Always Ready! The Birth of the Scout Movement and the Development of the Pioneer Organization in Russia and

di Dorena Caroli
in Memoria e Ricerca n.s. 25 (2007), p. 91

This article examines the development of the scout movement in pre-revolutionary Russia and the pioneer organization named after “V.I. Lenin” in the Soviet Union from 1922 to 1972. The article focuses on the way in which certain groups of proletarian adolescents evolved into a mass movement after WW II. Originally, old scout leaders led the pioneer groups. Between 1922 and the beginning of WWII the pioneer organisation underwent profound reforms with a view of developing the communist education of the young generation of Soviet people. Many psychopedologists participated in these reforms. In the post-war period, the reformed ideology of the pioneer organization became part of mass political culture. The pioneer organisation actively promoted the cult of pioneer heroes, who heroically defended their Soviet homeland, ideas of international solidarity and friendship among peoples.