Lenin Komsomol history. VLKSM: history, goals and objectives of the organization. reference. Congress of Workers' and Peasants' Youth

The Komsomol organization, which celebrates its 90th anniversary on October 29, ended its existence almost 20 years ago, but its anniversary is celebrated on a grand scale throughout the country.

The All-Union Leninist Communist Youth Union (VLKSM) is a youth socio-political organization created at the 1st All-Russian Congress of Unions of Workers' and Peasants' Youth on October 29 - November 4, 1918.

The congress united disparate youth unions into an all-Russian organization with a single center, working under the leadership of the Russian Communist Party. The congress adopted the basic principles of the program and the charter of the Russian Communist Youth Union (RKSM). The theses approved by the congress stated: “The Union sets itself the goal of spreading the ideas of communism and drawing the youth of workers and peasants into active construction Soviet Russia».

In July 1924, the RKSM was named after V.I. Lenin and it became known as the Russian Leninist Communist Youth Union (RLKSM). In connection with the formation of the USSR (1922), the Komsomol in March 1926 was renamed the All-Union Leninist Communist Youth Union (VLKSM).

From the Charter of the Komsomol: “The Komsomol is an amateur public organization that unites in its ranks the broad masses of progressive Soviet youth. The Komsomol is an active assistant and reserve of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. True to Lenin's precepts, the Komsomol helps the party educate young people in the spirit of communism, involve them in the practical construction of a new society, prepare a generation of comprehensively developed people who will live, work and manage public affairs under communism. The VLKSM works under the leadership of the Communist Party, is an active conductor of party directives in all areas of communist construction.

According to the Charter of the Komsomol, young men and girls aged 14 to 28 were accepted into the Komsomol. The primary organizations of the Komsomol were created at enterprises, collective farms, state farms, educational institutions, institutions, units of the Soviet Army and Navy. The supreme governing body of the Komsomol is the All-Union Congress; directed all the work of the Union between congresses Central Committee VLKSM electing the Bureau and the Secretariat.

The history of the Komsomol was inextricably linked with the history of the USSR. Komsomol members were active participants civil war 1918-1920 in the ranks of the Red Army. In commemoration of military merits, the Komsomol was awarded the Order of the Red Banner in 1928.

For his initiative in the socialist competition, the Komsomol was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor in 1931.

For outstanding services to the Motherland at the front and in the rear during the period Great Fatherland during the war, 3.5 thousand Komsomol members were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, 3.5 million Komsomol members were awarded orders and medals; Komsomol in 1945 was awarded the Order of Lenin.

For the work that the Komsomol invested in the restoration of the destroyed by the Nazi invaders National economy, Komsomol in 1948 was awarded the second Order of Lenin.

Behind Active participation in the development of virgin and fallow lands of the Komsomol in 1956 he was awarded the third Order of Lenin.

In 1968, in connection with the 50th anniversary of the Lenin Komsomol, the Komsomol was awarded the Order of the October Revolution.

In the entire history of the Komsomol, more than 200 million people have passed through its ranks.

In September 1991, the XXII Extraordinary Congress of the Komsomol considered the political role Komsomol as a federation of communist youth unions and announced the self-dissolution of the organization.

The material was prepared on the basis of information from open sources

On the one hand, even in the last years of the existence of the Soviet Komsomol, it was still the first "school of life" for many prominent politicians and businessmen of modern Russia. On the other hand, this can be explained by the fact that in the 1970s and 1980s there was simply nothing else where a young man could realize his talents and start building a career: the one-party system did not imply any competition in the ideological field. Komsomol members recent years of the existence of the USSR, they remember that era and the crisis of their organization.

Exactly 20 years ago, on September 27, 1991, the 22nd Extraordinary Congress of the All-Union Leninist Young Communist League began, which had on the agenda a single question "On the fate of the All-Union Leninist Young Communist League." At the end of its work, the congress declared the historical role of this organization exhausted, and it itself - dissolved. At the end of the congress (and I'm not kidding), the delegates sang standing up: "I will not part with the Komsomol, I will be forever young" and proceeded to "deriban" the property of this non-poor organization.

Well, God bless them - unfortunately we were not allowed to this "deriban", so let's remember each of our Komsomol (who had it, of course).

Stages of development public life any Soviet schoolchild was reminiscent of the stages of development of insects. But if in invertebrate arthropods they proceeded in the order: egg -> larva -> pupa -> imago, then in vertebrate Soviet schoolchildren they took place in the following sequence: first-graders became octobers, octobers - pioneers, and pioneers, upon reaching 14 years old, automatically turned into Komsomol members , and this was not discussed.

The rules for admission to the Komsomol were as follows: it was necessary to collect the recommendations of either 1 communist or 2 Komsomol members with experience; fill out a form for admission to the Komsomol; Submit two 3x4 photos; get a description and learn the answers to the following questions:

Who is the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU?

Who is the first secretary of the Komsomol Central Committee?

What is your favorite Komsomol hero?

How many orders does the Komsomol have?

And what is "democratic centralism"?

(ideally, of course, it would be desirable to read the Charter of the Komsomol - but this is not for everyone).

Admission to the Komsomol of our class took place in two stages - in spring and autumn. In the spring, the “best” (excellent students and good students) were accepted into the Komsomol, in the fall the “worst” - (triple students and slobs, as well as those who were born in the summer). I was accepted, of course, in the fall. And then life hadn’t “broken off” me yet and I loved to show off - when everyone brought recommendations from high school students of the Komsomol, I brought a recommendation from a friend of the communist Hero of the Soviet Union.

After a public discussion of candidates at a school Komsomol meeting, a solemn reception took place in the district / city committee of the Komsomol with the presentation of tickets and badges (sometimes the solemn reception was replaced by a simple presentation of a Komsomol ticket in the "Pioneer Room").

After this action, the Soviet student received the full right:

b) pay monthly Komsomol contributions in the amount of 2 kopecks;

c) to be bored at Komsomol meetings;

d) go to college after school.

You will say - after all, there were those who refused to join the Komsomol: they believed in God there, or the Rolling Stones listened. There were, of course, some. But then usually in their lives there was the Soviet Army, and there they didn’t care what you believe in or what you listen to. They also spat on the rules for admission to the Komsomol established "in civilian life" and the soldier's ignorance of the answers to the above questions. There, one fine day, in the morning formation, they announced: “Private Pupkin, get out of order! Congratulations on joining the glorious ranks of the All-Union Leninist Communist Youth Union! Get in line!" The warrior shouted: "I serve the Soviet Union!" and got up in the multi-million dollar system of Soviet Komsomol members.

And I, here, in the army refused to stand in a single Komsomol formation. It disgusted me to be a member of this thoroughly rotten, formalized organization into which everyone was driven in droves in pursuit of interest and reporting. I was sick of these false slogans and of the Komsomol functionaries, who themselves did not believe in what they were saying from high tribunes. From their window dressing, careerism and hypocrisy...

