The Timur movement emerged in the USSR in the 1940s and was aimed at helping people in need and caring for children (mostly veterans). It was named after the hero of Arkady Gaidar’s book “Timur and His Team”.
As part of the Timurov movement, schoolchildren and students organized various events, such as helping the elderly, cleaning up trash on the streets, organizing holidays for orphans, etc. I myself participated in such things. After school, we went to some veteran and helped around the house. Maybe go to the store, take out the trash, wash the floor, etc. It may seem strange, but the MF did all this for free and on a regular basis. Let’s say on Monday and Wednesday we were at the veteran’s, and on Tuesday and Thursday – other pioneers from our class.
By the way, the movement was always considered voluntary. But for us it was mandatory. I won’t say that it was very stressful to do it, but the class teacher strictly monitored that we “didn’t forget” to take care of the veterans. Without this control, I suspect that all the veterans would have been forgotten very quickly. And another thing – there are holidays in the summer. And the Timurov movement also had holidays. No one visited their charges all summer. At that time, I was thinking about this, how our veterans were doing in the summer… In general, without the participation of adults in our time, in the 80s, it did not work.
In the 1990s, the Timurov movement began to lose its popularity. Change of political system, change of ideology… No one wanted to work for free anymore. And the pioneers were gone.
Today, the Timur movement is being revived in different countries of the world, including Russia. I wouldn’t say that it’s happening everywhere, but I’ve seen such news.