FINANCING OF THE INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES OF THE KOMSOMOL IN THE 1960S-1970S

Abstract

In the 1960s the Komsomol began to give particular attention to its international activity, which was not only limited to participation, but also involved the organization of many different events for foreign youth and students - international friendship camps, forums, trips of foreign delegations. The creation of the Committee of Youth Organizations of the USSR (KMO USSR) and the Sputnik International Youth Tourism Bureau (BMMT) contributed to the intensification of the tourist exchange between Soviet and foreign youth. Both organizations were subordinate to the Central Committee of the Komsomol and received funding from the Komsomol budget. In 1962, additional funds started being allocated for international activities, as evidenced by a new item of expenditure that appeared in the budget of the Komsomol. Most of this money was spent by the Central Committee, with excessive expenditure on the reception of foreign delegations and gifts, which was repeatedly noted by audit checks. Twelve to thirty committees with international youth camps (out of 86 regional Komsomol committees) received money under the framework of this funding item. During the period under study, the Komsomol actively helped with the payment of organizational fees to the funds of the World Festivals of Youth and Students, and then began to provide direct material assistance to the youth organizations in Eastern Europe, Asia and Africa, which regularly applied for it. It is important to note that the annual increase of spending on international activities occurred in the context of the termination of state funding for the Komsomol, which in 1959 became fully financially self-sufficient. Based on a wide range of archival documents introduced into scientific circulation for the first time, the article presents an analysis of the financial activities of the Central Committee of the All-Union Leninist Young Communist League, its sources of funding and directions for spending the funds allocated for international activities. The relevance of the study is determined by the lack of serious scholarly investigation of this problem and the need to study the financial support of international activities in order to give a comprehensive assessment of its impact and efficiency.