Russian Pioneer Students:

During the early 1980's I led a group of Russian "Pioneer" students. Pioneers was an organization for children from the age of 10. It was organized after the death of Lenin in 1924. Pioneers was similar to Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, 4-H, etc... combined. They even used a motto, "Always ready", that was similar to the Boy Scout motto, "Be prepared". This is a photo of my group. I am in the middle. The children are dressed in the Pioneer uniform. It included a white shirt and red neckerchief. Pioneers disappeared with the collapse of the Soviet system.