Way to Russia Talk Lounge

vorteks · Last edited by vorteks on Sun Sep 25, 2005 9:40 pm; edited 1 time in total

I saw a broadcast recently about the newly created Nashi organisation in Russia.

Since the tv show tone is usually provocative, the Nashi were compared to the Hitlerjungend, with political violence against opposants to the government (oligarchs, bolchevics...), mind manipulation, nationalist flags (including ex ussr republics flags) and gatherings in uniforms. The conclusionn of the journalists was that the Nashi were created by Putin to enroll youth and prevent an orange revolution in Russia, while supporting a third Putin mandate (which wouldnt be constitutional).

Some russian friends told me this was a sensational caricature of reality, since the purpose of the Nashi was to help the poorest young russian not to fall into delinquency...but germans would certainly have had the same reply regarding Hitlerjungend.

I d like to get more feedback about how the Nashi is being percieved by russians or people living in Russia, reflecting or not russian medias opinion.

Camrade · Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2005 8:56 pm Post subject:

mister_wizzz · VIP Joined: 27 May 2004 Posts: 559

I saw the same tv broadcast about the Nashi, I guess it was "le vrai journal" on french tv channel 4.
I will not say anything about the journalist comments, I can only comment what I saw.
The security department members were all wearing military combat uniforms with shaved skull (don't know if they are skinheads like the journalist say but really look like). I can compare with another party here in France, the only one using this kind of "service" is "le front national" an extrem right party.

About the purpose of the Nashi to help the poorest young russians not to fall into delinquency, ok that's right but why doing that using military methods ? To help the poorest, better offering them a training to get a real job.

Military methods are used only by totalitarian regimes.

Camrade · Posted: Mon Sep 26, 2005 5:18 pm Post subject:

2mister_wizzz

hmmm... maybe there was about national bolshevik party who wear military uniforms...
http://nbp-info.ru/ - here's their web page

mister_wizzz · VIP Joined: 27 May 2004 Posts: 559

The National bolcheviks also.
BTW the journalist interviewed bolcheviks who were injured fighting against the Nashi skinheads.

Camrade · Posted: Mon Sep 26, 2005 10:19 pm Post subject:

2mister_wizzz

Nashi skinheads?

Nashi is an ANTIfashist organisation... they're AGAINST skinheads and nationalism.

init6 · Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2005 1:08 pm Post subject:

From what I've heard (granted, I haven't seen yet) they're not exactly "professional," no matter what their stated purpose. The whole Khodorkovsky counter-protest thing seemed to be full of the youths shouting "witty cuss words" at their pro-Mikhail opponents. What's the point to that? It damned sure doesn't put them in a good light.

And the US has the same stuff, albeit a lot more subtle. Any church "youth group" is, of course, a religious organization. Fine. But with the rash of fundamentalism sweeping the US these days, you don't think the kids are being pumped full of "Vote Republican" nonsense? Even if they're too young to vote (and, I presume, Nashi members are as well), their parents back that up at home, with Dad proudly recounting his fight against "those damned liberals."

And as far as youth military organizations - almost every public school campus in the US, from high school to university-level, has an ROTC variant. In high school it's the JROTC, in university it's ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps - J = Junior). In high school, kids are under no obligation to join the military, but I believe university ROTC requires a 2-yr. commitment to serve (I could be wrong). And if the military isn't pro-regime right now, I honestly don't know what is! They are, however, apolitical as far as participation in protests and the like.

It's just propaganda. Now I'm a Putin fan. Whether he's "good" or not, he's reversing some of the corruption and excess of the Yeltsin privatization-orgy years. But Nashi doesn't seem to put itself in a very good light most of the time. Maybe it's because of the "liberal" press, i.e. MosNews and the like, which are oligarch-controlled, or maybe it's because they actually do act like a bunch of hooligans.

But this phenomenon is not a Russian peculiarity. But honestly, I don't see Nashi's function, especially since the Kremlin continually says they don't directly fund them.