The Post-Stalin Komsomol and the Soviet Fight for Third World Youth

Based upon evidence from archives in Russia, Georgia, Latvia and Estonia, this article examines the ways in which the USSR’s Communist Youth League (Komsomol) worked to advance the Soviet cause among world youth during the Cold War. These ranged from cultural propaganda through to attempts at political subversion, and played a role not just in fortifying the regime’s international standing but also serving important domestic purposes at the same time.