The Role of Political Youth Movements in the Democratisation Process of the Contemporary Russia

Abstract

This study aims to analyse the role of political youth movements in contemporary Russia. The Russian political youth movements can be broadly divided into two categories: ‘’Pro-Kremlin’’ and ‘’Opposition groups’’. Moreover, most of the political parties in the Duma have youth wings. Recent studies show that most of the young people in Russia do not participate in elections. On the other hand, over the past decade, some of the youth movements start to use nonviolent methods of resistance against autocratic regime. Thousands of young people demand political change and take part of the demonstrations. This paper will focus on the implications of current political processes for youth politics in contemporary Russian political culture. It will try to figure out the main ‘’strengths and weakness’’ of these groups in the democratisation process of the contemporary Russia.

Keywords

• Youth Movements, Russia, Democratization, Political Culture, Power.

References

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6. Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) on 6-7 October 2007