Informal youth organizations. General characteristics of informal youth associations: classification and main features. Youth subculture: moral problems

Regional College of Culture

I. Introduction

II. Main part

1. The concept of informals. "Informals, who are they?"

a) External culture

b) Symbolism

c) The main features of informals

2. History of the informal movement. Causes

3. Classification of informals

a) Associative

b) Antisocial

c) Prosocial

d) Informal artistic orientation

III. Conclusion

I. Introduction.

Why did I take this topic?

I took this topic because this topic is quite close to me. After all, informals are mostly young people. And I myself belong to this category. I will try to outline the essence of the informals, their concepts, the goals they pursue, their aspirations, ideology, etc.

But if I may put it this way, there are a great many types of informals (punks, metalheads, hippies, systems people, etc.), these types are usually young people.

In addition, I believe that this topic of “informals” is very relevant these days, it has always been relevant. Informal associations are essentially a whole system; they are a very unique social entity. It cannot be called a group, it is rather a social environment, a social circle, a conglomerate of groups or even their hierarchy. Where there is a clear division into “us” and “strangers”. Simply put, this is a state within a state that requires very deep study.

Goals and objectives:

I do not set myself the task of a detailed analysis of the activities of each association - such an analysis should be the subject of special research.

This work can be compared to a photograph of yachts at sea taken from the shore: you can see their outlines, total number, position in relation to each other, determine probable directions of movement in the near future - and nothing more. Considering informal associations, I will try to determine the role and place of amateur public formations in the life of the country at the present time and the immediate prospects for their development, taking into account possible alternative options. Today, despite the active activity of informal associations, not much is known about them. Some publications in the press do not allow us to get a complete picture, and sometimes give a distorted picture of certain formations, since, as a rule, they consider only an ode to some aspect of their activities.

In relation to informal associations, the most acute deficit has developed – a lack of information. Part of my goal is to at least partially remove this deficiency.

II. MAIN PART.

1). The concept of "INFORMALS". "INFORMALS" - who are they?

The concept of "informals", "informals" - who are they? The answers to these questions are ambiguous, just as informal associations themselves are ambiguous and heterogeneous. In addition, turbulent political life forces amateur formations to change, and these changes often concern not only the forms and methods of their activities, but also their proclaimed goals. FORMAL is usually called a social group that has legal status, is part of a social institution, an organization where the position of individual members is strictly regulated by official rules and laws. But informal organizations and associations have none of this.

INFORMAL ASSOCIATIONS- this is a massive phenomenon. For what interests do people and children, teenagers and youth, adults and even gray-haired old people not unite? The number of such associations is measured in tens of thousands, and the number of their participants - in millions. Depending on what interests of people form the basis of the association, different types of associations arise. Recently, in large cities of the country, looking for opportunities to fulfill their needs, and not always finding them within the framework of existing organizations, young people began to unite in so-called “informal” groups, which would be more correctly called “amateur amateur youth associations.” The attitude towards them is ambiguous. Depending on their focus, they can be either a complement to organized groups or their antipodes. Members of amateur associations fight to preserve the environment from pollution and destruction, save cultural monuments, help restore them free of charge, take care of the disabled and elderly, and fight corruption in their own way. Spontaneously emerging youth groups are sometimes called informal,

“Amateurs,” by tradition, are people who devote themselves to creativity in a non-professional form, be it performing or fine arts, collecting, inventing, or social activities. Therefore, the term “amateur organizations” in relation to such associations seems more optimal and can be applied to all types and areas of youth activity. Speaking about amateur associations and their mutual connection with state and public institutions, it is necessary to note three situations in terms of their significance:

1. Cooperation.

2. Opposition and criticism.

3. Opposition and struggle.

All these three functions are organically interconnected and cannot be artificially canceled.

Thus, I think that we have already dealt a little with the question: “Who are “INFORMALS”? Although this is a rather short explanation of this concept, I still think that the essence is more or less clear. We can say

with an even shorter definition, which I will try to formulate myself: “INFORMALS” is a group of people that arose on someone’s initiative or spontaneously to achieve a goal by people with common interests and needs.

Maybe my definition is not entirely complete and accurate. I just tried to be brief.

A). EXTERNAL CULTURE.

External cultures have existed and exist in different societies. The early Christians were externalists in the Roman Empire. In medieval Europe there were numerous heresies. There is a split in Russia.

External cultures accumulate certain norms and symbolism. If the main culture is those norms and symbols that set the basic principle of ordering of a given society, then everything that remains outside the main myth - the self-description of society - flows into external ones.

subcultures: for example, criminal, bohemian, drug mafia, etc. They are external to the extent that their internal values are opposed to the so-called “generally accepted” ones. What they have in common is that they are all local communication systems located outside the framework of the main network (the one that defines the state structure).

If we imagine society as a whole as a hierarchy of interconnected positions (statuses), then the “System” will find itself between the positions, that is, outside of society. It is no coincidence that by public opinion and scientific tradition it belongs to the sphere of the underground (from the English “undeground” - underground), counter-culture, or in the domestic lexicon the word “informals” was also popular. All these definitions indicate externality, which is characterized by the prefixes “counter-”, “under-”, “not-”. It is clear that we are talking about something opposing (“counter-”), invisible and secretive (under-), unformed. This localization outside the structures of society is completely consistent with the “Systemic” worldview itself.

It is necessary to give a description of the “System”, at least the most general one, so that one can imagine what we are talking about. But this turns out to be difficult. The usual features of the community seem to be absent here. The “System” itself categorically rejects attempts to reduce it to any social scheme. A typical example of her self-determination is an excerpt from an article by A. Madison, a very old (old) hippie from Talin:

“The movement, and it would be incomparably more correct to call it a shift, did not put up any bulky leaders dressed in bulletproof charisma, did not give birth to organizations that declared a holy war on everyone and, of course, especially on each other for the right to oversee the imperishable relics of orthodoxy, and finally did not fail "Under this non-existent orthodoxy, there is no special hippie philosophy, ideology or religion. Instead of ideology, from the very beginning, ideals formed quite simply - peace and love - were grounded."

Indeed, the “System” cannot be defined either as an organization or party, or as a community or political (ideological, religious) movement. How to determine it?

OUT OF SOCIETY.

There is a way to define a community through its place in the social structure. As for the “System,” its typical representative is located in the gap between the positions of the social structure. Let’s say one “old people” from Pskov says this about himself:

“As for work: I worked at many enterprises, but I understood that this was not for me... There is one job that I want to get into, it is mine.

This is archaeology. I could even work there for free.” (LenTV, “Vzglyad” program, February 25, 1987)

It is characteristic that, on the one hand, he is a worker at a factory (this is the place that society has assigned to him), but he himself does not identify himself with this status: “This is not mine.” On the other hand, he considers archeology “his” business, but such self-determination is not sanctioned by society. Accordingly, this “people” finds itself in an uncertain position with regard to labor standards, because norms are related to status. In general, a typical example of a liminal personality, “suspended” between positions.

In the “System”, no matter who you approach, the same intermediate considers himself an artist, is known among his friends as an artist, but works in a boiler room as a fireman; poet (janitor), philosopher (tramp with no fixed abode). These are the majority here. Status in one's own eyes does not coincide with status in the eyes of society. Accepted norms and values are different from those prescribed by society. The system that unites such people turns out to be a community located in the interstices of the social structure, outside it. Let us quote the already mentioned Madison once again, since he himself has taken on the role of a hippie historiographer and theorist: “Hippism, he declares, does not enter into a relationship with the constitution, its ungovernable possessions begin where there are no traces of state boundaries. These possessions are everywhere. , where the fire of creative independence burns."

Without exception, all “people” insist on their non-belonging to

society, or otherwise - independence. This is an important feature of “Systemic” self-awareness. V. Turner, speaking about the communities of Western hippies, classified them as “liminal communities,” that is, emerging and existing in the intermediate areas of social structures (from the Latin “limen” - threshold). Here, “liminal” individuals gather, people with an uncertain status, those in the process of transition or those who have fallen out of society.

Where and why do “dropped out” people appear? There are two directions here. First: in this dropped, uncertain, “suspended” state, a person finds himself during the period of transition from the position of one to the position of another social structure. Then, as a rule, he finds his permanent place, acquires a permanent status, enters society and leaves the sphere of counterculture. Such reasoning is the basis of the concepts of W. Turner, T. Parsons, L. Foyer.

According to Parson, for example, the reason for the protest of young people and their opposition to the world of adults is “impatience” to take the places of their fathers in the social structure. And they still remain occupied for some time. But the matter ends with the rubbing of a new generation into the same structure and, consequently, its reproduction. The second direction explains the appearance of dropped people by shifts in society itself. According to M. Mead, it looks like this: “Youth come, growing up, no longer to the world for which they were prepared in the process of socialization. The experience of elders is not suitable. Young people were prepared to occupy certain positions in the social structure, but the structure is already different, those positions it doesn't have ".

A new generation is stepping into the void. They do not emerge from the existing social structure (as in Parson or Turner), but the structure itself slips away from under their feet. This is where the rapid growth of youth communities begins, pushing away the world of adults and their unnecessary experience. And the result of being in the bosom of counter-culture is different here: not integrating into the old structure, but building a new one. In the sphere of values, there is a change in the cultural paradigm: the values of the counter-culture “pop up” and form the basis for the organization of the “big” society. And the old values are sinking into the underground world of counter-cultures. In fact, these two directions do not reject each other, but complement each other. We are simply talking about different periods in the life of society, or its different states. In stable periods and in traditional societies (studied by Turner), the people who have fallen out are indeed those

who are currently, but temporarily, in the process of transition. In the end, they enter society, settle down there, and acquire status.

During periods of change, significant layers become lost to one degree or another. Sometimes it affects almost everyone. Not everyone becomes a hippie, but many go through a countercultural state (enter the zone of counterculture).

No “System” can cover everything completely. Inevitably, something falls out of it. These are the remnants of previous myths, the sprouts of a new one, information penetrating from strangers and not fitting into the main myth. All this settles in the sphere of external culture.

Uncertainty and self-organization: and so, “System” is an example of a community where those who have fallen out of the social structure flock. These people do not have a definite position, a strong position - their status is uncertain. The state of uncertainty plays a special role in the processes of self-organization.

The sphere of uncertainty is those social voids where we can observe the processes of the emergence of community structures, the transformation of a structureless state into a structural one, i.e. self-organization.

hierarchy and symbolism. Samoilov was struck by their similarity to primitive societies, sometimes right down to the smallest detail:

“I saw,” he writes, and recognized in camp life a whole series of exotic phenomena that I had previously studied professionally for many years in literature, phenomena that characterize primitive society!

Primitive society is characterized by initiation rites - the initiation of adolescents into the rank of adults, rites consisting of cruel tests.

For criminals this is a “registration”. Primitive society is characterized by various “taboos”. We find absolute correspondence to this in the camp norms defining what is “zapadlo”... But the main similarity is structural:

“At the stage of decomposition,” writes L. Samoilov, many primitive societies had a three-caste structure, like our camp one (“thieves” - the elite, the middle layer - “men” and outsiders - “lowered ones”), and above them stood leaders with fighting squads, those who collected tribute (as ours take away transfers)."

A similar structure is known in army units as “hazing.” The same is true among the youth of big cities. For example, when metalworkers appeared in Leningrad, they developed a three-layer hierarchy: a clearly defined elite led by a generally recognized leader nicknamed “Monk”, the bulk of metalworkers grouped around the elite, and finally - random visitors who wandered into the cafe where they gathered , listen to "metal" music. These latter were not considered real metalheads, remaining in the status of “gopniks,” that is, not understanding anything, strangers. It is the “excluded” communities that demonstrate the patterns of self-organization in the purest form. There is a minimum of external influences, from which the excluded community is fenced off by a communication barrier. In an ordinary team, it is difficult to identify those processes that occur spontaneously in the community itself, that is, they actually relate to self-organization.

b) FIELD OF SYMBOLICS.

SYMBOL

A. m. Greek reduction, list, full power symbol of justice. The fist is a symbol of autocracy. Triangle symbol of St. Trinity.

B. (from the Greek symbolon - sign, identification mark),

1) in science (logic, mathematics, etc.) the same as a sign.

2) In art, the characteristics of an artistic image from the point of view of its meaningfulness, its expression of a certain artistic idea. Unlike allegory, the meaning of a symbol is inseparable from its figurative structure and is distinguished by the inexhaustible ambiguity of its content.

V. Grech. the word to sumbolon (sun - with, boloV - throwing, throwing; sumballein - to throw something jointly to several people, for example, to fishermen with a net when fishing) later came to mean among the Greeks any material sign that had a conditional secret meaning for a certain group of people, eg for fans of Ceres, Cybele, Mithra. This or that sign (sumbolon) also served as a distinction between corporations, workshops, and various parties - state, public or religious. The word "S." in everyday speech replaced the more ancient word shma (sign, banner, goal, heavenly sign). Even later, in Greece sumbolon was called what is called in the West. lagritio - a number or ticket to receive bread for free or at a reduced price from government warehouses or from generous rich people, as well as rings.

There is another way to define (or represent) a community other than through its location in the social structure: through symbolism. This is exactly what usually happens at the level of ordinary consciousness or journalistic practice. Trying to find out who “hippies” (or punks, etc.) are, we first of all describe their signs.

A. Petrov, in the article “Aliens” in the Teacher’s Newspaper, depicts a group of hairy people:

"Shaggy, in patched and very worn clothes, sometimes barefoot, with canvas bags and backpacks embroidered with flowers and covered with anti-war slogans, with guitars and flutes, guys and girls walk around the square, sit on benches, on the paws of bronze lions supporting lanterns, straight on the grass. They talk animatedly, sing alone and in chorus, have a snack, smoke "...

