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It has been suggested that this article be merged with Nashism. (Discuss) Proposed since January 2008.

Nashi (Template:Lang-ru, 'Youth Movement "Ours!"') is a Kremlin-funded youth movement in Russia that includes more than 100,000 members . It is a democratic anti-fascist organization. Its creation was encouraged by some of the most senior figures in the Administration of the President, and by 2007 it grew to some 120,000 members (between the ages of 17 and 25). Kremlin adviser, Sergei Markov said about the activists of Nashi: "They want Russia to be a modern, strong and free country... Their ideology is clear — it is modernization of the country and preservation of its sovereignty with that."

The organization is seen by some Russian liberals and western observers as Putin's version of Hitler Youth and one of the signs of Putin's Russia "sliding into fascism, with state control of the economy, media, politics and society becoming increasingly heavy-handed." Their actual task being "to attack democracy", "Nashi, along with other similar youth movements, such as 'Young Guard', and 'Young Russia', is in the forefront of the charge."

Foundation and goals

The movement was officially announced by Vasily Yakemenko (leader of the pro-Putin Walking Together youth movement) on 1 March 2005, the founding conference was carried out on 15 April 2005. It is believed that Nashi was set up mainly as a reaction against Ukraine's Orange Revolution in 2004, in which youth-led street protests helped give the presidency to pro-Western candidate Viktor Yushchenko.

Yakemenko claims to have constituted Nashi as a movement to demonstrate against what he saw as the growing power of Nazism in Russia and to take on skinheads in street fights if necessary. While officially, its funding comes from pro-government business owners, it is widely reported that the group also receives direct subsidies from the Kremlin. The immediate Kremlin guidance of Nashi has been carried out by deputy presidential chief of staff Vladislav Surkov who met the movement's activists on numerous occasions delivering speeches and private talks. It had been speculated that the Kremlin's primary goal was to create a paramilitary force to harass and attack Putin's critics "enemies of the State". At one event for political education in summer 2006, the Kremlin advisor Gleb Pavlovskii told members of Nashi that they 'lacked brutality'; 'you must be prepared', he went on, 'to break up fascist demonstrations and prevent with force any attempt to overthrow the constitution'.

One young National Bolshevik, Roman Sadykhov, joined Nashi's sister organisation Rumol (Young Russia) in order to investigate its activities. He claimed that Rumol had formed a group of 'Ultras' to conduct street battles against members of the opposition. Their training included the construction of smoke bombs. He secretly taped meetings he had attended. At one of these Vladislav Surkov said that he found the training for street combat 'terrifically interesting'.

The National Bolsheviks have accused Nashi of leading attacks on their members, including one in Moscow in August 2005. Liberal youth leader Ilya Yashin has also denounced Nashi as a cover for 'storm brigades' that will use violence against democratic organizations and claimed that their formation is only part of Putin's fear of losing power in a manner similar to the Orange Revolution of Ukraine.

The movement cultivates an unorthodox interpretation of the term "fascism". Thus, Yakemenko in a talk with journalist of Komsomolskaya Pravda claimed that the Russian liberal left party Yabloko is fascist. Yakemenko's inclusion of liberals alongside anti-semites and racists as an anti-Russian union has furthered the argument over Nashi's understanding of the term fascism. Subsequently, Nashi has been accused of recruiting skinheads and local hooligans to intimidate rival youth groups. Such activities caused analysts to draw a conclusion that Nashi’s true function was as a personality cult for Putin whose job was intimidate, bully and harass his opponents.

Nashi has also stood against what it sees as the growing influence of the United States in Russia. Yakemenko has stated that he fears that Russia will become a colony of the United States like Ukraine.

On June 26, 2005, President Vladimir Putin met at his residence in Zavidovo, Tver Oblast, with 56 members of Nashi and expressed his sympathy towards them.

In August 2005 Putin officially invited Yulia Gorodnicheva (b. December 161985), an undergraduate student of Tula State University, one of the members of Nashi he had invited to the Zavidovo meeting, to become a member of the Public Chamber of Russia, but she refused to be selected by the President and on November 152005, entered the second part of the chamber as a representative of Nashi. There she became a member of the Commission on Social Development.

On July 24, 2007, Putin met with Nashi, Young Guard and Young Russia and attacked Great Britain over the Alexander Litvinenko affair, stating, "“They are making proposals to change our Constitution, which are insulting for our nation and our people...It’s their brains, not our Constitution, which need to be changed."

In December 2007 the movement was reported to be planning to send a select group of activists to study at British universities, arguably despite its disdain for Britain and its harassment of the British ambassador in Moscow.

A Nashi advertisement was described in a Time magazine article as "reminiscent of Soviet-era propaganda with its non sequitur acceleration of hysteria"; the poster reads: "Tomorrow there will be war in Iran. The day after tomorrow Russia will be governed externally!" The Boston Globe said that "movement's brownshirt tactics certain evoke shades of Hitler Youth, as does the emphasis on physical fitness, clean living, and procreation for the Motherland". Some view the emergence of this and, more recently, other similar organisations, such as Young Guard and Locals, as one of the signs of Russia under Putin "sliding into fascism, with state control of the economy, media, politics and society becoming increasingly heavy-handed".

Incidents

In 2006 members of Nashi conducted a campaign against the British ambassador in Moscow, Tony Brenton, as he attended an opposition conference called The Other Russia on July 11-12 Unnamed British officials were reported to suspect that this campaign had been co-ordinated by elements within the Russian government as a punishment for the speech given by the ambassador at an opposition meeting in July.

