The role of political education in adaptation of Siberian Komsomol youth to the communist regime in the first half of 1920s

The article is devoted to research of political education in RKSM like a tool of adaptation of Komsomol youth to Communist regime in the first half of 1920s. The necessity of political-educational work with broad masses of population follows from the nature of Communist ideology itself, but it is the political education among young people that is considered to be especially important. Acquisition of youth support, youth adaptation to Communist regime were considered by Bolsheviks as an essential condition of their political success achievement. The necessary part of becoming young man as a conscious follower of Communist policy, as V. I. Lenin believed, was participation in political education. Making a speech on the opening of the third RKSM congress 2 October 1920, he claimed directly that «the Union of youth and all youth which is going to reach Communism must study Communism». In Siberian Komsomol organization in the beginning of 1920s the need of political education providing was dictated not only by instructions from «above», but by situation from «below» too. A poor level of political literacy not only obstructed the formation from new Komsomol members that were conscious Communists, but even threatened to eliminate the Communist character of the organization itself. Although the Siberian Komsomol organization endeavored to increase the political literacy of its members through regular work in circles, campaigning, theatrical performances of «agitation courts», the outcomes of this activity were very modest. The results of political inspections in 1923 and 1924 revealed that about two thirds of their participants from urban organizations should be allocated to the lowest category of political literacy. The causes of this were low level of common literacy of Komsomol members, absence of connection of political study with real life and weakness of the circle chiefs, frequently assigned without preparation and overburdened with other duties. The political education in Siberian Komsomol organization in the first half of 1920s was unable to solve completely the task of political illiteracy liquidation. But despite the outwardly little effectiveness of political education and low level of understanding Communist theory by majority of Komsomol members, the participation in political study did not stay for them without a trace. During the lessons many young people, listening lectures, reading educational literature and Soviet newspapers, accepted willingly Communistic slogans and values, learned to consider the party decisions «the truth in the last instance» and identified themselves with the Communist regime.