If you look closely, it turns out that this “immediate impression” actually purposefully isolates the symbolism of the party society from the observed reality. Almost everything that A. Petrov mentions serves as identification marks of “our own” among the hairy ones. Here the symbolism of appearance: shaggy hairstyle, shabby clothes, homemade bags, etc. Then graphic symbols: embroidered flowers (a trace of the Flower Revolution, which gave birth to the first hippies), anti-war slogans, such as: “Love, don’t fight”! - a sign of the most important values of this environment - pacifism, non-violence.

The behavior described in the above passage: leisurely walks, free music playing, generally exaggerated ease - the same sign. This is all the form, not the content of communication. That is, the signs of belonging to a community are the first to catch your eye. And it is they who are described, wanting to represent this community. And indeed, the presence of special symbols, regarded as “one’s own,” is already an unconditional sign of the existence of a communicative field, a certain social formation.

A. Cohen, for example, generally defines community as a field of symbolism:

“The reality of community in the perception of people,” he writes, “lies in their belonging... to a common field of symbols.” And further: "People's perception and understanding of their community... comes down to an orientation in relation to its symbolism." Having your own symbols creates the possibility of forming a community, since it provides a means of communication. A symbol is a shell into which “its own” information is packaged. In this form, it is distinguishable from someone else’s, and therefore, a difference arises in the density of communication connections within the sphere where the symbol operates and outside it. This is the thickening of contacts on the basis of which social structures are formed.

How fair is this for the System? Was social education formed on the basis of its symbolism? As already mentioned, the System cannot be called a grouping in the full sense: in its depths, regroupings are constantly taking place, some associations disappear and new ones are formed. People move from group to group. It is rather a kind of communication medium. Nevertheless, the System can be considered as a community, since there are such signs as a common language (slang and symbols), a network of communications - personal connections, superficial acquaintances (people at the party have become so familiar that you subconsciously recognize “your own”).

There are common norms and values, as well as patterns of behavior and forms of relationships. There is also Systemic self-awareness, which is expressed, in particular, in self-names. There are several of them. Its representatives rarely call themselves “systems” or “system specialists,” and even then with irony. Most often - "people" (from the English "people" - people, people). Sometimes just people:

“One person told me yesterday...” - you need to understand what exactly System said.

Slang and symbolism form the basis of the internal communication environment of the System, separating it from the outside world. At the same time, the symbolism of the system is extremely eclectic; in its stock one can find symbols that came from different religious groups (for example, from Hare Krishnas or Baptists), youth and rock movements (attributes of punk rock or heavy metal), as well as various socio-political movements: pacifism, anarchism, communism, etc.

The system has the ability to absorb other people's symbols and, through recoding, include them in its stock. It is necessary to distinguish between carriers of the same symbolism, those who belong to the System and those who do not belong to it. For example, there are punks in the System who hang out with hippies, and punk groups outside it. The latter do not at all consider themselves to be members of the System and sometimes even come to beat the “people.” In the same way, there are Systemic and non-systemic metalheads, Buddhists, Beatlemaniacs, and so on.

So, the presence of a common network of communications with its own language serving it, as well as a common self-awareness, norms and values, allows us to talk about the System as a community (without knowing its structure yet).

Tradition.

But it is especially important for us that within the framework of this community, its own tradition has developed, based mainly on oral transmission mechanisms. Every two or three years, “generations” change in the System; a new cohort of young people enters the arena. People change, but the traditions of the System remain: the same basic norms of relationships and values, such as “freedom”, “love” (in quotes, because these concepts are given a special, Systemic meaning); newcomers master slang and use System symbols, so that in appearance they are not much different from their predecessors. Folklore forms are reproduced: sayings, anecdotes, ditties, legends, and traditions. Thus, we have here a tradition capable of self-reproduction. There is not only a system of communication connections at the synchronous level, but also diachronic communication channels. The bearers of the tradition determine its age at approximately two decades: the twentieth anniversary was solemnly celebrated on June 1, 1987. This starting point, of course, is mythological (it is believed that on June 1, 1667, the first hippies took to the streets in Moscow on Pushkin Square and called for renunciation of violence) :

“They,” says one of the old hippies, came out and said: “Here we are, representatives of this movement, this will be a system of values and a system of people.” Then the word “System” arose. It is no coincidence that the date was chosen - Children's Day: “It was,” continued the same Olodovy, “it was said: Live like children, in peace, tranquility, do not chase illusory values... It’s just that the coming was given to humanity so that they could stop and think about where we are going... "Live like children" - this is the essence of the systemic worldview, and much of its symbolism is associated with images of childhood. "Generations" here change after two, three, sometimes four years. With the arrival of each of them, a systemic tradition replenished with new symbols. Each generation comes as a new wave: in the beginning there were hippies, they formed the core of the System - now their followers are more often called hairy or “hairy” (from the English hair-hair); punks came, then metalheads, then lubers (and etc., also marked with the symbolism of the outgoing Soviet Union). Each wave brings its own attributes. At the beginning, it is usually at odds with the system: the first punks terrorized the hairy ones, the first hairy metalheads and punks. Then contacts begin, it is gradually discovered that the System has absorbed the symbolism of the new wave : it had its own punks, metalheads and others. Thus, it is possible to observe the process of perception of tradition and innovation, as well as other processes associated with the translation of tradition. In a “large” (for example, tribal or communal) tradition, where the period of generational change is 25-30 years, observing such processes would require time comparable to the life of the researcher. In the System, everything happens much faster. This makes the System a convenient model for observing the laws of society and replenishing traditions, although we are aware of the certain conventions of its analogies with the usual objects of ethnographic research. They are comparable to the extent that one communication system can be compared with another at all. One way or another, there are general patterns in the methods of diachronic transmission of information. Communication structures responsible for preserving and transmitting the community code are discovered; there is reason to believe that they are largely similar in different environments.

c) The main features of informals.

1) Informal groups do not have official status.

2) Weakly defined internal structure.

4) Weak internal connections.

5) It is very difficult to identify a leader.

6) They do not have a program of activities.

7) They act on the initiative of a small group from the outside.

8) They represent an alternative to government structures.

9) Very difficult to classify in an orderly manner.

2. History of the informal movement.

Causes of occurrence.

For the period from 88 to 93-94, the number of informal associations

increased from 8% to 38% i.e. three times. Informals include medieval

Vagantov, Skomorokhov, Noblemen, First warriors.

1) Wave of informality after the revolutionary years. Counter cultural

youth groups.

2) Wave 60s. The period of the Khrushchev Thaw. These are the first symptoms

decomposition of the administrative-command system. (Artists, Bards, Hipsters).

3) Wave. 1986 The existence of informal groups has been recognized

officially. Informals began to be identified by various somatic remedies

(clothing, slang, icon attributes, manners, morals, etc.) With the help of

young people fenced themselves off from the adult community. Defending your right to

inner life.

Causes of occurrence.

1) Challenge to society, protest.

2) Challenge to the family, misunderstanding in the family.

3) Reluctance to be like everyone else.

4) The desire will establish itself in the new environment.

5) Attract attention to yourself.

6) The area of organizing leisure time for young people in the country is underdeveloped.

7) Copying Western structures, trends, culture.

8) Religious ideological beliefs.

9) Tribute to fashion.

10) Lack of purpose in life.

11) Influence of criminal structures, hooliganism.

12) Age hobbies.

STORY

Informal associations (contrary to popular belief) are not a modern invention. They have a rich history. Of course, modern amateur formations differ significantly from their predecessors. However, in order to understand the nature of today's informals, let us turn to the history of their appearance.

A little history. Various associations of people with common views on nature, art, and a common type of behavior have been known since ancient times. Suffice it to recall the numerous philosophical schools of antiquity, knightly orders, literary and artistic schools of the Middle Ages, clubs of modern times, etc. People have always had a desire to unite. “Only in a collective,” wrote K. Marx and F. Engels, “an individual receives the means that give him the opportunity for the comprehensive development of his inclinations, and, therefore, only in a collective is personal freedom possible.”

In pre-revolutionary Russia, there were hundreds of different societies, clubs, and associations created on various grounds on the basis of voluntary participation. However, the vast majority of them were of a closed, caste character. At the same time, for example, the emergence and existence of numerous workers' circles, created on the initiative of the workers themselves, clearly evidenced their desire to satisfy their social and cultural needs. Already in the first years of Soviet power, fundamentally new public organizations appeared, gathering in their ranks millions of supporters of the new system and setting the goal of active participation in the construction of a socialist state. Thus, one of the specific forms of combating illiteracy of the population was created on the initiative of V.I. Lenin Society "Down with Illiteracy". (ODN), which existed from 1923 to 1936. Among the first 93 members of the society were V.I. Lenin, N.K. Krupskaya, A.V. Lunacharsky and other prominent figures of the young Soviet state. Similar organizations existed in Ukraine, Georgia and other union republics.

In 1923, the voluntary society “Friend of Children” appeared, which worked under the leadership of the children’s commission at the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, headed by F.E. Dzerzhinsky. The activities of the society, which took place under the slogan “Everything to help children!”, ceased in the early 30s, when child homelessness and homelessness were largely ended. In 1922, the International Organization for Assistance to Fighters of the Revolution (IOPR) was created - the prototype of the Soviet peace fund, formed in 1961.

In addition to those mentioned, dozens of other public formations operated in the country: the Union of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies of the USSR, OSVOD, the "Down with Crime" society, the All-Union Anti-Alcohol Society, the All-Union Society of Inventors and others.

In the first years of Soviet power, numerous creative associations began to emerge. In 1918, the All-Russian Union of Working Writers, the All-Russian Union of Writers and the All-Russian Union of Poets were created. In 1919, a free philosophical association was organized, among the founding members of which were A. Bely, A. Blok, V. Meyerhold.

This process continued into the twenties. For the period 1920-1925. Dozens of literary groups arose in the country, uniting hundreds and thousands of poets and writers: “October”, “Left Front of Art”, “Pass”, “Young Guard” and others. Many futuristic groups have appeared ("Art of the Commune", Far Eastern "Creativity", Ukrainian "Ascanfoot").

Expressing its attitude towards various literary movements and groups, the Central Committee of the RCP(b) in 1925 emphasized that “the party must speak out for the free competition of various groups and movements in this area. Any other solution to the issue would be executed - a bureaucratic pseudo-decision. Likewise unacceptable by decree or party resolution, the literary publishing business of any group or literary organization is legalized."

In the post-revolutionary period, favorable conditions arose for the creation of a number of new artistic associations. The largest of them was the Association of Artists of Revolutionary Russia, which included realist artists. In addition, at the same time the Societies of Easel Painters, the Society of Moscow Artists and others were formed.

composers of the Moscow Conservatory ("PROCALL") and a number of others. The rapid expansion of the network of various associations in the first post-revolutionary years gave hope for their further rapid development. However, the path that amateur public groups took turned out to be far from cloudless. In the second half of the twenties, the process of consolidation of artists and literature began: groups and movements began to merge into larger formations on the principles of a single political platform. Thus, for example, the Federation of Soviet Writers (1925) and the Federation of Soviet Artists (1927) arose. At the same time, there was a process of disintegration of many literary and artistic associations. In 1929-1931 The Literary Center of Constructivists “LTSK”, literary groups “October”, “Pereval” and others disappeared from the cultural life of society.

Such associations finally ceased to exist after the adoption of the resolution of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks “On the restructuring of literary organizations” (April 1932). in accordance with which groupings were eliminated and united creative unions of writers, architects, and artists were created. By the resolution of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR dated July 10, 1932, the “Regulations on voluntary societies and their unions” were adopted, which deprived many public organizations of their status and thereby contributed to their liquidation (this document to this day is the only one that gives the characteristics and signs of public organizations).

After these decisions were made, for more than two decades, new public organizations, apart from sports, were practically not created in the country. The only exception was the Soviet Peace Committee (1949).

Then came the period of the so-called “Khrushchev Thaw.” So in 1956, such public organizations as the United Nations Association in the USSR, the Committee of Youth Organizations of the USSR, the Committee of Soviet Women, etc. were created. The years of stagnation were also stagnant for public associations. Then only three public organizations appeared:

Soviet Committee for European Security and Cooperation 1971, All-Union Copyright Agency 1973 and All-Union Voluntary Society of Book Lovers 1974. This is the brief history of amateur public formations. It allows us to draw some conclusions.

It is not difficult to notice that the rapid development of various associations coincides with periods of expansion of democracy. This leads to the fundamental conclusion that the level of democratization of society is to a large extent determined by the number of voluntary formations and the degree of activity of their participants. In turn, another conclusion follows from this: the emergence of modern informals is not the result of someone’s evil will, it is quite natural. Moreover, we can safely assume that as democracy continues to expand, the number of informal entities and their participants will increase.

The emergence of modern informals.

First, we note that most voluntary public formations have ceased to reflect the interests of their members. The increase in the number and strength of public organizations was accompanied by an increase in the passive part of ordinary members, who limited their participation in the work of a particular society to the payment of membership fees. Policy issues of societies, the procedure for spending money by them, representation in party and Soviet bodies depended less and less on the bulk of society members and were increasingly concentrated in the hands of the corresponding apparatuses and boards obedient to them. It was these circumstances that greatly contributed to the rapid development of various alternative amateur formations, whose members set themselves tasks consonant with the goals of a number of societies, acted more dynamically, much more actively, gaining more and more popularity among various segments of the population.

The main determining factor in their development, undoubtedly, was the processes of democratization and openness, which not only awakened millions of people to active activity, but also set new tasks for them. Solving these problems within the framework of previous public formations was either difficult or simply impossible, and, as a result, new amateur associations emerged.

