Word: komsomols
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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Mysterious Circumstances. Katushev's career is exceptional in many ways. At 41, he is ten years younger than any other member of Russia's ruling oligarchy (whose average age is over 58). Moreover, he has never been a member of the Komsomol, the Communist youth organization to which most ambitious young Russians belong. He did not join the party until 1952, another unusual lapse for a young man who was already holding a responsible job. Ka-tushev's career has been spent as an engineer and auto designer, and until lately as party boss of an auto...
...Komsomol boasts a proud heritage. In 1918, when Russia's civil war was at its height, the fledgling youth movement gave the Bolshevik cause some of its most dedicated fighters. Their role earned them Lenin's encomium as the "shock forces" of the revolution. There were 22,000 members then, people drawn from schools, factories and farms. They considered themselves "an active, creative force in society, the party's helper and its reserve, a school of Communism for youth...
Investing a Summer. Today the Komsomol claims 23 million members, busy at activities that span the range of Soviet society. Since 1950, more than 1,800,000 Komsomoltsy have given up summer vacations and sometimes whole school years to work on development projects in Siberia and the Soviet Far East. Komsomoltsy helped build the Bratsk hydroelectric station, are now participating in the construction of the Togliatti auto plant, which is scheduled to produce 600,000 Soviet versions of the Italian Fiat a year. Some of the youngsters go out of ideological zeal, some simply for the adventure of getting away...
...need for such temporary work in industry is diminishing: an increasingly sophisticated technology has cut down the need for unskilled labor with the result that at projects like the Togliatti plant, Komsomol participation is little more than symbolic. But millions are still needed in the back-breaking work of the annual harvests. Beyond such extracurricular efforts, Komsomoltsy have a voice in their own student affairs and maintain their own job placement service...
Lofty en Garde. Yet despite these wide-ranging activities, there are signs that the Komsomol is losing its appeal for many Soviet youth. There is no war and no revolution to chal lenge the present generation, and many young Russians find indoctrination a bore. The growing dissent and dissatisfaction in Russia doubtlessly have infected the Komsomol, along with other elements of Soviet society. Party Secretary General Leonid Brezhnev underlined the leadership's concern when he told Komsomoltsy in his 50th anniversary speech: "Class enemies disguising themselves as the friends of youth strive to draw politically unstable, inexperienced young people...