneers and vill subordinate
myself to them." Finally, an "Iron law" vas added to the list of seven
ordinary lavs. This nms: "I vill strive always and everywhere, wherever
workers."1 It is clear from this, that, for the time being, political
working with the adults around him to build a nev society, is a far cry
from the model little boy (or girl) who does not slouch, washes behind
2
the ears, and makes his own bed.
it had increased to 10,000, and within the next two years it reached
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for the Pioneers. With the formation of the little Octobrists for chil
dren of the age of seven and up (they derived their name from the fact
that their youngest members in that year vere exactly as old as the Revo
lution), the Party attempted to expand its control over children. The
nev group served as a preparatory stage for the Pioneers and must be
enrollment of 200,000.^
at a faster rate than its parent body, the Komsomol— the nev movement had
of its existence. Perhaps the most difficult one of all vas a direct
result of its rapid development. The organization did not have the
it vas often impossible even to find a place for meetings, and many
The Komsomol and the fferty vere sparing of their help; indeed, the
of leaders for the Pioneers. The Komsomols vho did go into Pioneer
vork vere often untrained and had only the vaguest conceptions of their
tasks. As a result, many of the newly formed detachments did not stay
in existence for very long and many others did no effective vork.
Equally serious from the forty's point of view vas the besetting
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vere considered on instrument of proletarian rale, the Ihrty and the
Ifcrty leaders maintained that such an approach would have harmful effects
not only in the immediate present, but would also seriously handicap the
"we are faced vith the task of laying the greatest social foundation for
£
the creation of future basic human capital, he told the listening dele*
gates. With the Komsomol, the Pioneers vere asked to "turn to the
Within the next two years the organization expanded very rapidly in the
villages.
1. Hie Thirteenth Barty Congress complained in 1924 that the movement vas
reaching only a "completely insignificant" percentage of the mass of chil
dren and called for special efforts to enroll Children from rural areas
(although it vas stressed that proletarian children should be admitted
first). Bukharin deplored the fact that the organization vhich appealed
to the lowest age group also had the highest percentage of proletarian
membership. An investigation of the social composition of the Pioneer
movement in that year (1924) had shown that the majority of the membership
(62.9 per cent) came from workers * families, and that the overwhelming
majority of all detachments (80 per cent) vere located in the cities.
Dir, i dok., p. 9.
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sounds, this tern as applied to the Pioneers did not necessarily connote
term presumably used to take the sting out of the word: there vere
Komsomol vas clearly important to the Barty— the tone of the speech
vith the adoption of the First Five Year Plan and the resulting
in the movement, caused by faulty methods, and stressed the need for
the Barty and the Komsomol if the "struggle against the penetration of
VLKSM together vith the Markonrpros must re-examine the lavs and customs
of Young Pioneers and present than for the approval of the Central
A
Committee VKP (b) within three months.” The revised organizational
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principles vere Bade public by the Central Bureau of the Pioneer Organiza
tion by the end of that year; they re-stated the purpose and role of the
humanistic viev of the individual. For the first time the Pioneer
However, this does not mean that the Pioneer Organization is an exclusive
others as veil; its aim is defined as: "the Communistic education of chil
but must be earned: children between the ages of ten and fifteen can
p
apply, but they must prove themselves in a probationary period of one
month before final approval is granted. Only when he has shown that he
understands the purpose of the organization and can obey its lavs,3 is the
2. The age limit had been revised and set at 10-16 by an Orgbureau
resolution in 1924 (see Dir, i dok., p. 11); it remained at 10-15 for
some time.
3. T. Woody, Hev Minds: Sew Men? (Hew York: The Macmillan Company, 1932),
reports that nev members had to pass a regular "examination"; see pp.
107-108.
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nev Pioneer allowed to pronounce the Solemn Promise vhich completes his
vill firmly support the cause of the working class in its struggle for
the liberation of the workers of the whole world, and that I will honestly
and faithfully follow the precepts of Ilyich and the lavs of the Young
Pioneers;
from the former seven and reflects all of the Iferty's goals in this period*
It can be divided into three groups: lavs defining the role of the Pioneer
faithful friend and comrade of the children of workers, peasants and toilers
of the whole world • • • a younger brother and helper of the Communist and
the Komsomol in the struggle for Connunism." The second group includes
"active helper of the soviet, of the trade union and of the cooperative,"
and an "active worker in the struggle for the harvest, a helper on the
koikhny. and the sovkhoz and the commune"; he is urged to "stand for the
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59
and organized, and to respect public property and value their own tine
early; even the Little Octobrists must learn to obey some laws: Little
Octobrists must keep their bodies clean, love work and prepare themselves
to become Pioneers.) Here, for the first time, the image of the Hew
were used to teach young children the meaning and purpose of their
organization; the red kerchief worn at all times by all members had
Pioneers, Komsomols, and the Party. The Pioneer badge was a small
red flag with a hammer and sickle, waving over a fire of five logs
(for the five continents), burning with three flames (for the Third
hand, five fingers pressed closely together (to signify the solidarity
of the five continents), raised above the head (to indicate willingness
1. See ibid., pp. 93-9^ for the full text of the laws*
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6o
vas to have a banner, a horn and a drum. She motto of the novenent
vas: "In the struggle of the worker's cause, he ready:0 So vhich the
Under the nev regulations, the basic unit of the Pioneer Organi
zation vas still the link, a group of about tea children, selected on
nade up a detachnent, vhich vas not to have nore than fifty nenbera.
Every detachnent vas attached to a Koasoaol cell, and where there vere
tions. 3his vas to emphasize the close tie of the Organization vith
1. Sot all of these symbols and devices vere nev in 1928; they are
described here in the fora they vere established and vhich they vere
to retain to the present day*
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6l
so clearly defined* The "lavs" of the Young Pioneers put into concrete
terms, for every member to understand, the three main goals of citizen
Pioneer organization vas to take over control of youth and channel its
tion, it vas to help establish the collective society and bring about
"nev man."
the regime vould vary at the various periods of Soviet history, these
cepts of progressive educators vied vith the need to provide child welfare
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to develop his abilities freely. By the end of the first decade of the
'been resolved, and the over-all aims of the movement had crystallized.
actively in the transformation of the adult world around them. Hot only
were they expected to behave like responsible citizens, they were urged to
organize their peers and to persuade their elders to follow their lead.
fifteen years old, they acted on the Pioneer Organization like a shot
reason for this, she found, was that Pioneers were not given a clear-
with formalities: does every one have a uniform? Does everyone know
how to march and sing? Children were offered privileges (movie tickets
around then the struggle for the cause of the working class vas raging,
and children were longing to be given a part in it: "To discard it [the
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63
But the main shortcoming vas a lack of real content ia the vork. She
The Eighth Koasoaol Congress, held in the saae year, noted for
1
the first time a drop in the membership of the Organization. The
confession for the Party. Delegates agreed that the reason for the
leaders and the use of boring and fomal methods in vork vith children.
vorkers vere able to report to the Ninth Koasoaol Congress that member-
2
ship had risen to four Billion. Sever'ianova, describing Pioneer
to the reforms vhich had taken place in the movement: "If, before the
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r
Y 64
from the beginning of 1928 already, vhen the Pioneer Organization began
Only the year before (1930) the Sixteenth Party Congress had
shown Stalin emerging as the victor over the Right Opposition, as he had
to the Ninth Komsomol Congress that the Pioneer Organization had now
achieved complete monopoly in its field: all rival childrens' groups had
p
been eliminated, and nothing now stood in the way of the rapid growth of
the movement. She called for an immediate goal of ten million members,
rather than educational role, the Ninth Congress re-emphasized that the
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> 65
that the basic line of the Komsomol in work among children must be to
factories, state farms, MTS's and collective f arm s.Acco rdi ngly, the
delegates voted to dissolve even the tenuous link vhich the Organization
2
maintained vith the schools— the "foreposts" — and to return Pioneers
vhich the school vas attached. The resolution on vork among children
tion," boost the enrollment in the Organization, and Improve the military
factory.