And finally, the removal of a number of unjustified restrictions on citizens’ associations played a role. The result of all this was naturally a rapid growth in the number of amateur public groups and an increase in the activity of their participants.

Today, again, as in the first post-revolutionary years, the active life position of millions of Soviet people began to be expressed in specific organizational forms, and most importantly, began to be embodied in their real deeds. This is what I'm going to talk about. But first, let's take a closer look at the different types of informal associations.

At the beginning, let's say a few words about the main object of our attention - about modern informal associations, i.e. voluntary amateur formations that arose on the initiative “from below” and express the most diverse interests of the people included in them. They are very heterogeneous and differ from each other in social and political orientation, organizational structure, and scale of activity.

To give some more or less orderly picture of such formations, we can divide them into politicized and non-politicized. Some of them really have no political orientation. For others, it is barely noticeable, and they only occasionally, due to certain circumstances, address political issues, which, nevertheless, do not form the basis of their activities. Still others are directly concerned with political issues.

But even within the framework of such a conditional division - into non-politicized and politicized amateur public formations - there is a need to introduce the necessary distinctions. Considering that the nature of the activity, its value for our country, even among numerous formations of the first group, are different, we will get acquainted not only with those whose activities bring more or less benefit to people, but also with formations that have a clearly associative orientation.

As for politicized amateur public formations, most of them strive to improve and improve the political system of our society through the development of democratic institutions, the formation of the rule of law and similar means, without changing its fundamental foundations. But among them there are associations that deliberately set the goal of changing the existing system. Thus, in the second group one can more or less definitely distinguish between socially progressive and associative, anti-socialist formations.

3) Classification of informals

Unrecognized or not recognized?

This question often arises when it comes to a very specific type of informal associations - unofficial amateur associations, or, as they sometimes say, “unofficials”. Let me remind you that we include spontaneously formed companies (mainly teenagers and young people) as such associations. Based on public interest, hobby, type of leisure activity, imitation of a chosen type of behavior (“fans”, “hippies”, “punks”, “rockers”, “metalheads”, etc. Their appearance in the late 70s and early 80s 's to some extent resembles a youth revolt against

bureaucratic mechanism operating at that time. This was a kind of protest of some young people against formalism in public organizations and the unsatisfactory organization of leisure time; however, this process took on distorted, often socially dangerous forms.

Associations of informals are not registered anywhere and do not have their own charter or regulations. The conditions for membership in them are unspecified, and the number of groups varies.

However, informals exist. They can successfully fit into the process of democratization of society, or they can become a destabilizing factor, acting from a position of naked criticism and open opposition to law enforcement agencies and authorities. Let's look at some of them, from my point of view, typical associations of this kind.

Associative- stand aside from social problems but do not pose a threat to society. Mainly perform recreational functions. Examples: punks’ motto is “we live here, now and today,” majors are people who preach the theory of highlifeism “high standard of living” - these are people who know how to earn money, they are attracted to the Western lifestyle. Among the majors are Americans, Finns; rockobbiles are fans of rock and roll - the motto is “a combination of grace with free behavior” rockers, hippies, systems.

Is the “system” to blame for everything?

Different views on one “system”. Leningrad television, discussing the “system,” gave the floor to those who know about it by hearsay. I will give excerpts from these programs, allowing you to get a fairly clear idea of the “system”.

V. Nikolsky,“system” nickname Yufo:

“We are able to approach some “hairy” guy on the street. I have never seen him, I just come up and say: “Hello!” And he answers me the same... They say: you are some strange people. Why do you know each other? You trust people. They can rob you, they can rob you, drag you away, and so on - do you understand?

This only says that we are a sprout of the future in our society, because that theft, the desire to steal, rob - this apparently belongs to the past and must disappear. I think that this is precisely the distinctive property of the “hairy”... We think that even now the “hairy” have had a huge impact on the evolution of society. In particular, Soviet rock music, which is now talked about so much, was mostly created by “hairy people”. These people are capable of sacrificing the latter. The latest clothes and other things in order to create a truly youth culture in the country.

I raise my voice for the “hippie” system - for a movement that gives every person the opportunity to understand another person who is looking for mutual understanding, and allows him to improve himself comprehensively. The people who are part of this movement are people of different ages, different nationalities, they belong to different cultures, different religions. I think this is truly a movement that belongs to the future...

"System"- this is not an organization or a party, so everyone can only depend on themselves. “The “system” is a society within a society... There can be no laws here, everyone lives only according to the laws of their conscience.”

What caused the emergence of the “system”?

Let us note that the desire to be original, which many boys and girls are guilty of, has its own history. Many seem to have long forgotten, and the youth of the 80s probably never knew that the French poet Charles Baudelaire dyed his hair purple. However, this did not stop him from writing beautiful poetry.

Fundamental anti-aestheticism was adopted by Russian futurists at the beginning of the 20th century. Proposing in their manifesto to “throw Pushkin, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy and others from the ship of modernity,” V. Khlebnikov, V. Mayakovsky, D. Burlyuk and A. Kruchenykh consciously posed a rude challenge to society and the dominant literary movement at that time - symbolism. V. Kamensky recalled: “Here all three of them appear in a crowded auditorium of the Polytechnic Museum, buzzing with voices, sit down at a table with twenty glasses of hot tea: Mayakovsky in a top hat on the back of his head and a yellow jacket, Burliuk in a frock coat, with a painted face, Kamensky - with yellow stripes on his jacket and an airplane painted on his forehead... The audience is making noise, yelling, whistling, clapping their hands - they are having fun. The police are at a loss."

Among people of the older generation, the claims of original young people, their attempts at “novelty” cause a smile.

What today encourages young people to unite in formations like the “system”?

There are many reasons. It should be noted that young people always and everywhere strive to communicate with peers and flee from mental loneliness, and many experience it when living in separate apartments with parents who, as they believe, do not understand them. For many, contrasting themselves, their “I” with adults, is a normal phenomenon. The protest they express can be passive, through an external, rather ostentatious, demonstrative denial of the existing order, refusal to comply with the rules accepted in society. This is exactly what the “system” professes. There are also aggressive forms of protest, expressed in shocking behavior that borders on hooliganism, and sometimes turns into it.

Who doesn't like driving fast?

Now there is another type of informals with an associative orientation - rockers.

We use the word “rocker” in two meanings: rockers are also called rock music performers and a certain part of motorcyclists. It is more commonly used in the second meaning. I will talk about rocker-motorcyclists.

Largely written on the asphalt with oil paint: “Rockers”. Nearby is a flock of motorcyclists, ten to fifteen people who are far from advanced in age. “We are rockers!” - explains one of the young men. Otherwise, he might not represent the company - rockers are difficult to confuse with other motorcyclists. They are dressed quite picturesquely, although the clothes (usually dark) are not a symbol of belonging to rockers. A variety of helmets, usually with a visor; many without helmets at all. The appearance of the motorcycles is somewhat reminiscent of cross-country motorcycles due to the raised seat on the passenger side. The muffler pipes are removed, causing the rocker motorcycles to rumble at the level of the first domestic tractors.

Rockers are also distinguished by a certain “age limit”: 15-20, less often - 25 years. The bulk are teenagers and young men aged 15-18. Most of them do not have driver's licenses and do not need them.

Today, rocker associations exist in almost all large cities and in the vast majority of medium and small ones. It is not entirely legal to use the word “union” here - association as such does not exist. Moreover, there is no organization of rockers with its own established structure. They unite into more or less permanent groups, usually only for group trips.

Nevertheless, rockers have their own rules, their own unwritten but generally accepted “charter”, their own “code of honor”. The standards of behavior that rockers developed for themselves deserve to be discussed in more detail.

Sometimes you hear that rockers are young fans of high-speed motorcycle riding. This opinion is quite common, but not entirely true. Firstly, a sufficient number of fans of high-speed driving can be found in numerous clubs and sections, but they have nothing to do with rockers. Secondly, having a motorcycle (and not having a license) does not make a young man a rocker. To do this, you need to follow the “rocker charter”. This “charter” puts forward complete disregard for traffic rules as its main requirement. For rockers, not only is it obligatory not to follow the rules, but their violation is also encouraged in every possible way. Riding in a “wedge” is also popular, when one motorcycle rides in front, two behind it, then three, etc. “Wedge” can move both along “its own” and “alien” lanes, interfering with everyone who, unfortunately, happens to be on the road at that moment. Normal, from a rocker's point of view. Is constantly speeding.

Contempt for traffic rules also extends to those who are called upon to enforce these rules. Disobedience to State Traffic Inspectorate employees, attempts to “escape” patrol cars and motorcycles are the norm for rockers. It should be noted that traffic police officers are not particularly disliked by rockers; They apply exactly the same to non-rocker drivers and pedestrians. The rockers don't care about the well-being of the residents of the houses they roar past at night. But it is known that in modern high-rise buildings the audibility is such that a little more - and it’s already visible.

The rocker principle: the road is for me, and I drive along it as I please. The overwhelming number of rockers quite sincerely consider this principle natural and legitimate.

This attitude towards the rules is not harmless, because it is not safe. Neglect of the requirements of the rules leads to the constant occurrence of emergency situations, and often accidents in which drivers and pedestrians suffer and the rockers themselves die or are maimed. But for hundreds of others this was not a lesson.

Rockers have their own “ethics”, or rather anti-ethics: “You are the king on the road - drive as you want. The rest will be patient." It’s not uncommon for rockers to claim that their riding style is the only possible way of self-expression, which is criticized by those who have never ridden motorcycles and have no idea what it is, and therefore cannot understand them.

Antisocial.

Antisocial- pronounced aggressive character, desire to assert oneself at the expense of others, moral deafness.

However, the actions of the groups described above pale in comparison with the “activities” of youth “gangs”.

“Gangs” - these are associations (most often teenagers) based on territoriality. The city is divided by “gangs” into zones of influence. On “their” territory, gang members are the masters; any “outsiders” (especially from another gang) are dealt with extremely cruelly.

“Gangs” have their own laws, their own morals. The “law” is obedience to the leader and carrying out the gang’s instructions. The cult of strength flourishes, the ability to fight is valued, but, say, protecting “your” girl is considered a disgrace in many gangs. Love is not recognized, there is only partnership with “your girls.” Journalist E. Dotsuk gives the following dialogue with one of the “boys”, a full member of one of the Alma-Ata gangs:

- Do you have a girlfriend?

- If I were alone, it would be easier. You can’t figure them out - where is the “girl”, where is the “rat”, where is the girl. What if you “show it” for a “rat”? You'll immediately fall off the “boys” bandwagon.

- What do “girl” and “rat” mean?

- The girl is an excellent student, her mother’s daughter. “Rat” is worse than ever. Although many of them pretend to be girls.

- “Girls” are also part of “gangs”?

- Yes. But they have their own groups. Did you hear? “Golden Girls” - golden girls. “Black foxes”, “neutrals”.

- What are they doing?

The same as the “boys”. They fight. They relax happily, “betting on the counter,” go to bars, smoke “weed,” and are interested in estimates.

“Weed” - drugs - that are smoked. “Getting dressed” is an elementary robbery: a group approaches a fashionably dressed teenager (boy or girl) and asks him to “let him wear” a jacket, sneakers, etc. for a while. You can refuse, but most give it to you. The worst thing is the “counter”, when one of the teenagers, usually from another group or simply neutral, is told the amount of money that he must get. For the sake of external decency, you can ask for “loan.” From this moment on, the “counter” is turned on. Each day of delay increases the amount of debt by a certain percentage. The counter's operating time is limited. The reprisal against those who have not removed the “counter” is cruel - from beating to murder.

All “gangs” are armed, including firearms. The weapon is launched without much thought. “Gangs” not only quarrel with each other, but also carry out terror against neutral teenagers. The latter are forced to become “tributers” of the “gang” or join it. In response to the actions of “gangs” and to combat them, “neutral youth” creates their own unofficial association: “Ganymed” in Alma-Ata, OAD (active action detachment) in Leningrad, etc. You can understand the young people included in these associations - they want to ensure their safety. But, acting on the principle “might beats strength,” they themselves often break the law.

Boys with swastikas.

I think not everyone knows that among us there are those today who shout: “Heil Hitler!”, wear swastikas and use completely fascist methods to defend their “ideals.”

Who wears a swastika?

You are mistaken if you think that we are talking about Wehrmacht or SS “veterans” living out their days. These are not young idiots who are ready to put on any trinket, as long as it is unusual and shiny. They were born many years after our so dear victory over fascism, they are our contemporaries, calling themselves fascists, acting like fascists and proud of it.

It’s not so difficult to recognize these guys in black: black overcoats or jackets, black shirts, black trousers, black boots. The clothes are sewn according to the uniform of the officers of the “Third Reich”. Many have a swastika on the lapel of their jacket or jacket, or on their cap. They greet each other with exclamations of “Heil!”, “Heil Hitler!” German names are chosen as pseudonyms: Hans, Paul, Elsa, etc. They call themselves “fascists”, “fascists”, “Nazis”, “Nazis”, “National Front” and are considered followers of Adolf Hitler. He is the “theoretician” of their movement. Some are familiar with certain sayings and works of Nietzsche and Spengler. For the majority, the “theoretical” basis is a sparse set of Nazi dogmas: there are a “superior race” and “subhumans”; most of the “subhumans” must be destroyed, and the rest turned into slaves; that one is right. Who is stronger, etc.

The “fascists” do not hide their views or their goals.

Like this. The Gestapo man “Father Müller” has worthy students who, in demonstrating the “innate quality of man” - cruelty, perhaps surpassed their teachers.

c) Prosocial.

Prosocial informal clubs or associations are socially positive and benefit society. These associations benefit society and solve social problems of a cultural and protective nature (protection of monuments, architectural monuments, restoration of churches, solve environmental problems).

