The media often uses the word "skinheads", and in the vast majority of cases it carries a negative connotation. Let's not allow ourselves superficial judgments and figure out who they are, and why in the minds of the British the skinhead is still more often dressed in Crombie or Harrington than in the usual bomber jacket.

As we said in a previous article (see), in the sixties, the youth of Great Britain was captivated by the image of fashion - a young esthete, hedonist and dandy.

In the second half of the decade, several ways of developing this image were outlined. The world of music was captured by a wave of psychedelia, and fashion could not stand aside. Parties became a real kaleidoscope of surreal patterns and bright colors. A completely different style was developed for themselves by young people who became known as “hard mods” (English “hard mods”). It was simpler, more practical and contrasted strongly with the images of Bohemia.

It cannot be argued that this was a deliberate opposition to fashion. The differences between hard-modes and representatives of the “golden youth” and creative intelligentsia were natural: the difference at the level of the social environment led to a divergence in tastes and outlook on life. However, by the end of the 60s, it became more noticeable within the subculture itself. Those mods that rampaged during the famous pogroms in the south of Great Britain in the mid-60s can be safely considered hard mods. They loved to fight, were engaged in theft and robbery, carried edged weapons and often united in real gangs. They were young people born after the war.

The adolescence of this generation came at a time when the difficulties of the war and post-war years were left behind: it was possible to live without thinking only about how to feed yourself and restore the country. The fashion revolution of the sixties, aimed at teenagers, began. Everyone wanted to keep up with the times. A lot of music, clubs and stylish clothes appeared around, and all this could become yours - if only there was money!

The British economy, gaining momentum, provided jobs, making it possible to honestly save up for a stylish suit and a motor scooter. It was possible to go an easier way - crime in all its manifestations helped to get money for new clothes, drugs and trips to the most fashionable clubs in the city. On Friday night, the mods acted like playboys, pop idols and high society people, but the day came and many of them had to go back to work or look for illegal money.

“They called me a hard mod… the media seized on the pogrom story [the famous clash of mods with rockers in the south of England in 1964] and described the mods as a crazy mob of drug addicts prone to violence and unrest. Of course, there was a grain of truth in the nonsense that the newspapers scribbled. Among the mods were those who went to Brighton, Margaret and other cities only to arrange complete chaos there. I must confess I was one of them.

Reputation was everything. I started carrying a weapon (an axe) with me and was ready to use it if necessary ... Appearance was very important - everyone around was literally required to wear a woolen suit"

John Leo Waters

British hard fashion late 60s, London

The fact is that, despite the desire for elitism, the origins of the fashion movement largely lay in the working environment. The poor and disadvantaged areas of south London were home to many mods and ordinary teenagers who soaked up urban culture with their age.

Brixton, one such area, included a large Jamaican diaspora. A declining economy, a wave of crime, a hurricane that devastated the east of Jamaica in 1944, and the promise of jobs from the British government attracted immigrants from the Caribbean to London. The sharp influx of foreigners from a distant land played a major role in the transformation of hard mods into skinheads. In 1962, the former British colony gained independence, but such a large-scale political event could not but have negative consequences for the population. Many Jamaicans continued to emigrate to the former metropolis.

At the new location, Jamaican youth introduced their London peers to their culture. The island had its own subculture: rude boys are literally “rough guys”, but in Jamaican English they are rather “tough”, “severe”. Rudboys were from the working class and often showed violence towards each other and those around them. Their life was not easy, because they often grew up in the most disadvantaged areas of Kingston, the capital of not the most peaceful country. Like many young people, all the more daring and often involved in crime, rudboys strove to dress brand-new: suits, tight ties, trilby hats and “pork pie”. Perhaps this style was inspired by jazz musicians in the United States. Roodboys preferred the freshest and most modern local music: ska, and later rocksteady.

Ska is a musical genre that originated in Jamaica at the turn of the fifties and sixties. The combination of American rhythm and blues with the Caribbean styles of mento and calypso resulted in a completely new and very distinctive sound.

In the second half of the sixties, ska music evolved into rocksteady. Compared to its predecessor, this style features a slower tempo, syncopated bass, and the use of small bands with electric bass guitar (early ska bands were large ensembles and mostly used double bass). The most important ska bands and performers were and remain Toots and The Maytals, The Skatalites, Bob Marley and the Wailers (the leader of the latter became one of the most recognizable musicians in history), The Upsetters (the group of the famous producer Lee "Scratch" Perry), Derrick Morgan , Max Romeo, Prince Buster, Desmond Dekker and many others.

So, on the wave of emigration, the youth culture of Jamaica came to the shores of Foggy Albion. It is not surprising that due to their close age, love for music and the desire to look interesting, the English guys began to adopt the style of ore fighting. The Mods have traditionally been fond of American soul and rhythm and blues, but also quite interested in Jamaican music. A huge merit in this belongs to the English label Melodisc Records, founded in 1949 and releasing Afro-Caribbean music. The company began recording Jamaican musicians in London and, building on the success of these recordings, founded the Blue Beat Records division. It specialized in ska and rocksteady music, beloved by oreboys, mods, and later by skinheads.

One of the brightest musicians with whom the label collaborated was Prince Buster, a man who made a huge contribution to the formation of ska and the popularization of the genre in the UK.

The youth of south London attended clubs designed for Jamaicans called "ska bars" with great interest, learned to dance ska and adopted elements of style. Records of African-American and Caribbean music sold like hot cakes in stores.