No, I refused to participate in all this and became a candidate member of the CPSU in the army.

First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Komsomol (1986-1990). Special Advisor to the President of the USSR M. Gorbachev. Historian, candidate of historical sciences...

Komsomol did not collapse. His time has passed. Notice - as soon as our country began to become what it should be, it fell apart and ceased to exist. This is where you need to reflect and ask yourself: what happened? We need to understand - what happened to our country in the twentieth century? What began in 1905 and ended, I hope, in 91? What was it? WITH historical point it is simply impossible to understand the heap of myths that shrouded the entire twentieth century. We live in a completely false coordinate system. We live in a completely mythologized historical space. It turns out that we had the first Russian revolution in 1905. Then, it turns out, there was the February bourgeois-democratic revolution. Then, six months later, the socialist revolution takes place. And how can you call the revolution that took place in the 91st year? Capitalist, right? From my point of view as a candidate of historical sciences, this is complete nonsense.

In Russia, at the beginning of the twentieth century, a bourgeois-democratic revolution began. But it was very different from those that took place before - from English, French, North American. All of them were in a completely different historical period. Our revolution is belated, like everything with us. It began at a time when the processes of globalization began to manifest themselves. Our revolution differs from all others in that, oddly enough, it turned out to be a revolution not so much for our country as a revolution for the rest of the world. All other revolutions also influenced the world but it was indirect influence. Our revolution has had a colossal impact on the whole world. The whole world has changed. John Reed was wrong to call the book Ten Days That Shook the World. They changed the world...

- Viktor Ivanovich, after leaving your post, you have lost not only your job, but also your privileges.

What are the privileges? What are you talking about? Sometimes today my wife points her finger around and asks: “What privileges did you have?”

I was the head of an organization that had two billion dollars in a bank account alone. I received five hundred rubles, I had a Volga car and they also gave me coupons for a special store. Yes, there was also a polyclinic, from which I was immediately expelled. Now I feel normal in the district clinic. But I never even went to the Tsekovsky polyclinic, because I was young and healthy.

- Excuse me, but where did the two billion dollars you mentioned go?

Don't know. I left them safely where they were...

In the comments, I remembered that I worked in the city committee of the Komsomol. They asked me to tell you how it was.

Alas, there will be no dirty details in the style of the film "Emergency of the District Scale". There were no drunkenness in saunas in our city committee, ********, theft and other things that were attributed then, in the era of perestroika, to party and Komsomol functionaries. It was the usual work to organize the life and leisure of a small area - the Sloboda district of the Kirov region.

We had four offices - the office of the First Secretary, the Second and the accounting department with the organizational department. And I worked as the Acting Third Secretary - a position for working with student youth. In the same office with the Second. There were two tables in the office, a Yatran typewriter, I think, a dozen chairs, a wardrobe and a bookcase. A! There was also a rotator - this is such crap for printing leaflets.

There was a car - either a “five”, or a “Moskvich” - I don’t remember. But definitely not the Volga. This miracle broke down once a week, so they often traveled by regular buses on business trips around the area. The salary was 250 rubles. Soviet. True, in 1990-1991 there was nothing special to buy. I personally subscribed to newspapers home - dozens. From "Soviet Russia" to "Literature" and "Football-Hockey". For lunch it took about a ruble in the dining room. The dining room, by the way, was shared by the city party committee, the Komsomol, the district executive committee, the city executive committee and other councils.

Entrance to the dining room was free for everyone. No passes, no policemen at the entrance. And there were no pineapples in the champagne either. And there was no black caviar either. In my opinion, in the factory and factory canteens, the food was tastier. There were also subsidiary farms. Something like a collective farm at the factory. There were no special privileges, additional rations, dachas with swimming pools either. The only “privilege” that I took advantage of was to take a vacation at my own expense twice, go skiing in the region in February and on foot in the Crimea. own expenses). All. After working there for a year, I probably became an anti-Soviet for ten years.

Because, at the age of seventeen, a boy needs a feat - overcoming himself. Previously, Komsomol members had a struggle against devastation, Budennovka, OSOAVIAKHIM, war, restoration, virgin lands, BAM ... We had a city KVN competition and reporting and election conferences. By the way, since then I can’t stand kvn-schikov. Antics with strained humor and a huge superiority complex. How was the festival organized?

Very simple.

You write the position on two pages - the theme of KVN, the jury, prizes. You print on a rotator, smeared with black ink. You summon the secretaries of the Komsomol school committees. You give them a position and instructions so that there will be a team by such and such a number. Then you go to the House of Culture - in our country it was the Palace of Culture. Gorky - you agree on the provision of a stage and a hall for such and such a date. No money, everything is free. You buy prizes in a sporting goods store, prepare letterheads. persuading important people sit on the jury. Again for free. You have been calling secretaries for a month - how are they doing with the preparation of the team?

That's all. And where is the feat?

And constant reports to the regional committee - monthly, quarterly, annual. The main part of the report is how many new members of the Komsomol were accepted. In April, the reporting and election conference. So many events were held: then they liked to call collective creative affairs - KTD. How many are accepted as members. From above, they lowered the plan for the reception - 90% should be covered and that's it. Well, and indispensable Gorbachev's incantations - democratic centralism, glasnost, a brake on perestroika. Boredom.

By the way, I don’t remember any high-profile exits from the party and the Komsomol. Komsomol tickets were not burned. There were no punks and metalworkers en masse. And who was - those, at times, were Komsomol organizers. It seems that there was also a Komsomol rock club. I even thought about opening a Komsomol video salon, where after watching the film there would be a mandatory discussion. Did not have time.

In the summer, the organization of a district camp of activists, sending a delegation to the regional camp of the Komsomol activists "Stremitelny" and the camp of the regional pioneer activists "Star". There were no super-goals of all these KTDs, active camps, reports and elections.

Everything rolled by inertia into the abyss. But we didn't notice it. It seemed that everything was about to end. The VLKSM and the USSR are about to emerge from the crisis rejuvenated.

Now, of course, it’s good to assert from the height of years - they say, it was necessary to do this or that. At least jump naked on the Revolution Square in Slobodskoy - everything was decided not in the regional centers, but in the Kremlin and on Staraya Square. It was there that the Supergoal and Supertasks disappeared. And without them the USSR is impossible. Ask, maybe you missed something?

By the time I finished school, the Komsomol had almost collapsed... At the annual meeting of the school, we gave the work of the Komsomol organization an unsatisfactory assessment, that was bold! But, we consoled ourselves with integrity and courage, not knowing that we were kicking a corpse. The Komsomol ceased to exist a year later. To everyone who remembers the pioneers and the Komsomol, I recommend revisiting this film - "Emergency of the district scale."

Also, this film is about what a person really is, namely a man. To all the men leading double life who make deals with conscience for the sake of a career, is dedicated. The most interesting thing is when men do unseemly things, but, at the same time, hide behind lofty words: I do this for the sake of the family. Komsomol members, volunteers...

And me in due time on this nomenclature career ladder: "pioneer-Komsomol", dad did not let me! He hated party privilege, and believed that the only true party privilege was to stand up and lead a platoon on the attack. Dad was upset that the council of the school squad was going to New Year's celebration apart from the rest of the students in the school. He screamed and got angry. Thanks to him, and the kingdom of heaven! He understood everything correctly.

From the comments.

IMHO in the Komsomol (not militarized, but in the usual one) there is a positive side - the young men are left without elders and themselves, independently take on some business (for example, they hold meetings of the cell), they themselves take responsibility. Such a difference between people that one person is a Komsomol organizer, and the other person is just a Komsomol member, structures society. Structures. And thus contributes to its understanding.

The Komsomol helps to stay without elders, and to do something yourself, without elders.

I was born in 1984 and I think that my childhood and youth were very much spoiled by the absence of a general, widespread organization like the Komsomol.

Recently I watched the film "Emergency of the District Scale" (a perestroika film about how bad the Komsomol is and how much hypocrisy and lies are in it). Liked the film. The Soviet Union is bad. Komsomol is bad. But it's better to have a false Komsomol than none! He, with all his deceit, gives the experience of independence, gives the experience of life without dependence on the elders!

Well, not in deceit - the positive side of the Komsomol, but in the fact that it would make it possible to hold events without the participation of elders. On our own, on our own. And in my generation, no one thought about the fact that someone was entrusted with being “responsible” for what is happening in the class (as the Komsomol organizer is responsible). It is not the teacher who takes responsibility (as in our generation), and neither dad nor mom - but one of the young.

And the Komsomol pointed to moral values ​​(which are written in the charter) - truthfulness, mutual assistance, etc. In our generation, no one said: “you must be truthful, because you are members of such and such an organization, and members of this organization must correspond to a high moral level. We were told about morality - but it was vague, fuzzy. There was no argument - "BECAUSE YOU ARE MEMBERS OF THE ORGANIZATION". This argument could be more convincing. And spec. We were not given tickets, we did not pay dues. Having a ticket in your pocket and some paraphernalia could REMIND you of moral duty. And without paraphernalia it is easy to forget.

And in general, in the Charter of the Komsomol there are ideas that are closer to pacifism than to militarism:

Everyone's concern for the preservation and multiplication of the public domain;

High consciousness of public duty, intolerance to violations of public interests;

Collectivism and comradely mutual assistance: each for all, all for one;

Humane relations and mutual respect between people: man to man is a friend, comrade and brother;

Honesty and truthfulness, moral purity, simplicity and modesty in public and private life;

Mutual respect in the family, concern for the upbringing of children;

Irreconcilability to injustice, parasitism, dishonesty, careerism, money-grubbing;

Friendship and brotherhood of all peoples of the USSR, intolerance towards national and racial hostility;

Intransigence towards the enemies of communism, the cause of peace and the freedom of peoples;

Fraternal solidarity with the working people of all countries, with all peoples.

When a person is told about everything about this, this can help the development of critical thinking. A modern youth they just don't talk about it! And they are not responsible that "You must be of high moral standard." There is another anti-Soviet film - "Tomorrow there was a war." But the Komsomol members from this film were to some extent inspired by the Komsomol ideology. And this is justified in the film. They were able to think - Iskra, for example, could change her views under the influence of some kind of arguments. And the Komsomol noodles on the ears did not prevent this. Rather, on the contrary, the Komsomol ideology contributed to this.

There are no other examples in history of such a powerful youth movement as the Lenin Komsomol was. In peacetime and during the years of war, shoulder to shoulder with the communists, Komsomol members were the first to go into battle, to the virgin lands, to construction sites, to space and led the youth. At each historical milestone, the Komsomol brought forth thousands and thousands of young heroes from its ranks, who glorified it with their exploits. Their example of selfless service to the Motherland, the people will always be in the memory of present and future generations.

And it all began in the distant revolutionary year of 1917 with the creation of socialist unions of working, peasant and student youth. But they were all divided. Therefore, already in 1918, on October 29, the First All-Russian Congress of Unions of Workers' and Peasants' Youth began its work, which brought together 195 delegates from all over Russia and united disparate youth organizations into a single monolithic Russian Communist Youth Union. Day October 29 and became the birthday of the Komsomol.

After the congress in all regions or, as they were then called, provinces, general meetings of the unions of workers' and peasants' youth were held.

The chronicle of the heroic deeds of the Komsomol is endless. Six orders burn brightly on his banner. This is a nationwide recognition of the merits of the Komsomol to the Motherland. Everyone knew the Komsomol heroes: Lyubov Shevtsova, Oleg Koshevoy, Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, Alexander Matrosov, Liza Chaikina... Eternal glory and memory to them!

The Komsomol is an organization that shapes a person, his personal qualities. Here the life views of young people were affirmed, here the first experience of social work was acquired. The Komsomol is the foundation that formed the Soviet man. Of course, there was everything in the Komsomol. It was good, it was not so good. There were bureaucratic moments that irritated young people, but these moments were criticized. However, fundamentally, it was a wonderful public organization. The Komsomol formed the worldview in certain coordinates - the Soviet worldview. The Komsomol is youth. Komsomol is the most wonderful memories! The Komsomol is energy, purposefulness, the desire to turn this world around and make it better!

Komsomol is my destiny

Performed by: VIA "Gems" 1918-1928
The RKSM was an active participant in the Civil War; he spent three all-Russian mobilization to the front. According to incomplete data, the Komsomol sent more than 75,000 members to the Red Army in 1918-20. In total, up to 200 thousand Komsomol members participated in the struggle of the Soviet people against the interventionists, White Guards and bandits. They fought heroically against the enemies: 19-year-old commander of the 30th division Albert Lapin, future writers Nikolai Ostrovsky and Arkady Gaidar, armored train commander Lyudmila Makiyevskaya, commissars Alexander Kondratiev and Anatoly Popov, leader of the Far Eastern Komsomol Vitaly Banevur and many others. The Komsomol fought selflessly behind enemy lines. In Odessa, the Komsomol underground numbered over 300 people, in Riga - about 200 people, underground Komsomol groups operated in Yekaterinodar (Krasnodar), Simferopol, Rostov-on-Don, Nikolaev, Tbilisi, etc. Many Komsomol members died a heroic death in battles to defend the conquests October revolution. In severe trials, the Komsomol got stronger and grew. Despite the enormous sacrifices that he suffered on the fronts, his number increased 20 times: in October 1918 - 22,100, in October 1920 - 482,000. In commemoration of military merits on the fronts of the Civil War in the period 1919-20 against the troops of the White Guard generals Kolchak , Denikin, Yudenich, the White Poles and Wrangel, the Komsomol in 1928 was awarded the Order of the Red Banner by a decree of the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR.

Komsomol members of the 20th year

Music: O. Feltsman Lyrics: V. Voinovich
Performed by: V. Troshin 1929-1941
After the Civil War, the Komsomol faced the task of preparing working peasant youth to peaceful, constructive activity. In October 1920, the 3rd Congress of the RKSM was held. Lenin's speech at the congress on October 2, 1920, "The Tasks of Youth Unions," was the guide for the activities of the Komsomol. Lenin saw the main goal of the Komsomol in "... helping the party to build communism and helping the entire young generation to create a communist society." The Komsomol directed all its efforts to the restoration of the national economy destroyed during the war. Boys and girls participated in the restoration of factories in Petrograd, Moscow, the Urals, mines and factories in the Donbass, and the country's railways. In September 1920, the first All-Russian Youth Subbotnik was held. Komsomol members assisted the Soviet government in the fight against speculation, sabotage, and banditry. In 1929, the Komsomol carried out the first mobilization of youth for the new buildings of the 1st Five-Year Plan. More than 200,000 Komsomol members came to the construction sites with vouchers from their organizations. With the active participation of the Komsomol, the Dneproges, the Moscow and Gorky Automobile Plants, the Stalingrad Tractor Plant, the Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works, the Turksib railway, etc. were built. development of the national economy ... "The Komsomol was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor.

Far Eastern song

Music: B. Shikhov Lyrics: A. Pomorsky 1929
Performed by: VR&T Big Choir. Execution 1970 1941-1945
The Great Patriotic War of 1941-45 was a severe test for the entire Soviet people and its younger generation. The Komsomol, all Soviet youth, at the call of the Communist Party, came out to fight the Nazi invaders. Already in the first year of the war, about 2 million Komsomol members joined the ranks of the Red Army. Unprecedented courage, bravery, heroism were shown by Komsomol members, young men and women, defending Brest, Liepaja, Odessa, Sevastopol, Smolensk, Moscow, Leningrad, Kiev, Stalingrad, other cities and regions of the country from the enemy. Only the Komsomol organization of Moscow and the region in the first 5 months of the war sent over 300 thousand people to the front; 90% of the members of the Leningrad organization of the Komsomol fought against the Nazi invaders on the outskirts of the city of Lenin. Fearlessly, young partisans and underground fighters of Belarus, the occupied regions of the RSFSR, Ukraine, and the Baltic states acted behind enemy lines. Partisan detachments consisted of 30-45% Komsomol members. Unparalleled heroism was shown by members of the underground Komsomol organizations - the Young Guard (Krasnodon), the Partisan Spark (Nikolaev region), the Lyudinovo underground Komsomol group, and others. In 1941-45, about 12 million boys and girls joined the Komsomol. Of the 7 thousand Heroes of the Soviet Union under the age of 30, 3.5 thousand are Komsomol members (of which 60 are twice Heroes of the Soviet Union), 3.5 million Komsomol members were awarded orders and medals. The names of members of the Komsomol who fell in the fight against the fascist invaders: Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, Alexander Chekalin, Lisa Chaikina, Alexander Matrosov, Viktor Talalikhin and many others - have become a symbol of courage, courage, heroism. For outstanding services to the Motherland during the Great Patriotic War and for great work in education Soviet youth in the spirit of selfless devotion to the socialist Fatherland of the Komsomol, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on June 14, 1945, he was awarded the Order of Lenin.

Komsomolskaya
("Goodbye, mother, do not grieve, do not be sad,
wish us a good journey")

Music: V. Solovyov-Sedoy Lyrics: A. Galich 1947
Performed by: KRAPPSA, solo. O. Razumovsky Execution 1950 1945-1948
The Komsomol has invested a great deal of work in restoring the national economy destroyed by the Nazi invaders, in the construction of Minsk, Smolensk, Stalingrad, in the restoration of Leningrad, Kharkov, Kursk, Voronezh, Sevastopol, Odessa, Rostov-on-Don and many other cities, in the revival of industry and cities of Donbass, Dneproges, collective farms, state farms and MTS. In 1948 alone, the youth built and put into operation 6,200 rural power stations. The Komsomol showed great concern for the placement of children and adolescents left without parents, for the expansion of the network of orphanages and vocational schools, and the construction of schools. In 1948, the Komsomol celebrated its thirtieth anniversary. On October 28, 1948, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR awarded the Komsomol with the second Order of Lenin.

Komsomol members
(Unforgettable song of the beautiful Stalin era.)

Music: A. Ostrovsky Lyrics: L. Oshanin
Performed by: I. D. Shmelev, Choir and Orc. p / at V.N. Knushevitsky Execution 1948.
1948-1956
The Komsomol took an active part in the implementation of the measures worked out by the Party for the advancement of agriculture. Thousands of young specialists, workers and employees, graduates of secondary schools were sent to state farms, collective farms, MTS. In 1954-55, more than 350,000 young people left on Komsomol vouchers to develop the virgin lands of Kazakhstan, Altai, and Siberia. Their work was a real feat. By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, he was awarded the third Order of Lenin on November 5, 1956 for active participation in communist construction and especially for the development of virgin lands of the Komsomol.

Friends on the road!

Music: Anatoly Lepin Lyrics: Alexei Fatyanov 1959
Performed by: actor Leonid Kharitonov and others. Performed in 1959. 1956-1991
The scale of activity of the Komsomol in solving national economic problems has significantly expanded, in particular in the development of the wealth of Siberia, Far East and the Far North, in the redistribution of the country's labor resources. More than 70,000 All-Union detachments have been formed, and more than 500,000 young people have been sent to new buildings. With the most active participation of young people, about 1,500 important facilities were built and put into operation, including the largest in the world - the Bratsk hydroelectric power station, the Beloyarsk nuclear power plant, the Baikal-Amur Mainline named after Lenin Komsomol, the Druzhba oil pipeline, etc. The Komsomol sponsored 100 shock construction projects , including over the development of the unique oil and gas resources of the Tyumen and Tomsk regions. Student construction teams have become a tradition of university Komsomol members. Millions of students took part in labor semesters. At the initiative of the Komsomol, the construction of youth residential complexes became widespread. Youth residential complexes have been built in 156 cities and regions of the country. The Komsomol is the initiator of all-Union campaigns to places of revolutionary, military and labor glory, in which millions of young men and women take part. The children's and youth competitions "Golden Puck", "Leather Ball", "Olympic Spring", "Neptune" and the all-Union military sports game "Zarnitsa" held by the Central Committee of the Komsomol have become truly massive. Komsomol and Soviet youth organizations cooperated with international, regional, national and local youth associations in 129 countries of the world. On July 5, 1956, the Committee of Youth Organizations of the USSR was established; on May 10, 1958, the Sputnik International Youth Tourism Bureau was established. In four years, more than 22 million young people traveled around the country through Sputnik, and 1.7 million people went abroad. In 1968, for outstanding services and a great contribution of Komsomol members to the formation and strengthening of Soviet power, courage and heroism shown in battles with the enemies of the socialist Fatherland, active participation in the construction of socialism, for fruitful work on political education rising generations in connection with the 50th anniversary of the Komsomol was awarded the Order of the October Revolution.

Komsomol tradition

Music: O. Feltsman Lyrics: I. Shaferan
Performed by: Vladislav Lynkovsky Performed in 1968

At first, the boys and girls read aloud from the Solemn Promise. After that, one of the invited or communists tied a red tie, which symbolized the connection of three communist generations with its three ends, to each of them and presented a pioneer badge of the same color with a portrait of Lenin. The holiday was completed by a gesture of the newly minted pioneer with a hand raised diagonally above his head in a cap, and a kind of password with the words “Be ready! Always ready!". Those who were not lucky enough to become a pioneer in April got their chance on a holiday on May 19th. But only without special celebrations and speeches.

Detachments and units

Pioneer Day

The second attempt, which took place in November 1921, turned out to be more viable. After the decision was made to create a children's political organization, which at first bore the name of the Roman slave and gladiator Spartacus, several "Spartacus" groups appeared in Moscow, using symbols never seen before - red ties and five-pointed stars. On May 7 of the same year, the first pioneer bonfire blazed in one of the capital's parks. And 12 days later, the All-Russian Conference of the Komsomol, which later became the Congress of the Komsomol, decided to create an organization in the country, consisting of pioneer detachments. In the same year, composer Sergei Kaidan-Deshkin and poet Alexander Zharov wrote a song with the words “Fly up the bonfires, blue nights! We are pioneers - the children of workers, ”and she immediately received the status of an anthem.

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“Only those who love work are called Octobrists!” The words of this simple song, dedicated to elementary school students of the Soviet era, are probably known to many who proudly wore a five-pointed star in childhood. And who at the same time had no idea that he was part of a mass political organization. But it is unlikely that all of them remember as well who and how received them in the Octobrists and handed them a badge with a portrait of young Lenin.

October - November

The answer to the foreigner lies precisely in the mentioned name of the Russian revolution of 1917. November 7, when the famous shot from the cannon of the cruiser Aurora sounded in Petrograd, was October 25 according to the old style. And it was for this "calendar" reason that the revolution began to be called the "October Revolution". And the younger students of Soviet schools, so that they would not forget about the most important event for the country, from 1923-1924 began to be called "Octobers". It is curious that at first only the most deserving children born in 1917 were accepted in the October. But in recent USSR they enrolled everyone who was in the first grade.

ruby star

The procedure for obtaining the symbols of the October movement - beautiful five-pointed ruby ​​stars, which took place, as a rule, in the sports or assembly hall of the school, was also extraordinary for Soviet children. From the center of which the curly-haired boy Volodya Ulyanov was attentively looking at the children and the world. He is the future leader of the October Revolution, Vladimir Lenin. Badges, the first certificates in life and red flags were handed over to the Octobrists, and at the same time parting words were given by the pioneers and Komsomol members who became their leaders. By the way, the first Soviet Octobrists had stars made of fabric and were sewn on the left side of the shirt.

Under the sign of the hammer and sickle

VLKSM (All-Union Lenin Committee of the Youth Union), or simply Komsomol, was the largest youth political organization Soviet Union. He was considered a direct reserve of the Communist Party, preparing for it, among other things, leading cadres. Any action of the Komsomol members was subject to mandatory approval by the "senior comrades". And one party recommendation for joining the Komsomol was even equal to two Komsomol ones.

How many orders does the Komsomol have?

The next stage of admission was to consider the application in the primary Komsomol organization, for example, in educational institution or in the company. She could either approve it or reject it for some reason. Those whose applications were finally approved, and they, especially at the end of the era of socialism, were the majority, on a certain day were invited to the district committee of the Komsomol or to the Komsomol committee of a military unit for an interview. However, it was not too complicated and usually consisted of several template questions and assumed equally template and “correct” questions. Future Komsomol members were examined for knowledge of the Charter of the Komsomol, asked to tell why they wanted to join the organization. In addition, they were asked to name the number of state awards from the Komsomol (there were six of them; half of them - the Order of Lenin, three more - the Order of the Red, the Red Banner of Labor and the October Revolution), recall the names of the leaders of the country and the Komsomol, as well as the most important Soviet dates .

Two-kopeck contribution

By the way, the exclusion from the Komsomol, as well as the refusal to join it, was not so harmless. In the future, it often affected the content of the characteristics for entering a university or for a good job. A fairly serious sanction for a non-party, that is, not a member of the CPSU or Komsomol, was, for example, the refusal of the commission of the district party committee to allow travel abroad. Naturally, a person who had not previously received a Komsomol ticket could not join the only political party in the USSR. And that means making a good career.

Born in October

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One hundred years separate us from the day when the 1st All-Russian Congress of Unions of Workers' and Peasants' Youth took place. It happened on 29 Oct. 1918. Thus was born the Russian Communist Youth Union, which in March 1926 was renamed the All-Union Leninist Communist Youth Union (VLKSM).