This, of course, had been the goal of the Komsomol for a long
time. Youth League members throughout the twenties had been calling
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for the proletarianization of the school and the merging of school and
the early period of Bolshevik rule. Throughout the early years of its
helper of the Komsomol in its task of introducing the nev order in the
childrens1 sphere, and its relation with the school had been one of the
central issues discussed by its sponsors. Hot until the early thirties
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67
CHAPOER III
From the point of view of the Komsomol, the school at the time vas
letarian-democratic society.
The Youth League demanded a virtual merger between the factory schools
that the organization had to establish some formal contact with the
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68
two months, and elected a presidium to direct its work for the
schools was to provide leadership along the road to the new society:
those teachers who were in agreement with the new regime to prevent
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69
1
teaching staff.
responsible persons recognized that school work was important and should
in July 1925, deplored the fact that Pioneers were working in isolation
from the school, and that they were overburdened with social work and
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sV
'V
TO
1
of the remaining Pioneers, vhich vas often detrimental to their health.
Pioneers suffered from heart trouble, and deplored the "idiotism from
in 1924, called for closer collaboration between the schools and the
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Pioneer movement, as "both have the ease goals under the Soviet system
"new child material"; as it forms the nev man, it develops pupils who
are conscious of their human dignity and eager to learn. Such children
will be more organized and disciplined than the pupils of the old school.
different from the bourgeois institution— and this must be made clear
to them by both Pioneer leaders and teachers— they will begin to study
eagerly.
the school. She deplored the fact that considerable jealousy often
exists between teachers and Pioneer leaders and defined their relations
from the point of view of the Party's goals. "One of the tasks of
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72
attitude towards whatever the teacher says, and this is why the
the Seventh Komsomol Congress were warned not to forget the political
"We had an argument after the Sixth Congress," reported Chaplin at this
1. Ibid., p. l60.
2. Sed'moi s"ezd, p.
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73
ization" of the school system were still very much alive. Youth
League leaders were more reluctant than the Party to give up their
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again— even vent so far as to accuse the secondary school of
same Congress vas the forum for Stalin's famous speech on the importance
of science. "To build, one must know [one must] master science. And
This fortress we must take at all costs. This fortress must be taken
by young people.-. • ." The watchword for the future was to be:
2
"study, study, and study."
reforms of the early thirties. The era of the Five Year Plans
marked the triumph of the "Leninist" over the "Marxist" idea. Evolu
towards total control went into high gear, the individual came to
be viewed as a tool of the state, and the main duties of the citizen
an "agonizing reappraisal" to bring them into line with the new aims
child, and the efforts of the youth movement became focussed on school
work.
1. Ibid., p. 60.
2. Ibid., p. 539»
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In 1930, the first of the decrees appeared vhich were to
short, far from being too scholastic, the school was, in fact, not
and untried methods introduced into the schools and condemned the
in the Soviet school of the twenties, and called for strictly defined
2. Ibid., p. 539*
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76
changes, and the Party took note of the fact in a resolution published
Condemning both the "left” deviation which expected the withering away
liquidating the Pioneer movement and merging it with the school, the
the question. Only one year after the Ninth Komsomol Congress had
one of its leaders state: "The basic task of the Pioneer Organization
2. Ibid., p. 49.
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77
them for the struggle for knowledge, this is the main task."1 Others
stressed that the need for children to acquire "stable" knowledge was
was the best way in which it could advance the cause of socialism.
It is doubtful, however, that children saw the same challenge and romance
Youth League vhich was adopted at this Congress leaves no doubt of the
the Field of Work in School and With Children" the first point stresses
that the Komsomol "helps the organs of public education and the teachers
b
to strengthen study discipline and organize all school work."
3. Ibid.
b . Ibid.
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Despite repeated protestations that the Pioneer Organization
and by the children themselves, the movement in effect lost this status
during the ensuing period and became an integral part of the educational
system. The reforms of the thirties had put all authority in the
schools firmly bach into the hands of the teacher. " . . . our next
August of 1932 gave school directors and teachers the right to enforce
2
discipline and directors were empowered to expel the incorrigibles.
This deprived the Youth League of its authority in the schools and
tudes towards teachers, and four years later the Central Committee of
the Youth League had to follow this with further strictures against
the school was emphasized in the strongest terms: "Taking into account
that the school and the organs of public education carry the full
the younger generation and the most important role in this belongs to
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them, the CC VLKSM considers that the vork of school Komsomol and
the other hand, vere given permission to attend any Komsomol meeting,
As the school vas assigned the main role in the upbringing and
to take on these additional duties. More than ten years later the
the teacher and director in Pioneer vork in more detail. Both the
2. Ibid., p. 52.
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80
work for the school. Plans for the work of every Pioneer detachment
on this task during this period. Pioneer work was guided by the
minute, that his approval was required before the school wall-
guiding the work of the movement: "I, personally, cannot imagine the
the fact that there are no longer any antagonistic classes in society;
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81
and peasants. "We are entering into a period of building the classless
we must admit all children into the ranks of the Pioneers. It is time
in the ensuing years vas fitful at best. The Tenth Komsomol Congress
all pupils to join the movement. By 1939* the membership figure had
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82
growth was halted for about ten years. When the Eleventh Komsomol
new organizational forms for the movement. These forms were laid
3
down by the Komsomol immediately following the Tenth Komsomol Congress
to plan and direct Pioneer work in the school. If the school is big
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are to have no more than forty members, and are subdivided into links
of 8-10 children. This, it was hoped, would facilitate work with the
groups, composed of children of the same age, all engaged in the same
Komsomol (until the sixties, the leader was usually, but not
has always been a shortage of such cadres, and very often a teacher
pupil who desires to join must apply to the detachment leader and the
facts about the organization— what it stands for, the meaning of the
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1
required to wear their holiday uniform. The banner of the
detachment is unfurled, and the new members repeat after the senior
the text read: "I, a Young Pioneer of the Union of Soviet Socialist
for the cause of Lenin and Stalin for the victory of Communism. I
MIn the struggle for the cause of Lenin and Sbalin, be readyI" With
1928 rules, the laws of the Organization were abandoned by the Tenth
himself had declared that the Young Pioneers had no need of an elaborate
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85
this time, that these rules were designed to apply to all school
Few changes were made in the ensuing years. During the war
It was revoked the year after the war ended, and the previous system
was re-established.
enrichment for those pupils who were ready to go beyond the level of
need for exemplary study. Both Komsomols (in the schools) and
school theme.
