Le flic, c’est moi
Young Volunteer Militias in Russia
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
Russia once again has voluntary militias. As in Soviet times, they monitor public space, help fight crime, and serve to keep society in line. They are also used to suppress political protests. The militias’ advocates emphasize that the militias give young people an opportunity to become model citizens. The people’s patrols embody a form of state-sponsored engagement on behalf of civil society. The fact that hundreds of thousands of young people volunteer for these militias shows the extent of conformity on behalf of the Putin regime. The traditional theory that government bodies and organisations of civil society stand opposite one another does not apply here. The patrols’ proponents have not succeeded in winning recognition for the voluntary militias as a generally accepted model for young people.
(Osteuropa 11-12/2013, pp. 169–182)