Comrades! Happy Pioneer Day! Today is the day we honor the Young Pioneer scouting organization established on May 19, 1922. Lenin’s wife, Nadezhda Krupskaya, was a crucial figure in the inception of the organization, and you can read a quote from her below in the “Articles” section.
Why do we celebrate the Pioneers? The Pioneers are were the second step on a path to becoming a communist part member in the USSR, though not everyone took this path. You can read about it more in the story “10 Level of a Soviet Communist”, which outlines how a child might go from being a Little Octoberist to a Young Pioneer, to a Komsomol member, and all the way up!
You might be saying to yourself, “why am I studying the Young Pioneers?” Insights, dear comrades, insights. As Lenin said about the Komsomol, prior to the creation of the Pioneers:
"Members of the Union should consume every free hour to improve the garden, or at some factory or plant. The Teaching of Youth, etc. We want Russia to move from a poor and slaughter country to a rich country. And it is necessary that the Communist Youth League unite its education, its teaching and upbringing with the work of the workers and peasants, so that it does not lock itself up in its schools and does not confine itself to reading church books and pamphlets. Only in labor together with the open and the peasants can become real communists. And it is necessary for everyone to see that everyone who is a member of the Youth Union is literate, and at the same time knows how to work. When everyone sees how we drove the old drill out of the old school, replacing it with reciprocal discipline, how every young person goes to his share in the subbotnik, how they use a separate suburban farm, so that the population to the population, the people will look at labor differently than they look at it looked before. The task of the Communist Association of Youth is to get help in such a matter to get to the village or to your quarter.”
📸 Photos
- 📸 Photos
- 📝 Articles
- Who were the Pioneers and why is there so much nostalgia for them?
- “Young Pioneers” - Lenin’s Wife
- 10 levels of a Soviet communist: From diapers to head of state
- How Soviet children were raised and educated
- 🖼️ Art
- Pioneer Posts on Instagram:
- Pioneer Pledge:
- 📺 Videos
- 🎧 Music
- Anthem of the Young Pioneers (1922)
- English Lyrics
- Russian Lyrics
- Eaglets Learn to Fly
- “Eaglets Learn to Fly” Lyrics
- 💬 Comments from Comrades
- 🇺🇸 Young Pioneers of America
- The Young Comrade Issues:
- US & Canadian Pioneers in USSR Magazines
- ⏭️ What’s next…
- 📅 Upcoming Events
- 🙋♂️ How can you help?
- 👕 Shirts
- 📈 Boost It!
- ☕️ Ko-fi Membership
📝 Articles
Click the headlines below to expand the section.
Who were the Pioneers and why is there so much nostalgia for them?
“Young Pioneers” - Lenin’s Wife
10 levels of a Soviet communist: From diapers to head of state
How Soviet children were raised and educated
🖼️ Art
Pioneer Day is on May 19.
“The Young Pioneer’s Promise: I, a young pioneer of the Soviet Union, in the face of my comrades, I solemnly promise: to love my soviet motherland ardently, to live, study, and fight as great Lenin wanted, and as the Communist Party teaches.”
Pioneer Posts on Instagram:
All of these Instagram embeds have multiple photos and posters within. Make sure to click, and read the translations in the description! If you enjoy them, consider sharing with your friends!
Pioneer Pledge:
📺 Videos
🎧 Music
Anthem of the Young Pioneers (1922)
According to the video:
"Clash of the Fires, Blue Nights" is a Soviet pioneer song written in 1922. The lyrics were written by poet Alexander Alexeyevich Zharov, and the music by pianist Sergei Fyodorovich Kaidan-Deshkin.
English Lyrics
Russian Lyrics
“One of the first Soviet songs to gain popular recognition was, oddly enough, the anthem of the Young Pioneers. It was written by poet Aleksandr Zharov and pianist Sergey Kaidan-Deshkin, at the suggestion of Nadezhda Krupskaya, Vladimir Lenin’s spouse. The anthem is easily adapted for the Young Pioneer bugle. The following lines are familiar to everyone born in Soviet times! Let’s raise high our campfires into the dark blue night! We are Young Pioneers, the children of the workers! Near is the time of our best years And the Pioneers’ motto is “Always be ready!””
Source:
Eaglets Learn to Fly
“Eaglets Learn to Fly” Lyrics
💬 Comments from Comrades
From a Russian comrade. She often sends photos of Pioneer items from Museums and shops near Moscow:
“We were pioneers of the 1980s generation... at the turn of the century. For us, of course, the atmosphere of pioneer camps is unforgettable. At the time, we groaned a little from the daily "routines" (every morning raising the flag, the Pioneer motto"), competition squad song. But only now do we understand that and it was great and unique)). And so I remember the: the pioneer lights, bonfires, zarnitsa. One of the best things was "to draw something with toothpaste on somebody's face at night)))”
ADD PHOTOS,FROM 1BPD
🇺🇸 Young Pioneers of America
In addition to picketing, the Young Pioneers of America had a magazine called, “The Young Comrade.” Read some selected sections below, and below that, you can find the original PDFs.
The Young Comrade Issues:
US & Canadian Pioneers in USSR Magazines
Read the translations below!