Pioneer work in the past, now rated a poor second. As the school
retired behind its walls and gave up all active contact with the
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86
While socially useful work was still considered a part of the Pioneer
•under the control of the school and so assure the absolute precedence
ending the practice in which school pupils are taken in school hours
2
to fulfil social assignments." This decree gave the director "full."
discretion.
of the Party and Komsomol, the political role of the movement virtually
disappeared. Bolsheviks who had helped form the organization and had
formulated the goals for it were distressed at this "new look." The
2. Ibid., p. 58.
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87
just before her death in 1939# that the Pioneer Ihlaces were reserved
for the elite and that one had to have a ticket to be admitted.
Pioneer work, she says, should be for all children, even for hooligans
to join the Pioneers not because Pioneers are some sort of ‘privileged
stratum,* but because their life is much more interesting and meaningful,
1
more sensible, and more organized^" Instead, Krupskaia notes,
children are told what to do, when to do it and how to do it. Pioneer
2. Ibid., p . kl5•
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The "internal contradiction"— as Marxists would say— of an
changes had taken place in the educational system of the Soviet Union.
had revived the call for polytechnic education, and the first changes
between the Pioneer Organization and the school authorities and again
pupils from their studies for the fulfilment of any kind of social
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assignments," it went on to say: "Bie Plenum directs Komsomol
every Pioneer and pupil should participate in some form of work useful
195^ already showed clearly the impact of the new thinking. In the
2. Ibid., p. 105.
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90
should find its own methods, rather than simply duplicate the work
their own way, and good old Pioneer traditions (such as campfires,
the Pioneer movement has lost the romanticism of its early days.
by the children has been replaced by simple commands from the leaders.
Above all, the organization has lost its contact with society. "The
our Soviet school," she stated. But "the struggle for knowledge is
what they have learned, "The Pioneer Organization must show children
the force of knowledge, show them the link between science and
[and] help pupils apply in practice the knowledge which they have
2
acquired." Every Pioneer, she insists, must learn to work for the
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good of society and should have at least one assignment of socially
useful work. Some of these assignments may he done in and for the
some of its political role. This was made quite clear in the com
general goals for which are struggling the Communist Party, the Kom
political movement which trains citizens for the Soviet state and
The political goals of the movement are linked with the aims
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92
Honeer movement were not taken until three years after the Twelfth
were introduced after the Congress— Pioneer assemblies were held in plants
workers rather than students, and practical work was intensified at the
most important, the Plenum noted that: "In a number of cases the Leninist
in their work shut themselves up within the walls of the school, do not
labor. . . . Progress was equally slow in other areas. Old habits were
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93
proving hard to break: teachers and Pioneer leaders had not learned
organization was to be open to all between the ages of ten and fifteen.
educators and public health officials were told to work out a series
and laws for the organization, so that every member would clearly know
Pioneer Organization which was issued in the following year, and which
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The Pioneer Organization, begins the statute, is a "mass
of the school are mentioned only briefly and then only incidentally
Pioneers in clear and simple form. Only one concerns the life of the
polite."
decreed since the Twentieth Pferty Congress (1956), the text of the
Solemn Promise was changed to read: "I, a Young Pioneer of the Soviet
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95
Youth League approved a sample list of the knowledge and skills which
the ELoneers of two school classes, ranging from the fifth to the
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96
the Pioneer Organization since the thirties. It vas hoped that they
the first one not to announce a membership figure for the Pioneer
stressed the importance of further growth and the need for improving
the work; if the interests of children are not captured, they warned,
children will begin to form their own groups, which might easily stray
By the time the new statute was issued, it had become even
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97
Soviet Union, chose a Komsomol Congress as the forum for a major speech
Society,” he outlined the problems facing the Soviet school and called
Leninist behest— to study,— even today remains the lav for our youth,”
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98
Upon the Pioneers now devolved almost the entire burden of preparing
the Soviet school child for citizenship in the new society. This
curricular and socially useful work of pupils are under the exclusive
has changed since the time when Krupskaia complained that these
activities were reserved for the privileged and the gifted. Even
and only those with special aptitudes are admitted.^ Soviet educators
and youth leaders are now calling for a concerted effort to provide
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The ELoneer Organization today occupies a position about
midway between the one it held in the twenties and its subsequent
the most part, still based on the school and is expected to collaborate
serve above all as a preparation for life and a training ground for
the way back to the ideas and attitudes of the twenties, and as the
reasserted.
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\
I
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100
CHAPTER IV
early and was not revoked even during the period of the ascendancy of
the school. When it established the Komsomol in 1918, the Party expected
people. Carefully avoiding the impression that the New League was to be
Accordingly, when the Orgbureau of the Party decreed in 1919 that the
with secondary school pupils. While peasant and worker youth could
the Komsomol was told to admit only applicants who were already
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101
As far as young children were concerned, the feud of the Komsomol with
and policies, was given a monopoly of influence over the young very
early in its career. Not only was the Barty opposed to letting rival
became apparent in the early twenties, it was natural for the Komsomol
the Moscow Komsomol committee had set up a bureau for work among
3
children, and raion and uezd bureaus were organized shortly thereafter.
movement, firmly put the Komsomol in control: "All local groups [of
2. See Fisher, op. cit., pp. 17-28 for a discussion of this early period.
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102
leadership of the new movement (in the hands of) the Communist League
2
of Youth.” Here lay one of the greatest difficulties of the organi
to handle children, and do not have the background for their work.
those of the former Boy Scout leaders who "sincerely and completely
2. Ibid., p. 63.
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103
was warned that these leaders could not be trusted too far; even if
they were sincere in their support of the new regime, they could not
bring up children in the correct spirit, tainted as they were with the
values of the old system. The Komsomol was therefore told to exercise
constant and practical control over the work of the Honeer Organization.
If Komsomols were often not suited for the work, they were still
because children naturally are drawn towards the age closest to them.
-1
±
A Komsomol can influence children because he has a natural authority."
only guidance and indirect aid from the sidelines. "The growth of the
of the ’young Honeer s’ poses for ibrty organizations the task of aiding
Twelfth Ihrty Congress, the first one to take note of the childrens*
2
movement. xhrty help however, was not to go very far. The Congress
2. Dir, i dok., p. 7®
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104
The following Party Congress had to recognize that this was not
enough; it deplored the fact that the growth of the ELoneer movement
had been held back by— among other reasons— "lack of the necessary
movement," said the Thirteenth Congress, "the ihrty must guide through
the RKSM which, in turn, must carry on the work in full agreement with
1
the organs of social education.” In view of the unsatisfactory
outlook for such wholehearted cooperation was not very good. Neither
can the school authorities have welcomed the resolution of the Third
2. Ibid., p. 74.
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105
discussed ELoneer problems at some, length and concluded that the time
had come to help the Komsomol cope with the most important of them.
accomplished without direct help from the Party: The first one
number of leaders and giving them the training which they would need;
and other material aid from trade union and government organs, and
bureaus of cells— were now asked to observe Honeer work closely and
This is only the first of many party and Komsomol decrees and
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106
involve the party masses in this task, and to assign party forces to
help the Komsomol cope with Pioneer problems. Hot content with
the end of this year, that: "the Party devotes little attention to the
qualified leaders, not only politically educated, but with the most
2
elementary knowledge in medical and pedagogical respects."
influence of the "working class" was non-existent and schools were few
the native language and national customs. All these factors repre
Reasons for the continuing conflict between the drive for total
control and the problems involved In its implementation are not difficult
1. Ibid., p. 28.
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107
However, even if funds had been available to pay all leaders, this
maintain a close contact with the factory. A leader who was not
linked with the world of industry would, ipso facto, be a bad leader.
fication of industrial production. Both the Party and the Komsomol were
of Pioneer work. " . . . very often (the Party and the Komsomol) look
on Pioneer work with contempt and indifference (naplevatel *ski), " stated
the excuse that the cell had already bought the detachment a drum.
