Pionerskaya Pravda (Пионе́рская Пра́вда) is an all-Russian newspaper. Initially it was an all-Union newspaper of the Soviet Union. Its name may be translated as "Truth for Young Pioneers".
The newspaper was founded March 6, 1925 in Moscow and published under the name School Pravda and later under Pioneer Truth.[1][2] Nikolai Bukharin was the first editor of the newspaper. Different poets and artists, like Mikhail Zoshchenko, Ilya Ilf, Evgeny Petrov and Vladimir Mayakovsky, cooperated with the newspaper.[3] On March 6, 1927, the newspaper became part of the Central and Moscow Committees of the All-Union Young Communist League. From 1958, it formed part of the Central Committee of the All-Union Young Communist League and the Central Council of the All-Union Pioneers' Organization.[1][4] From February 4, 1928 a newspaper was published twice a week, and since October 3, 1928 it has been published three times a week.[1]
The newspaper became a weekly printed body of the Moscow RKSM Committee. In the 1970s and 1980s its circulation approached 10,000,000 (almost every child in the Soviet Union had a subscription). Its title followed the name of the main Soviet newspaper of the time, Pravda, as did multiple other newspapers. In 1991, following the collapse of the USSR, the newspaper was reorganized and became a national newspaper for children and adolescents.[5]
The newspaper continues to exist, but now it is not associated with Young Pioneers, and the circulation is greatly reduced.
In 1995 Pionerskaya Pravda was awarded the Red Banner of Labor, in 1950 the Order of Lenin and in 1985 the Order of Friendship of Peoples.[9][10][11]
Similar newspapers were published in other languages of the USSR: as of 1974, six newspapers in Russian and 22 in other languages.
| Republic | Title | Translation | City | Language | Founded |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USSR | Пионерская правда | Pioneer's Truth | Moscow | Russian | 1925 |
| Russian SFSR | Ленинские искры | Lenin's Sparks | Leningrad | Russian | 1924 |
| Baskhir ASSR | Башҡортостан пионере | Pioneer of Bashkria | Ufa | Bashkir | 1930 |
| Chuvash ASSR | Пионер сасси | Pioneer's call | Cheboksary | Chuvash | 1930 |
| Mari ASSR | Ямде лий | Be ready | Yoshkar-Ola | Mari | 1933 |
| Tatar ASSR | Яшь ленинчы | Young Leninist | Kazan | Tatar | 1924 |
| Udmurt ASSR | Дась лу | Be ready | Izhevsk | Udmurt | 1930 |
| Yakut ASSR | Бэлэм буол | Be ready | Yakutsk | Yakut | 1936 |
| Ukrainian SSR | Зірка | Little Star | Kiev | Ukrainian | 1925 |
| Ukrainian SSR | Юный ленинец | Young Leninist | Kiev | Russian | 1922 |
| Byelorussian SSR | Піянер Беларусі | Pioneer of Belarus | Minsk | Belarusian | 1929 |
| Byelorussian SSR | Зорька | Dawn | Minsk | Russian | 1945 |
| Uzbek SSR | Ленин учқуни | Lenin's Spark | Tashkent | Uzbek | 1929 |
| Uzbek SSR | Пионер Востока | Pioneer of the East | Tashkent | Russian | 1927 |
| Karakalpak ASSR | Жеткиншек | Change | Nukus | Karakalpak | 1932 |
| Kazakh SSR | Қазақстан пионерi | Pioneer of Kazakhstan | Almaty | Kazakh | 1930 |
| Kazakh SSR | Дружные ребята | Friendly children | Almaty | Russian | 1933 |
| Georgian SSR | ნორჩ ლენინელი | Young Leninist | Tbilissi | Georgian | 1931 |
| Azerbaijani SSR | Азәрбајҹан пионери | Pioneer of Azerbaijan | Baku | Azerbaijani | 1938 |
| Lithuanian SSR | Lietuvos pionierius | Pioneer of Lithuania | Vilnius | Lithuanian | 1946 |
| Moldavian SSR | Тынэрул ленинист | Young Leninist | Chisinau | Moldavian | 1941 |
| Moldavian SSR | Юный ленинец | Young Leninist | Chisinau | Russian | 1941 |
| Latvian SSR | Pionieris | Pioneer | Riga | Latvian | 1946 |
| Kyrgyz SSR | Кыргызстан пионери | Pioneer of Kyrgyzstan | Frunze (Bishkek) | Kyrgyz | 1933 |
| Tajik SSR | Пионери Тоҷикистон | Pioneer of Tajikistan | Dushambe | Tajik | 1929 |
| Armenian SSR | Պիոներ Կանչ | Pioneer's call | Erevan | Armenian | 1925 |
| Turkmen SSR | Мыдам тайяр | Always ready | Ashkhabad | Turkmen | 1930 |
| Estonian SSR | Säde | Spark | Tallinn | Estonian | 1946 |