Figure 1.--s.

Baden Powell's Boy Scouts was used as a protype for the Young Pioneers. The ethos of the pioneers followed many precepts of the Scouts such as loyalty, honesty, be prepared, ect. but the precepts of citzenship taught were quite different. The Scouts always tried to involve the family and stressed a boy's responsibilities in it. The Pioneers, however, were a state organ designed to instill a child's duty to the State and to help ensure his socialization was not contaminated by parents not committed to the Socialist ideal. The best example of this is Pavlik Morozov 1918(?)-1932(?), the mosdt famous pioneer of all time. Pavlik was supposedly killed by "kulak" (wealthy peasants who resisted collectivization) relatives for denouncing his father to Stalin's secret police (OGPU-NKVD). He was adopted as a patron saint by the "Young Pioneers". It is incoceivable of a British or American boy being so honored by the Scouts. The ideological component may have changed over time. A Russian reader believes that the Pioneers are poorly understood in the West, he comments, "Special communistic Ideology was not a major component of the Pioneers as is commonly accepted in the West. What was emphasized was patriotic education."

Scouts a Protype

Baden Powell's Boy Scouts was used as a protype for the Young Pioneers. The ethos of the pioneers followed many precepts of the Scouts such as loyalty, honesty, be prepared, ect. The Pioneers also promoted the idea of doing good deeds. The precepts of citzenship and family taught, however, were quite different.

Family Role

The Scouts always tried to involve the family and stressed a boy's responsibilities in it. The Pioneers, however, were a state organ designed to instill a child's duty to the State and to help ensure his socialization was not contaminated by parents not committed to the Socialist ideal. Some of Pioneer heros like Pavlik Morozov are perhaps the best example of this. But children in the schools and Pioneers are taught to respect Soviet leaders unquestioning. It was not uncommon for parents who made disparinging or humorous remaks about Soviet leaders to get calls from their children's teachers saying that this was no way to talk about them. [Smith, p. 215.] [Compare this with British or American schools and Scouts. Teachers and Scout leaders would not think about calling a parent and criticize their view of a political figure or what they told their child about poltical leaders.] Of course in the Stalin era, the consequences could be much worse than a call from a humorless teacher.

Examples

Pavlik Morozov

The best example of this is Pavlik Morozov 1918(?)-1932(?), the mosdt famous pioneer of all time. Pavlik was supposedly killed by "kulak" (wealthy peasants who resisted collectivization) relatives for denouncing his father to Stalin's secret police (OGPU-NKVD). He reportedly informed the police that his father was hording grain. This was during the period that the Soviet Government was colectivizing agricukture. Pavlik was adopted as a patron saint by the "Young Pioneers". It is incoceivable that a British or American boy being so honored by the Scouts.

Timur

A populat series of Pioneer books was about a boy named Timir and his friends. The books were set during World War II and mingle the fight against the NAZIs with more mundane good deeds. Timur and his friends would help find stray goats, stop biys from stealing apples, amd helping women whose husbands were in the military. The Timur ethic was institutionalized to help Pioneer units persue community projects. One author describes a friend who remebered the Timur stories from his youth and though it a rather inattractive feature of the West that children were incouraged to earn money by doing odd jobs. [Smith, p. 216]

Western View

The ideological component may have changed over time. A Russian reader believes that the Pioneers are poorly understood in the West, he comments, "Special communistic Ideology was not a major component of the Pioneers as is commonly accepted in the West. What was emphasized was patriotic education."

Sources

Smith, Hedrick, The Russians (New York: Ballanentine, 1975), 775p.