The Komsomol of Mordovia held festivals of youth and students in the second half of the 1950s.
Authors: Averyanova Ekaterina A. 
Published: September 2020

Introduction. Festival forms of socio-cultural behavior, as an algorithm for displaying agitation, educational, and entertainment functions during mass events, have recently become the object of study. The need for scientific generalization creates an environment of mutual understanding to strengthen intercultural dialogue, have highlighted the attention to historical experience of such cross-cultural events, for analysis of strategies and mechanisms of translation of information and forms of behavior to create understanding in society and among the participants, promoting a positive image of the country. The subject of the study was the methods of youth mobilization used by the Komsomol in the Mordovian ASSR, during the VI (Moscow, July 28 – August 11, 1957; 3,400 participants; 131 countries; the motto “For peace and friendship”) and VII (Austria, Vienna; 18,000 participants; 112 countries; motto “For peace, friendship and peaceful coexistence”) of the World youth and student festivals (WFMS). Materials and Methods. Materials from the archives of the Republic of Mordovia, statistical data, as well as scientific literature were used to solve the research tasks. The research was conducted on the principle of historicism, objectivity and consistency. The statistical method was used for data processing. Results. Based on the study of archival sources and available scientific literature were the main problems of the festival movement, as well as the participation of Mordovia Komsomol festivals of youth and students in the second half of 1950-ies. Against the background of increasing participation of the Komsomol in the festival movement, the processes of self-organization and innovative activity of Komsomol organizations in conducting youth policy are shown. Discussion and Conclusion. As you know, such festivals have been held since 1947. They are organized by the world Federation of democratic youth (WFDY) and the International Union of students (IUS). The decision to create the WFDY and hold festivals was made at the world conference of youth and students in London in 1945. The tradition of holding irregular festivals of left-wing youth organizations is still attractive in modern youth politics. The XIX festival was held in Russia (Moscow/Sochi; October 14–22, 2017, 185 countries, the motto “For peace, solidarity and social justice, we fight against imperialism-respecting the past, we build the future”. VI world festival of youth and students 1957 (Moscow), still perceived as a unique event for the Soviet Union in the framework of international cultural policy during the cold war. In the article, through the activities of the Komsomol of Mordovia, an attempt is made to consider the goals and objectives of the VI and VII world festival of youth and students, in the context of the youth festival policy in the Soviet Union. As it is known, in the 1950s, the festival movement was organized in the format of traditional political, social and cultural events for the Soviet society. However, it should be taken into account that during their implementation, new forms of communication, methods of mobilization, and broadcasting of information were also born to create mutual understanding among young people.