×The creation of the Komsomol is one of the brilliant projects of the Soviet government. By uniting the advanced youth in the ranks of the Komsomol, the Bolshevik Party received an active assistant in educating the youth in the communist spirit and involving them in the practical construction of a new society. The Komsomol became a reliable reserve of the party. During the existence of the Komsomol, almost 130 million young people went through its school, more than 12 million Komsomol members joined the Communist Party.
The history of the Komsomol is inextricably linked with the history of the revolutionary struggle of the working class for its liberation and the building of communism. The merit of the Bolshevik Party, which has always paid exceptional attention to the education, organization and protection of the interests of the young generation of working people, is the merit of awakening class self-consciousness among young workers, as well as peasants, in developing revolutionary sentiments among students.
V. I. Lenin constantly drew the Party's attention to the tasks of the revolutionary education of the youth. In the draft resolution of the 2nd Congress of the RSDLP "On the attitude towards the student youth", written by Lenin, it was noted that the spontaneously developing youth movement needs help from the revolutionaries, especially in the matter of educating "an integral and consistent socialist worldview." He feared that the ideologically weak youth might be carried away by pseudo-revolutionaryism or become infected with opportunism; Lenin warned against "false friends". During the Revolution of 1905-07 in Russia, he raised the question of the progressive youth as a reserve of the party. The Bolsheviks resolutely exposed the attempts of the bourgeois. and petty-bourgeois parties to distract the youth from the revolutionary struggle. Lenin resolutely opposed the underestimation of the role of youth, called for bolder and wider involvement in revolutionary struggle, to involve in the ranks of the party. In December 1916, Lenin's article "Youth International" was published, which stated that it was necessary to skillfully lead the "boiling", seething, seeking youth, not to forget that the youth "... of necessity is forced to approach socialism in a different way, in the wrong way, not in the same form, not in the same environment as her fathers. Insisting on the organizational independence of the youth union, Lenin emphasized that without this "... the youth will not be able to develop good socialists out of themselves, nor prepare to lead socialism forward." Speaking against petty guardianship and administration, Lenin noted the need for comradely criticism of the mistakes of the youth. "We must not flatter the youth."
The Bolsheviks carried out tireless work with the youth in factories and factories, in the villages, in legal societies, Sunday schools, in soldiers' barracks, in illegal circles, fighting squads, in preparing a strike or demonstration - wherever there was the slightest opportunity for this, they involved them in direct struggle against oppression and exploitation, passed on to her the experience of old fighters. In the revolutionary battles, the young generation of the working class and the working peasantry was formed and strengthened. As a result of the activities of the Bolsheviks, a broad proletarian youth movement was prepared. After the victory of the February Revolution, circles, committees of working youth, and then unions began to spring up in factories and factories in Petrograd, Moscow, and other industrial centers. Young proletarians, uniting to continue the struggle for their political and economic. rights, rallied under the slogans of the Bolsheviks.
An important role in the development of the youth movement was played by the 6th Congress of the RSDLP (b) (July - August 1917). In the resolution "On Youth Unions," the Congress called for the creation of an independent organization inextricably linked with the Party.
The Great October Socialist Revolution made a radical change in the destinies of the young generation of Russia. For the first time in history, Soviet power provided ample opportunities for young proletarians in all spheres of socio-political and socio-economic life. Decrees of the Soviet government established a 6-hour working day for adolescents, prohibited the work of children under 14 years of age, established labor protection, and introduced industrial training for young people at the expense of the state. The doors of secondary and higher schools were opened to the children of workers and working peasants.
The 1st All-Russian Congress of Unions of Workers' and Peasants' Youth united the disparate unions into an all-Russian organization with a single center, working under the leadership of the RCP(b). For the first time, a new type of youth organization was created - communist in goals and tasks, class in nature, amateur in the principles of its activity, designed to ensure the role of a "transmission belt" in the system of the dictatorship of the proletariat, linking the party with the widest sections of working youth, to be a conductor of party influence on masses, to play the role of a reserve of the Communist Party.
In connection with the formation of the Komsomol, the Central Committee of the RCP(b) sent a circular letter to all party organizations in November 1918, which stated that the RKSM was a school that trained new conscious cadres of communists. To strengthen the Komsomol, the Central Committee of the RCP (b) recommended to party members Komsomol age join the RKSM and take an active part in the work of its organizations. The 8th Congress of the RCP(b) (1919) adopted a special resolution "On work among the youth." The congress recognized the RKSM as an organization that is doing tremendous work in rallying and communist education of the youth, drawing the youth into building communism and organizing it for the defense of the Soviet Republic. The congress stressed the need for ideological and material support of the Komsomol from the party.
It must be said that in all subsequent decisions of the party congresses, the care and support of the Komsomol was always provided.
The RKSM was an active participant in the Civil War; he spent three all-Russian mobilization to the front. The Komsomol organizations of the front line were fully mobilized into the Red Army. In 1918-20, the Komsomol sent more than 75,000 of its members to the Red Army. In total, up to 200,000 Komsomol members took part in the struggle against the interventionists, White Guards and bandits. They fought heroically against the enemies: 19-year-old commander of the 30th division Albert Lapin, future writers Nikolai Ostrovsky and Arkady Gaidar, commander of the armored train Lyudmila Makiyevskaya, commissars Alexander Kondratiev and Anatoly Popov, leader of the Far Eastern Komsomol Vitaly Banevur, one of the organizers of the Uzbek Komsomol Abdulla Nabiev and pl. etc. The Komsomol fought selflessly behind enemy lines. In commemoration of military merits on the fronts of the Civil War in the period 1919-20 against the troops of the White Guard generals Kolchak, Denikin, Yudenich, the White Poles and Wrangel, the Komsomol was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Battle in 1928 by a decree of the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR.
In October 1920, the 3rd Congress of the RKSM was held. The most important theoretical and programmatic document, a guide for the activities of the party and the Komsomol, was Lenin's speech at the congress on October 2. 1920 "The tasks of youth unions". Lenin saw the main goal of the Komsomol in "... helping the party to build communism and helping the entire young generation to create a communist society." struggle of all working people against the exploiters.
From that moment on, the RKSM began to concentrate its activities on the tasks of socialist construction and the communist education of the youth. The Komsomol directed all its efforts to the restoration of the national economy destroyed during the war. Boys and girls participated in the restoration of factories in Petrograd, Moscow, the Urals, mines and factories in the Donbass, the country's railway. Komsomol members assisted the Soviet government in the fight against speculation, sabotage, and banditry. Parts of special purpose were formed from communists and Komsomol members.
The energy and enthusiasm of the Komsomol members were also manifested in the implementation of the cultural revolution. They fought for the eradication of illiteracy, for the eradication of religious superstitions, remnants of the past in everyday life, with philistinism, private property psychology, and a rapacious attitude to work. Komsomol members organized reading huts, clubs, distributed books, newspapers, magazines, posters, leaflets. In 1920, on the initiative of the Komsomol, factory apprenticeship schools were created to train skilled workers and workers' faculties (workers' faculties) to prepare working youth for entering universities.
