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Pavlik Morozov was born in the village of Gerasimovka in the Urals. Soviet propaganda portrayed him as a Pioneer hero, while anti-Soviet propaganda portrayed him as an informer on his own father.

Uncles, my father was committing a clear counter-revolution, as a pioneer I am obliged to say this, my father is not a defender of the interests of October, but is trying in every way to help a kulak escape... (allegedly Pavel Morozov's speech at the trial, according to Pyotr Solomein)

His Belarusian father settled in Gerasimovka in 1910 as a Stolypin settler. He married and had five sons. They were poor—Trofim wasn't a kulak, and the village council chairman was elected from among the poor. And they were unhappy—according to his children's recollections, their father was fond of "himself and vodka," beat his family, and eventually abandoned the family altogether.

Pavlik was left in charge. He worked and went to school a year before his death. He wasn't a Pioneer—there wasn't one in the village yet.

Meanwhile, my father was moonlighting, issuing certificates for special settlers that allowed them to survive—to leave and find work. On November 22, 1931, a certain Zvorykin was detained in Tavda. They confiscated forms bearing the seal of the Gerasimovsky village council. He confessed to having bought them.

Trofim Morozov was sentenced to 10 years and sent to construction White Sea Canal.

At the trial, Pasha testified alongside his mother. But the judge disallowed their testimony due to his youth. The theory that his father was arrested on the basis of his son's denunciation is erroneous. It emerged thanks to Elizar Shepelev, who was investigating the murder of the Morozov children.

On September 2, 1932, Pasha and his brother went into the forest. Their bodies, stabbed, were found in an aspen grove. Pasha's father's family was accused of the murder, which was portrayed as an act of kulak terror. Despite weak evidence, his uncle and cousin were executed. His grandparents died in prison. In the indictment, the investigator wrote that Pavel reported his father to the authorities on November 25, 1931. He later admitted there was no evidence to support this:

So, because of my incorrectly written words, the boy is now accused of informing?

Be that as it may, the legend of the pioneer hero during the period of “the destruction of the kulaks as a class” came in very handy.