Greens- various environmental associations that exist almost everywhere call themselves, the activity and popularity of which is steadily growing.

Their tasks and goals.

Among the most pressing problems, the problem of environmental protection is not the least important. The “greens” took up the solution. Environmental consequences of construction projects, location and operation of large enterprises without taking into account their impact on nature and human health. Various public committees, groups, and sections launched a struggle to remove such enterprises from cities or close them.

The first such committee for the protection of Lake Baikal was created in 1967. It included representatives of the creative intelligentsia. Largely thanks to social movements, the “project of the century” to transfer the waters of northern rivers to Central Asia was rejected. Activists from informal groups collected hundreds of thousands of signatures on a petition to cancel the project. The same decision was made regarding the design and construction of a nuclear power plant in the Krasnodar Territory.

The number of environmental informal associations is usually small: from 10-15 to 70-100 people. Their social and age composition is heterogeneous. Environmental groups more than make up for their small numbers with activity that attracts large numbers of people to support various environmental initiatives.

Prosocial informal associations also include associations for the protection of monuments, architectural monuments, the Society for the Protection of Animals, and the Society for the Protection of the Amazon Forests.

d) Informal artistic orientation.

They say that every generation has its own music. If this statement is true, then the question arises: what generation is rock music?

Rock performers sang about the issues that worried the rebellious youth: about the violation of the civil rights of the disadvantaged, about racial prejudice and the persecution of dissidents, about the need for social reforms, about the expansion of the anti-war movement in connection with US aggression in Vietnam, and much more. They were listened to, they were understood, they were sung along. One of the most popular songs of the “XU” ensemble, “My Generation,” was sung along by the entire audience. “Tomorrow may never come!” - American guys who were sent to die in Vietnam repeated after Janis Joplen. Rock performers sang about what was close and understandable to their listeners.

I have already talked about amateur rock musicians who have found certain organizational forms for their activities. Amateur artists are no less popular among young people. However, things are not going so well for them.

Muscovites and guests of the capital are accustomed to exhibitions and sales of paintings by amateur artists on Arbat, in Izmailovsky Park. Leningraders have the opportunity to see a similar exhibition on Nevsky Prospekt next to Catherine’s garden. There are similar exhibitions in other cities. They exist quite officially, but they allow solving a small part of the problems facing this type of amateur creativity. And strictly speaking, only one provision of young artists with the opportunity to exhibit and sell their paintings. The range of problems that they do not solve is quite wide. First of all, they include the absence of a single center that could become a kind of creative workshop for amateur artists. There is a need to establish the hitherto missing close connection between amateur artists and local organizations of the artists' union. Such a community would significantly enrich the art of amateur artists, raise their professional level, and help identify brighter talents and talents. The issue of informing the public about the activities of amateur artists has not been resolved; there is no discussion of their paintings or the creative directions they are developing. Finally, the exhibitions look good in the summer, but make an extremely miserable impression in the winter: amateur artists have no roof over their heads (literally).

Collectors also have their own problems. Despite a significant number of various amateur associations and clubs (philatelists, numismatists, etc.), many issues are resolved outside of them.

III. Conclusion.

So, this concludes our acquaintance with informals. It’s hard for me to judge how successful it turned out to be, but it’s good that it happened.

I would like to remind you that I spoke only about the most widespread and well-known informal associations, and the assessments I gave were valid only at the time of writing the coursework. They, of course, can and probably will change as the informal associations themselves change. The nature of these changes depends not only on the informals, but to a large extent on us - on our support or our rejection of this or that association.

The activities of each association require in-depth analysis.

Having chosen such a complex problem for my course work, I sought to show that the time had come to turn to the informals. Today they are a real and quite powerful force that can promote and hinder the development of society or the state.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:

A.V. Gromov, O.S. Cousin "Informals, who is who?"

V.T. Lisovsky “Is truth born in every dispute?”

Encyclopedic Dictionary “Golden Fund” on CD-rom (Laser CD for PC)

Global Internet (WWW) Internet address: http//www.russia.lt/vb/referat/

Ministry of Higher Education

Bashkir State University

Faculty of Philosophy and Sociology

Department of Theory and History of Sociology

Coursework No. 1

on general theory of sociology

"Informal youth

association"

Performed:

group student

Volkova E.O.

Checked:

Sennikova E.D.

Ufa, 2002

PLAN:

Introduction……………………………………………………………………………….3

Main part

1. "Aliens". Informal movements: general

characteristics…………………………………………………….4

a) External culture………………………………………….…10

b) Main features of informals…………………..15

2. History of the informal movement. Causes...15

3. Classification of informals…………………………………….21

1) Asocial………………………………………………………22

2) Antisocial ……………………………………………………..25

3) Prosocial……………………………………………………….31

4) Informals of artistic orientation…………………….31

5) Computer underground…………………………………………………….33

Conclusion……………………………………………………...………34

References……………………………………………………………………..35

I. Introduction.

M Youth have always been scolded - both in the papyri of Ancient Egypt, and in the letters and essays of the ancient Greeks, you can find complaints that “youth have gone wrong,” that the former purity of morals has been lost, etc., etc. And today, from all sides, young people are being reproached for immorality, for abandoning traditional values for Russians, for mercantilism, etc. How fair are these reproaches?

Goals and objectives:

It is impossible to thoroughly analyze everything, so I will probably miss something, but I will still try to determine the role and place of amateur public formations in the life of the country at the present time. Today, despite the active activity of informal associations, not much is known about them. Some publications in the press do not provide a complete picture, and sometimes give a distorted picture of certain formations, since, as a rule, they consider only one aspect of their activities. This coursework is an attempt to shed light on that part of society that for a long time was banned and boycotted by everyone and everything...

When writing this coursework, a fairly large amount of literature was used, including monographs, memoirs of former informals, articles and stories by modern authors about informals.

First of all, I tried to ensure that the coursework was not a dry presentation of facts, so excerpts from A.M. Korotkov’s story “Accident - the Cop’s Daughter,” which perfectly characterizes the modern youth environment, were used. The memories of A. Shubin, a former informalist, theorist of informal movements, helped to create a portrait of a modern informalist. Most of the theory of my coursework is based on the works of V.T. Lisovsky and A.A. Kozlov.

II. MAIN PART .

1. Something about informals.

IN In recent years, sociologists have been paying a lot of attention to the study of youth groups and youth subculture. For a long time it was believed that in a socialist society striving for social homogeneity, young people cannot and should not have their own specific values. Manifestations of originality and unusual forms of behavior were regarded either as an anomaly, a social deviation, or as imitation of the West.

Another position presented these deviations as a way of self-expression, as an opportunity to declare oneself to society, to attract attention. This is how the term appeared "informal youth associations", entrenched in scientific and journalistic literature, as well as in everyday usage. In Western sociology, the category is used to denote the same phenomenon peer group. This concept originated in American sociology and means more than a peer group or a homogeneous group. Word peer comes from Latin paa r(equal), and the designated equality refers not only to age, but also to social status, views, values, and norms of behavior.

Formal usually refers to a social group that has legal status, which is part of a social institution, an organization where the position of individual members is strictly regulated by official rules and laws.

Informal associations are a mass phenomenon.

1. According to Fradkin

Informal groups are:

Prosocial, asocial, antisocial;

Membership and reference groups;

Large and small (here we are not talking about quantity, but about quality (groups in which all teenagers directly communicate with each other are small, and where they cannot communicate - large));

Permanent and random;

Uneven-aged and same-aged;

Same-sex and different-sex, etc.

2. According to A.V. Tolstykh:

a) socio-political groups (their goal is to promote certain socio-political views and are non-aggressive);

b) radicals (lubers, skins - very aggressive (leaders - mainly from the older generation));

c) environmental and ethical groups (“green”);

d) lifestyle groups (actually informal youth associations - punks, hippies, etc.);

e) non-traditional religious (Satanists, Buddhists, cult groups);

f) interest groups (iconists, philatelists, sports and music fans).

Informal youth associations differ in the nature of the social orientation of their consciousness and behavior, the type of group values, and the characteristics of their leisure time. The most popular of them are groups of fans of modern music, dance, various sports (football fans, bodybuilders) - about 80%. Groups engaged in socially useful activities, such as the protection of cultural monuments, environmental protection, etc., are less widespread in our country. – no more than 4%. There are groups whose behavior can be characterized as socially pathogenic and even criminal: drug addicts, substance abusers and others. Such groups make up approximately 9% of all informal youth groups.

Many people do not quite understand the concept of “informal group” and they associate this expression with shaggy guys in leather jackets and chains. This is not entirely true, although this type also occurs among informals.

First of all, it is important to separate the “informal movement” from its “neighbors” in the historical era: the dissident and democratic movements. At first glance, these three movements line up in a row similar to Lenin's famous three generations of the liberation movement. The 20th Congress woke up the dissidents, the dissidents woke up the informals, and the informals “spinned” the democratic movement. In practice, the process of development of the “liberation” movement was not linear. The erosion of the totalitarian regime led to the formation of an informal environment earlier than the dissident one. Already in the late 50s - early 60s. non-dissident social movements arose that still exist and are considered classic examples of informal ones - environmental (nature conservation teams) and pedagogical (communards). Dissidents, informals and democrats represent three waves of social movements, which are characterized by different features. Dissidents are distinguished by the priority of human rights issues and the “taboo” on cooperation with the authorities and the use of violence. Democrats were characterized by a much wider range of political interests and an orientation towards cooperation and even subordination to that part of the ruling elite that publicly shared the ideological postulates of democracy (often negative - anti-bureaucratic and then anti-communist, anti-chauvinist). Despite their initial dislike of violence, democrats quickly got rid of the nonviolent “prejudice” inherited from the beginning of Perestroika and quite actively supported the demonstration shooting on Krasnopresnenskaya embankment in 1993. Informals in this series are located “in the middle” and at the same time somehow outside row, “side”. If we consider the phenomenon as a whole, we find very few taboos and restrictions. Despite the fact that each informal group had its own myths, stereotypes and limitations, there was practically no common ideological outline. In an informal environment, “democrats”, “patriots”, anarchists, monarchists, communists, social democrats and liberal-conservatives of various shades communicated quite calmly. Sometimes the grouping of informals occurred not at all according to ideological principles, but according to areas of activity - defenders of monuments, teachers, ecologists, etc. Nevertheless, it is easy to separate informals from both the dissident and the general democratic movements. Unlike dissidents, informals were calm about interacting with the authorities and entering government and official structures. Without any particular pangs of conscience, they expressed loyalty to the dominant ideology, methodically destroying the foundations of the regime (sometimes, by the way, unconsciously). Unlike the “democrats,” the informals were skeptical of the recognized “foremen of perestroika” and “democratic leaders” from the old ruling elite, and preferred to act in small groups, continually splitting the “democratic front.” Informals preferred to place some specific social activity at the center of their activity, despite the fact that almost all informal groups had their own, sometimes very exotic, ideology. All this, coupled with the duration of the existence of the informal movement (at least since the late 50s), suggests that informals are not just a generation of the social movement that was predominant in 1986 - 1990, but a broader socio-political phenomenon.

I will highlight the main, in my opinion, features of the informal environment:

· the predominance of connections of a horizontal nature (in contrast to the democratic-populist movement and party structures of a later time);

· commitment to social creativity, a tendency to search for new social forms, alternativeism, “constructive utopianism”;

· organic democracy, the desire for self-government, internal anti-authoritarianism, “collective leadership”;

· weak articulation, “prescribed” formal relations, the formation of the internal structure of organizations under the influence of real personal connections, the desire to create their own microenvironment, lifestyle (like dissidents, but not democrats, who for the most part separate life and “social activity”);

· absence of strict restrictions on cooperation, for example, with the authorities (unlike dissidents and, say, Narodnaya Volya);

· lack of a clear ideological “framework” with the high level of ideology of each group separately (unlike dissidents);

· the desire to “think globally and act locally”, to have specific socially oriented (that is, aimed at obtaining a social effect, not profit) projects that confirm ideas or contribute to their implementation.

All this variety of characteristics can be reduced to a few simple ones - social creativity, self-government, horizontalism, orientation towards cooperation, concrete social “doing” with radicalism of ideas. It is easy to see that such an environment could (and did) arise immediately after the government abandoned total control over society (that is, in the 50s).

From the above it follows that informals are the most stable and long-lasting core of civil society in our country (at least for the moment), its connecting element. In connection with the above, another question arises: how do informals differ from the Masonic lodge and the mafia? After all, some external signs coincide - the ability to penetrate into any environment, ramifications, and the private nature of connections. But the essence is fundamentally different - informals do not recognize an authoritative and, especially, a violent hierarchy, their connections are predominantly horizontal, and authority is usually personal in nature. In addition, the activities of informals are predominantly public, while the Freemasons and the mafia cultivate secrecy. According to these parameters, party and state institutions are closer to the mafia and Freemasonry. The above-mentioned features of informals are not absolute. To communicate with the outside world, sometimes very flowery titles are invented, and in conflicts the formal right of the majority is sometimes used, which likens informals to party structures. Sometimes during social actions there is strict discipline based on formal subordination to a pre-appointed commander (coordinator, etc.), whose power dissolves at the end of the action. Informal social activists as a phenomenon do not have strict boundaries and partially mixed with dissidents, and with democratic movements, and with the environment of official organizations (parties, trade unions, societies, etc.).

For what interests do people and children, teenagers and youth, adults and even gray-haired old people unite? The number of such associations is measured in tens of thousands, and the number of their participants - in millions.

It is necessary to decide to leave the familiar, stable, but hateful hierarchical world and rush “to storm the sky” (especially since the picture of “sky” has not yet been completed). As a rule, the role of the final push is played by the example of those who have already crossed the line between a hierarchical person and an ideological person. This ensures continuity of movement. If at this time you meet a good priest, your path lies to the Church. If at such a moment a bright informal group appears on your way, the microclimate of which can solve your psychological problems, you will become an informal group. The first experience is especially important here.

Alexander Shubin, himself a former informal, recalls his first group of informals. The group held in 1986 - 1988. several actions that shocked others with their unusualness for that time: a strike on agricultural work, a “theatrical discussion” in which participants openly expressed opposition views, an evening in memory of the victims of Stalinism, the first in the 80s. mass democratic demonstration on May 28, 1988. And each such action led to an influx of dozens, and then hundreds of people into the movement, ready to spend time and effort for the goals of the movement, still vaguely understood by neophytes. It was unusual, “for the first time” (an important motive for participation in social creativity), it was “effective”, it was “together” (overcoming alienation, isolation of the individual, characteristic of industrial society). The possibility of long-term realization of the individual in movement depended on the ability to consolidate this effect. But its very direction (regardless of productivity) determined the first step.

Depending on what interests of people form the basis of the association, different types of associations arise. Recently, in large cities of the country, looking for opportunities to fulfill their needs, and not always finding them within the framework of existing organizations, young people began to unite in so-called “informal” groups, which would be more correctly called “amateur amateur youth associations.” The attitude towards them is ambiguous. Depending on their focus, they can be either a complement to organized groups or their antipodes. Members of amateur associations fight to preserve the environment from pollution and destruction, save cultural monuments, help restore them free of charge, take care of the disabled and elderly, and fight corruption in their own way. Spontaneously emerging youth groups are sometimes called informal, sometimes amateur, or amateur. And here's why: firstly, they are all formed on the principle of voluntariness and are organizationally independent; secondly, for the most part they are engaged in some specific type of activity in anticipation of real returns. That is why the term “informals” that was originally used is not entirely accurate and can only be used in relation to such groups and associations as “Hippies”, “Punks”, “Metalheads” and other other groups. They are characterized, most often, by a spontaneous, disorganized, unstable character.

We can say with an even shorter definition, which I will try to formulate myself: “Informals” is a group of people that arose on someone’s initiative or spontaneously to achieve a goal by people with common interests and needs.

A). External culture

E external cultures existed and exist in different societies. The early Christians were externalists in the Roman Empire. In medieval Europe there were numerous heresies. There is a split in Russia.

There is a balance between two subsystems of society: counterculture is unthinkable and does not exist without official society. They are complementary and connected. It's one whole. For this kind of dropped cultures, we can propose the term “external” (from the Latin “externus” - alien). The sphere of external culture includes, in fact, many different subcultures: for example, criminal, bohemian, drug mafia, etc. They are external to the extent that their internal values are opposed to the so-called “generally accepted” ones. What they have in common is that they are all local communication systems located outside the framework of the main network (the one that defines the state structure).

External culture, according to public opinion and scientific tradition, belongs to the sphere of the underground (from the English "undeground" - underground), counterculture. All these definitions indicate externality, which is characterized by the prefixes “counter -”, “under -”, “not -”. It is clear that we are talking about something opposing

(“counter-”), invisible and hidden (under-), unformed.

The cultural activity of young people depends on a number of factors:

· on the level of education. For people with a lower level of education, for example, vocational school students, it is significantly higher than for university students;

· from age. The peak of activity is 16-17 years old, by the age of 21-22 it drops noticeably;

· from place of residence. Movements of informal people are more typical for the city than for the village, since it is the city with its abundance of social connections that provides a real opportunity to choose values and forms of behavior.

External culture categorically rejects attempts to reduce it to any social scheme. A typical example of her self-determination is an excerpt from an article by A. Madison, a very old hippie from Talin:

“The movement, and it would be incomparably more correct to call it a shift, did not put up any bulky leaders dressed in bulletproof charisma, did not give birth to organizations that declared a holy war on everyone and, of course, especially on each other for the right to oversee the imperishable relics of orthodoxy, and finally, did not "brought under this non-existent orthodoxy no special hippie philosophy, ideology or religion. Instead of ideology, from the very beginning, ideals formed quite simply - peace and love - were grounded."

Without exception, all “people” (from the English “people”) insist on their non-belonging to society, or in other words, independence. This is an important feature of their self-awareness. V. Turner, speaking about the communities of Western hippies, classified them as “liminal communities,” that is, emerging and existing in the intermediate areas of social structures (from the Latin “limen” - threshold). Here, “liminal” individuals gather, people with an uncertain status, those in the process of transition or those who have dropped out of society.

According to Parson, for example, the reason for the protest of young people and their opposition to the world of adults is “impatience” to take the places of fathers in the social structure. And they still remain busy for some time. But the matter ends with the new generation being rubbed into the same structure and, consequently, its reproduction. The second direction explains the appearance of dropped people by shifts in society itself. According to M. Mead, it looks like this: “Youth come, growing up, no longer to the world for which they were prepared in the process of socialization. The experience of their elders is not suitable. Young people were prepared to occupy certain positions in the social structure, but the structure is already different, those positions it doesn't have ".

A new generation is stepping into the void. They do not emerge from the existing social structure (as in Parson or Turner), but the structure itself slips away from under their feet. This is where the rapid growth of youth communities begins, pushing away the world of adults and their unnecessary experience. And the result of being in the bosom of counter-culture is different here: not integrating into the old structure, but building a new one. In the sphere of values, there is a change in the cultural paradigm: the values of the counterculture “pop up” and form the basis for the organization of the “big” society. And the old values are sinking into the underground world of counter-cultures. In fact, these two directions do not reject each other, but complement each other. We are simply talking about different periods in the life of society, or its different states. In stable periods and in traditional societies (studied by Turner), the people who have dropped out are really those who are currently, but temporarily, in the process of transition. In the end, they enter society, settle down there, and acquire status.

Many people, left to their own devices, interact and form similar communicative structures. L. Samoilov, a professional archaeologist, by the will of fate ended up in a forced labor camp. He noticed that unofficial communities with their own hierarchy and symbolism were developing among prisoners. Samoilov was struck by their similarity to primitive societies, sometimes right down to the smallest detail:

“I saw,” he writes, “and recognized in camp life a whole series of exotic phenomena that I had previously studied professionally for many years in literature, phenomena that characterize primitive society”! Primitive society is characterized by initiation rites - the initiation of adolescents into the rank of adults, rites consisting of cruel tests. For criminals this is a “registration”. Primitive society is characterized by various “taboos”. We find absolute correspondence to this in the camp norms defining what “bastard” is... But the main similarity is structural:

“At the stage of decomposition,” writes L. Samoilov, “many primitive societies had a three-caste structure, like our camp one (“thieves” - the elite, the middle layer - “men” and outsiders - “lowered ones”), and above them stood leaders with fighting squads , who collected tribute (like ours take away parcels)."

A similar structure is known in army units as “hazing.” The same is true among the youth of big cities. For example, when metalheads appeared in St. Petersburg, they developed a three-layer hierarchy: a clearly defined elite led by a generally recognized leader nicknamed "Monk", the bulk of metalheads grouped around the elite, and finally - random visitors who wandered into the cafe where they were going to listen to metal music. These latter were not considered real metalheads, remaining in the status of “gopniks,” that is, not understanding anything, strangers. It is the “excluded” communities that demonstrate the patterns of self-organization in the purest form. There is a minimum of external influences, from which the excluded community is fenced off by a communication barrier. In an ordinary team, it is difficult to identify those processes that occur spontaneously in the community itself, that is, they actually relate to self-organization.

A. Petrov, in the article “Aliens” in the Teacher’s Newspaper, depicts a party of hairy people:

Almost everything that A. Petrov mentions serves as identification marks of “their own” among the hairy ones. There is symbolism of appearance here: shaggy hair, shabby clothes, homemade bags, etc. Then graphic symbols: embroidered flowers (a trace of the Flower Revolution, which gave birth to the first hippies), anti-war slogans, such as:

"Love, don't fight"! - a sign of the most important values of this environment - pacifism, non-violence.

June 1, 1987 This starting point, of course, is mythological (it is believed that on June 1, 1667, the first hippies took to the street in Moscow on Pushkin Square and called for renunciation of violence):

“They,” says one of the old hippies, “came out and said: Here we are - representatives of this movement, this will be a system of values and a system of people.”

It is no coincidence that the date was chosen - Children's Day: “It was,” continued the same hippie, “it was said: Live like children, in peace, tranquility, do not chase illusory values... It’s just that the coming was given to humanity so that they could stop and think about where we are going...

I have already given above a list of features inherent in informal associations; below are the signs that are visible to the “naked” eye, from the point of view of an amateur.

b) The main external signs of informals .

1) Informal groups do not have official status.

2) Weakly defined internal structure.

3) Most associations have weakly expressed interests.

4) Weak internal connections.

5) It is very difficult to identify a leader.

6) They do not have a program of activities.

7) They act on the initiative of a small group from the outside.

8) They represent an alternative to government structures.

9) Very difficult to classify in an orderly manner.

2. History of the informal movement.

Causes of occurrence.

Z and from 88 to 93-94 the number of informal associations increased from 8% to 38%, i.e. three times. Informals include the medieval Vagants, Skomorokhs, Nobles, and First Vigilantes.

1) A wave of informality after the revolutionary years. Counter-cultural groups of youth.

2) Wave 60s. The period of the Khrushchev Thaw. These are the first symptoms of the disintegration of the administrative-command system. (Artists, Bards, Hipsters).

3) Wave. 1986 The existence of informal groups was officially recognized. Informals began to be defined by various somatic means (clothing, slang, symbols, manners, morals, etc.), with the help of which young people fenced off from the adult community. Defending your right to inner life.

Causes of occurrence.

1) Challenge to society, protest.

2) Challenge to the family, misunderstanding in the family.

3) Reluctance to be like everyone else.

4) The desire will establish itself in the new environment.

5) Attract attention to yourself.

6) The area of organizing leisure time for young people in the country is underdeveloped.

7) Copying Western structures, trends, culture.

8) Religious ideological beliefs.

9) Tribute to fashion.

10) Lack of purpose in life.

11) Influence of criminal structures, hooliganism.

12) Age hobbies.

History of origin.

n informal associations (contrary to popular belief) are not a modern invention. They have a rich history. Of course, modern amateur formations differ significantly from their predecessors. However, in order to understand the nature of today's informals, let us turn to the history of their appearance.

Various associations of people with common views on nature, art, and a common type of behavior have been known since ancient times. Suffice it to recall the numerous philosophical schools of antiquity, knightly orders, literary and artistic schools of the Middle Ages, clubs of modern times, etc. People have always had a desire to unite. “Only in a collective,” wrote K. Marx and F. Engels, “an individual receives the means that give him the opportunity for the comprehensive development of his inclinations, and, therefore, only in a collective is personal freedom possible.”

Expressing its attitude towards various literary movements and groups, the Central Committee of the RCP(b) in 1925 emphasized that “the party must speak out for the free competition of various groups and movements in this area. Any other solution to the issue would be executed - a bureaucratic pseudo-decision. Likewise unacceptable by decree or party resolution legalized literary publishing of any group or literary organization."

Among the musical organizations and groups formed in the twenties, we should first of all note the Association of Contemporary Music, which included A. Alexandrov, D. Shostakovich, N. Myaskovsky and others. In 1923, the Russian Association of Proletarian Musicians (RAPM) was organized, in 1925 - the Production Team of Students-Composers of the Moscow Conservatory ("PROCOLL") and a number of others. The rapid expansion of the network of various associations in the first post-revolutionary years gave hope for their further rapid development. However, the path taken by amateur public groups turned out to be far from cloudless. In the second half of the twenties, the process of consolidation of artists and literature began: groups and movements began to merge into larger formations on the principles of a single political platform. Thus, for example, the Federation of Soviet Writers (1925) and the Federation of Soviet Artists (1927) arose. At the same time, there was a process of disintegration of many literary and artistic associations. In 1929-1931 The Literary Center of Constructivists “LTSK”, literary groups “October”, “Pereval” and others disappeared from the cultural life of society.

Such associations finally ceased to exist after the adoption of the resolution of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks “On the restructuring of literary organizations” (April 1932). in accordance with which groupings were eliminated and united creative unions of writers, architects, and artists were created. By the resolution of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR dated July 10, 1932, the “Regulations on Voluntary Societies and Their Unions” were adopted, which deprived many public organizations of their status and thereby contributed to their liquidation (this document to this day is the only one that gives the characteristics and signs public organizations).

The emergence of modern informals.

IN At the beginning, we note that the majority of voluntary public formations have ceased to reflect the interests of their members. The increase in the number and strength of public organizations was accompanied by an increase in the passive part of ordinary members, who limited their participation in the work of a particular society to the payment of membership fees. Policy issues of societies, the procedure for spending money by them, representation in party and Soviet bodies depended less and less on the bulk of members of societies and were increasingly concentrated in the hands of the corresponding apparatuses and boards obedient to them. It was these circumstances that greatly contributed to the rapid development of various alternative amateur formations, whose members set themselves tasks consonant with the goals of a number of societies, acted more dynamically, much more actively, gaining more and more popularity among various segments of the population.

To give some more or less ordered picture of such formations, we can divide them into politicized And not politicized. Some of them really have no political orientation. For others it is barely noticeable, and they only occasionally, due to certain circumstances, address political issues, which, nevertheless, do not form the basis of their activities. Still others are directly concerned with political issues.

3. Classification of informals

ABOUT associations of informals are not registered anywhere and do not have their own charter or regulations. The conditions for membership in them are unspecified, and the number of groups fluctuates.

Let me take a closer look at each type of informal group.

