Red ties on the chest, "Zarnitsa", the first subbotniks, waste paper and scrap metal - these are the famous attributes of the pioneer movement that existed for all the years of the "life" of the USSR. Unlike the Octobrists, not every schoolchild between the ages of 10 and 14 was accepted as pioneers, especially before the early 1980s. But if it was accepted, it was really solemn, so that this day could be remembered by the "young Leninist" for the rest of his life.
Banner color tie
To join the ranks of the pioneers, and voluntarily, in the USSR, any schoolchild who ceased to be an Octobrist in age and did not reach the age of 14 had the opportunity to join. But there were often, however, formally, and some restrictions. They were associated, first of all, with the academic performance and behavior of the student. In any case, the student's right to become a pioneer was seriously discussed first in his class, and then at the Council of the school squad. And he could sometimes be refused. In fact, red ties were tied to almost everyone. They were handed over to the bulk of fourth-graders on April 22, Lenin's birthday. Moreover, these ceremonies took place either at the monument to the leader, or in a large hall, for example, a cinema.
In the beginning, the boys and girls read aloud The Solemn Promise. After that, one of the invited Komsomol members or Communists tied each of them a red tie, symbolizing with its three ends the connection of three communist generations, and handed over a pioneer badge of the same color with a portrait of Lenin. The celebration ended with the gesture of the newly-made pioneer with a hand raised diagonally above his head in a cap, and a kind of password with the words “Be ready! Always ready! . Those who were not fortunate enough to become a pioneer in April got their chance on a holiday on May 19. But only without any special celebrations and speeches.
Units and units
Having become a pioneer, an ordinary school class immediately turned into a detachment led by a high school counselor and, as a rule, bore the name of some pioneer hero or simply a deceased hero of one of the wars of the twentieth century. For example, Pavlik Morozov, who was killed by fists, or Oleg Koshevoy, a "Young Guard". The detachment was divided into links. And the totality of all school detachments was called a squad. The main occupations of the pioneers, in addition to good studies and preparation for joining the Komsomol, were considered participation in the "Timurov movement" and subbotniks, collecting waste paper and scrap metal. The pioneer could leave the ranks of the organization only in two cases: after reaching the age of 14 and joining the Komsomol, or upon expulsion for "deuces" and hooliganism.
Pioneer day
By the way, the holiday celebrated on May 19 and received the name "Day of the All-Union Pioneer Organization named after VI Lenin" at birth could have become such on another day. But the first attempt made in 1918 to create in Soviet Russia, following the example of American scouts, detachments of young communists, was not very successful. The civil war began in the country, and the Bolsheviks were not up to the small detachments of their underage followers.
The second attempt, in November 1921, turned out to be more resilient. After the decision was made to create a children's political organization, which at first bore the name of the Roman slave and gladiator Spartacus, several "Spartak" groups appeared in Moscow, using unprecedented symbols - red ties and five-pointed stars. On May 7 of the same year, the first pioneer bonfire was lit in one of the capital's parks. And 12 days later, the All-Russian Conference of the Komsomol, which later became the Congress of the Komsomol, decided to create an organization in the country, consisting of pioneer detachments. In the same year, composer Sergei Kaidan-Deshkin and poet Alexander Zharov wrote a song with the words “Soar with bonfires, blue nights! We are pioneers - children of workers,”and she immediately received the status of an anthem.