2
Will a drum then provide Party leadership? asked the delegate. Party
1. Vos *1801 s"ezd, pp. 502-503; the figure 25-50 rubles monthly was
mentioned.
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108
often did not bother to inform the Thrty about Pioneer affairs, but
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109
Indeed, neither the Komsomol nor the fhrty liked to see their
1
best workers "buried” in Pioneer work; if a leader proved competent,
he -was soon assigned to other work. Those who remained were often
2
quite unfit for political (let alone pedagogical) work.
1929, it noted the lack of leaders yet once again, and called for the
1931* not one single Komsomol organization had assigned enough cadres
for this, and those who were assigned worked for two or three weeks
2. One leader taught his charges that Zinov*ev struggles with the
opposition, while Stalin is an oppositionist. Vos*moi s^ezd, p. 514.
Honeers often proved more educated and "cultured" than their Komsomol
leaders during this period.
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A
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110
When all was said and done, it was impossible for the
ship was faced with tasks of far greater and more immediate
power in its own hands, the Party had little time or personnel
the Party nor the Komsomol— which was called on to aid the
Party in all these pressing tasks— could give what they did
the calls for more "forces" and material aid must be viewed
coming from the Party and the Komsomol, it was not because of
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Ill
_1
ourselves of possibilities the loss of which borders cm a Barty crime.
any doubt that the Honeer Organization should be the only political
organization for children. This became quite clear when the Fifth
Komsomol Congress "cleared the ground" for the new movement by con
groupings could be formed for other purposes. Should clubs and "circles”
to compete with the Pioneer Organization, even though they were not
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112
„1
special goals." The solution of these young enthusiasts is not the
natural science, who will have to enter such an organization and strive
leadership viewed with the greatest distrust any group not under their
unpolitical.
in the summer of 1925; the danger said one participant, lay not in the
by adults who are hostile to the Pioneers and who try to build these
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113
The only true and "safe" solution however, must lie in the
activities offered are varied and interesting and satisfy all the
time, several other groups had formed— they ranged all the way
■embers.2
Here lies the basic problem vhich was to plague the Organiza
tion to the present day: if the drive for total control was carried
by the powers that be, this very success defeats the purpose of the
boring, and the children lose interest and turn to other occupations,
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114
doctrination is lost.
admit that the problem of effective leadership had not yet been
from the cell and ending with the Central Committee VLKSM, strength
was clear that the school and the Komsomol were henceforth to
share the task of directing the work of the Pioneers. The 1930
decree "On the System of Public Education" called for the strengthening
1. Dir, i dok., p. 5.
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115
the school, which is responsible to the Soviet state for the correct
1
Communist upbringing of children*11
the Phrty Central Committee decreed in 193^ that the Central Bureau of
Young Pioneers should no longer issue any directives on the work of the
education officials.
Committee:
1. Ibid., p. 1+3.
2. Ibid., p. 56.
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116
visible results.
year later firmly anchored the Pioneer Organization in the schools and
dissolved Its link with the factory and the farm. At the same time,
work" in the schools and to strengthen the sections for work with
2
school pupils in Komsomol committees. The Komsomol was now required
upbringing of children.
It is not surprising that this dual authority did not work out
very well in practice. Indeed, the conflict between the Komsomol and
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117
’The salary of the senior Pioneer leader is paid by me, and this is -why
the late thirties deplored the fact that the Komsomol still harbors
do not understand the enormous role of the teacher. The teacher does
not meet with the necessary support of the Komsomol, does not enjoy the
has little contact with the Pioneer organizations and usually selects
leaders who are in some way linked to the school in which they are going
to work; in practice, they were henceforth selected from the upper classes,
on the teachers. The lack of training of most Komsomols for this job is
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118
leaders for the higher classes must have at least seven and preferably
for control in the schools swung farther over in favor of the former
when the work of the Pioneer organizations and the school Komsomol was
2
declared an integral part of the work of directors and teachers.
Although Komsomol committees on the raion and city level still had
nominal control over Pioneer work, the chances that they would exercise
leadership in this sphere that they could afford to ignore the Komsomol.
balance and cooperation between the Komsomol and the educators was
2. See above, At this time also, the senior Pioneer leader was
made responsible to the school director as well as to the raion Komsomol
committee.
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119
in 1935 did not remain in effect for very long; during the war, control
over the Pioneers was vested in commissions for work with school
children and Pioneers within Komsomol committees. When the war ended,
the republic, oblast, krai, raion and city levels. These were tobe
committee department for work with school pupils and Pioneers and were
to guide and organize the work of all Pioneer brigades under their
1
jurisdiction. Over-all control lay with the Central Committee of the
system and the two preceding ones; judging by the continuing complaints
that Ihrty membership among teachers and directors was on the increase,
while many young teachers were Komsomol members.
lo Pion. org. im. Lenina, pp. 292-299* The commissions were introduced
in 19k) and replaced by the old "departments" in 19k6. See Pravda,
h July 19k), p. 3} and Komsomol*okaia pravda, 25 January 19k?, p. 1.
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120
the Komsomol— for the Party," states a textbook for teacher training
years later, the Central Committee again called for intensified efforts
were to work with younger Pioneers and helo nrepare them for the
1
Komsomol.
these exhortations had proved as fruitless as all which had preceded them.
2. Ibid.j p. 111.
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121
within the ranks of senior Pioneer leaders, the Twelfth Congress had
successfully worked in the same school for more than three years.
1. Ibid., p. 117.
2. Ibid., p. 148.
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122
the authority of the teacher and the director within the school is being
Komsomol some of the status which it lost during the school reform of
by adults, and League members are told to show more independence from
League charter is as valid for the school Komsomol as for the rest of
the organization. "And if, for example, the charter says, a Komsomol
that they are abolished then this means that a school Komsomol must
2
also act in this way." The Komsomol, the article continues, should be
council. On the other hand, teachers and directors should no longer feel
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123
the teacher which it held in the early days of Bolshevik power, there
Pioneer activities.
fifties, and its activities became more diversified and more independent
of the academic program, its leading organs were greatly expanded, thus
take over from the Central Committee VLKSM department of Pioneers the
numerous sections, one for every aspect of Pioneer activity; too large
their level.
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12k
of Education at this same conference— after all most of them were once
teachers made the mistake of almost entirely taking over the organization
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need not do anything for the Pioneers. "Some school workers can think
important rise in the role of the teacher and the director of the
not mean that the school should give up its role in the development of
1. Ibid., p. 67»
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126
in the upbringing of the "new Soviet man .a With the Komsomol still
whether the expanded Pioneer bureaus will take over more effective
which the Komsomol must solve in the future however, is the contra
to children that they will not stray elsewhere, and the pressures
for stringent controls from above which lie implicit in the Party's
to establish the Party's control over youth and to develop the fully
were viewed as part of the vanguard in the battle for the new society,
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127
over the interests of the individual, and the citizen became a tool
affected the image of the "new man" and the methods and procedures
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- PART II: A5ALISIS
via
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128
CHAPTER V
The first model for the new Soviet man was provided by the
could not afford to wait patiently for this evolution to take place.
The vanguard of society, who set the goals and showed the way, had
to produce immediately the new type of man who could lead all the rest.
also that their convictions would inspire Party members with the desire
to serve the cause, disregarding their own personal interests, and make
them eager to overcome all obstacles and do battle with all opponents.
and consciousness— followed all other requirements for the ideal Bolshevik.
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129
Much the same demands were made on the Party* s youth auxiliary.
This was made quite clear by a speaker at the Third Komsomol Congress:
If these were the demands made on the leading elite, Lenin was
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130
"It is not enough to preach democracy," said Lenin, "it is not enough
One must build democracy directly, from the bottom, on the initiative
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13 1
The factor which would make it possible was again "consciousness11— i.e.,
the laws of the development of society, which work towards the establish
ment of the best possible system, they would willingly subordinate them
and would volunteer their best efforts to promote this evolution. It was
the subject/participant.
doctrine; this knowledge would also equip the Soviet citizen with certain
national barriers; and he would have a "scientific" world outlook, free from
prejudice and religious belief. This completes the image of the new
Soviet man:
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132
life, as contrasted with the sad and meaningless life of children who
3. Woody, op. cit., pp. 113-114. Exact dates for these and following
excerpts from this work are unavailable, but all deal with the period
of the twenties.
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133
We shall be first
In labor and strife
Hark the Pioneer's cry:
'Always be readyl*
member of the "vanguard" had his duties. Consider the story of Vitia,
school today, he reports to his mother. The other children were already
in class and he is ashamed to go in. His mother reminds him that this
is Sunday:
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13h
forever the belief in God, Soviet writers were often extremely crude
Holy God
power. How the Soviet power took the reins into its own hands. The
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135
they were to develop feelings of friendship for the toilers of all the
her hair with her fingers during lessons . . . and not to be thinking
partly from orthodox Marxist doctrine and partly from Western theories
1. Ibid., p. 76.
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136
education, stated the Ground Rules for the Unified labor School, is
efforts are meaningful only if exercised for the good of the group.
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137
Even the very young were taught the value of collective action.
of the strange new word, "the collective." Children are making fun of
this unknown word, when the teacher joins them and asks them what it
The teacher then takes the group out into the yard and proves to them
that a snow fort can be built much more quickly in concerted action by
2
a group than by one child alose.
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138
why Pioneers must develop in their ranks not coercive, but voluntary
discipline.
From the clear realization that things must be done just in this way
and in no other."
their aim was to produce a citizen who would freely and voluntarily
exercise his initiative in independent action for the good of the cause.
"In fact, the activity and initiative of the children is the first require
ment of Pioneer work. We are concerned about a new type of man, one who
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139
only the most necessary guidance from the adult in charge. If, in
society.
the work which had. to be done and see to it that it was properly
performed.
2. Ibid., p. 138.
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Iko
had advocated as the means for transforming the Yuki into a truly
2
Communist organization. One of the most prominent Soviet educators
continues, that the children themselves make the rules which apply to
the entire collective and that they themselves enforce them. The
that they necessarily act correctly. If they make mistakes, they will
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Ikl
each one performing the task for which he is best suited, but all
working to reach the goals which have been set for them. The
taught to find satisfaction only in using them for the good of the
doing things. Above all, the over-all goal of society must never be
there was considerable debate over the correct methods which were to be
used in forming the new Soviet citizen. Work with Pioneers in this
zation was passing through the period of adolescence, when they were no
2
longer children but not yet fully adult. Krupskaia warned the
Komsomol in its early years (before the Pioneer Organization was founded)
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Ik2
that its younger members could not be treated in quite the same way
Krupskaia found much that was useful in the activities of the Scouts.
While their over-all aims must be condemned, she felt, their methods
this age is very impressionable and volatile, and for this reason,
they introduce daily repetition of the Scout laws; these laws set
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1^3
time developing loyalty to the general goal. Even the games which
Scouts play are not merely childish games undertaken for their own
sake; all have a purpose and develop some skill or character attribute.
1
Above all, Scouts are taught to work together in an organized way.
1. To i d . , pp. 37-^9*
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3M
Here every member would learn to work and play with his comrades,
sorrows«
himself with the political and practical life around him, improve
needs of children while serving at the same time to draw them into
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1*5
forced into anything against his will; his natural inclinations and
the purpose of the organization was educational and that they were
dealing with children. Pioneers were treated like adults and were
and the established practice of command from above and obedience from
below.
1. Ibid., p. 3*6.
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l46
the typical link spent 75 per cent of its time in drawing— and
Party noted in 1924 (only two weeks after the Sixth Komsomol Congress
work and military drill, and methods were being introduced which were
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147
throughout Soviet society and with the urgent needs of the regime.
Pioneers were given assignments by the leaders and were used for
2. Ibid., p. 25.
3. Ibid.
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148
of a little girl "no higher than the table" who, when asked what
they did in the childrens’ home where she lived, solemnly answered:
2
"We study Leninism." Another Pioneer leader reports on a "project"
the example of a Pioneer link which was not allowed to do any work
The children watched while the leader did all the work. Instead
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149
drop-out rate. In the jargon of the times, the main defects were
1. V o s ^ i s"ezd, p. 502.
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150
Krupskaia told the Congress that Pioneers really do not know what
they are working for: "But if today we ask our Pioneers the question
what the content of the work should be, I don’t doubt that every
Pioneer will answer: ’We are ready for the struggle for the cause
think about what this means . . . all questions axe not as simple
p
as that." Instead of teaching Pioneers to sound like their elders,
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15 1
most important tasks for the Pioneers, in her view, should be:
direct the social activity of the Pioneers into the most important
the movement than to remove them. Two years after the Seventh
Congress, the situation had not changed for the better; in effect,
the problem had become even more urgent. This was the period
than ever before. But instead of gaining new members and creating
a "shift" worthy to succeed the Party and the Komsomol and able to
build the new society, the Pioneer movement was actually losing
members and failing to accomplish its aims with those who remained.
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152
Both the Ihrty and the Komsomol (in the debates of its Eighth
Congress) decided that a new system of work must he worked out for
making the general goals for which the VKP (h) and
the Komsomol and the Communist parties of the world
are fighting understandable and close to the children;
. . . developing habits of public spirit and collect
ivism . . . by setting socially useful tasks which the
children can do and which will interest them; • . .
teaching them to work collectively and develop in
them the ability to organize the work and work according
to plan; . . . and make the elements of political
education a part of the entire upbringing work and
give them in the forms which correspond to the age
of the children.
and develops people who cannot imagine their life outside of the
2. Vbstmoi s"ezd, p. 586. The basic conflict within the leadership of the
Pioneer Organization became apparent at this Congress. Zorin saw the
Pioneer movement confronted with an important task: "The first question is
how to organize childrens’ socially useful work to help our state." Ibid.,
p. 50k, Italics mine. Other speakers disputed this, stressing the need
of the movement to concentrate on the childrens’ interests and needs.
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153
The new regulations outline the plan of work for a detachment and
according to age and resembled somewhat the tasks set for the Boy
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15*
The Soviet Union was entering into the period of upheaval of the
first Five Year Flan; this was no time to concentrate on the needs
the regime. It became quite clear in the ensuing years that the
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155
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156
the movement as far as methods were concerned, stemmed from the con
flict between this ideal and the sterner traits of the Leninist model.
The image of the "new man" would not come clear. If children were
it was good for them to memorize the tenets of Marxism and Leninism;
if, on the other hand, they were to become individuals, acting freely
upon their own initiative, they must be taught to make up their own
minds and to think about what they hear. If they were to become
every age group; if, on the other hand, they were to become helpers
political activities.
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157
CHAPTER VI
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1 58
"To rear Soviet patriots means, at the same ;time, to rear people
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159
Ulianov showing him to have been the very model of what a young
1. Ibid., p. 36.
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l6o
1
this road to knowledge.”
was the first pupil in the gymnasium and finished with a gold
realize that they could serve their country better by being good
the war: they were asked what they would do if they were endowed
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l6 l
the moral of a story about two boys who hurried through a mathematics
examination, did not bother to check their results, and ran off to
play. Both of them got the answer wrong and they were called to
scolding, the director told them the story of a smith who notices
right. From that, after all, no harm will come to anyone but
ourselves o’ 'Is that what you think?’ replied the director, 'But
2
is it really true?’”
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162
of examples; one of these is the story of a boy who "did not believe
stubbornly gave him a 4 for effort. Once the boy asked her:
•Why do n.n pupils get 5 for effort, while I get 4?* The teacher
replied: *You could get a 5 in all subjects, but you don*t want
to.’ And the boy, in an effort to improve his grade for effort,
1
began to study much better. . . . "
play about the Honeer Organization, for example, related the story
the good of the group: when asked to do some work on the school
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163
In the last act we see him helping his sister with her school
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164
Pioneers have bright eyes, responsive hearts, and they donrt let
1
a chance go by to give friendly help to those who need it.”
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165
clear that an important shift had taken place. Krupskaia and her
colleagues would have been more at home with the idea that
duty and responsibility— these were the basic traits of the new
of the group, if they were at variance with each other, the ideal
1. Ibid., p. 95*
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166
"false friendship." A true friend was one who saw and acknowledged
1. Ibid., p. 37*
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167
was assigned a task by his link, but he was lazy and had no sense
assignment until it was too late. His best friend, Vania, knew
about this situation, but did nothing about it. When the link
found out that the assignment has not been fulfilled, an assembly
was held: "You will already have guessed," the account concludes,
"that both Fedia and Vania had to blush at the assembly. Fedia
because he let down the children. Vania because he did not have
the courage to make Fedia fulfil his assignment and for not having
T_
turned to his link for help."
engaged in joint labor for a common purpose, they take the concept
a step farther.
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168
3. Ibid.
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169
subject.
in the Soviet Union in the early period, which stressed the free
Makarenko probably owes the success of his ideas'*’ to the fact that
and concern for the individual with the requirements of the Stalinist
period.
Makarenko was forced to create for them a new background and set of
values, with which they could feel secure and for which they could
for all others. Strict rules and rigid standards of behavior gave
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17 0
Combined with the strict discipline and the rigid regime was a consider
was a social organism, organized for a certain task and moving toward a
set goal. The goal could never be reached, as a new and more distant
one was set even as the immediate goal was attained. It was through
was tied in with the larger one, with the community (in Makarenko's case,
the whole colony), and, finally, with the society as a whole and the
towards the set goal must be maintained at all times, and every member
goal more quickly, and teaches the individual how to overcome difficulties
and fulfil his tasks (discipline, he points out, is manifested not when
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17 1
things are going veil and everything comes easily, but when problems
arise and work becomes harder); it represents true freedom for the
was almost like that maintained in an army. Uniforms were worn by all
members, armed sentries stood guard, flags and banners vere displayed,
salutes vere required, and orders vere issued in the form of commands,
the educator himself sets the goals and makes the necessary demands
stand out from the group, vho make the demands of the teacher their
own and vho support him in enforcing them on the rest of the group.
This is the second stage, vhen the educator can rely on the help
of an aktiv. The third stage has been reached vhen the group as
a whole has understood the demands made on than and helps to enforce
group. Recognizing the fact that the judgment of the peer group
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172
of the group has internalized the right values and makes the
becomes unnecessary.
that he was, it was impossible for him not to see the unique personality
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173
for him."
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17^
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175
tion into the school. With the model of the ideal citizen
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\
\
176
each other. In one camp— the Soviet Union and (after World War
II) the other socialist countries— life is good and the future is
leaders, who are inspired by the only true theory— Marxism. Only
children in the Soviet Union have a happy childhood and are allowed
class struggle rages between the exploiters and the exploited, with
the former firmly in the saddle and determined not to give up one
work as soon as they are able, and only the children of the rich
all over the world, and Soviet children owe complete loyalty to
idea of the tone of the campaign under Stalin, Thus, for instance,
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st o r y of three French boys who run away to sea to go to America,
about which they have heard many good things. They are found
on the boat on which they stowed away, made drunk by the captain
until one dies, one jumps ship in port, and the third one— desperate-
them. Conditions for the poor in the country are described— people
admiration for the Soviet Union. When the son of one American
hovel. The climau of the story comes when the American consul
and they canft shoot,” he says. "3ut never mind, sticks are a
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178
1
good weapon too. . . . let them beat all, but the women first.”
Second World War was Pavlik Morozov: a boy who denounced his own
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179
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180
2. Ibid., p. 212.
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l8l
experiments.
has been said however, to show that the Pioneer Organization vas
1 . Ibid., p. 83.
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182
intents and purposes, identical with the class. Very often, the
and acceptable behavior came from the group. The Pioneer detachment
was charged with developing in its members the feeling that they
every Pioneer is an occasion for joy and pride, for the whole
1. Ibid., p. 5^»
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183
for his actions to the group, but also served to form the nubile
2
opinion without which effective group manipulation is impossible.
for its own sake; all that matters to him is the success of the
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184
brigade and announced by a bugle call and the roll of the drum,
link and detachment leaders made their report to the brigade council,
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185
authority.
the "Rules for Pupils" which were promulgated by the Party in 19^3,
and which applied to all school children. These rules vere designed
First and foremost, in the period since the thirties, was the
in school.
