Figure 1.--Here we see a Young Pioneer drummer. In each pioneer unit there was a music group--drummers and buglers (trumpeters). They were sometimes dressed more elaborately than the other members. To be the drummer or bugler was a great honor. Note the boy's cap which was red. Also notice the emblem on the cap and the mortar board shoulder decorations. This photograph was taken in the early 1970s. We are not suew what the emblem is in the boy's cap here. It may be from a Summer camp. Notice that the same emblem is repeated on his shoulder board epauletes.

Our information on Pioneer caps is still very limited. There was a pioneer cap, but it does not seem to have been commonly worn. Many of the available impages of Soviet Young Pioneers show them without caps. Most photographs HBU has seen does not show boys wearing a Young Pioneer cap. We have noted different styles of caps and various colors. The primary style that we have seen is the red campaign (field) cap seen here. We have also noted red and white and all white caps as well as blue caps. We do not know at this time when this cap was adopted, but know that it was the cap style adapted with the new 1968-69 uniform. We noticed boys at one specialized naval camp wearing black berets. This does bot appear to have been very common.

Popularity

Our information on Pioneer caps is still very limited. There was a pioneer cap, but it does not seem to have been commonly worn. Many of the available impages of Soviet Young Pioneers show them without caps. Most photographs HBU has seen does not show boys wearing a Young Pioneer cap.

Chronology

We have noted different styles of caps and various colors. One style that we have seen is the red campaign (field) cap seen here.

Early headwear

We do not at this time have information on the headwear worn by the Young Pioneers in the early years and the years before and after World War II. Of course at first there was no actual uniform, the children just wore the red neckerchief.

1968-69 uniform

The headwear adopted with the 1968-69 uniform was the field cap shown here. A Russian reader tells us that the standard color was red like the boy here wears (figure 1). We have seen other colored caps. The official head-gear was the flat rectangular cap seen here. It was the cap worn with the new uniform introduced in 1968-69. I'm not sure whjat head-wear was worn earlier. This would be called a field cap in English and is in fact the same style worn by American Scours during the 1940s, 50s, 60s, and 70s. The Soviets called it a "side-cap" or "Spanisg cap". I assume it was called a side cap because it had two sides. The Spanish cap presumably comes from the Spanish Civil War (1936-39). The Soviets unsuccessfully aided the Republic. The Fascists (Italy and Germany) rendered military aid to the Spanish Nationlists led by General Franco. The Soviet Union and various international groups assisted the Republic. American author Earnest Hemingway in his works addressed the Spanish Civil War. The Soviets provided the Republic both armaments and volunteer military advisers. The soldiers of international groups and Spanish soldiers wore this head-gear. And precisely from that time the side-cap/Spaniard cap won acceptance in tHE Soviet Union as a style of children's head-gear - i.e., from the second-half of the 1930s it was popular. Interestingly it was also adopted by the Hitler Youth at this time. This style became even more popular among Soviet chilren because it was worn by Red Army soldiers in World War II. As the official Pioneer head-gear this style was used until the very end of existence of pioneer organization. Most were all red. They could have and different additions in the form of white strip below, or brushes above from the front. This is not especially important. There were some other colors used in Summer caps. We have noted light and dark blue caps worn at Summer camps. The overwhelming majority of these caps, however, were red like the one the boy here is wearing.

Colors

We have noticed various colors of Pioneer caps and we do not yet fully understand what the different colors represented or how common they were. And the black and white photography until the 1970s complicate our assessment. A Russian reader tells us that the standard color of Pioneer caps was red and they were by far the prncipal color. We have also noted red and white caps (Red caps with white bottoms) as well as all white caps. In addition we have noted different shades of blue caps. A Russian reader tells us that these blue caps were probably special summer camp uniforms. We note some other colors, but they seem to be incorrect color blance in Soviet publications.

Styles

We notice Soviet Young Pioneers wearing several styles of caps. Most Young Pioneer boys that we have noted wearing caps were wearing the field caps the boy here is wearing. Many boys are not wearing caps, but this is the style that the boys with caps were were wearing. It seems to be more of a dress cap for special occassions than a commonly worn cap. We also note boys wearing berets. This appears to be the destinctive uniform of a specialized naval group called Caravalle. As best we understand, this was a realtively small group, but as it was given considerable publicity there are a number of photographs of the group and the berets they wore. We also notice boys at summer camps wearing swabie-type sailor caps. This is only a style worn at summer camps. It seems to be an informal cap worn by the boys fpr activities. I'm not sure if the girls also wore it. I think this was in the 1960s, but our information is very limited at this time. We are not sure how common it was. We think only at some camps.