1) Antisocial

WITH They stand aside from social problems, but do not pose a threat to society. Mainly perform recreational functions. Examples: punks’ motto is “we live here, now and today,” majors are people who preach the theory of highlifeism “high standard of living” - these are people who know how to earn money, they are attracted to the Western lifestyle. Among the majors are Americans, Finns; rockobbiles are fans of rock and roll - the motto is “a combination of grace with free behavior” bikers, hippies, systems.

These young people often attract the attention of passersby. Some with an extravagant hairstyle, some with a painted denim jacket, some with an earring, and sometimes more than one. They stand near the entrances to popular youth cafes, crowd at the entrance to the metro, sit on the lawns of city squares, and wander with a detached look along the city streets. They call themselves “people”, “hairsts” and consider themselves free people, independent of their parents and society.

V. Nikolsky, nickname Yufo:

“We are able to approach some “hairy” guy on the street. I've never seen him, I just walk up and say, “Hi!” And he answers me the same... They say: you are some strange people. Why do you know each other? You trust people. They can rob you, they can rob you, drag you away, and so on - do you understand?

We think that even now the “hairy” have had a huge impact on the evolution of society. In particular, Soviet rock music, which is now talked about so much, was mostly created by “hairy people”. These people are capable of sacrificing the latter. The latest clothes and other things in order to create a truly youth culture in the country.

I note that the desire to be original, which many boys and girls are guilty of, has its own history. Many people seem to have long forgotten, and the youth of the 80s probably never knew, that the French poet Charles Baudelaire dyed his hair purple. However, this did not stop him from writing beautiful poetry.

V. Kamensky recalled: “Here all three of them appear in a crowded auditorium of the Polytechnic Museum, buzzing with voices, sit down at a table with twenty glasses of hot tea: Mayakovsky in a top hat on the back of his head and a yellow jacket, Burliuk in a frock coat, with a painted face, Kamensky - with yellow stripes on his jacket and an airplane painted on his forehead... The audience is noisy, yelling, whistling, clapping their hands - they are having fun. The police are at a loss."

Among people of the older generation, the claims of original young people, their attempts at “novelty” cause a smile.

Who doesn't like driving fast?

IN In the mid-80s, in the capital of our soviet homeland, at the same time as heavy metal music, strong guys appeared, riding motorcycles, despising law enforcement officers and traffic rules. Then they were called the same as fans of heavy music - bikers, but it would be more correct to call them “bikers”.

Who are they?

The movement was not as numerous as, for example, rock music lovers, but it was distinguished by significant organization - outsiders were not allowed into the narrow circle, new people underwent the strictest selection, and only a physically developed person could get into them, capable of defending their rights in a fight and beliefs.

The new motorcyclists placed their main emphasis on strength - many hours of hard training in gyms made them so powerful that opponents of any deviations from the norm looked warily at groups of broad-shouldered speed enthusiasts. Bikers, in turn, loved heavy metal, dressed in the same style (leather jackets, combat boots) and served as a kind of security at heavy music concerts.

Many bikers were simply transformed metalheads, but if lovers of “heaviness” often studied at vocational schools, then only a more or less wealthy person could become a biker - a motorcycle, gasoline, beer and complete independence require money.

One of the symbols of bikers was the Confederate flag, borrowed from US history and symbolizing complete and absolute freedom.

Ufa bikers

There are not many bikers in Ufa, but nevertheless they exist. They are divided, talk about organizing a bike club remains just talk. Here are the most famous of the Ufa “kings of the road”:

Hermann: is not a sight for the faint of heart: a two-meter, broad-shouldered giant with long hair. Herman is an almost mythical personality; people know as much about him as he allows them to know.

Satan: shorter than Herman, but also broad-shouldered, does not grow hair, is recognizable by his worn denim vest, on which the names of his favorite bands are written in blue ballpoint pen.

Uncle Misha (Mikhail Pavlinsky): the owner of the Harley, which stood in Gostiny Dvor, is a fairly well-known bodybuilder in the city.

Bikers are also distinguished by a certain “age limit”: 15-20, less often - 25 years. The bulk are teenagers and young men aged 15-18. Most of them do not have driver's licenses and do not need them.

Today, biker associations exist in almost all large cities and in the vast majority of medium and small ones. It is not entirely legal to use the word “union” here - association as such does not exist. Moreover, there is no organization of bikers with its own established structure. They unite into more or less permanent groups, usually only for group trips.

Nevertheless, bikers have their own rules, their own unwritten but generally accepted “charter”, their own “code of honor”. The norms of behavior developed by bikers for themselves deserve to be discussed in more detail.

Sometimes you hear that bikers are young fans of high-speed motorcycle riding. This opinion is quite common, but not entirely true. Firstly, a sufficient number of speed riding enthusiasts can be found in numerous clubs and sections, but they have nothing to do with bikers. Secondly, having a motorcycle (and not having a license) does not make a young man a biker. To do this, you must follow the “biker regulations”. This “charter” puts forward complete disregard for traffic rules as its main requirement. For bikers, not only is it obligatory not to follow the rules, but their violation is also encouraged in every possible way. Riding in a “wedge” is also popular, when one motorcycle rides in front, two behind it, then three, etc. “Wedge” can move both along “its own” and “alien” lanes, interfering with everyone who, unfortunately, happens to be on the road at that moment. Normal, from a biker's point of view, is constant speeding.

Contempt for traffic rules also extends to those who are called upon to enforce these rules. Disobedience to employees of the State Road Safety Inspectorate, attempts to “escape” patrol cars and motorcycles are the norm for bikers. It should be noted that traffic police officers are not particularly disliked by bikers; they apply exactly the same to non-biker drivers and pedestrians. Bikers don’t care about the well-being of the residents of the houses they roar past at night. But it is known that in modern high-rise buildings the audibility is such that a little more and it is already visible.

The biker's principle: the road is for me, and I ride on it as I want. The overwhelming number of bikers quite sincerely consider this principle natural and legitimate.

Bikers have their own “ethics”, or rather anti-ethics: “You are the king on the road - ride as you want. The rest will be patient." It’s not uncommon for bikers to claim that their riding style is the only possible way for them to express themselves, which is criticized by those who have never ridden motorcycles and have no idea what it is, and therefore cannot understand them.

2) Antisocial.

A antisociality- pronounced aggressive character, desire to assert oneself at the expense of others, moral deafness.

However, the actions of the groups described above pale in comparison with the “activities” of youth “gangs”.

“Gangs” are associations (most often of teenagers) on a territorial basis. The city is divided by “gangs” into zones of influence. On “their” territory, gang members are the masters; any “outsiders” (especially from another gang) are dealt with extremely cruelly.

AND journalist E. Dotsuk gives the following dialogue with one of the “boys”, a full member of one of the Moscow gangs:

Do you have a girlfriend?

If I were alone, it would be easier. You can’t figure them out - where is the “girl”, where is the “rat”, where is the girl. What if you “show it” for a “rat”? You'll immediately fall off the “boys” bandwagon.

What do “girl” and “rat” mean?

The girl is an excellent student, her mother's daughter. “Rat” is everything, it couldn’t be worse. Although many of them pretend to be girls.

- “Girls” are also part of “gangs”?

Yes. But they have their own groups. Did you hear? “Golden Girls” - golden girls. “Black Foxes”, “Neutrals”.

What are they doing?

The same as the “boys”. They fight. They relax happily, “betting on the counter,” go to bars, smoke “weed,” and are interested in estimates.

“Weed” is drugs that are smoked. “Getting dressed” is an elementary robbery: a group approaches a fashionably dressed teenager (boy or girl) and asks him to “let him wear” a jacket, sneakers, etc. for a while. You can refuse, but most give it to you. The worst thing is the “counter”, when one of the teenagers, usually from another group or simply neutral, is told the amount of money that he must get. For the sake of external decency, you can ask for “loan.” From this moment on, the “counter” is turned on. Each day of delay increases the amount of debt by a certain percentage. The counter's operating time is limited. The reprisal against those who have not removed the “counter” is cruel - from beating to murder.

All “gangs” are armed, including firearms. The weapon is launched without much thought. “Gangs” not only quarrel with each other, but also carry out terror against neutral teenagers. The latter are forced to become “tributers” of the “gang” or join it. In response to the actions of “gangs” and to combat them, “neutral youth” creates their own unofficial association: “Ganymed” in Moscow, OAD (active action detachment) in St. Petersburg, etc. You can understand the young people who belong to these associations - they want to ensure their safety. But, acting on the principle “might beats strength,” they themselves often break the law.

Only in the 90s was it officially recognized in our country that organized crime exists. True, this only applied to adults. Meanwhile, 40% of adolescent offenses are organized and group in nature.

Over the past 30 years, deviant behavior, which took the form of innocent fun, has developed into delinquent behavior. The social characteristics and structure of youth groups have changed. Previously they numbered 3–5 people, now there are 50, 100 or more. Thus, in Kazan at the end of the 80s, 180 group crimes were committed, including 50 cases of mass “wall to wall” fights using knives, homemade weapons, and “rebar”. Hundreds of groups have been identified in other regions.

Numerical superiority (five to seven to one) allows them to fearlessly (without encountering resistance from the victim) and with impunity (age protects them from criminal liability) to commit assault, robbery, hooliganism, and burglary. Cases of “raids on Moscow” organized by visiting youth groups are typical. As a rule, they arrive in the morning and immediately begin to “bomb”: they commit robberies against their Moscow peers, rob and beat them.

Criminal groups differ in the degree of organization. In Tatarstan and Moldova these are “offices”. They are formed at the place of study, residence or work. Their actions are one-time, situational in nature. And there are criminal gangs where minors are included along with adults. Unlike "offices", gangs (groups of "risk", "business") have an even more serious antisocial orientation and their own organization, a cash fund - the "common fund", from which they finance those who are imprisoned, the hospital, as well as funeral of "our own". They are led by a leader, usually 19–22 years old. Next come the “old men” (“militants”), 16–18 years old, and finally the “husks”—14 year olds.

Boys with swastikas.

D I think everyone knows that among us there are those today who shout: “Heil Hitler!”, wear swastikas and use completely fascist methods to defend their “ideals.”

Who wears a swastika ?

R We are not talking about Wehrmacht or SS “veterans” living out their days. These are not young idiots who are ready to put on any trinket, as long as it is unusual and shiny. They were born many years after our so dear victory over fascism, they are our contemporaries, calling themselves fascists, acting like fascists and proud of it.

These are skinheads - “skinheads” (from the English “skin” - skin and “head” - head).

They are quite easy to pick out from the crowd. Shaved heads, all-black clothes, trousers tucked into boots. They most often move in groups of 5-10 people, but you can also meet individuals. During the day they try not to show themselves on the streets, but evening is their time.

They call themselves “fascists”, “fascists”, “Nazis”, “Nazis”, “National Front” and are considered followers of Adolf Hitler. He is the “theoretician” of their movement. Some are familiar with certain sayings and works of Nietzsche and Spengler. For the majority, the “theoretical” basis is a sparse set of Nazi dogmas: there are a “superior race” and “subhumans”; most of the “subhumans” must be destroyed, and the rest turned into slaves; the one who is stronger is right, etc.

The Gestapo man “Father Müller” has worthy students who, in demonstrating the “innate quality of man” - cruelty, perhaps surpassed their teachers.

R Russian Independent Institute of Social and National Problems in November-December 1997, commissioned by the Moscow representative office of the Foundation. F. Ebert conducted an all-Russian representative sociological study on the topic: “The youth of new Russia: What is it like? What does he live on? What is it striving for?”

The object of the study, conducted using a special sociological questionnaire (formalized interview), included two groups: the main group, the youth aged from 17 to 26 years inclusive (a total of 1974 people were interviewed) and the control group, representing the older generation aged 40 to 60 years ( a total of 774 people were surveyed)

It was not in vain that I started talking about this research in my coursework. The fact is that from time to time in various publications the opinion is propagated that fascist ideology is widespread among Russian youth. What do the results of sociological research show in this sense?

The overwhelming majority of Russians (88.3%) have a negative attitude towards people who use fascist symbols and profess the ideas of fascism, including 62.9% of them - extremely negatively. Only 1.2% of Russians have a positive attitude towards fascist symbols and fascists (including 0.4% who are very favorable); “indifferent” - 10.5% of Russians. The situation by age group is reflected in the data presented in the figure.

As you can see, the main age “hotbeds” where supporters of fascist ideology exist are youth groups under 21 and 22-26 years old. But even in these age groups they do not constitute the number that would allow us to speak about the widespread spread of the “fascist infection” in the consciousness and behavior of modern Russian youth.

Picture 1

The share of representatives of various age groups of the population, condemning
or approving manifestations of fascism among Russian youth, in%

If we talk about socio-professional groups, then those most approving of manifestations of fascism are among university students, the unemployed and workers.

Note that only 11.7% of respondents had to deal with young people professing the ideology of fascism; 77.9% have not encountered them, and 10.4% of respondents found it difficult to answer.

Men especially often encountered young supporters of fascist ideology - 14.7% (of women - 9.0%). It is quite clear that young people themselves are more likely to encounter such young people than representatives of the older generation.

Of the various socio-professional groups, the most frequently encountered supporters of the ideology of fascism were the humanitarian and creative intelligentsia (22.8%), university students (30.9%), military personnel and employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (27.5%), and service sector workers (17). .0%).

Figure 2

The share of residents of different regions who had to face
with manifestations of fascism among Russian youth, as well as
those who approve of this phenomenon, in %

Based on the results of the study, I think there is every reason to conclude that, despite the presence of individual “foci” where there are supporters of fascist ideology among young people, there is no serious scale of spread of this phenomenon in Russia.

