In the USSR May 19th was celebrated as the “Pioneer Day”. Pioneers were the members of the Young Pioneer organization of the Soviet Union, which was a second step in the official Soviet brainwashing pyramid. After a general but unorganized brainwashing from ages 0 to 7,a child entered the first stage of the pyramid by becoming a Little Octobrist. By age 9 being a Little Octobrist wasn’t cool and exciting anymore and kids were looking forward to joining the Young Pioneers. Pioneers wore red ties. They went to summer camps. They had meetings. They were cool. Or so it seemed. I was honestly looking forward to the day when a red tie would be tied around my neck. I really didn’t care about the communist b.s or stories about wise grandpa Lenin, by 1979 I didn’t know anyone who did. Most kids just learned to repeat what was expected of them and move on. Nevertheless, for many of us the day when we were accepted into the Pioneer Organization was a long-awaited holiday. We just wanted to be like older kids and that day couldn’t come soon enough.The picture above was taken on that day in 1979 when we were finally accepted. Joining the Pioneers required some preparation. We needed to know the motto, the rules and, most importantly,…in the presence of … comrades solemnly promise: to love and cherish … Motherland passionately, to live as the great Lenin bade us, as the Communist Party teaches us, as required by the laws of the Young Pioneers of the Soviet Union. Long-time readers of this blog would notice that the ceremony was conducted near the Monument to the Unknown Soldier to make it more solemn and memorable. What made that day even more memorable for me was an afterward trip to the Odessa Catacombs – a series of underground tunnels which during the WWII housed the underground (literally) resistance unit and in peaceful time – a museum. Part of the tour included walking through the tunnels with candles imagining yourself being a partisan. I don’t know about the partisans, but upon the exit I realized that my new pants were completely covered with melted wax, which my Dad had to iron out for a long time. By the way, while writing these posts I discover a lot of stuff I didn’t know before, like the real story of the catacombs which was very different from the official version. With years red tie went from the object of pride to just a dirty wrinkled patch of silk to a dark place in a pocket of the school uniform. The next step was joining the Komsomol, but that’s the subject of another story.
I am often asked if I like cold and snow because I am from the USSR where it’s always cold, snowy and hungry bears are roaming the streets attacking the people who spend their days standing in darkness in line for toilet paper. As much as this image is truthful, I only like cold and snow when it stays where it belongs – in Colorado, or more generally away from the areas where I live, work and drive. The song about the white Christmas was probably written somewhere in Florida where it was unlikely to ever happen.
With this in mind here are some photos of winter in Moscow. Original Life Magazine article can be found here.
I previously discussed my feelings on the subject but I was happy to discover that I am not the only one pondering these questions. A short documentary by a young Soviet-born Jewish-Canadian offers a perspective I can identify with, a point of view from a person who came in contact with a different type of Jewish culture and now wonders if her own Jewishness is somehow not up to par. Since I arrived here at the age of 22 with established worldviews and my own understanding of what it means to be Jewish, I haven’t been subjected to the situations described by the people interviewed in the documentary, but I definitely recognized my own thoughts when she interviewed her Mom (although I do speak better English). I wonder if my daughter feels that way when she deals with her friends who have more active Jewish community and religious lives.
Before the video I’d like to offer a quote from an article on the subject:
For a person with a surprising and painful lack of childhood memories I seem to remember a lot about the Moscow Summer Olympic Games of 1980. I remember where I was at that time and remember watching the games on a 12 inch black-and-white TV. Since the 1980 Olympics were boycotted by the USA and and over 60 other countries some of you may be seeing the clips below for the first time (and some of you were born after 1980). Boycotting Olympics is a tragic event for the athletes, some of whom may only get one or two shots at competing in the Games in their lifetimes. Moscow Olympics were not an exception, we will never know what the results would look like if all of the countries were participating. Nevertheless, for the Soviet people (especially in Moscow) the Olympics became a two week window when they got a peek at the West and they liked what they saw. The USSR went all out to impress the rest of the world, no expenses were spared, only the best was to surround athletes and the guests in order to show the superiority of the Soviet regime. For years after the Games people were wearing jackets with the Olympic emblem on it and the Olympic Bear is still recognized by most people. Not only the people in the stadium but the whole country cried when the Bear took off during the closing ceremony. I haven’t see one more touching ever since.
It’s hard to believe that I am typing this 28 years later. In 1980 I was busy figuring out how old I will be in the year 2000. It seemed like it was 2000 years away….
Opening Ceremony
In the USSR May 19th was celebrated as the “Pioneer Day”. Pioneers were the members of the Young Pioneer organization of the Soviet Union, which was a second step in the official Soviet brainwashing pyramid. After a general but unorganized brainwashing from ages 0 to 7,a child entered the first stage of the pyramid by becoming a Little Octobrist. By age 9 being a Little Octobrist wasn’t cool and exciting anymore and kids were looking forward to joining the Young Pioneers. Pioneers wore red ties. They went to summer camps. They had meetings. They were cool. Or so it seemed. I was honestly looking forward to the day when a red tie would be tied around my neck. I really didn’t care about the communist b.s or stories about wise grandpa Lenin, by 1979 I didn’t know anyone who did. Most kids just learned to repeat what was expected of them and move on. Nevertheless, for many of us the day when we were accepted into the Pioneer Organization was a long-awaited holiday. We just wanted to be like older kids and that day couldn’t come soon enough.The picture above was taken on that day in 1979 when we were finally accepted. Joining the Pioneers required some preparation. We needed to know the motto, the rules and, most importantly,…in the presence of … comrades solemnly promise: to love and cherish … Motherland passionately, to live as the great Lenin bade us, as the Communist Party teaches us, as required by the laws of the Young Pioneers of the Soviet Union. Long-time readers of this blog would notice that the ceremony was conducted near the Monument to the Unknown Soldier to make it more solemn and memorable. What made that day even more memorable for me was an afterward trip to the Odessa Catacombs – a series of underground tunnels which during the WWII housed the underground (literally) resistance unit and in peaceful time – a museum. Part of the tour included walking through the tunnels with candles imagining yourself being a partisan. I don’t know about the partisans, but upon the exit I realized that my new pants were completely covered with melted wax, which my Dad had to iron out for a long time. By the way, while writing these posts I discover a lot of stuff I didn’t know before, like the real story of the catacombs which was very different from the official version. With years red tie went from the object of pride to just a dirty wrinkled patch of silk to a dark place in a pocket of the school uniform. The next step was joining the Komsomol, but that’s the subject of another story.
For a person with a surprising and painful lack of childhood memories I seem to remember a lot about the Moscow Summer Olympic Games of 1980. I remember where I was at that time and remember watching the games on a 12 inch black-and-white TV. Since the 1980 Olympics were boycotted by the USA and and over 60 other countries some of you may be seeing the clips below for the first time (and some of you were born after 1980). Boycotting Olympics is a tragic event for the athletes, some of whom may only get one or two shots at competing in the Games in their lifetimes. Moscow Olympics were not an exception, we will never know what the results would look like if all of the countries were participating. Nevertheless, for the Soviet people (especially in Moscow) the Olympics became a two week window when they got a peek at the West and they liked what they saw. The USSR went all out to impress the rest of the world, no expenses were spared, only the best was to surround athletes and the guests in order to show the superiority of the Soviet regime. For years after the Games people were wearing jackets with the Olympic emblem on it and the Olympic Bear is still recognized by most people. Not only the people in the stadium but the whole country cried when the Bear took off during the closing ceremony. I haven’t see one more touching ever since.