Cosmopod - Komsomol Life

tags : [[Soviet Union]] [[Komsomol]]

Summary

Cosmopod episode with Sean Guillory of Sean’s Russia Blog Podcast about the Communist Youth.

Notes

This episode may merit a re-listen.

• Komsomol acted as the central power out across the state, represented the Russian Communist Party throughout the country.
  • Komsomol acted as an expression of soft power throughout the country.
• The primary goal of the Komsomol was to train communists in the post-revolutionary period.
• Komsomol was plagued with problems:
  • Misogyny: numerous cases of rape, abuse
  • Inability to coordinate
  • “What does it mean to be a comrade?”
• The problems that arose from the Komsomol

Related sources

• Memoirs of a Revolutionary - Victor Serge
• Thou Shalt Kill - Anna Geifman
• J Arch Getty, Sheila Fitzpatrick
• Intimate Enemies - Wendy Goldman
• Anguish, Anger, and Folk Ways in Soviet Russia - Gábor Tamás Rittersporn