On my own behalf, in addition to these statistics, I will say that, in principle, there are not so many Nazis in Ufa and they do not represent a single cohesive group, but 15 to 20 people gather. Meeting places, “hangouts” are very different and for the purpose of secrecy change often. This is both the square in front of the City Council and the square in front of the Television Center; and basements of houses and kindergartens. The only place where the probability of seeing skins is 100% is the Sipailovo microdistrict. Every evening, near the former youth center, they arrange a “debriefing”: who is today, who and what? They don’t care why, they all know why exactly, and the news that today there is one less non-Nazi on Earth delights them...

3) Prosocial.

P Rosocial informal clubs or associations are socially positive and benefit society. These associations benefit society and solve social problems of a cultural and protective nature (protection of monuments, architectural monuments, restoration of churches, solve environmental problems).

Z green- various environmental associations that exist almost everywhere call themselves, the activity and popularity of which is steadily growing.

Pro-social informal associations also include associations for the protection of monuments, architectural monuments, and the Society for the Protection of Animals.

4) Informals of artistic orientation.

G They say that every generation has its own music. If this statement is true, then the question arises: what generation is rock music?

Rock performers sang about the issues that worried the rebellious youth: about the violation of the civil rights of the disadvantaged, about racial prejudice and the persecution of dissidents, about the need for social reforms, about the expansion of the anti-war movement in connection with US aggression in Vietnam, and much more. They were listened to, they were understood, they were sung along. One of the most popular songs of the “HU” ensemble, “My Generation,” was sung along by the entire audience. “Tomorrow may never come!” - American guys who were sent to die in Vietnam repeated after Janis Joplen. Rock performers sang about what was close and understandable to their listeners.

Amateur artists are no less popular among young people. However, things are not going so well for them.

Muscovites and guests of the capital are accustomed to exhibitions and sales of paintings by amateur artists on Arbat, in Izmailovsky Park. Residents of St. Petersburg have the opportunity to see a similar exhibition on Nevsky Prospekt next to Catherine's garden.

There are similar exhibitions in other cities. They exist quite officially, but they allow solving a small part of the problems facing this type of amateur creativity. And strictly speaking, only one provision of young artists with the opportunity to exhibit and sell their paintings. The range of problems that they do not solve is quite wide. First of all, they include the absence of a single center that could become a kind of creative workshop for amateur artists.

There is a need to establish the hitherto missing close connection between amateur artists and local organizations of the artists' union. Such a community would significantly enrich the art of amateur artists, raise their professional level, and help identify brighter talents and talents. The issue of informing the public about the activities of amateur artists has not been resolved; there is no discussion of their paintings or the creative directions they are developing. Finally, the exhibitions look good in the summer, but make an extremely miserable impression in the winter: amateur artists have no roof over their heads (literally).

5) Computer underground.

N And lastly, I will consider a relatively young type of informal youth groups: the computer underground.

Moving on to consider a specific community of people associated with practical mathematics, we can say that this group (an association of people connected by one idea) is also heterogeneous. Within a group (system) there are a sufficient number of subgroups united (chained) by more or less generalized ideas.

Along with the above, propose another structuring of the computer community. To do this, you need to use slang used in the computer community. We can say that the modern computer community may have a hierarchical structure, like, in general, another subcultural system. So, at the lowest level are the so-called users. This is the broadest segment of the computer community. Further up the pyramid, there is a group called "points". They are followed by the so-called “sysops” or system operators (administrators). The activities of “sysops” are managed by so-called “network communicators”.

The slang mentioned above is also part of the described subculture, just like any language, it is an integral part of a social group. Although no one is talking about completely replacing natural language with slang. Slang only complements it.

The subcultural world of the computer underground, like other subcultural formations, has its own way and language of communication, due to the fact that the subjects do not have constant personal contact with each other. Just as in the ordinary world, writing letters to friends and acquaintances is part of the ritual of exchanging information, so in the described community there are similar means. But, as a consequence of the lack of constant direct contact, writing letters (in this context, electronic) has become one of the permanent methods of communication. Moreover, opportunities and means of communication have appeared not only between two specific subjects, but also within and between groups.

Sh. Conclusion.

N and this completes our acquaintance with the informals. It’s hard for me to judge how successful it turned out to be, but it’s good that it happened.

For modern youth, rest and leisure are the leading form of life activity; it has supplanted work as the most important need. Satisfaction with leisure now determines satisfaction with life in general. There is no selectivity in cultural behavior; stereotypes and group conformity (agreement) predominate. It has its own language, special fashion, art and style of communication. More and more, the youth subculture is becoming an informal culture, the bearers of which are informal youth groups.

“Going informal” encourages young people to experience internal loneliness, the need for friends, conflicts at school and at home, distrust of adults, and protest against lies. Almost every eighth person comes to the group because “they didn’t know how to live further.”

The youth subculture is largely surrogate in nature - it is filled with artificial substitutes for real values: extended apprenticeship as pseudo-independence, imitation of the relationships of adults with the system of domination and domination of strong personalities, ghostly participation in the adventures of screen and literary heroes instead of realizing their own aspirations, and finally, escape or rejection of social reality instead of its reconstruction and improvement.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

1. A.V. Gromov, O.S. Kuzin“Informals, who is who?”, M., 1999

2. V.T. Lisovsky“Is truth born in every dispute?”, Kazan, 1997

3. “Sociology of Youth”. Ed. V.T. Lisovsky, SPSU, 1996

4. “Youth extremism.” Ed. A.A. Kozlova, SPSU, 1996

5. Ryabov P. "Movement strategy: general retreat." Magazine "Community", No. 48,1992

6. Shubin A."Harmony of History", M., 1992

7. Lotman Yu.M."Some thoughts on the typology of culture." In the book: “The language of culture or problems of translatability”, M., 1987

8. Monthly magazine “Reader's Digest” No. 3, 7-9, 2001 (series of articles “External culture. System specialists”)

9. "Informal environmental youth movements in the USSR. Facts and documents." Ed. Mukhacheva S.G., Zabelina S.I., Kazan, 1993

10. Korotkov A.M.. “Accident - the cop’s daughter”, film story, Parus magazine, No. 5, 1989

11. Isaev A."Economic democracy. Modern ideology of traditional trade unions in Russia", M., 1997

12. Sharanov A.V.. “Sociology of Youth”, M., 1996

13. Shubin A."Social Ecology", M., 1995

14. Fomichev S."Prelude to Anarchism". Magazine "The Third Way", No. 44, 1996

15. Yushenkov S."Informal movements: general characteristics and main development trends", M., 1998

16. Yanetsky O.N."Social movements. 100 interviews with leaders", M., 1991

17. Petrov A."Aliens", "Teacher's newspaper", No. 11, 1993

18. Russian Independent Institute of Social and National Problems. "All-Russian representative social research": "Youth of the new Russia: What are they like? How do they live? What do they strive for?"

Kofyrin N.V. Problems of studying informal youth groups. Sociological research. 1991. No. 1

A. Shubin"The Fate of the Informals"\\ M., 1996

Since any informal youth association unites those who “did not fit into” the normal course of social life, then, on the one hand, protest against society is cultivated in order to create a different (better) one, and on the other hand, it is precisely staying in an informal youth association that is designed to promote adaptation of youth to the same society. The youth subculture performs a number of positive functions: adapting young people to society, providing a young person with the opportunity to develop a primary status, helping young people free themselves from parental dependence and guardianship, and conveying value ideas specific to a certain social stratum. As a rule, many young people, after leaving the movement, no longer suffer from teenage complexes, do not “rebel” for insignificant reasons, and do not turn life into an endless search for adventure.

Below are the signs that are visible to the “naked” eye, from the point of view of an amateur:

1) Informal groups do not have official status.

2) Weakly defined internal structure.

3) Most associations have weakly expressed interests.

4) Weak internal connections.

5) It is very difficult to identify a leader

6) They do not have a program of activities.

7) They act on the initiative of a small group from the outside.

8) They represent an alternative to government structures.

9) Very difficult to classify in an orderly manner.

Causes:

1) Challenge to society, protest.

2) Challenge to the family, misunderstanding in the family.

3) Reluctance to be like everyone else.

4) The desire will establish itself in the new environment.

5) Attract attention to yourself.

6) The area of organizing leisure time for young people in the country is underdeveloped.

7) Copying Western structures, trends, culture.

8) Religious ideological beliefs.

9) Tribute to fashion.

10) Lack of purpose in life.

11) Influence of criminal structures, hooliganism.

12) Age hobbies.

I will highlight the main, in my opinion, features of the informal environment:

* the predominance of connections of a horizontal nature (in contrast to the democratic-populist movement and party structures of a later time);

* commitment to social creativity, a tendency to search for new social forms, alternativeism, “constructive utopianism”;

* organic democracy, the desire for self-government, internal anti-authoritarianism, “collective leadership”;

* weak articulation, “prescribed” formal relations, the formation of the internal structure of organizations under the influence of real personal connections, the desire to create their own microenvironment, lifestyle (like dissidents, but not democrats, who for the most part separate life and “social activity”);

* the absence of strict restrictions on cooperation, for example, with the authorities (unlike dissidents and, say, Narodnaya Volya);

* lack of clear ideological “frameworks” with high ideological level of each group separately (unlike dissidents);

* the desire to “think globally and act locally”, to have specific socially oriented (that is, aimed at obtaining a social effect, not profit) projects that confirm ideas or contribute to their implementation.

There are many classifications of informal youth groups:

According to their social orientation, informal groups are divided into three groups:

1. About social - democratic, socially active, directing affairs for the benefit of people.

2. These include:

· social assistance clubs,

· environmental, ethnic, historical and patriotic associations.

3. Antisocial - supporters of serious social problems, based on spending time together and having fun.

These include:

Rockobbillies are fans of rock and roll.

These include:

· pre-criminal,

· unstable criminal

· actually criminal (stable criminal groups united in gangs, etc.).

According to the focus of interests and, accordingly, by type of activity, informal groups can be divided into the following areas:

1. Groups of cultural and leisure orientation:

· modern youth music (“fan clubs” of a certain group or singer, fans of different styles of rock, break dancers, punks, “disco” fans, etc.);

· sports orientation (military sports, amateurs, “Afghans”, fans of the cult of strength - “siloviki”, “athletes”, “jocks”, etc., fans - “fans”, etc.). Special mention should be made of “fans”, which have become widespread recently. The purpose of their unification: emotional release in the process of “cheering” at the match, post-match processions, feeling and emphasizing to others with the help of external design (stylized clothes, shoes, scarves in the colors of clubs, banners, emblems, badges) of their belonging to the group. When committing hooligan acts, “fans” often use parts of plumbing equipment, sticks with nails, “maces,” brass knuckles, and metal balls;

· technical orientation (motorcyclist rockers, karting groups, hackers, computer scientists, etc.).

2. Alternative lifestyle groups:

· Mystical-religious (Hare Krishnas, fans of gurus, Eastern philosophies, etc.);

· all directions of the hippie movement (hippies, pacifists, systemists, etc.) - early hippies preached the ideology of social passivity, non-interference in the affairs of society, the ideology of peace and universal love, now their position has changed, and some of them have switched to active social activities, namely they gave impetus to the creation of “green” and “environmentalists”, hippies are regular fans of the Beatles.

3. Social initiative groups:

· ecologists (nature defenders, “greens”...);

· globalists (actively expressing their attitude towards a specific solution to global problems);

· protection and protection of historical and cultural monuments;

· social initiative funds for a wide range of activities;

· creative unions.

4. Socio-political groups:

· groups in defense of ongoing changes in society: political, economic, cultural, etc.;

· popular fronts and movements;

· political clubs and associations.

Of course, this division is conditional, because their interests and passions, the content of their activities, principles, and methods of work may also manifest themselves in other groups. For example, passion for modern youth trends in music, the need to express themselves in slang, and forms of manifestation of activity in society take place in different groups.

Informal youth associations can also be divided into basic subcultures.

Based on basic subcultures, informal youth associations are divided into:

1. Role-playing community - all role-playing game movements formed around the social institution of role-playing games, as well as assimilated movements of reenactors, anime artists, etc.

The basic principle of unification: escapism - (English escape - to run away, to be saved) - a person’s desire to escape from the gloomy reality into the world of illusions.

· hippie groups

· Indianists - people who study the culture of the Indians of North and South America. By reconstructing their way of life and preaching Indian morals, the Indianists actually continue to lead the way of life familiar to city people.

· Rastafarians - called followers of Rastafarianism. They are usually identified by a number of characteristic attributes: smoking marijuana, worshiping Bob Marley and the god Jah, using the green-yellow-red color combination, and others.

The basic principle of the association: socially oriented activities.

3. Punks - (both underground and punk rock fans), including assimilated movements of “leftist” alisomans, film buffs and teeming.

"Alisoman" - fans of the group "Alice".

Kishi are fans of the group "The King and the Jester".

4. Xenophobic nationalists:

· boneheads - a neo-fascist wing of the informal skinhead movement, listen to heavy metal.

· neopagans - followers of ancient pagan teachings and spiritual practices.

· Skin-Huls - Nazi hooligans.

The basic principle of unification: aggressive behavior.

5. Necrofetishists:

· metalheads - people who listen to hard and light rock. They wear clothes with the image or inscription of their favorite rock band, they also wear chains, wristbands, and piercings.

· Satanists - scientists define Satanism as a mystical-religious subculture, whose roots go back to the relatively distant past; they all wear long hair, short beards, leather trousers and jackets, chunky shoes, silver or metal chains, and keychains (often in the shape of an inverted pentagram and skull).

· goths are a representative of the gothic subculture, inspired by the aesthetics of the gothic novel, the aesthetics of death, gothic music and consider themselves to be part of the gothic scene.

Subculture is a set of specific socio-psychological characteristics (norms, values, stereotypes, tastes, etc.) that influence the lifestyle and thinking of certain nominal and real groups of people and allow them to realize and establish themselves as “we”, a different from “they” (the rest of society).

