Memories and Reflections
Memoir-nostalgic lyrics and review of the current era
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Inconceivable law of the mind

Soviet coat of arms

Fountain Friendship of Peoples at VDNKh in Moscow

The Soviet Union has long disintegrated, and it happened for many reasons. The main among them was the futility of communist ideology, which, after the infamous crash of the CPSU, it would be logical to throw to the dustbin of history. However, strangely enough, the supporters of the former USSR are constantly making attempts to resurrect the Pioneer and the Komsomol, although these youth movements were just preparatory steps for future Communists.

Not so long ago, when the sixth part of the land was occupied by the country of victorious socialism, its citizen was put into the framework of the then-dominant ideology of collectivism and involvement in formal social movements. Joining them was usually without desire of the man himself, and he was just put before the fact, that the time has come to become a Little Octobrist, then - a Pioneer, and later a member of the Komsomol.

At first sight there was no so definitely need to become a member of the Communist Party, however, it was almost impossible to move high up the career ladder, not owning a party card, so anyone who wanted to occupy a high position, sooner or later confronted with the need to get one.

Because of the lack of true unifying ideas, some members of these imposed from above "associations" secretly hated them, but to come to school without a red Pioneer tie or refuse to join the Komsomol meant to amass enormous trouble, so signs of belonging to this strange communities were dutifully worn or attached to jackets.

However, many people were really inspired by the ideology of building a communist society and were guided with it through life, so it is not surprising that BAM "building of the century" became the semantic beginning of the new historical epoch and the strongest magnet attracting young people, who were easily leaving the cozy apartments in order to build a railway in the taiga. In a farewell letter from some graduate to her native school, it was possible to meet the final sentence that she will join CPSU only after university graduation.

Thus, joining CPSU was perceived as a very important procedure that had to be earned with the honest labor biography, and to which it was necessary to grow up both mentally and physically. It is not surprising, therefore, that in the interview, which TV took from passers on the eve not long before the New Year holidays somewhere in the 1980-s, a young man quite frankly said that in the past year, the most important event for him was joining the Communist Party. True, some careerists were forced to become communists but were really angry faced with the need to pay the first party fees - quite noticeable to the family budget.

A party meeting at the same time for a man who accidentally got there could seem a nightmare, because of the numerous accusations, abuse, and threats caused by irritation due to the fact it was almost impossible to fulfill all the top-down orders and comply with all the rules, invented by someone unknown. As a result, there was the impression that the cell's secretary standing behind the tribune was preparing the ground in order to make ordinary members guilty, and those, in turn, foreseeing a possible failure to comply with the plan, were going to blame everything on the secretary.

Not so much time passed since then, but the lies and formalism, through every word prevailed then ideology, have long been the talk of the town, as they were exposed and cast out immediately after its cancellation. Recent "convinced communists", not offended by the life and often held high positions in the governing structures, burned their party cards in front of TV cameras and deliberately renounced already disappeared CPSU. Its central office quietly escaped from the state, not bothering farewell to country long time patronized and at the same time driven by not communist ideas, but based on purely selfish motives picked up party funds, the cost of which is still unknown.

Not only that - for the sake of party funds several high-ranking party treasurers allegedly committed suicides jumping from the windows, taking away with them one of the greatest mysteries of the century - how much gold have Soviet communists accumulated and where did they hide it. It is not surprising that publications which soon appeared in national newspapers told that foreign lawyers employed by the new government to search for communist treasury found nothing and helplessly shrugged when confronted with how well all the ends were hidden.

"The revolution was made by a madman with syphilis of the brain"
(statement by physiologist Ivan Pavlov)

Terrible events of those days were later reproduced in a realistic movie "Party's Gold". Then some articles about the British writer and historian Helen Rappaport appeared in the newspapers. She wrote an exposing book about Lenin, forcing ex-Little Octobrists, once carried Lenin's baby picture in the little star on the school jacket, to grab the head from a fright.

Oddly enough, after a dozen years fully discredited communist ideology began to come to life in the form of school pupils taken to the Pioneers, although officially this children's organization no longer exists and no one is forcing to join it anymore. There have been reports about the revival of the Komsomol movement as well, although it is unclear which goals can pursue Communist Youth League after the resounding failure of the Communist Party which directed it.

Often the leaders of these recovery processes are far from being the young dreamers, but appear to be adults, witnessed themselves day after day how the world's best party was sinking pulling into the abyss the strongest country in the world, and red ties are put on children's necks by old party functionaries, who don't pay too much attention to the fact that those who brought communism to the vast empire from abroad, were likely agents of Western intelligence.

The question arises: what kind of communism are new Pioneers and Komsomol members still going to build, not to mention the elderly communists, vividly remembering the inexorable collapse of the CPSU and the Soviet Union itself?

Do they want to run a history on a new round of dispossession, collectivization, compulsory demonstrations, scandalous party meetings, five-year plans, mismanagement, everyday obsessive propaganda, and struggle against the private property?

It is difficult to understand what makes them revive the idea of communism. Well, the simple townsfolk, who felt hard Soviet "happiness" with its regular grocery and trade deficits and the Iron Curtain, have to wonder how short historical memory is and how easy it is to revive faith in the overthrown ideals. Drivingidea.ru LogoArrow