It was likened to the Communist cub scouts, a place for installing socialist ideals, and a crucial part of for CV for any young person wanting to get ahead in the Soviet Union.
Now the Komsomol and the Pioneers may be making a comeback – under a different name, and without overtly socialist values.
Several Russian MPs have publicly appealed to Vladimir Putin to create a nationwide, state-sponsored youth movement to “unify the nation’s youth”.
While the details are so far hazy, the idea appears to be to recreate something along the lines of the Komsomol and Pioneers – the state run youth movements that almost all Soviet children were obliged to join between 1918 and 1991.
“The leaders of all four party factions have appealed to Vladimir Putin to create a children’s and youth organisation,” Andrei Makarov, an MP for the ruling United Russia party said as he announced the move on Tuesday.
The Rodina plan would see young children enter the “Dobryata” (roughly “the goodies” or “the kind ones”), while school children between fourth and ninth grade would be “druzhiniki” (“companions” or “friends,” but also a reference to a form of medieval military force called a “druzhina”).
Teenagers would enter the “volunteers,” where they would be instilled with values of “courage, duty, and action,” while particularly distinguished young adults would over 21 could become “derzhavniki” – an archaic and not entirely translatable term roughly meaning “servant of the state.”
Possibly better to call them, in order, the Voki, Vovki, Vladimiriki and Putiniki.
The really big question being which age group gets to wear the black footie bags.
“…the Communist cub scouts, a place for installing socialist ideals…”
Like the Woodcraft Folk.
My Dad was in the woodcraft folk in the 1930s. I still have his handbook they gave out. It has a lot of what today is called “bushcraft” and how the American Indians lived and no anti-Western or socialist propaganda which surprises me.
That’s very interesting, ecksy, because there’s no doubt that the Woodcraft folk has always had strong ties to the Co-operative Societies and to the labour, pacifist, early feminist and trade union movements.
Installing?
At the Paramatta mosque they appear to have Jihadi Scouts.
“Got a socialist ideal for you here, guv. Where do you want it?”
“Just in this space here next to the cooker, please.”
“Hmm. Not sure it’s going to fit in there. Might have to tear your whole house down and rebuild it to make it properly compatible.”
“Er, is that really necessary?”
“You might want to warn your neighbours. We’re probably going to have to dynamite the whole street.”
had close ties to the Co-operative Societies and to the labour, pacifist, early feminist and trade union movements
Theo hasn’t even corrected the capitalisation.
Ecks: that’s a genuinely fascinating post. Think that might be the first time I congratulated a post of yours, but thanks.
I don’t think anybody who looked at their website now would be in any doubt what they stand for, but I’ve never known anybody who’s had any level of involvement with them whatsoever. And I know a lot of lefties. Do I know the wrong sort of leftie (middle-class educated professional urbanites)?
Putinjugend
Dunno what TW is so worried about.Sounds just like Public School; games, cadet corps, a little conspicuous and patronising charity from which you can graduate to wearing uniform of hooligans club at Oxford (can’t remember name of Cambridge equivalent).Then you form the government.And you get such a first class education you cant translate the words “Magna Carta”.Might have a few “gender issues” as well.
[tumbleweed]
I was in the CCF at public school, did mandatory charidee for aged plebs in the local village, was forced to play rugger and cricket, and still never got to wear a hoolgans’ club uniform or form a government. Maybe my mistake was going to Imperial and not Oxbridge. I still feel rather cheated and wish to know to whom I should direct my complaints.
DBC, you really don’t get this voluntary vs Govt diktat.
Gamecock – “Putinjugend”
Just wait until Putin sees what the Chinese are doing:
https://www.aclu.org/blog/free-future/chinas-nightmarish-citizen-scores-are-warning-americans
That is an unbelievably bad idea. I mean, on the scale of bad ideas, this is worse than sending the Titanic out for some ice for your martini.
@BiND
So the Corps and all that character- building extra -curricular bullshit is voluntary at Public School is it?
‘So the Corps and all that character- building extra -curricular bullshit is voluntary at Public School is it?’
Why don’t you do something called ‘research’ to find out for yourself?