Figure 1.--This boy wears his red Pioneer cap, wite shirt, and red scarf. Notice how the scarfe knot is tied. Notice that the cap is red and white. We have see some caps that were all red and all blue. This boy wears a plain white shirt without the epauletes or flap pockets of the official uniform shirt.

We do not yet have any extensive information on Soviet Young Pioneer uniforms, but we have begin to compile some basic information. Some rough assessments can be made from available photographs. Photographs suggest that the boys usually wore a simple white shirt, red kerchief, and dark trousers--I think blue trousers. There appears to ave been a white belt worn with the formal uniform. There was a pioneer cap, but it does not seem to have been commonly worn. Boys wore a variety of socks. Some boys wore white kneesocks with the formal uniform.

Caps

Our information on Pioneer caps is still very limited. There was a pioneer cap, but it does not seem to have been commonly worn. Many of the available impages of Soviet Young Pioneers show them without caps. Most photographs HBU has seen does not show bnoys wearing a Young Pioneer cap. We have noted different styles of caps and various colors. One style that we have seen is the red and white campaign (field) cap seen here. We have noted all red caps. We have also noticed all blue caps. We do not know at this time when this cap was adopted and if there have been stylistic or color changes over time. We notice emblems on some of the caps. We noticed boys at one specialized naval camp wearing black berets. This does bot appear to have been very common.

Scarf/Neckerchief

The boys wore red scarves withb their white shirts. The red scarf of course symblized the Communist Revolution. The scarf was the most important element of the uniform. The first Pioneers in the 1920s did not have formal uniforms. Instead they wore their own clothes with a red neckerchief to identify themselves as Pioneers. The first Pioneers wore red galstuki in the school, on the street and even at home if they wanted to do so. The children were not self-conscious about this and most wore the red neckerchief with considerable pride. In early years of the Siviet Union when the Pioneeers were first created, a Russian reader tells us this could be dangerous as there were many who still opposed the Revolution. Our reader tells us that some children were attacked because the wore the red neckerchiefs. I do not know how common this was. Even after the Pioneers adopted a formal uniform, the red neckerchief remained an important part of the uniform. Children did not commonly wear their neckerchiefs unless they were at school or involved in Pioneer activities. Pioneer neckerchiefs were not always worn in the same manner that they were worn by the 1960s. Pioneers in the early years (1920s-50s) wore the neckerchief with a special pin. The ends of the neckerchief were from the front fastened by pin rather tied by knot. Beginning in the 1960s the neckerchief pin was abolished and the members began tieing their neckerchiefs with knots. The idea was to tie a smooth square knot. There were instructions at Pioneer meetings on the proper way to tie the knot.

Shirt

Boys and girls wore white shirts as their pioneer uniform shirt. The style was the same for both boys and girls. They were normally white shirts with epaulets and flap pockets, although HBC has seen photigraphs of plain white shirts. Often they were worn without patches are insignia, bit they should have a Pionerer pathch on the left sleeve. Boys wearing the formal uniform for ceremonial occasions, however, often had to have the insignia and often a few more patches. Pioneers did not, however, have merit badges and wear unit insignia or flag patches on their shirts as Scouts commonly do.

Pants/Skirts

Blue pants appear to have been the formal uniform. This may be because the members commonly wore the school uniform as the Young Pioneer uniform. HBC has noted boys wearing both short and long pants. Often boys wear short pants as part of the formal uniform, but this certainly depended on the season. Many formal Pioneer events took place at summer camps. Presumably boys would wear long pants for out door activities during the winter. Girls of course wore skirts rather than pants. Wjile blue pants and skirts appear to be the most common uniform, they were not always worn. Many of the images that we have archived are black and whote, making it difficult to discern color. We do note Pioneers in uniforms with different colors than blue. We note for example boys wearing green short pants and girls tan/checked skirts for a Leningrad parade during the early 1980s. This is interesting both because the boys' shorts are not blue, but also because the boys and girls do not have matching pants/skirts. Here we are not sure if this was an actual Pioneer unifirm or a special costume for a specific celebration. A Russian reader also tells us that at the Artek Pioneer summer camp that the children in each sub-camp wore different color shorts/skirts.

Belts

Our information on belts is still quite limited. Most boys wore their regulat belts for Pioneers rather than an official belt. There appears to have been, however, a white belt worn with the formal uniform. I'm not sure just to what extent Pioneers had these white formal uniform belts. I think it was only worn for special ceremonies by a small number of children, rather like honor guards or drum and buggle units. A Russian reader tells us that there was an orange belt introduced as pat of the new 1968-69 uniform. I think it was only worn by the boys.

Hosiery

Pioneers wore a variety of hosiery. For the most part, the hosiery and footwear worn with the uniform was optional. We note the children wearing all different types of hosiery, including ankle socks, knee socks, long stockings, and tights. This varied both chronologically and seasonally. And as aesult is somewhat difficult to follow in the photographic record. We can usually only see the hosiery, at least that the boys were wearing, during the summer when the boys wore short pants. The children, including the boys, might wear white knee socks with the uniform for formal occassions. We do not have detailed information on the early uniforms yet. There was one exceotion as to the hosiery worn with the Pioneer uniform. For the most part it was optional, but for formal occassions, especially involving public appearances, the Pioneer leaders were more concerned with how the children dressed. This often involved white stockings or socks. The official uniform adopted in 1968-69 was susposed to be worn with white kneesocks, by both the boys and girls. The white knee socks were not, however, worn by all boys. The girls did mostly wear them, but not the boys. Some boys did not like them, considering them to be more appropriaste for girls. This may be because girls commonly wore white kneesocks with their school uniform. On formal occassions the Pioneer leaders were stricter about the uniform and insisted all the boys wear the white kneesocks. Many boys were not bothered about the white kneesocks and wore them without complaining. As a rough rule, children from the more educated families with higher social stastus were more likely to wear them. To some extent there were more practical reasons. As some boys did not like the white kneesocks, parents did not buy them. Thus quite a number of boys did not have white kneesocks to wear. Some parents also considered them impractical.

Footwear

We do not have much information on the footwear worn by Young Pioneers. Our information comes primarily from available photographs. HBU has not noted any specific shoe styles worn by Soviet Young Pioneers. We commonly see children wearing their uniforms with school shoes. Some children wore sandals. Even with formal uniforms at ceremonial events, boys might wear sandals. By the 1970s we see boys wearing their uniforms with sneakers. Footwear was somewhat different at summer camps. Here we see the Pioneers much more commonly wearing sandals and by the 1970s sneakers. One type of footwear we have not noted to any extent is hiking boots. We are not sure just why. We suspect that hiking boots were not widely available for children in Soviet stores. Also hiking and camping does not seem to have been as important an activity in the Pioneers as in many other youth groups. Again we are mot sure why this was. Hopefully our Russian readers can provide some insights.

Insignia and Patches

Pioneers compared to Scouts, wore very few patches. We do know that they wore a red badge picturing Lenin on their left sleeve. At this time this is the only badge that we know of. There do not seem to have been merit badges like in Scouting. There were, however, some rank insignias.