In the early Soviet period, excursions were one of the most popular forms of cultural and educational activities, covering a significant part of the population. At the same time, the authorities actively sought to politicise excursion activities by organising control over it and developing those forms of it that would contribute to the political upbringing and enlightenment of the masses. Within the framework of the presented research, an attempt was made to consider excursion work in the leisure politicisation problem context, which affected the entire cultural work. The author analyses the attitude of the authorities to this form of work, the tasks set before its organisers. The transformation of the perception of excursion work in the context of changing attitudes of the authorities in relation to leisure is traced. The research is based on materials from central and regional archives, some of which have been introduced into scientific circulation for the first time, as well as a significant number of published sources. The results of the study show that excursions were understood as an instrument of human improvement, and the authorities resorted to a number of ways that allowed using excursion work in the field of political enlightenment and upbringing. This affected the recreational and entertainment functions of excursions – from a way of cultural recreation, they became another form of political upbringing.