A new Red Guard?
Nashi made the New York Times again. It caught the attention of reporter Steven Lee Myers, who offers some comparative observations in the process of describing this version of a government-sponsored youth group/political party/vigilante posse. It also might be key to a recreation of the Soviet nomenklatura system.Can your students identify the comparative theories that are the basis for Myers' comparisons?
Can they find parts of other political cultures to compare with Nashi?
Youth Groups Created by Kremlin Serve Putin’s Cause
"Yulia Kuliyeva, only 19 and already a commissar... [she] is a leader in the Ideological Department of Nashi, the largest of a handful of youth movements created by Mr. Putin’s Kremlin to fight for the hearts and minds of Russia’s young people in schools, on the airwaves and, if necessary, on the streets.
"Nashi, which translates as “ours,” has since its creation two years ago become a disciplined and lavishly funded instrument of Mr. Putin’s campaign for political control before parliamentary elections in December and a presidential election next March."It has organized mass marches in support of Mr. Putin — most recently gathering tens of thousands of young people in Moscow to send the president text messages — and staged rowdy demonstrations over foreign policy issues that resulted in the physical harassment of the British and Estonian ambassadors here.
"Its main role, though, is the ideological cultivation — some say indoctrination — of today’s youth, the first generation to come of age in post-Soviet Russia...
"Nashi emerged in the wake of youth-led protests that toppled sclerotic governments in other post-Soviet republics, especially in Ukraine in 2004. It was joined by similar groups, like the Youth Guard, which belongs to the pro-Putin party United Russia; Locals, a group created by the Moscow region government that recently launched an anti-immigrant campaign; and the Grigorevtsy, affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church.
"The groups, organizers and critics say, are part of an effort to build a following of loyal, patriotic young people...
"Russia’s youth, like their parents, remain largely apolitical, seeing what passes for politics here as something remote from their daily lives. Nashi’s goal is to change that, spurring youthful activism, although within the careful limits of the Kremlin’s sanction.
"Nashi’s ideology is contained in a manifesto, based on the writings of Vladislav Y. Surkov, Mr. Putin’s chief political adviser, who has been called the Karl Rove of the Kremlin...
"Nashi’s platform is defined by its unwavering devotion to Mr. Putin and by the intensity of its hostility toward his critics...
"Nashi’s ideology extends beyond the purely political. It promotes ethnic tolerance and opposition to skinheads; participation in the Army, whose draft is widely evaded; support for orphans and pensioners, and respect for veterans of World War II. On social issues, it campaigns against drinking and smoking and advocates a conservative view on issues like abortion and birth control, warning against the use of condoms, for example...
"Nashi also laces its campaigns and literature with an undercurrent of hostility to Europe and the United States...
"Nashi and the others owe their financing and political support to their status as creations of Mr. Putin’s administration. They are allowed to hold marches, while demonstrations by the opposition are prohibited or curtailed. Their activities are covered favorably on state television, while the opposition’s are disparaged or ignored...
"Nashi’s opponents, in fact, deride the organization as a modern manifestation of Komsomol, the youth wing of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The colors and symbols are similar; members carry red books to record their participation in rallies and lectures. And, like the Komsomol, membership in Nashi is viewed as a stepping stone to jobs in government and state corporations."More ominously, opponents say, Nashi has conducted paramilitary training in preparation for challenging those who take to the streets to protest the Kremlin...
"[Ilya Yashin, the leader of the youth wing of Yabloko (see BBC on Yabloko)], said the Kremlin ran a risk of unleashing a wave of activism that could spread beyond its control... 'Today they are loyal, but tomorrow they may become the opposition,' he added. 'And this may not be the young Red Guard’s Cultural Revolution, like in China, but something much more serious.'"
See also:
- Poltical culture in Russia
- New bit of civil society in Russia
- Discouraging political competition in Russia
Labels: participation, political culture, politics, Russia
posted by Ken Wedding @ 9:26 AM
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