In April and May 2007, Nashi members held daily protests in front of the Estonian embassy in Moscow in protest of the moving of the Bronze Soldier of Tallinn to a military cemetery.

On May 2 2007 they blocked both the cars of both the Estonian and the Swedish ambassadors. In July 2007, Nashi's annual camp, 200 miles outside Moscow, is attended by 10,000 members and involves two weeks of lectures and physical fitness.

Some Russian political commentators have dubbed the movement "Putinjugend", in obvious parallel with Hitlerjugend, the "Hitler Youth" of Nazi Germany.

Other uses

In early 1990s, there was another organization also called Nashi. The movement had ultranationalist orientation and its members were called nashists (Russian word "nashisty", rhymes with fashisty, "fascists" and natsisty, "nazis", a fact that is not lost on Russians of any political stripe), which led some people to call the Nashi members also fascists. Nashi has characteristics similar to that of the Nazi youth movement of the 1930s: it is a government approved and government sponsored movement, it is a movement that stresses nationalism, a theme that is inherent in the name of the organization since in Russian Nashi translates into "Ours"; it is also an organization that has been more than willing to recruit from all levels of society, including skinheads and ultranationalist groups that favor violence as a means of political speech. Lastly, Nashi serves as a form of indoctrination and control over the youth movement, which tends to be a group particularly prone to discontent in authoritarian regimes.

See also

• Walking Together
• Nashism
• Hitlerjugend

References and notes

1. Putin’s youth brigade targets Britain, by Mark Franchetti, The Sunday Times, September 2, 2007
2. Michael Hammerschlag (July 5, 2007). "Putin's children". International Herald Tribune.
3. Discussion of speech freedom at Russian Radio Freedom, April 19, 2005
4. Disturbing echo of youth group that lauds Putin. by Tom Whipple The Times December 09, 2006.
5. Putin's young 'brownshirts'. (Second part) By Cathy Young The Boston Globe August 10, 2007.
6. Sex for the motherland: Russian youths encouraged to procreate at camp. By Edward Lucas The Daily Mail 29th July 2007.
7. Pravda, link broken
8. Preempting Politics In Russia. By Masha Lipman The Washington Post July 25, 2005.
9. Putin's young 'brownshirts'. (First part) By Cathy Young The Boston Globe August 10, 2007.]
10. The Kremlin has a new weapon in its war on real or imagined enemies, from opponents at home to foreign revolutionaries. By Owen Matthews and Anna Nemtsova Newsweek International May 28, 2007
11. 'Putins Prügeltrupp', Focus, 2 April 2007, pp.172-4 (p.174)
12. ... как Кремль формирует боевые отряды из своих юных сторонников. New Times №46 Dec 24, 2007.
13. 'Putins Prügeltrupp', p.172
14. Batting a Thousand, Kommersant, 2005-08-13.
15. Russian youth on political barricades by Leonid Ragozin, BBC News, 2005-03-03.
16. 170 тысяч* бойцов готовы к новой русской революции
17. Analysis: Walking With Putin y Julie A. Corwin, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 2005-03-02.
18. The Kremlin's new commissars by Tim Whewell, BBC News.
19. The alarming spread of fascism in Putin’s Russia. by Gavin Knight New Statesman 24 July 2007.
20. Perspicacity Online, link broken
21. Putin Plays Host to 56 Nashi Youth by Stephen Boykewich. The Moscow Times, #3217, July 272005.
22. Nashi activist to become a member of the Public Chamber by Mikhail Vinogradov et al., Izvestia, August 302005 (in Russian).
23. Городничева Юлия Михайловна
24. Putin Lashes Out at Nashi Gathering by David Nowak, The St. Petersburg Times, Issue #1292 (58), 2007-07-27.
25. Putin's youth head to British universities. By Will Stewart telegraph.co.uk Dec 28, 2007.
27. Putin's young 'brownshirts'. By Cathy Young The Boston Globe August 10, 2007.
28. Sex for the motherland: Russian youths encouraged to procreate at camp. By Edward Lucas The Daily Mail 29th July 2007.
29. Is Putin the bully leading Russia into fascism? by Michael Binyon The Times June 5, 2007.
30. The alarming spread of fascism in Putin’s Russia. by Gavin Knight New Statesman 24 July 2007.
31. .Russian youths 'hound UK envoy', BBC News, December 82006.
32. Russian regime is accused of intimidating British interests, The Times, 2006-12-09.
33. Estonia closes Moscow consulate, citing security, RIA Novosti, April 28, 2007
34. EU protests over Russian attacks on ambassadors. by Ian Traynor The Guardian May 3, 2007.
35. Russian youths encouraged to procreate at camp, Daily Mail, July 29, 2007
36. У власти орлиной орлят миллионы
37. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,975034-2,00.html

External links

• Official Nashi site (in Russian)
• Putin's Children- Int. Herald Trib.
• Young and proudly pro-Putin, by Megan K. Stack, LA Times, December 25, 2007
• Analysis of Nashi by a Russian Jewish group
• Article in the Daily Mail (UK) on the youth movement and attitudes toward sex
• Report on Nashi by the BBC program Newsnight
• M.A. Thesis on Nashi's Mobilization Apparatus and Early History
• Newsweek Article: The Kremlin Has A New Weapon
• Наша армия, a military recruitment video by the movement
• New York Times Video: The Putin Generation, copy and paste link in browser: hyperlink does not go directly to correct video

• Articles to be merged from January 2008
• Politics of Russia
• Youth organizations based in Russia