Do all young people join the Komsomol?
No, not all join. Only half of the young people in the 14 to 28 age group are members of the Komsomol. It is a voluntary organisation and it unites the vanguard of Soviet youth. A youngster has to prove that he is worthy of membership not only by working or studying well, but by having high standards of behaviour. He or she must be honest, modest, responsive to the needs of others and active in social work.
The lofty aims and principles of the Komsomol are the guidelines for the admission of new members. It's not enough to say simply "I want to join the Komsomol." A would-be member has to submit together with his application two recommendations from Komsomol members or one from a member of the Communist Party. And the question of membership will be decided by a general meeting of the primary organization at his place of study or work.
Membership brings no privileges. What prompts youngsters to apply is something else: the opportunity to participate in all the affairs of the country as part of an organisation of young people sharing the same outlook.
Vladimir Solodchenko, a young worker, puts it this way: "The Komsomol can be likened to a school that teaches you to work in a collective, to participate in social work, and to attain your chosen goal, and it fosters in you the ideological awareness and loyalty to the people, that mark the older generation.
"The most important thing about the Komsomol, as I see it, is that it helps youngsters to become good, active builders of a new society."
Leonid Ovchinnikov, a serviceman, says: "The Komsomol taught me to evaluate properly not only my own life, but that of others as well, to find what is best in others and follow their example. To fight for the good of all is another thing I learned from the Komsomol. To fight apathy and indifference, to
help others, to think of others, of all who surround you, and not only think of what is best for your- self-these are the things that the Komsomol taught me."