“The realization that pioneer organizations have taken root all over the world should fill the heart of every pioneer with pride. At present, we can boldly say that there is no such country, no such region, where the life of our young proletarian organization would not begin. Far across the ocean, in countries such as Canada and the United States of North America, pioneer associations have already existed for several years. They are now strong and firmly on their feet. These organizations include the children of the workers, brave and courageous children who are wholeheartedly devoted to the proletarian fatherland - the Soviet Union.
The pioneers of these distant countries live and dream of our country and are ready to sacrifice everything for it. We have received many letters from these young fighters for the proletariat, some of them very interesting. Here is what one pioneer writes from Canada: “Dear comrades! In the Young Comrade magazine (a pioneer magazine published there in English), it was printed that the pioneers of other countries wished to correspond with the pioneers of Canada. Therefore, I decided to write a letter to comrades from the Soviet Union. I would very much like to visit Soviet Russia.
We are oppressed here by the bourgeoisie. My ardent desire is that we do not have bourgeois in Canada, like in the Soviet Union. Our teacher at school is in the habit of saying that every Bolshevik should be killed. She gets angry when we talk about Soviet Russia and liberation from the capitalists.
One day, we students decided to sing revolutionary songs. Hearing this, the teacher forbade us to sing them. These are Bolshevik songs, she said angrily, they must not be sung! The inspector strictly forbids them in our Canadian schools. In addition, the teacher Nitsa told us that in our beautiful pre-minion (Canada belongs to the British, who call it a “dominion”, i.e. “possession”), we need a people who would fight for England in the event of a war with the Bolshevik country. To this we answered her that we would not fight either with Russia, or with China, and in general with other countries that fights against the bourgeoisie. If war breaks out, we will be on the side of Soviet Russia.
Our teacher makes us pray morning and evening. He asks us questions from the Bible after he reads chapters of the book to us.
The teacher knows that the parents of many of the students are communist workers. Therefore, she especially tries to make their children believe in God. But she won't get that from us!
I just moved into high school and I'm glad I won’t be forced to pray anymore.
I am waiting for your answer, in which you tell me about your country and your.”
Now that we have read this letter, we can make some very happy conclusions from it.
First, that the Canadian pioneers are very conscientious. They know that the fatherland of the workers is not the country where the capitalists live, where their fathers and themselves suffer. Therefore, from that time on, they refuse to ever fight with the proletarian fatherland - the Soviet Union.
Secondly, As we learn from the letter, there are many pioneers in the school. The teacher, although she conducts military agitation among them, tries to is to inspire hatred for the Bolsheviks and love for the priests, but after all these conversations, the kids undoubtedly criticize and ridicule the bourgeois teacher and say: “She won't get it!“
In another American country, the United States, the pioneer movement is even stronger than in Canada. New York publishes a monthly English-language magazine called “Young Comrade”. In this magazine, the article “Pioneers Arrested for Participating in an Anti-War Demonstration” recounts a case in Washington DC. Washington is the capital of the North American United States. Some time ago there was a demonstration against the war. Together with adult communists took part in the demonstration and pioneers. The police arrested 29 people, including three pioneers: Flones Carpenter, A. Brooks, and Charles Seidman. At the trial, the arrested behaved boldly and fearlessly: one of the accused, Clarence Miller, told the terrible story of his torment in prison: he and five other people were put in a cell that looked more like a cage for animals. The cell was dirty, full of insects and cockroaches. Miller was even forced declare a hunger strike in protest. The court sentenced the defendants to a monetary fine of $100 each, with commutation to prison if not paid. But none of them agreed to pay a fine, and decided to serve time in prison.
There is another interesting case from the life of our American pioneer comrades.
The case took place relatively recently in the city of Philadelphia. The communist workers were to hold a meeting with a report. The Philadelphia pioneers were willing to attend this talk and came to the meetinghouse with 250 people. But then they were met by a huge crowd of policemen who forbade the pioneers from entering the building.
One of the pioneers was arrested for not keeping quiet about the police, but when he called him a "thug". My head is not worse, but better yours! - the pioneer answered him. But the Philadelphia pioneers were not easily frightened. They staged a demonstration near the premises, walked up and down in front of the house and sang revolutionary songs. After that, the pioneers called a rally to protest against the actions of the police, and also protested against the expulsion of two pioneers from school for their activity and for the help they provided to high school students. America's pioneers in schools are working on their development, publishing magazines, and doing community work. For example, at Elementary School No. 61 in New York, the pioneers published seven school bulletins and many flyers in a year. Since the beginning of the year they have been publishing the school magazine “Young Iskra”. When the school authorities found out about this, they began to follow and spy on the pioneers. Two pioneers were summoned for questioning by the school authorities. They were required to hand over their comrades. But they held on. zhestno and betrayed no one.
⏭️ What’s next…
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Comrades, if you’ve read this far, I ask you to help boost some projects of mine:
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☕️ Ko-fi Membership
I’ve revamped my Ko-fi page (similar to a Patreon)! Ko-fi allows people to donate money directly or subscribe monthly. For our monthly Pioneer members, we’re offering a new feature called: Instagram Roundups.
These round-ups will include extra information from my historic Instagram posts
Previously, I’ve been unable to share links to the photos and extra history due to post caption size. Now Pioneer members on Ko-fi will get this exclusive access! See the new post here: