"Be ready!" and the answer is “Always ready!” - these words are familiar and understandable for people of the older generation, whose childhood was spent in the Soviet Union. Indeed, the motto of the pioneers sounded in an abridged version.
How it all started
The basis for the formation of pioneers was the already existing scout movement in Russia, formed before the revolution (1917), the purpose of which was to unite young people and educate worthy and responsible citizens of the country.
The network of children's organizations totaled about 50 thousand scouts. During the Civil War, they created units of "young police officers" who helped track down street children. Scouts also provided various assistance to the population.
In parallel with traditional scoutism, a new direction appeared in the country: “SK” (young communists) - scouts who sought to combine the foundations of the movement with communist ideology. However, the new youth education - the Komsomol - having seen rivals in scoutism, decided to get rid of it. At the congress of the RKSM (1919), the “SK” was accused of the fact that they only formally approach the issue of communist education of children, but in fact they promote “bourgeois scoutism”. As a result, it was decided to dissolve all existing units.
Creation of the All-Union Pioneer Organization
However, very soon the question of creating a children's communist organization had to return. This happened after speaking at the next bureau of the Central Committee of the RKSM, the wife of V.I. Lenin - N. Krupskaya. She strongly recommended that the Komsomol leaders think about creating a children's community that includes a scout form with communist content.
Soon a commission was created, which included Innokenty Zhukov, who in the past held a senior position in the Russian Scout company. It was he who suggested the members of the new children's organization be called "pioneers."
The pioneers had to wear a red tie and a white blouse (for scouts, both of them are green). The motto is "Get ready!" - "Always ready!" also borrowed from scouts. In addition, the pioneer organization retained the inherent scoutism: game forms of education, division by units, which were led by counselors, as well as campfire gatherings. The lily with three petals, depicted on the scout badge, among the pioneers was replaced by three flames.
Throughout 1922, pioneer detachments began to be organized throughout the country from small villages to large cities. And in October, the Fifth Congress of the RKSM issued a resolution to unite them all into one communist organization for children, calling it “Young Pioneers named after Spartacus. " However, after the death of the “leader of the proletariat” (1924), she was given the name of Lenin. And since March 1926, the pioneer was given the official name - the All-Union Pioneer Organization named after V.I. Lenin.
Pioneer structure in the USSR
The All-Union Pioneer Organization named after V.I. Lenin was an association of republican, regional, regional, city and district divisions, the basis of which was a squad.
The teams were created directly in schools, orphanages and boarding schools. If more than twenty people were recruited in them, then they were allowed to be divided into groups, in which there should have been at least three pioneers. Traditionally, detachments were created from children of the same age, exceptions were allowed for pioneer camps and orphanages.
The detachments, in which from fifteen people were recruited, were divided into units, at the head of which was placed the unit, elected at the general meeting.
In fact, the squads united the pioneers of one educational institution (school, boarding school, orphanage), and the units, respectively, of one class.
80s innovations
In the eighties, the structure of the pioneers of the USSR changed slightly. Senior pioneers appeared - a link preparing for joining the Komsomol. They wore a special badge, in which there were elements of the Komsomol. In addition, they were allowed to wear an “adult” instead of a pioneer tie.
Organization Management
Management of the All-Union Pioneer Organization was carried out by the Komsomol (Komsomol), which reported directly to the CPSU. Management was structured in the same way in separate units of “young Leninists” (schools, orphanages, boarding schools). All chairmen, deputies and secretaries of the Pioneer Councils, from the Central to the district, were approved at the corresponding Komsomol plenums.
The Komsomol committees trained senior counselors for pioneer squads, selecting and training them, and also engaged in further training.
Self-government among pioneers
Each squad, unit or unit had its own governing body, called the assembly. The function of collecting the squad included the adoption of candidates for pioneers. He also recommended the most worthy "young Leninists" for admission to the ranks of the Komsomol. Although, in the end, almost all members of the organization joined the Komsomol, since in the Soviet period it was very difficult to build a successful further career without the title of “Komsomolets”.
As for the larger pioneer organizations, ranging from district to the All-Union, then the so-called pioneer rallies were a form of self-government. True, they gathered only periodically. So, republican and All-Union rallies took place once in a five-year period, urban and district rallies - every two to three years.
How to take in the pioneers
Children from 9 to 14 years old inclusively could voluntarily join pioneers. It will be more accurate to say - voluntarily-forcibly.
Before becoming a member of a pioneer organization, the candidate underwent some training. He got acquainted with its history, the exploits of the pioneer heroes committed during the years of the war with Germany, memorized the “Solemn Promise of the Pioneer” by heart. In addition, the meaning of the distinctive characters was explained to him.
As a rule, the date of the next adoption of the organization was summed up under some communist holidays. The event was carried out in a festive atmosphere. But previously the reception took place individually through voting at the gathering of a detachment or squad, where the candidate’s willingness to wear the title of “pioneer” was evaluated. It was like a kind of exam. After passing this test, the future Leninist was actually becoming a pioneer, however, he could only wear a pioneer badge with a red tie only after their festive presentation. It took place on a common line. There he made the "Solemn Promise of the Pioneer."
In a word, the entry procedure was quite lengthy and thorough. Therefore, everyone who went through it, for the rest of his life remembered how he was accepted into the pioneers.
Solemn promise and the laws of pioneer
Before a new pioneer tie was tied to a new member of the organization, he had to make a solemn promise at the general building (ruler at school, boarding school, etc.), in which he made commitments to serve the cause of the CPSU, to love his homeland and to abide by the laws of pioneering.
They were based on all the best that the country would like to see in the younger generation: the desire to defend their homeland from the enemy, fight for peace, strive to become a Komsomol member and be an example for babies (October). In addition, try to be a good friend, respect the elders, and, of course, take an active part in the life of the pioneer organization.
As you know, the Soviet system assigned a special role to the mass propaganda of communism. Songs, posters, banners, slogans in that period could be found at every step. Pioneering could not stand aside: the motto of the pioneers is a vivid example of this. When pronouncing it, the young Leninist raised an arm bent at the elbow to his head, giving the so-called “pioneer salute,” which, in the end, became a generally accepted gesture of mutual greeting among members of the organization.
The motto of the pioneers
The pioneering motto consisted of two parts: appeal and response.
The appeal was as follows: "Pioneer, be ready for the struggle for the cause of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union!" And then followed the answer: "Always ready." But in full, the text was usually pronounced only on solemn occasions or at general gatherings or gatherings. In everyday life, the motto was pronounced in abbreviated form: "Get ready!" - "Always ready!".
Pioneer form, symbolism and paraphernalia
The traditional pioneer uniform coincided with the school uniform, but at the same time it was necessarily supplemented by generally accepted symbols - a scarlet tie and a pioneer badge. To participate in the celebrations, a red cap was put on his head.
Each separate squad had its own “pioneer room”, in which a place was specially reserved for storing paraphernalia: a retinue banner, horns (wind instrument), drums, flags, which were used to open and close important and solemn internal organizational events.
Well, since in the Soviet Union a special place was given to discipline, and the younger generation learned to walk in line literally from kindergarten, then in pioneer organizations on this score even had their own traditions. Annually among the detachments, “system reviews and songs” were held. On them, the jury evaluated the drill, pioneer speeches read during the passage, and how amiably and harmoniously performed the drill.
In a word, if you do not take into account the political background, then the pioneer organization played a crucial role in raising children. Literally everything, starting from the motto of the pioneers and ending with the form of clothing, set young people to self-discipline and the desire for self-improvement, as well as reverence for elders and love for the motherland. In a word, the pioneer was an example to all Soviet guys.