The basic principle of unification: excessive passion for the occult.

Informal youth associations are also classified into:

1. Non-extremist informal youth associations:

· Emo is a youth subculture formed on the basis of fans of the musical style of the same name. They are distinguished by self-expression, opposition to injustice, and a special, sensual perception of the world. Often an emo kid is a vulnerable and depressed person; The appearance is dominated by black and pink, torn bangs, and a lot of badges.

· Role-playing community - modeling of a particular situation by a group of people. Each of them behaves as he wants, playing for his character.

· Alisomaniacs

· Movie buffs

· Anarchists - fight for the elimination of exploitation and oppression in society. Their goal is to change society so that everyone is given the opportunity to develop themselves. Another feature of anarchism is anti-statehood.

· Anti-fascists

· Satanists

2. Extremist informal associations that pose the greatest danger:

· WhitePower ("White power" - the supremacy of the white race)

· The National Bolshevik Party is a public association that positions itself as a revolutionary, moderate nationalist, anti-government and anti-bourgeois party.

· Devil worshipers are spontaneously formed and poorly organized groups of teenagers and young people who worship the devil and commit ritual murders.

So, the commitment of adolescents (high school students) to one group or another changes their life position, value orientations, worldview and forms of behavior. They have difficulty “fitting” into the logic of the educational process of a school or class, sometimes not accepting the activities and lifestyle organized by teachers, or even entering into confrontation.

Informal youth associations

these are unauthorized and spontaneously emerging youth groups and movements, united by common ideals and interests that differ from generally accepted, traditional ideas about what is prestigious and useful. Informal youth associations historically arise along with the separation of youth into a separate socio-demographic group, the expansion of the boundaries of youth, and the growing variety of forms of their upbringing and education. Informal youth associations form a special youth society or youth subculture, which expresses both specifically youth interests (sports, fashion, sex, etc.) and traditional forms of activity uniquely understood by youth (politics, art, business, etc.). ).

Various kinds of initiative groups, interest clubs, “risk groups,” etc. act as informal youth associations. Although all such youth associations are dominated by spontaneous, informal communication, they have a well-defined internal structure. All informal youth associations are characterized by the presence of informal leaders, identification symbols and rituals, and a special language (slang). Moreover, many youth groups have their own working and press organs. All informal youth associations can be conditionally divided into associations of youth subcultures and youth groups of socio-political initiatives. In the West, informal associations of youth subculture loudly declared themselves several decades ago, in the form of the movement of beatniks, hippies, new leftists, etc. These movements became the cultural and ideological basis for the political movements of “civil initiatives” in the 60s, and later for the “new social movements” in the 80s and 90s. In our country, informal youth associations of the 60-80s had a pro-Western orientation and were classified by the authorities as dissident. Among the initiative movements of modern Western youth, the most influential are the environmental movement, feminism, as well as various right- and left-wing extremist groups. With the beginning of perestroika in the USSR, informal youth associations received widespread development as part of the “popular fronts”, as well as in the form of various groups of youth subcultures. In modern Russia, informal youth associations are mainly non-political in nature. But regardless of their political or other orientation, informal youth associations are an important part of a democratic, pluralistic society. Unlike conservatively-minded “fathers,” young people boldly embrace fundamentally new strategies and lifestyles, acting as the most important source of socio-political innovation. Through their informal associations, young people achieve self-identification in relation to the older generation, joining - often in a conflicting form - active political life and promoting social control over power.

Potseluev S.P.

Political science. Dictionary. - M: RSU. V.N. Konovalov. 2010.

Political science. Dictionary. - RSU. V.N. Konovalov. 2010.

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FORMAL AND INFORMAL GROUPS, THEIR CHARACTERISTICS

In general, youth organizations are usually understood as groups of young people united according to certain criteria.

There are formal and informal youth movements and organizations. The criterion is their legal status: whether they have state registration with the justice authorities, exist without registration, or their activities are prohibited by law.

The most difficult is the study of informal youth movements. There are a huge number of their classifications. Despite the lack of official status and public recognition among the so-called “informals,” they are part of public culture, i.e., a subculture that differs from the dominant one in society in language, behavior, clothing, etc.

The basis of a subculture can be a style of music, a way of life, or certain political views. Some subcultures are extremist or informal in nature and demonstrate protest against society or certain social phenomena. Numerous politicized youth associations are actively involved in the political process.

The law understands an informal structure as a non-state, self-organizing non-profit structure with a scale of operation ranging from intra-corporate to international non-governmental organizations, the main purpose of which is to develop alternative programs to improve the socio-economic and political climate.

Informal youth groups are based on two main functions: the first is the desire for autonomy, independence from adults and the second is the desire to assert themselves and express themselves.

The reasons for the departure of modern youth in Russia to informal youth associations may be the following: the presence of interests of each individual, the need for a variety of forms of life activity, including political, discrepancies and various acute contradictions on national grounds, the crisis of the administrative system.

An informal youth association is understood as a small and often locally limited interest group. Such a group can be interpreted as an emerging new subculture if in the future it acquires such characteristics as territorial and numerical distribution, infrastructure, value-normative and symbolic basis.

Informal youth associations are unsanctioned by the authorities, autonomous and spontaneously emerging youth groups and movements, united by common ideals and interests that differ from generally accepted, traditional ideas about what is prestigious and useful.

Informal youth associations historically arise along with the separation of youth into a separate socio-demographic group, the expansion of the boundaries of youth age, and the growing variety of forms of their upbringing and education. They form a special youth society, or a youth subculture, in which both specifically youth interests (sports, fashion, etc.) and traditional forms of activity uniquely understood by youth (politics, art, business, etc.) are expressed.

Informal youth associations do not have official registration, do not have a clear structure, and are formed on the initiative of the participants themselves for the purpose of self-expression and self-affirmation, preaching a certain asocial or antisocial ideology in the context of a youth subculture, professing narrow group morality.

Informal youth associations, being a complex socio-cultural phenomenon, are:

firstly, a group, an association of people cultivating certain subcultural values, behavior patterns, style of communication and self-expression;

secondly, a specific local group of young people belonging to a subculture, united on the principle of common views, worldview, aesthetic positions, and the structure of these associations can be either formalized or discretely blurred.

In the humanities, as a rule, there are four main functions of informal youth associations.

The first function is negation, that is, opposition to the dominant system.

The second is opposition.

The third function is to collaborate with formal organizations.

The fourth function of informal youth associations is to stimulate changes in local, regional, social group, generational, cultural and other areas of public life and its center - socio-economic and political structures. In addition to these reasons and signs of a more general nature, the following may also play a significant role:

1. imaginary or real infringement of political and socio-economic rights;

2. instability in the economic sphere;

3. the problem of employment by profession;

4. passivity of trade union organizations;

5. weakness of state social policy;

6. lack of mechanisms for vertical mobility;

7. high level of government corruption;

8. a consistently high number of citizens with a low standard of living;

9. introduction of the values of Western political culture into the consciousness of Russian citizens;

10. underdevelopment of civil society structures;

12. protracted formation of a national idea.

Any association, both formal and informal, carries a set of specific functions that determine the direction of movement and its political significance. The most significant functions of informal associations include: the desire for self-realization, instrumental, compensatory, heuristic, educational functions.

Through their informal associations, young people achieve self-identification in relation to the older generation, join active political life, although often in a conflicting form, and promote social control over power.

Among all informal movements, there are two types, different in structure: democratic (based on social roles) and authoritarian (based on formal rules).

There are different types of social relations and political interaction. The processes of group dynamics include: management, leadership, formation of group opinion, group cohesion, conflicts, group pressure and other ways of regulating the behavior of group members.

Democratic informal movements strive for free expression of opinion, high mobility of members, and the widest possible reach of supporters. An authoritarian association has a rigid structure. A more accurate definition for it is “organization.” The definition of an organization usually includes such specific features as the presence of a coordinating and managing body and a division of labor between its members. However, these traits appear mainly in large-scale organizations and are not strictly necessary for all organized social groups.

Informal youth movements are the most important component of the process of formation of civil society in Russia. The future of democracy in Russia without opposition and alternative associations is fraught with “hard authoritarianism” and a lack of alternatives. The main features of “informals” include the lack of official status, a weakly expressed internal structure, weakly expressed interests, weak internal connections, the absence of a formal leader, an activity program, action on the initiative of a small group from the outside, an alternative position in relation to government structures.

Due to these features, informal associations are difficult to classify in an orderly manner. The reasons for the emergence of informal movements include: challenge to society, protest; challenge to the family, misunderstanding in the family; reluctance to be like everyone else; desire to establish yourself in a new environment; desire to attract attention; underdevelopment of leisure activities for young people in the country; copying Western structures, trends, culture; religious or ideological beliefs; tribute to fashion; lack of purpose in life; influence of criminal structures, hooliganism; age hobbies.

The most famous informal movements widespread in Russia include the following: punk rockers, goths, anarchists, metalheads, bikers, hip-hoppers, emo, greens, Tolkienists, informal organizations in sports (the most widespread are football fans), philosophizing informal organizations (the most famous are hippies). With the exception of monarchists, most of these organizations do not have a clear political program, however, their protest sentiments and slogans can play a fairly serious role in the political process and should be taken into account when determining and implementing state youth policy.

Politicized youth associations today occupy a dominant position at the “entrance” to the political system of the Russian Federation. They actively dictate demands that the authorities cannot help but listen to and cannot help but respond to. If we classify these associations, then the following large formations can be placed in the first positions.

All-Russian Public Patriotic Movement (APPM) “Russian National Unity”. This is an Orthodox national-patriotic organization that proclaims “ensuring the present and future of the Russian nation, its worthy historical path, that is, returning the Russian people to their historical place and role in the state and the world.” After some changes in the leadership of the movement, when many decided to leave the organization, the “Orthodox” ideology finally became established as the main one.

National Socialist Society (NSO). This is an ultra-right public association that positions itself as the only National Socialist organization in Russia ready to fight for political power in the country. Proclaims its task to build a Russian national state on the basis of National Socialist ideology.

Movement "Slavic Union". This is an ultra-right National Socialist movement that aims to create a Slavic state. On April 27, 2010, the Moscow City Court declared the movement extremist, which resulted in the prohibition of the organization’s activities throughout the country.

Movement against Illegal Immigration (DPNI). This is an extreme right-wing social movement that has declared its goal to combat illegal immigration in Russia. Along with informal and banned youth organizations in the political field, youth organizations that have a formal legal status are also quite active. We include them in the general context, since their conflict with “non-formals” can have serious political consequences, which also requires a balanced approach to organizing the activities of institutionalized youth associations.

Interregional public organization for promoting the development of sovereign democracy (MOOSD).

“OURS” is a youth movement created in 2005 in Russia by the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation. The stated goal of the movement is “to promote Russia’s transformation into a global leader in the 21st century.”

The Youth Union of Right Forces (YSU), which is formally considered the “Komsomol” of A. Chubais.

Russian Association of Trade Union Organizations of Students (RAPOS), headed by former deputy of the Rodina faction Oleg Denisov. RAPOS is funded by the Rodina party. URAPOS has nothing in his ideological baggage except sweeping demands for social support for students, free education, etc.

It is worth noting that none of the above-mentioned formal youth organizations can currently play the role of leader of the youth movement in Russia, i.e. this segment of the political space is free, including for extremist and radical political views and actions.

The incomplete social status of young people is reflected in the nature of their interaction with other social groups. At the group and individual level, this often manifests itself in discrimination against young people based on age, in violation of their rights in education, work, professional activities, in the field of culture, in family relationships, in limiting the possibilities of their physical and spiritual development, in infringement of individual rights . Young people cannot help but react to such attitudes towards them, often choosing extreme forms of protection.

The need for state regulation and at the same time ensuring broad democratic participation of young people (including representatives of “informal movements”) in the socio-political sphere requires taking into account both positive and negative trends in the youth environment in the process of implementing state policy.

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Peculiarities of marriage choice among students (using the example of NFI KemSU)

Differences of opinion in defining the concept of youth, the criteria for identifying them as an independent group, as well as age boundaries have been going on for a very long time. Scientists share different approaches - this is from the standpoint of sociology, psychology, demography, etc...

Features and structure of the social group of the poor in modern Russia

Poverty is a characteristic of the economic situation of an individual or group in which they themselves cannot pay the cost of necessary goods. Sociological Encyclopedic Dictionary, under. Ed. G.V. Osipova.- M.- 1998....

Rehabilitation leisure for children at risk

A family is an association of people based on marriage or consanguinity, connected by a common life, mutual moral responsibility and mutual assistance. As a necessary component of the social structure, performing many social functions...

Improving the system of social and legal protection of youth in the labor market

The transition to a market economy caused significant changes in the social status of various groups of the population, including those that were traditionally considered bearers of advanced ideas...

Social protection against unemployment

Currently, more than 30 million people aged 14 to 29 live in Russia. From the point of view of labor market problems, young people are heterogeneous both in age and educational level...

Social groups

social group small The role of small groups in the life of an ordinary person, and indeed of the whole society, can hardly be overestimated. Like any social group, a small group is a constant, self-renewing system of interactions between its participants...

Social groups, their types and main features

Groups are often divided into formal and informal. This division is based on the nature of the group structure. The structure of a group refers to the relatively constant combination of interpersonal relationships that exists within it...

Compliance with the rules of the culture of dispute in intragroup conflicts largely depends on the position of the leader and his ability to conduct the discussion in a constructive manner, acting in it not as a dominant force, but on an equal footing with everyone...

Sociology of the collective and small groups

One of the interesting objects of research is small groups. In sociology, a special sociological theory was developed - the theory of small groups...

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