Soviet 1931 All-Soviet Tourism Society Badge & Doc

[Chuck In Oregon]

Tourism is one thing that I seldom associate with the USSR. And as for tourism during the depths of the Depression? One could even speculate that people who could afford to travele for pleasure, on their own kopek, might even be guilty of the crime of unearned income. That crime was good for 15 years in the gulags and could get the offender a 9mm salute.

But noooo! (Thank you, John Belushi.) Here is a badge for the "All-Soviet Benevolent Society for Proletarian Tourism and Travel" and its accompanying 1931 booklet. My Russian leaves much to be desired, so please feel free to correct my translations.

The booklet is very cheap plain brown cardboard, simply printed and folded over with four double pages stapled inside. The membership is signed off and the stamp signifies that the 30-kopek dues for 1931 were paid. As I recall, dues stamps for later organizations were not always organization-specific. In this case, however, the badge, the stamp on the cover of the booklet and the dues stamp all match. There does not appear to be a design in the star on the cover.

On the inside back cover there is the six-step code of the honored tourist. As I roughly translate the final sentence, it says "Promote (lit. assist) the Communist Party and the culture of the Revolution and socialist workers."

An old friend thinks he might want this one, so I thought I would post it while I still have it. Enjoy.

Chuck

[Chuck In Oregon]

... And here is the reverse of the badge and the inside front of the booklet. As best I can tell, it extolls the virtues of proletarian tourism on the left and identifies the honored tourist on the right.

[Chuck In Oregon]

... And sure enough, paid-up dues for Jan - Dec, 1931. But not beyond. Hmmm.

[HuliganRS]

There's alot of variations of these badges all the way up into the late 80's.

They did get cheaper with time.

Here's a selection of the late issue ones from my archives!

Notice a young tourist badge!

Rusty.

Edited November 14, 2005 by HuliganRS

[Guest Rick Research]

The bottom slogan in scan 2 also asserts

"The Proletarian Tourist-- A Mighty Instrument Against Idleness, Religion, and the Bourgeoisie"

I've seen a couple of pins with a tent and campfire motif to this organization (speak of the devil-- simultaneous typing as scan above got posted-- there's the one I've seen! )-- so with the compass and ID booklet here, I wonder if it was actually some sort of CAMPING organization-- "Urban Youth Back To Nature" sort of thing, somehow distinct from the "Pioneer" youth groups.

The idleness bit I concede, the religion bit (well, if they were tramping through the woods on Sunday, sure) ...

but AM a bit perplexed on how "outdooring" mightily-instrumented upon the vanished Russian middle class!!!

Then there were all those WEIRD Associations like the one against handshakes....

[HuliganRS]

I don't think this was a pleasure trip organization.

This was aimed toward business (military) travel and might have done some tourism into other Communist block countries.

Rusty.

[Chuck In Oregon]

Hi Rusty

Yes, I agree. I have a bag full of nothing but later-era tourism badges using the same compass theme. But I had never before seen this one. It may be the progenitor. At least, I've not seen an earlier variant.

Chuck

[HuliganRS]

Earlier ones are always hard to locate.

Here are two young tourist bades for sale:

40s - 50's - http://www.collectrussia.com/DISPITEM.HTM?ITEM=11474

50's - 60's - http://www.collectrussia.com/DISPITEM.HTM?ITEM=11473

Rusty.