Nashi

This is a scary picture from contemporary Russia (look at that "our army" sign...). I found it on THE EXILE, a newspaper featuring edgy - at times showcasing a tacky form of juvenile machismo "irony" - articles about Russia, among other things. (I'm not sure whether it still exists, or whether it has closed down for economic and - possibly - political reasons.) Some of the articles are good.

You are probably familiar with the "Nashi" phenomenon; the pro-Putin youth group that enroll thousands of people in nationalist rallies. It proclaims to be "anti-fascist", but they bestow the label of "fascist" on diverse groups such as liberal-leftist Yablokovians and nazis. I also wonder what will happen to them now, as Putin is no longer president. But the activities of "Nashi" are, apparently, not limited to street rallies:

Just like its Komsomol predecessor, Nashi is beginning to develop programs for training elites. Some of its new "projects" include developing a business school, a political institute, and programs to recruit recent graduates for business ventures. One example of the latter is a project called "Our Builders," where students and young professionals are employed to work in construction projects for the 2014 Olympics in Sochi. Other Nashi projects focus on promoting Orthodox Christianity, patriotism, paramilitary training, tourism, and even a brand of Nashi clothing lines developed by designer and commissar Antonia Shapavolova.

According to the EXILE article, "Nashi" will not disappear; the organization attracts all kinds of types: political fanatics, careerists, kids who want to occupy themselves with something, "street thugs" - and so on.

It's quite typical that "Nashi" has received so much covering in Western media. Articles on Russia or Russian politics tend to focus almost exclusively on Kremlin, on the oligarchs and different forms of political and bureaucratic corruption. On extremism, be it left or right wing. Russia is a huge country. It would be interesting to get other pictures of it, as well. Go have a look at Sean's Russia Blog, good stuff, good stuff.

PS: When I tried to access the manifesto of Nashi at their homepage, my computer told me that a virus has been detected. How typical.