The Pioneer Experience

1. Children as the Backbone of Agriculture:

By the winter of 1942–43, children made up as much as 70% of the workforce on some Soviet collective farms, becoming a vital part of food production. During the Great Patriotic War, Agricultural work for the Pioneers included: harvesting crops, transporting manure and feed, aerating the soil, digging holes for food storage, collecting ashes for use as fertilizer, repairing fence and barn stalls, building granaries, sharpening scythes, and operating heavy equipment such as combines and tractors. 

2. Wartime Workforce:

During World War II, millions of Soviet children, including Young Pioneers, stepped up to support the war effort by working on collective and state farms—contributing over 760 million labor days between 1941 and 1944.

3. Recycling for Victory:

Pioneers and schoolchildren were challenged to collect recyclable materials like scrap metal and paper. In one campaign, a Moscow girls’ school gathered two tons of paper in just one season.

4. Gathering Nature’s Medicine:

To help soldiers at the front, children spent hours each day collecting medicinal plants and berries, offering natural remedies during a time of severe medical shortages.

5. Funding the Front Lines:

Young Pioneers raised money to build tanks, planes, and other military vehicles, contributing to national defense and children’s welfare funds through grassroots fundraising efforts.

6. Honoring the Fallen:

Pioneers were tasked with tending the graves of fallen soldiers—documenting burial details and marking graves with accurate, permanent inscriptions to preserve their memory.