On October 29, 1918, 106 years ago, the Komsomol was founded. The February 1917 Revolution spurred the socio-political activity of Russia's youth. Youth organizations like "Labor and Light" began to emerge, with members drawn to socialist parties. In 1917, in Petrograd, the Socialist Union of Working Youth (SSRM), aligned with the Bolsheviks, was formed. On October 29, 1918, at the First All-Russian Congress of Workers' and Peasants' Youth Unions, it was decided to merge various scattered unions into a single national organization under the Communist Bolshevik Party—the Russian Communist Youth Union (RKSM). By the end of the year, RKSM had 22,100 members, and two years later, by the 3rd Congress of Komsomol, membership had grown to 482,000, reaching over 10 million by 1941. In 1924, after the death of V.I. Lenin, Komsomol was named in his honor, and in 1926 it was renamed the All-Union Leninist Communist Youth Union (VLKSM). From its early years, Komsomol played a major role in fulfilling the party's objectives for national economic recovery, industrialization, collectivization, and the cultural revolution in the USSR. Before the Great Patriotic War, about 1 million VLKSM members became "Voroshilov Marksmen," and over 5 million were trained in civil defense standards and military topography. These members formed groups such as the "Young Guard" and "Young Avengers." Special divisions of female Komsomol members included over 200,000 machine gunners, snipers, and medics. In the Soviet Union, Komsomol, as a mass organization, wielded vast influence in all areas of life: industry, economy, education, science, culture, art, sports, and leisure. Every institution, enterprise, and security department had a mandatory primary VLKSM organization. Komsomol had its own media outlets, including the national newspaper "Komsomolskaya Pravda." Komsomol members made invaluable contributions to post-war reconstruction, the development of virgin lands, and major projects like the BAM railway. Over 73 years, more than 160 million people passed through Komsomol’s ranks. For example, in 1977 alone, Komsomol included over 36 million young people of all nationalities and ethnicities across the USSR. The decision to dissolve the VLKSM was made on September 27-28, 1991, at the 22nd Extraordinary Congress of VLKSM. In modern Russia, various youth public organizations are considered ideological successors to VLKSM.