The Komsomol actively promoted Leninism among the youth. A wide network of Komsomol political education was created. Over 20 thousand circles operated in the country. More than 100 thousand Komsomol members were engaged in the system of party education. The Komsomol press played an important role in the upbringing: the magazines Young Communist, Young Guard, Change, Journal of Peasant Youth, the newspaper TVNZ and local newspapers.
The Komsomol acted as the instigator of socialist emulation, and in 1927 launched a mass campaign to rationalize production and increase labor productivity. In 1929, the Central Committee of the All-Union Leninist Young Communist League conducted the Leninist recruitment of youth into shock brigades, called on the youth to start the All-Union Socialist Competition, and conducted the first mobilization of youth for new buildings of the 1st Five-Year Plan. More than 200,000 Komsomol members came to the construction sites with vouchers from their organizations. With the active participation of the Komsomol, the Dneproges, the Moscow and Gorky Automobile Plants, the Stalingrad Tractor Plant, the Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works, the Turksib railway, etc. were built.
The role of Komsomol members in the collectivization of agriculture was significant. There were over 1 million young peasants in the ranks of the village Komsomol. The Komsomol put forward a number of effective forms of mobilization of peasant youth: it held an All-Union campaign for the harvest, a “month of the plow”, created “detachments of red plowmen”, “agricultural intelligence”, etc. Among the twenty-five thousandth workers who left for the village, more than 2 thousand people were members Komsomol. Komsomol members brought the experience of socialist emulation and shock work to the countryside, young workers helped in the repair of agricultural. inventory, launched a movement for the creation of Komsomol tractor columns, took an active part in the construction of machine and tractor stations (MTS). "Komsomolets - on the tractor!" - this slogan was one of the most popular in the village. On the recommendations of Komsomol cells, thousands of young collective farmers were sent to courses for tractor drivers and machine operators.
Decree of the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR on January 21. 1931 "for the initiative shown in the cause of shock work and socialist competition, ensuring the successful implementation of the five-year plan for the development of the national economy ..." Komsomol was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor.
In subsequent years, the Komsomol, without weakening its participation in economic and state construction, paid considerable attention to the ideological education of young people, the organization of their education, the physical development of young men and women, and their preparation for the defense of socialist gains. The Komsomol devotes a lot of energy to the development of the defense industry and the branches associated with it, in particular, ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, and oil production. Envoys of the Komsomol participated in the creation of the “Second Baku”, the construction of the Amurstal plant, the Komsomol patronizes the construction of new cruisers, submarines, destroyers, aircraft, tanks, etc., strengthens patronage ties with the Naval and Air force. The Komsomol Central Committee conducts a mass military-technical examination of Komsomol members. About 1 million members of the Komsomol became "Voroshilov Strelka", more than 5 million passed the norms of air defense, military topography and other military specialties. In 1936 alone, about 4 million people passed the norms for the “Ready for Labor and Defense” badge. On behalf of the party, the Komsomol was engaged in recruiting military schools. As of July 1, 1940, among the officers of the Red Army there were 56.4% communists and 22.1% Komsomol members.
The VLKSM did a lot of work in the Communist Youth International, striving to create a united front to fight fascism, against the threat of world war.
The Great Patriotic War was a severe test for the entire Soviet people and its younger generation. The Komsomol, all Soviet youth, at the call of the Communist Party, came out to fight the Nazi invaders. Already in the first year of the war, about 2 million Komsomol members joined the ranks of the Red Army. Unprecedented courage, bravery, heroism were shown by Komsomol members, young men and women, defending Brest, Liepaja, Odessa, Sevastopol, Smolensk, Moscow, Leningrad, Kiev, Stalingrad, other cities and regions of the country from the enemy. Only the Komsomol organization of Moscow and the region in the first 5 months of the war sent over 300 thousand people to the front; 90% of the members of the Leningrad organization of the Komsomol fought against the invaders on the outskirts of the city of Lenin. Fearlessly, young partisans and underground fighters of Belarus, the occupied regions of the RSFSR, Ukraine, and the Baltic states acted behind enemy lines. Partisan detachments consisted of 30-45% Komsomol members. Unparalleled heroism was shown by members of the underground Komsomol organizations - the Young Guard (Krasnodon), the Partisan Spark (Nikolaev region), the Lyudinovo underground Komsomol group (Kaluga region), the Komsomol underground members of the village. Obol (Vitebsk region), Khotyn (Bukovina), Kaunas (Lithuanian SSR), etc.
Komsomol members worked selflessly in the rear, providing the front with everything necessary. A significant part of front-line orders fell on the shoulders of the youth, who came to the enterprises in exchange for those drafted into the army. The Komsomol members put forward the slogan: "Work for yourself and for a comrade who has gone to the front!" In youth collectives, a movement has unfolded for overfulfillment of production, tasks by 2-3 or more times, thousands of workers, multi-machine workers. By the end of the war, there were over 154,000 front-line Komsomol youth brigades in industry. Due to work on Sundays, during overtime hours, young people contributed tens of millions of rubles to the country's defense fund. Boys and girls, teenagers, along with women, became the main force in agriculture. 70% of trained rural machine operators at that time were young people.
Of the 7 thousand Heroes of the Owls. Union under the age of 30, 3.5 thousand are Komsomol members (of which 60 are twice Heroes of the Soviet Union), 3.5 million Komsomol members were awarded orders and medals. The names of members of the Komsomol who fell in the fight against the fascist invaders: Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, Alexander Chekalin, Liza Chaikina, Alexander Matrosov, Yuri Smirnov, Viktor Talalikhin, Grigory Kagamlyk, Gafur Mamedov, Alexander Passar, Marita Melnikayte, Imant Sudmalis, Noah Adamiy, Theodosius Smolyachkov and pl. others - have become a symbol of courage, courage, heroism.
For outstanding services to the Motherland during the years of the Great Fatherland, the war, and for the great work in educating Soviet youth in the spirit of selfless devotion to the socialist Fatherland of the Komsomol by Decree of the Presidium of the Upper. Council of the USSR June 14, 1945 was awarded the Order of Lenin. The Young Communist League put a lot of work into the restoration of the national economy destroyed by the Nazi invaders, into the construction of Minsk, Smolensk, Stalingrad, into the restoration of Leningrad, Kharkov, Kursk, Voronezh, Sevastopol, Odessa, Rostov-on-Don and many others. other cities, in the revival of industry and the cities of Donbass, Dneproges, collective farms, state farms and MTS. In 1948 alone, the youth built and put into operation 6,200 rural power stations. The Komsomol showed great concern for the placement of children and adolescents left without parents, for the expansion of the network of orphanages and vocational schools, and the construction of schools.
In the 40-50s. Komsomol helped build large hydraulic structures (Volga-Don Canal), powerful hydroelectric stations (Volzhskaya named after Lenin, Kuibyshevskaya, Kakhovskaya, etc.).
In 1948, the Komsomol celebrated its thirtieth anniversary. Oct 28 1948 Presidium Top. The Soviet of the USSR awarded the Komsomol with the second Order of Lenin.
The Komsomol took an active part in the implementation of the measures worked out by the Party for the advancement of agriculture. Thousands of young specialists, workers and employees, graduates of secondary schools were sent to state farms, collective farms, MTS. In 1954-55, on the Komsomol vouchers for the development of the virgin lands of Kazakhstan, Altai, and Siberia, St. 350 thousand young people. Their work was a real feat. Decree of the Presidium of the Top. Council of the USSR for active participation in communist construction and especially for the development of virgin lands of the Komsomol November 5, 1956 was awarded the third Order of Lenin.
