Russia's Nashi Youth Movement

The Rise and Fall of a Putin-Era Political Technology Project

Author(s): Regina Heller
Editor(s): Jeronim Perovic, Robert Orttung, Matthias Neumann, Heiko Pleines, Hans-Henning Schröder
Series: Russian Analytical Digest (RAD)
Issue: 50
Pages: 2-4
Publisher(s): Center for Security Studies (CSS), ETH Zurich; Research Centre for East European Studies, University of Bremen
Publication Year: 2008

The Russian Nashi (Ours) youth movement is the best known and most successful of the government-friendly youth organizations that sprang up in Russia in recent years. However, Nashi, mainly known for its headline-grabbing events and aggressive behavior towards the opposition, is not a grassroots youth movement, but a Putin-era political technology project. Nashi was founded in response to the Color Revolutions in the post-Soviet space in order to foster anti-orange sentiment among Russian youth and to prevent mass mobilization for the Duma and presidential elections of 2007/2008. Putin adviser Vladislav Surkov apparently guided the movement from the Kremlin. In order to enhance Nashi's mobilization potential, the government provided considerable administrative and financial resources. The strategy was successful as Russia's political leadership steered safely through the turbulent election period. Now the authorities are looking for ways to return the genie to the bottle.

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