The Vladimir Lenin All-Union Pioneer Organization was a mass youth organization of the Soviet Union for children of age 10–15 that existed between 1922 and 1991. Similar to the Scouting organisations of the Western world, Pioneers learned skills of social cooperation and attended publicly funded summer camps.
The participation was compulsory for every school student, but it was very popular among 10 years old boys and girls – most of them simply couldn’t wait the day when they receive their bright red tie – the symbol of Russian Pioneers. It was considered as the first step for becoming a communist, and the red tie symbolized the Red Flag – the flag of Soviet Russia.