“I am fortunate to live in the Soviet Union, the most democratic and progressive country in the world. I have read how hard the lives of children are in the capitalist countries and I feel pity for all those who do not live in the USSR.” – Breaking Stalin’s Nose
In May 2020, as New Yorkers were attempting to return to some semblance of life following a particularly virulent battle with COVID-19, Mayor Bill de Blasio issued a New Squeal Initiative. Likening the virus to war, de Blasio asked citizens to watch their neighbors and report anyone violating the social distancing requirements to government authorities, with fines of up to $1,000 for each infraction. This new ratting system of “see something, say something”, reminds one of the old Soviet informers who were paid or received favors to eavesdrop on friends and families.
Soviet snitches, who were purportedly 20 percent of the population, listened, observed, and then reported back to the Secret Police. Some even turned in their own parents and teachers. Where crimes did not exist, crimes were invented. False confessions were then often obtained through torture and detention. As a result, the Soviets lived in constant fear, not knowing whom to trust. Fear then became a common tool used by authoritarians to control behavior and dominate society. Over time, this apprehension led to blind obedience to the regime in power and resulted in an increasing loss of independence. Such is life in a totalitarian state.
Children have always been a soft target for tyrannical leaders since indoctrination through propaganda is most effective when it begins in youth. The scouting movement that began in England in the early 1900s, was established to prepare young people for good citizenship and chivalrous behavior. Voluntary and non-political, it quickly spread worldwide. In the Soviet Union, however, their scouting program took a turn. The Young Pioneer Children’s movement, which ran between 1921 and 1991, was used to train children in the ways of Communism and acceptance of communal living.
In Eugene Velchin’s 2011 award-winning children’s book, “Breaking Stalin’s Nose”, Velchin sets his historical novel in Moscow during the Stalin era, where a young boy, Sasha, was preparing to take his position in the Young Pioneer movement when his father, a high-ranking party spy, was arrested by the Secret Police. Without a means of defense, both Sasha and his father soon became labeled “enemies of the people”. Velchin, having grown up in Leningrad during the Soviet era, wanted to reveal the tactics used by Soviet leaders to control and terrify their citizens, making “Breaking Stalin’s Nose”, the “1984” for school-age children.
The “enemy of the people” was a term used by Stalin during his reign in the Soviet Union. Anyone who opposed the state’s socialist revolution was critical of the regime or held anti-communist views, was branded an enemy. The term became an accepted label and was used to justify the mass killing of its Soviet people, which is reported to have totaled more than 20 million.
The Soviet Union and the Cold War era that followed resulted in a war waged without conventional weapons that became far more deadly. Velchin’s book provides an excellent opportunity to begin a discussion between parents and children. A beginner’s lesson to be passed from generation to generation.
Comments