The first festival of the movement of children and youth “Movement of the First” opened at VDNKh

On Thursday, the Russian movement of children and youth “Movement of the First” opened its first festival at VDNKh. The main stage was located near the monument to Lenin, whose name was given to the Soviet pioneers. The participants of the festival could not only try their hand at the new, technologically advanced version of the Zarnitsa game, but also take a master class on drone control. Vladimir Putin addressed the participants of the movement and wished them to continue to revive the good traditions of grandparents, including the pioneer organization. The festival was also attended by Sergei Kiriyenko, who said that the war for the minds of young people would last longer than the special operation. As it became clear at the festival, the issue of urgently renaming the organization to Pioneer is not yet on the agenda.

Many statesmen directly drew parallels between the Soviet pioneers and the Russian movement of children and youth “Movement of the First”. The creation of the movement (however, then without a full name) was announced on Soviet Pioneer Day (May 19) last year, a special federal law was written for it, the state budget is allocated to it, Vladimir Putin is the head of its supervisory board, he also appoints decree of the chairman of the board of the movement. They became a native of the Ministry of Education and Science Grigory Gurov. The “Movement of the First” can include schoolchildren and students of technical schools up to 18 years old.

The festival, held from 1 to 2 June at VDNKh and timed to coincide with Children’s Day, differed little in format from other similar events. Those who came to VDNH that day could visit the sites of the state corporations Roskosmos and Rosatom, the ANO Russia is a Land of Opportunities, listen to discussions and take part in master classes on fashion, music, etc. However, they did not go without trends of the era: at one of the sites, participants could test a new version of the high-tech Zarnitsa, at another, a master class on drone control was held, and at the stand of the All-Russian Popular Front, participants of a special military operation spoke. A special area for skateboarders and workout areas were also provided, on which adepts of street sports famously jumped, twisting somersaults.

The festival opened with the words of Russian President Vladimir Putin. It was broadcast on the main stage, which was located between the Friendship of Peoples fountain and the monument to Lenin. The figure of the leader of the revolution and the creator of the USSR, whose name, as is known, is associated not only with the Soviet pioneers, but also with a number of political and territorial decisions that the head of state usually mentions when talking about the causes of the NWO, looked modest against the backdrop of the broadcast. Mr. Putin assured the audience that they “do not copy anything”, but revive “good, kind traditions, including those that the pioneer organization had”, supplementing them with the necessary – “right now needed” – initiatives. “I’m sure the festival will become a bright, memorable holiday, it will help you make new friends, gain useful, necessary knowledge, get involved in interesting, creative projects of the Movement of the First, including during the beginning summer holidays,” the president addressed the festival participants from his Cabinet. — You are already striving to be useful, to help others, feel ownership of the fate of the country, continue the traditions of your parents, grandparents, and this is very right. At the same time, you are pioneers, because you have to create the future of our country – the future of Russia. Go ahead, and we will always support you!

The festival did not ignore the chief curator of Russian youth (and all domestic) politics, the first deputy head of the presidential administration, Sergei Kiriyenko. He did not appear on the main stage, but walked through the festival with a brief tour. At the site of the Knowledge Society (the modern incarnation of the Soviet educational organization), he announced that now in all children’s camps there will be a special shift dedicated to the “Movement of the First”. “There will be a new Zarnitsa now. The guys came up with a very interesting, modern high-tech Zarnitsa using drones. Just such a very interesting thing,” Mr. Kiriyenko shared his impressions. He admonished the youth with the words that “good always returns”, and urged them not to be afraid of mistakes: “The strength of a person is manifested not in whether he makes mistakes or not, but in how he overcomes mistakes. Is he able to get up after he tripped and fell. This shows strength.” Later, in a conversation with journalists, Mr. Kiriyenko said that two wars would last longer than a special military operation: one is an economic one, with attempts to “rock us”, and the second is an “information-psychological one.” “The struggle for the minds of the younger generation will be the longest,” said Mr. Kiriyenko. He soon left the festival. Meanwhile, Education Minister Sergei Kravtsov, along with the head of Rosmolodezh, Ksenia Razuvaeva, handed out Russian passports to twenty distinguished Moscow schoolchildren on the main stage. “In general, we want to come to the conclusion that all children who have reached the age of 14 receive a passport in a solemn atmosphere,” Grigory Gurov explained to a Kommersant correspondent.

The “Movement of the First” is in no hurry to rename itself the pioneers, despite Vladimir Putin’s earlier expressed wish to think about this topic. In any case, it was not raised at the festival, and two sources of Kommersant who were aware of the work of the organization explained that at the congress in December last year, schoolchildren voted for a different name (pioneers were among the proposed options, but did not win) and to change it quickly would be to go against their will. Raise this issue, according to the interlocutors of “Kommersant”, can only congress of the movement.

Andrey Vinokurov