Youth Organisations

• The Russian Young Communist League (RKSM) was formed in 1921 for 14-21 year olds.It became a division of the Communist party in the early 1920s.
• Junior section called the 'pioneers' established in 1922 for children from 10. In 1926, it was renamed the ‘Komosomol’ and the age range extended to 10-28.
• Lenin’s wife, Krupskaya was the Commissar for Education
• The RKSM taught communist values and discouraged drinking, smoking and religion. Young Pioneer Palaces were built as community centres.
• Free holiday camps were organised.
• Komsomol helped carry out Party campaigns and assisted the Red Army. The Komsomol assisted with the police, did voluntary social work and set up political clubs to instil socialist value.
• Komonsolskaia Pravada was a youth newspaper which encouraged family values and encouraged sexual abstinence
• Komsomol offered the chance for social mobility and educational advancement. The uniform singled people out and smoothed their educational journey.
• But only 6% of elgible children joined but it did grew under Stalin. Not all young people supported them and instead were more interested in Western culture. Thus therewere a small number of secret ‘oppositional’ youth organisations.