1. For the text of the rules see Yesipov and Goncharov, op. cit.,
pp. 149-150. They vere slightly modified in the 1950}s. For a
detailed description of the military procedures followed during an
assembly, see PLon. org. im. Lenina, pp. 178-179*
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186
Knowledge is strength
Knowledge is as important as a rifle
in battle
Study is your Job
Learn how to study
If you lose an hour you will not make
up the time in a whole year
The price of a minute
Save each minute.-*-
happen," asks one article, "if people were absentminded during work.
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187
sj-mwm said nothing about this. Only -when jet airplanes were
discussed, he drew a diagram on the board for the boys, told them
how fast a plane can fly, and added: "Now you understand, children,
what one second means. You cam fly almost half a kilometre in
one second. Imagine how far behind its comrades a crew would be
1
who is undisciplined for five minutes I"
The river Volga, The theories of Michurin and Iysenko, the study
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188
leaders were urged to arrange war games, and children were taught
2. The letters stand for the words: "Be Prepared for Labor and Defense."
Competition for the medal began at the age of 14, at the very end of
the Pioneer's stay in the Organization (special permission from a
doctor had to be obtained if the child wished to start at the age of
13).
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189
ever, that the ideal Soviet man was also expected to act independ
ently and on his own initiative for the good of the common cause.
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5he tasks o f C aflaunist education re q u ire th a t our
p u p ils leave school as people o f in it ia t iv e . C itize n s
o f our S o v ie t Chios a re expected not o n ly to execute
consciously and p ers ev e rin g ly th e w ill o f th e ir
le a d e rs , h u t also to show personal resourcefulness
o f th e ir own and to c o n trib u te a spark o f personal
creativen ess d ire c te d toward th e w e lfa re o f th e
M otherland . Cbly people o f in it ia t iv e a re a b le to
e x tric a te theaaelves su ccessfu lly frosi a d if f ic u lt
s itu a tio n under any conditions o r solve c re a tiv e ly
sone new prob lea presented by lif e *
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191
There was no doubt however, that the will of the leader must prevail:
demands not for himself, but through him the Ihrty, the Komsomol
if they made mistakes, but the impression remains with the reader,
The plan for the work of a Pioneer brigade was drawn up by the
2. Ibid.
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192
The activities for every quarter were coordinated with the school
get those pupils elected who would be most able and willing to
with the children, who were impressed with the fact that only the
1. Ibid., p. 45.
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193
the short interval during the war, when elections were not held— that
adults which left hardly any leeway for the activity of the children
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194
said the reporter, when the children were released from bondage and
2
ran for their coats. In other instances, assemblies of academic
achievement were held, where good and bad pupils talked about their
marks, and all took an "oath” that bad marks would not occur
3
in future.
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195
them was not; Komsomol leaders tended to put the blame on inadequate
system which recognized only one goal, only one answer to every
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\
V " '
196
CHAPTER VII
taking of progress made and changes which had taken place since the
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does not mean, however, that respect and veneration for outstanding
Pioneer press ceased soon after his death,"1’ the cult of Lenin
A Lesson
A lesson is going on
The class is completely quiet
Because the teacher is telling us about Lenin
We hear with shining eyes
How he lived for the people
How he led the Fatherland to victory
How he was friendly to children
We listen, and everyone wants
To harbor these traits in himself
And we decide to be like Lenin g
In study, in work, and in life.
"Every one of us will have to cope with many of the most varied
are needed. If a person goes firmly towards his goal and aims
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A person with character will gain his ends." Any character
trait can be changed if a person has the necessary will and determin
sets about making one, but finds he cannot make the lens. A
him a lens, but, after the telescope is all but finished, after
much hard work, Tolia’s cat pushes the lens off the table and
like idlers and those who rely on them. But in some cases
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199
duty, but in the late fifties, stories about the educational value
Serezha's eyes are opened to what has been missing in his life;
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/
2 00
When the latter refused, she beat her unmercifully and then tried
to starve her into submission. Zhanna did not give in, but
and to wear her cross at night when no one would know. She is
finally saved from her mother’s persecution when the teacher and
1
her class collective come to her rescue.
are familiar with mankind’s past and know why and how belief in
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1
gods originated among primitive peoples."
of earlier times were Pioneers who forget their duty to the group,
While these are still grave faults, the "negative hero" of the
to sell his cowboy shirt to the boy; when the sale is made, the
the Soviet way of life, and, by letting the foreigner take the
more lies about the Soviet Union. He gives back the shirt and,
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V '
20 2
Clearly there is nothing startlingly new about the present-
day image of the "new Soviet man." What is striking here is the
One important exception to this (aside from the end of the cult
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Nor "nave Pioneer leaders and teachers shown any narked new
adults: "So that Pioneers should elect the nost authoritative pupils
must have. . . . But in those detachments where this matter was left
act on one's own initiative to find new ways of solving tasks set
as their own. . . ."; in the second stage, such direction from above
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20U
meetings in their school because they could not feel at ease there:
gymnasium, the Pioneer roam, even the games and the Pioneer drums.
All classes are carrying on competition. Whatever you do— you get a
leaders, published only one year after Stalin's death, omits all
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205
fathers.1
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206
the old methods are no longer adequate. Soviet educators are being
who cannot think for himself and who has to be supervised and
boy who is sent to find his Pioneer leader on the street; when
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207
summer camp makes ouch the sane point. The children arrive in the
the director of the camp, vho has had everything decided for him hy
instructions are faded and brittle, they have heen used for so long.
1
stopped immediately; things must he done the way they have always
heen done and the way in which every other camp does them, otherwise
who knows what might happen* It is made quite clear that authority
is on the side of change. The film ends with a general break for
The real culprits here are the adults who run the Pioneer
it seems clear that the Pioneers are still far from being the real
believe a play performed for the first time in i960, the aktivists
pets” and budding little bureaucrats, who sit at their desks and
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208
senior Pioneer leader wants to expel the boy from the Pioneer
the teachers' choice must be elected; one can hardly blame the
2. Ibid., p. 56.
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209
blamed for wanting to end it! The fault lies in the Organization,
Society of Three," but this has no aim at all, and does not satisfy
his need for romance and activity. The next step is that he
1. Ibid., p. 57.
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210
and useful life, they must not leave the Organization, but rather
brigade council.
of the Organization.
educators, even when they are harmless. Consider the story, for
1. Ibid., p. 58.
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211
were not enough to persuade the boys to explain the meaning of the
that they stood for the slogan: "Struggle, Search, Find asd Do Hot
Give Up!”), but the boys had svom a solemn oath not to reveal their
for it.1
taking place since the fifties, has made it possible for educators
Young people will have to be met on their own grounds and convinced
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212
harmful.
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213
teaching methods are taking the individual into account. How far
below."
