The Young Pioneers and the Komsomol of Uzbekistan

(Revised 2014 edition) How, where, when and why, did the Soviets educate and indoctrinate young citizens outside of the school environment? What was the link between the school and youth movement in the USSR? What were Soviet values? In this extended academic article I answer these questions, and more. The article contains 60 pages of analysis that explains, for the first time in the English language, how the Communist Party of the Soviet Union fostered proactive citizenship amongst...
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(Revised 2014 edition) How, where, when and why, did the Soviets educate and indoctrinate young citizens outside of the school environment? What was the link between the school and youth movement in the USSR? What were Soviet values? In this extended academic article I answer these questions, and more. The article contains 60 pages of analysis that explains, for the first time in the English language, how the Communist Party of the Soviet Union fostered proactive citizenship amongst the young people of Uzbekistan. 'The Young Pioneers and the Komsomol of Uzbekistan' contains parts (1) Union-wide Youth Movements, (2) Uzbekistan: the Young Pioneers, (3) Union-wide: Komsomol, (4) Uzbekistan: Komsomol, (5) Conclusion. So, my article moves from the general union-wide (the USSR) to the specific (Uzbekistan as a case study). The historiography content of this work is based upon Western English language and Soviet era translated (from Russian) sources. I outline the influence of Cold War thinking on these western historical documents. Indeed, Uzbekistan was a multi-ethnic society consisting of Uzbeks, Tajiks, Karakalpaks, and the other Central Asian peoples, Tatars, Russians, Ukrainians, Germans, Jews, Koreans, and more. The focus of my work are two Soviet era youth movements operating in Uzbekistan from 1924 to 1991, with an emphasis upon the 1980s. The two youth movements under investigation are the Young Pioneers and the Komsomol. The aim of the communist regime was to establish a Soviet people from amidst ethnic and social diversity and plurality - consisting of loyal workers with a shared ideological consciousness. In light of the historical events after 1991 I will explain the significance of Soviet youth movements as a core state socialization channel. The role of this particular socialisation channel was to inculcate and support citizenship education, values and norms. This extended paper will analyse the phenomenon of Soviet state-civic identity alongside youth movements. I argue, if we want to better understand the mentalities of the current crop of post-Soviet era leaders in Eurasia, we need to examine the Soviet education and indoctrination they experienced as children and young adults. The legacy of one's past can, and often does, re-emerge many year's later as the stresses of adult life kick in. Clearly, under the Soviet system adults were socialised as they progressed through life. In our contemporary society - dominated by the ideology of individualism and capitalism - the processes of adult socialisation are less obvious and less present in everyday life. This article explains the educational upbringing of today's Eurasian leaders. Eurasian leaders over the aged 40 or more would have been members of the Pioneers and the Komsomol. How did these institutions work on young minds? And just as important, this extended article looks at the upbringing of the masses and how their everyday life was influenced by socialism, western Enlightenment values, social interventionism, and Revolution. This article is one facet of my completed PHD thesis ('Implementing a Vision of Citizenship in Soviet Uzbekistan: Theory, Social issues and Education', and available at the library of SOAS, University of London).