There Are 626,000 Pioneers And Octobrists In Belarus: Where Have They Been Herded From?

Not all parents are able to insist that their children should not become members of those organisations.

According to official statistics, four out of ten children join the pioneer organisation, and up to nine out of ten join Children of October.

The Belarusian Republican Youth Union celebrated the Day of Constitution in Belarus by admitting new members to the organisation.

The Belarusian Republican Pioneer Organisation (BRPO) unites pioneers and Little Octobrists at the same time. The organisation names itself the largest child and youth non-political public association of the country. But at the same tie leaders of the BRPO together with leaders of the Belarusian Republican Youth Union have working places in the building of the former Central Committee of the All-Union Leninist Young Communist League (Komsomol) in Karl Marx Street in central Minsk, Radio Svaboda informs.

A Pioneer With 75 Years’ Service

Last year the Belarusian Republican Pioneer Organisation celebrated 25 years of its new Belarusian history. As of January 1, 2016 there were 626,000 children who are members of the BRPO. 232,000 of them are children between 7 and 9 years of age, and 393,000 are pioneers aged 10-18.

The leaders call their organisation the largest child and youth organisation in the country, created on a purely voluntary basis. The aims of its activities are social and patriotic ones:

“Every Young Pioneer should become a citizen, do good to oneself, family and Motherland by his or her deeds,” – Maryja Bahdanava, deputy chairperson of the organisation, said.

“We are successors to the best traditions, as not everything was so bad with the Young Pioneer Organisation in the Soviet times. Pioneer detachments are present in all educational institutions, but do not cover 100% of children. Everything depends on desire of people at each educational institution to set up Pioneer detachments, on a purely voluntary basis – we do not oblige anyone,” – Bahdanava said.

The chairperson stressed that joining the Pioneers and Octobrists until the age of 14 is taking place with a permission of parents, and after 14 years of age at the wish of children themselves. On the age of 14 a person is given a passport, and it is an administrative liability age, so naturally it is an independent person. But any citizen of the country irrespective of age could be a member of the organisation.

“There is a pensioner who had joined the organisation on May 19, 2941,” – Maryna Bahdanava said.

The modern history and symbols of the Belarusian pioneers differ a lot from the history and external symbols of their predecessors. A legend about Belarusian Octobrists says in particular:

“Long time ago, in mysterious times, there lived children, who were as brave and curious as you. They lived in a wonderful country among green forests, blue lakes and rivers. Only one thing was troubling them – they could not leave the city they lived in, as there were no roads then. But one autumn, in October, when stars reached a climax, a falling star rolled across the blue. It was very little, and it fell directly into the city on one of its squares. The place where it had fallen was called The Zero Kilometre – the beginning of all roads in the centre of the capital of the country, in October Square, and the brave children were called Little Octobrists.”

As for Pioneers, there are several legends of the organisation’s origin now.

There are legends about signs and symbols of the Pioneer organisation: a bonfire, a flag, a Pioneer’s necktie. The red and green scarf does not symbolize red blood and the unity of pioneers, Komsomol members and Communists any more. The Pioneer salute – a hand over one’s head – is not a symbol of higher importance of public affairs than private affairs, it is just a pioneer greeting. The badges of Octobrists and Pioneers do not have an image of Lenin, they bear a outline of Belarus in a red and green trimming.

BRPO Is Public Association, While It Has State Buildings

Maryna Bahdanava stresses that the BRPO is a public association, and teachers and facilitators in educational institutions are working with Octobrists and Pioneers on a voluntary basis. Joining the organisation, children pay a one-time membership fee, which is reasonable for every child. At the same time, the leadership of the central council of the BRPO is situated in the building of the former Central Committee of the All-Union Leninist Young Communist League (Komsomol) in Karl Marx Street in central Minsk, next to Lukashenka’s administration.

“The Belarusian Republican Youth Union is situated in Karl Marx Street, and we, the Central coundil of the BRPO – are situated there as well. We do not pay rent for the premises – this was determined by history,” – Bahdanava said.

“Public Association”, For Which Propaganda Is Carried Out Among Schoolchildren

Is it really so that an initiative and desire to become an Octobrists or a Pioneer are expressed by children and their parents themselves? Journalists have asked about that schoolchildren’s parents. They also asked their opinion about the public profile of the BRPO-BRYU. A mother of a six-former from Minsk gymnasium №23 Alena said:

“Speaking about non-governmental or civic organisations, one could suppose that they are founded and carry out their activities at the expense and using the resources of the civil society. It means, that in addition to a legal procedure of drafting a statute, a founding congress, registration, they must have a legal address.

That is they are either to have their own premises, or rent it, paying the sum of money which is rather high at the moment. As far as I understand, the BRPO-BRYU had received the building next to Lukashenka’s administration as a present from the state, as they do not rent it, but have their premises there. What other non-governmental association in the country had received such a present, and the main question is – for what merits?

And for what other organisation for children and youth, except Octobrists and Pioneers, propaganda is carried out among schoolchildren? So why should it be called a non-governmental organisation? It is directly connected with the state structures. And one can really speak about “continuity of traditions”, as only in the Soviet times Communists and Komsomol members built the best buildings for themselves at the expense of tax-payers,” – Alena said.

The woman believes that the same concerns activities of the organisation in schools. A gymnasium with Belarusian language of instruction is situated in central Minsk. Children are taken there from different parts of the city for them to have an opportunity to receive education in Belarusian. That is why parents mostly have an active attitude to life, and they know the role of Communism in the history of the country very well. That is why setting up an Octobrist or Pioneer organisation was out of the question. But a new schoolmaster appeared, and a form teacher started to ask children all of a sudden, who would like to become a pioneer, and tell them ask parents, whether they give permission to that. There were no willing persons in the class of Alena’s child, but it is said something of the kind has emerged in the gymnasium.

“My Daughter Was Forced To Put A Pioneer Rag With Communist Colours On Her Neck”

In the school №23, situated in the outskirts of Minsk, the situation with pioneers is almost opposite. Not many parents managed to insist that their children should not be admitted to this organisation. A father of a 12-year-old Anelia, Dzmitry Marchuk, said:

“In our school children were made members of the pioneer organisation sweepingly, without exception, they were simply driven there by force. I visited the schoolmaster and said: why are you agitating for Octobrists, Pioneers? If they are NGOs, why don’t you promote other organisations as well? For example, the Belarusian Christian Democratic movement, the Young Front, the Young Democrats or some others? Children should have an alternative, and why are you depriving children of an alternative?

My former wife gave permission for our daughter to join the pioneer organisation, no one asked my opinion, and no one was interested by that. Are these actions of the administration legal? Later I found out that only one girl from the class of my daughter hadn’t joined any organisation. I am a believer, and I asked her parents whether they are believers. And they said no, but they said that they know that Bolsheviks (Communists) are up to their elbows in blood, and these child organisations are their followers, so we do not need them. And I am fully supportive of it,” – Dzmitry Marchuk said.

He told journalists that he asked his acquaintances whether a massive herding of children into pro-Communist organisations is taking place in other schools. “Thank God, it is not happening in all schools.”

Dzmitry wanted to find out, what was the reason of such stubborn worshiping of Communist idols in that school.

“Is it done in order to express the gratitude to the number one Communist ideologist of the country, as it is the most expensive school? Anyway, the result is, God punishes the country and people for idolatry. And despite my prohibition, they still made my daughter to put the rag in Communist colours on her neck! That’s how the school teachers and administration instill disrespect for fathers in children! In this way they make children to break one of the ten commandments, and not respect parents! And the school experienced a punishment – one of children died under a car in front of the school porch in 2012,” – Marchuk said.