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CHAPTER V I I I
child*8 life, both daring his hours in school and. during his leisure
cessful this effort by the regime has been to affect the thoughts,
exert complete political control over youth. Ever since its incep
tion, the Pioneer Organization has had a monopoly of the field; rival
groups were condemned and disappeared soon after the formation of the
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215
initiative.
part of the adult "establishment” and its members often experience the
organize games and activities vith their own friends outside the
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216
goal, and children and adults both have their duties to perform. It
strict control.
and that they have changed in accordance with the wishes of the
regime. "We have the strong impression that Soviet parents are
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217
from within."
to reach, children could he formed into the shock troops of the regime
countryside, where the influence of the Party and Komsomol was weakest
labor, to create the forces, which will turn the village into the
which she lists touch upon nearly every aspect of village life. They
range from the battle against illiteracy and help to the schools, to
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218
expected to struggle for equal rights for women and girls, and for an
the childrens' organization was to work at the hard core of the old
system.
doubt that there was considerable distrust, even hatred, of the new
children would be corrupted by the new ideas and resented their inter
ference in adult affairs. On the other hand, older people were often
impressed with the discipline of the Pioneer ranks and interested in the
the peasant population as follows: "Much about the Pioneers the peasants
do not like— they are godless, they hold their laws higher than the
Peasants often beat their children so that they will not join
the Pioneers, especially the most ignorant [potemnee] and richest ones
prevent their children from joining detachments. They see that children
become more sensible, efficient and developed. . . . But there are also
such parents who support their children, who themselves learned and
_2
understood a great deal from their Pioneer children. . . .
1. For a full discussion, see la. Mushpert and Ye. Fairiberg, Komsomol i
molodezh natsional'nykh menshinstv (Moscow-Leningrad: Molodaia Gvardiia,
19257 :
2. Krupskaia, Pedagogicheskie sochlnenlia, V, pp. 152-153. This
article was written in 1925.
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219
Peasants opposed not so such the nev ideas as the nethods used
Pioneers (methods for the sost part borrowed from the Komsomol) in
reached its peak in the early thirties. During the period of the
shoulder with the Party and the Komsomol in ensuring fulfilment of the
tasks set by the Plan. Nothing was to be allowed to stand in the way,
not even the loyalty which a child owed to his parents. Sever*ianova
stated at the Ninth Komsomol Congress that the class struggle now was
the supreme goal for all, and takes priority over family ties. This
is the reason, she explains, why children in recent years have risen
up against fathers who played truant from work, and mothers who did not
of parents towards the Pioneer Organization showed that over 73 per cent
2. Deviatyi s”ezd, pp. 355# 3^0, 363. When we recall the fate which
befell Pavlik Morozov only a few years after this speech, this general
approval becomes somewhat suspect.
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220
becomes conscious of the outside world and continues for the rest
group. From this moment on, the values and ideas of the official
not accepted them by the time he is old enough to leave the Pioneers.
sumption. "It is our impression that the greatest success [the sub
1. Inkeles and Bauer, op. cit., pp. 178-179. For a discussion of some
contemporary Soviet attitudes see U. Bronferibrenner "Allowing for Soviet
Perceptions and Motives," in R. Fisher (ed.), International Conflict and
Behavioral Science (Hew York: Basic Books, 1964), pp. 1^1-179*
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221
revolution, civil war, war or hardship, the message has lost its
In other words, the ideas of Marxism and the slogans of Leninism are
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222
are voicing their doubts and hesitations about specific events and
the confusion of their mentors— and the increasing contacts vith the
groups, but Pioneer groups also are becoming involved in the discus
they seek, so runs the warning, they will obtain it from unauthorized
persists only in the old and uneducated, they are equally insistent on
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223
to tell in what manner and to what extent such facts affect the
its aim of instilling new values; the area where results are most open
minant of action. Here the avowed aims of educators for the formation
of the new man come into direct conflict vith the means of control
change and extol the value of criticism and self-criticism, but they
Some of this conflict also stems from the fact that, for much
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22k
the life situation of the Soviet citizen so that he would do what was
system. One former Pioneer who defected from the Soviet Union,
the terror which kept the Soviet citizen in line, but also the desire
to further his own career and to win praise for his performance. ?To
is not to be wondered at that the ideal of the "new man" is still far
2. Ibid., p. 286*
3. Ibid., p. 289.
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225
CEATTER IX
CONCLUSION
of Soviet power and had its origin in the logic of the all-embracing
regime also desired to enroll the youth of the country— the pliable
control over youth, absorb all other groups, and shape the political
ideas of its members and involve them in approved social action. The
organization was to help break up the old culture and was assigned the
task of developing the type of citizen best suited for the new society.
Marxist, and an active helper of the regime; at the same time, he was
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226
been maintained ever since. The role assigned to the Pioneer Organi
In the early years, when vast numbers of Soviet children did sot go
vision and political training for the young. They were the "vanguard"
of their age group, and were expected to explain the ideas and policies
of the regime to their families and to propagate them among their less
side with the Party and the Komsomol in implementing the policies of
the regime; often they were treated as adults and were enlisted in
its political role in the years of Stalin’s rule. With the re
school in the thirties, Soviet youth leaders never again lost sight
of the fact that Pioneers are children and must be treated as such.
of Soviet society, the movement has again been assigned a role— even
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227
Pioneer work.
regime.^
sources sometimes even deplore the extent to which the family seems
American scholar found that "the peer collective (under adult leader
ship) rivals and early surpasses the family as the principal agent of
1. Inkeles and Bauer, op. cit., pp. 215-216 present evidence to this
effect.
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228
its creators, and in the light of the goals set for it, the Pioneer
Organization still falls far short of fulfilling the tasks for which
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229
can be shaped to any mold. While this concept remains basic for
Soviet educators even today, the model of the ideal Soviet citizen
and the Pioneer program was aimed at shaping the entire personality
discipline.
what counted, and fear, shame, or the desire for personal reward
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230
the fault does not lie vith the Pioneer Organization. The contra
obedient to orders from above and motivated to act on his own in the
while supplanting old values and loyalties vith nev. The problem
economy and the government now increasingly need men who will be able
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231
Ideas and nethods. As long as the Party bases its claim to power
The political culture of the Soviet Union today has been aptly
subject" will evolve into a "citizen" who feels able to influence the
population, workers who think for themselves, and citizens who display
real initiative— without losing the total control desired by the Party.
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232
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books
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233
Counts, G. The Challenge of Soviet Education. Nev York: McGrav Hill, 1957.
Iakovlev, V. Nasha smena (Our Replacement). 2d. ed. Moskovskii Rahochii, 1962.
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M
234
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235
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236
Mead, M. Soviet Attitudes Toward Authority. Hew York: McGraw Hill, 1951.
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237
Pye, Lucian W. and Verba, Sidney. Political Culture and Political De
velopment. Princeton; Princeton University Press, 1963*
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233
_________ . Sovet otriada i ego rabota (ihe Detachment Council and Its
Work). Molodaia Gvardiia, 1926.
Williams, F. E* Russia, Youth and the Present Day World. New York:
Farrar and Rinehart, 1934.
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239
Woody, T. Hew Minds? Hew Men? Hew York: The Macmillan Company,1932.
Murzilka
PLoner (Pioneer)
Vozhatyi (Leader)
Pervyi vserossiiskii snezd RKSM. 3*3- ed. Moscow: Molodaia Gvardiia, 1926.
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240
*Ho bound stenographic reports are available for the 11th and 12th
Congresses.
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