In subsequent years, the scope of activities of the Komsomol in solving national economic problems, in particular in the development of the wealth of Siberia, the Far East and the Far North, in the redistribution of the country's labor resources, significantly expanded. More than 70,000 All-Union detachments have been formed, and more than 500,000 young people have been sent to new buildings. With the most active participation of young people, about 1,500 important facilities were built and put into operation, including the largest in the world - the Bratsk hydroelectric power station, the Beloyarsk nuclear power plant, the Baikal-Amur Mainline named after Lenin Komsomol, the Druzhba oil pipeline, etc. The Komsomol sponsored 100 shock construction projects , including over the development of the unique oil and gas resources of the Tyumen and Tomsk regions. Student construction teams have become a tradition of university Komsomol members. Millions of students took part in labor semesters. At the initiative of the Komsomol, the construction of youth residential complexes became widespread. Youth residential complexes have been built in 156 cities and regions of the country. The Komsomol is the initiator of all-Union campaigns to places of revolutionary, military and labor glory, in which millions of young men and women take part. The children's and youth competitions "Golden Puck", "Leather Ball", "Olympic Spring", "Neptune" and the all-Union military sports game "Zarnitsa" held by the Central Committee of the Komsomol have become truly massive. Komsomol and Soviet youth organizations cooperated with international, regional, national and local youth associations in 129 countries of the world. On July 5, 1956, the Committee of Youth Organizations of the USSR was established; on May 10, 1958, the Sputnik International Youth Tourism Bureau was established.
The highest Komsomol award, which had prestige in society, was the Lenin Komsomol Prize. It was received by a few - "stars of the first magnitude." For 25 years (from 1966 to 1991) 5527 people became laureates.
Komsomol paid great attention to the political education of young people. The Higher Komsomol School under the Central Committee of the All-Union Leninist Young Communist League, established in 1969, was the central link in this system. Over the years of its existence, over 20 thousand people, plus almost 10 thousand foreigners from 110 countries of the world, received higher and second higher education in it. More than 1,000 people have completed postgraduate studies and defended their Ph.D. dissertations.
In 1968, for outstanding services and a great contribution of Komsomol members to the formation and strengthening of Soviet power, courage and heroism shown in battles with the enemies of the socialist Fatherland, active participation in the construction of socialism, for fruitful work in the political education of the younger generations in connection with the 50th anniversary of the Komsomol was was awarded the Order of the October Revolution.
It was a well-deserved award. No other socio-political organization has received such high recognition of its merits. And it was completely justified. For many years, the Komsomol was indeed a real life school for Soviet youth. The functional elasticity of the Komsomol allowed it to find its application in the most various fields vital activity Soviet society and made him an indispensable assistant to the party in all matters.
But the situation gradually began to change, it changed especially sharply in the second half of the 1980s. This period is much more difficult than all previous difficult periods, which are so rich in Russian history. evolutionary processes in the Komsomol proceeded without due political will in the matter of their implementation, did not find the proper response and support from the members of the Komsomol. The Komsomol organization degraded following the degeneration of the party. She was struck by the same illnesses: formalism, hushing up shortcomings, the gap between word and deed, the weak influence of the Komsomol on solving youth problems, excessive centralization of leadership, a deep contradiction between the democratic nature of the organization and bureaucratic methods of leadership, between the desire of young people for something new and forms frozen for decades. work.
In a belated attempt to revive the activities of the Komsomol, the 20th Congress adopted a new Charter, which significantly expanded the rights of the primary Komsomol organizations, including in the economic sphere. In addition to this, in August 1988, the Council of Ministers of the USSR, by its Decree, provided the Komsomol with serious tax benefits, which caused a rapid growth of self-supporting youth organizations.
Thus, the Komsomol was among the first organizations and economic entities that switched to the principles of full cost accounting and self-financing. We can say that the Komsomol has become a testing ground for the market mechanism in the country. Cities began to create "innovative", as they would say today, platforms for working with youth - Youth Houses. Those. a destructive injection of alien ideology and alien values ​​was made into the body of the Komsomol.
It would seem that here it is - the democratic "perestroika" of the Komsomol, is in full swing. But she did not stop the crisis. The organization began to disintegrate. The first "swallow" of the direct collapse of the Komsomol was the Communist Youth Union of Lithuania, which in 1989 declared its independence. In the same year, the Estonian Komsomol separated. Further more. By 1990, the issue of organizational formalization of the now Russian Komsomol was on the agenda. As a result, at the first congress of the Komsomol organizations of the RSFSR, held in February 1990, the Komsomol of the RSFSR was formed, however, it is still part of the Komsomol.
But it has already been said from the podium that it is time to reorganize the “united and indivisible” VLKSM into a federation of independent Komsomol organizations, which was done two months later, at the 21st Extraordinary Congress.
The new model of the Komsomol also required a change in the previous relationship with the party, and the VLKSM finally declared its full political independence. As a result, the Komsomol was far ahead of the Communist Party and many public organizations in the "democratization" of union work. V.M. was elected the first secretary of the Komsomol Central Committee at this congress. Zyukin.
During the preparation of the XXI Congress of the Komsomol, the Central Committee still believed that there were alternative ideas for the development of the Komsomol: in the form of a movement of political clubs, scientific and technical creativity of youth, youth housing complexes, student construction teams, an environmental movement, etc. But after the August events of 1991, the Central Committee sharply headed for the liquidation of the Komsomol as an All-Union organization.
Everything was decided at the XXII Extraordinary Congress of the Komsomol, convened in Moscow in September 1991. This congress was unlike any of the previous ones: “there were no orders, no bust of Lenin on the stage, no traditional pioneer greeting. In his report, V. M. Zyukin stated: “The old system has been destroyed, and together with it, the organization that was an element of the system must leave political existence. The existence of the Komsomol even in new clothes is objectively impossible.” The fate of the Komsomol was sealed.
Of course, after the ban on the CPSU and the collapse of the entire socialist system, the Komsomol, as part of the system (political and social), could not survive alone.
All this happened in the nearest historical past of the Komsomol, and its lessons are most directly related to what is happening today.
Today, young people are disunited, subject to the corrupting influence of the social environment formed over the years of the so-called democracy, plunging them into a state of hopelessness, drawing them into drug addiction, pushing them to commit crimes, and so on. The youth are in fear for their future.
At the same time, other processes are also taking place. There is a renaissance of leftist ideas among young people. Life makes young people think more and more about what is happening around, about social injustice, about the gulf between the rich and the poor. More and more often you can see young people at protest rallies.
Fortunately, the Komsomol has not died, it lives and fights in new conditions, reborn as the Russian Leninist Communist Youth Union. The Russian Komsomol is gaining strength and experience in political struggle, reviving the traditions of the Leninist Komsomol, such as, for example, supporting defrauded equity holders, helping the struggling Donbass, organizing student construction teams, etc. Time has given birth to new youth leaders who have already made themselves known. This is Vladimir Isakov, and Yaroslav Listov, and Maria Drobot, and Georgy Kamnev, and Anatoly Dolgachev, and many others.
The future belongs to the young, and it is for them to revive socialist Russia.
Ivan Nikitchuk,
Chairman of the CA RUSO