Soviet Union: Komosomols at the Crossroads

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Komsomols at the Crossroads

Komsomolskaya Pravda's Ace Reporter V. Chikin was as shocked as any other true atheist by the letters pouring in from outraged readers. They complained that young people were snapping up gold-plated crosses on sale in state-run shops. Crosses! Sniffing a scoop, Chikin went snooping.

Sure enough. He was no more than 20 steps inside the main entrance of GUM, the Soviet Union's largest department store, when his eyes fixed on the deep decolletages of two young sales girls. There, hanging from their necks, were glittering gold crosses. No, they said, they were not Catholics, but faithful Komsomols (Young Communists).

No, the crosses had no meaning. They were merely the latest fad. Fashion, Chikin, fashion—and profit. GUM Buyer Klavdia Mikhailovna picked up the trinkets for 330 each, presumably from a Czech costume-jewelry firm, which has been flooding Eastern Europe with such baubles. Klavdia put them on sale for $3.33, turning a neat 900% profit for the Socialist mother land. In the Soviet Union, where selling Bibles can lead to banishment, Klavdia was just a little too avantgarde. By week's end Chikin could report in a follow-up story that the doublecross to dialectical materialism had been avenged. Klavdia was suddenly jobless.