Figure 1.--There were no strongly enforced rules about the hosiery and footwear Soviet children wire with their Pioneer uniforms. Here we have boys wearing both ankle socks and long stockings. One of the boys is wearing long stockings. You have to look rather hard because of the color is close to flesh tones. At first we thought that they were tights, but if you look closely you can see the two rubber button clasps of the supporters at the edge of the the boy's short pants. Long stickings were still commonly worn in the Soviet Union during the 1960s, but wee rapidlt replaced with tights about 1969-71. Another feature of this photo that is worth noticing is the sandals both boys are wearing--open toe sandals. Just why one boy is wearing ankle socks and the other long stockings is a bit puzzling. It must not have been all that chilly if one boy can be comfortable in ankle socks. We assume it's just a matter or parental preference. This appears to be some sort of school rather than a camp photo. The Pioneers were a school-centered organization. It looks to us as though it has been cropped from a larger image, but we do not have the whole photograph. Notice the lines on the floor, as though the boys were in some sort of gymnasium or school facility. The boys look about 9-10 years old. The shorts look like styles that were popular in the 1960s and 70s. We believe that the photograph was probably taken about 1970.

Pioneers wore a variety of hosiery. For the most part, the hosiery and footwear worn with the uniform was optional. We note the children wearing all different types of hosiery, including ankle socks, knee socks, long stockings, and tights. This varied both chronologically and seasonally. And as aesult is somewhat difficult to follow in the photographic record. We can usually only see the hosiery, at least that the boys were wearing, during the summer when the boys wore short pants. The children, including the boys, might wear white knee socks with the uniform for formal occassions. We do not have detailed information on the early uniforms yet. There was one exceotion as to the hosiery worn with the Pioneer uniform. For the most part it was optional, but for formal occassions, especially involving public appearances, the Pioneer leaders were more concerned with how the children dressed. This often involved white stockings or socks. The official uniform adopted in 1968-69 was susposed to be worn with white kneesocks, by both the boys and girls. The white knee socks were not, however, worn by all boys. The girls did mostly wear them, but not the boys. Some boys did not like them, considering them to be more appropriaste for girls. This may be because girls commonly wore white kneesocks with their school uniform. On formal occassions the Pioneer leaders were stricter about the uniform and insisted all the boys wear the white kneesocks. Many boys were not bothered about the white kneesocks and wore them without complaining. As a rough rule, children from the more educated families with higher social stastus were more likely to wear them. To some extent there were more practical reasons. As some boys did not like the white kneesocks, parents did not buy them. Thus quite a number of boys did not have white kneesocks to wear. Some parents also considered them impractical.