Thus, when mods began to gravitate towards psychedelic music in the late sixties, south London mods already had a special connection with Jamaican music, and the hard mods did not follow the bohemians. Indigenous Londoners and immigrants, hard fashion and rude boi merged into a subculture that came to be called skinheads (English - “skinheads”). The name of the subculture is made up of two words: "skin" - "skin" and "head" - "head". There is a version that this word was taken from the lexicon of American infantrymen.

“… Fashion and music changed. The clubs started playing strange music like The Byrds and Jimi Hendrix, and the mods had no choice but to go to Jamaican clubs - only they did not stop playing black music. So mods went to ska clubs and adopted the style of rudboys, but since they weren't black they couldn't call themselves that, so they borrowed the word "skinheads", which was the name given to USMC recruits who had their heads shaved when they went to army. In the Marine Corps, only officers called a recruit "skinhead", like: "Hey, you skinhead, come here!" So originally the skinhead style was a white variant of the rudboy style."

Dick Coomes

These people moved further and further away from the refinement of mods, and after a few decades, the connection between the two subcultures was barely traced. But let us dwell in more detail on the skinheads of the first generation, the so-called traditional skinheads (Traditional Skinheads).

What did they look like? In addition to the usual for mods (English “Sta-Prest”), which kept their shape perfectly, a few more no less practical elements were added: jeans, suspenders and heavy work boots. Haircuts have become shorter and simpler. Some, in the fashion of the ore battles or out of the practicality of the workers, shaved almost bald. Skinheads wore mohair, favored by mods and hard mods, but with a slightly elongated cut, and plaid button-down shirts, the collar of which was fixed with buttons.

The classic and famous MA-1 bomber jacket, which later became an icon of the image of the subculture and, in fact, its synonym, enjoyed great popularity. Jackets have not disappeared from the wardrobe of hard mod skinheads. Among the outerwear, the windbreaker was also a success - a cotton semi-sports bomber jacket with fringing stripes on the collar, sleeves and elasticated bottom, as well as a British dockers work jacket.

A curious detail was the manner in which the pants were rolled up. Lightly at first to show the boots, then harder to show off the colored socks taken from the ore fighting style. According to the memoirs of those years, once the organizers of the concert gave the famous reggae singer Desmond Dekker a suit, and he asked to shorten his trousers by fifteen centimeters. In imitation of their idol, teenagers began to roll up their trousers. Not to mention the fact that, to a certain extent, Mr. Dekker also contributed to the fashion for short haircuts among the future skinheads who admired him.

The author continues a series of publications designed to highlight some of the problems associated with the study of the phenomenon of mind control. In his latest article “Psychological characteristics of members of destructive and terrorist (radical) groups”, the author came to the conclusion that for a deeper scientific analysis of the phenomenon of mind control, it is worth referring to the activities of “destructive organizations” the activities of groups (mini-societies), such as anti-globalists, radical ecologists, terrorists, criminal, some "gaming" communities, etc. The study of the activities of these subjects in the aggregate will help to better understand the nature of radicalism and the increase in the use of thought reforming techniques (mind control) in society.

The activities of "destructive organizations" in Russian society and the world have not yet been sufficiently considered in the context of radical asocial groups. Radicalism in all its forms and manifestations, in its scope and intensity, in its cruelty, has become one of the most acute and topical problems of states today. One of the aspects of this problem, according to the author, is undoubtedly "misconceptions" about the role of youth groups in the destabilization of modern society. The author will try to consider the activities of radical representatives of "youth subcultures" from different angles.

In contrast to the opinion of the majority of the inhabitants, modern subcultures, especially youth ones, are not amorphous and monotonous phenomena, but are active "foci of resistance" to modern society with its Christian morality. These "hot spots" represent different types of escape from the "imposed" culture, and in themselves are neither bad nor good. The peculiarity of subcultures in Russia is expressed in the fact that most of the "youth subcultures", and in this article we mainly consider them, are borrowed from Western culture and are not historically established "centers" of subculture in our country.

The paradox is that the more we try to resist globalization, the more we integrate into it. We do not want to become part of the global and lose our “national” advantages, but at the same time we are actively introducing an international (international) system of subcultures in society, whose true calling (“in its purest form”) is to serve as a counterbalance or slower to globalization. "Skinheads", "neo-Nazis", "reds", "anarchists", "anti-globalists", "rappers" - they are all representatives of European and American culture.

Welcome to globalization.

Major misconceptions about the skinhead culture movement

1. Skinheads are a movement associated with fascism
2. Skinheads are a criminal group and there is no culture there
3. The problem of "violence" of skinheads is impossible to solve

In our article, we will try to refute these misconceptions, for which we will consider the current state of the "radical centers".

Evidence that there is nothing in common between the classic skinhead movement and the “neo-fascist” organizations mimicking it, except for some elements of clothing, we will consider below (“three waves of classical skinhead culture”).

History: three waves of classic skinhead culture

First wave. The "skinheads" of the late 60s were, one might say, a product of the "mod culture" that was cultivated under the influence of Jamaican culture brought to England by immigrant rudeboys. "Mods" (mods) is not only a musical style, but also a certain movement, lifestyle and manner of dressing, generated by the teenage culture of Britain in the early 60s. The eternal confrontation between "fathers and sons" flared up with renewed vigor with the advent of rock and roll (mid-50s): the young generation of Americans, who received their music, their idols and their fashion, began to realize themselves as an independent social class that did not want to obey laws of adults and trying to self-determine. English teenagers also wanted to listen and play rhythm and blues and rock and roll. This is how the fashion movement was born. Britain in the 60s was particularly affected by the economic problems caused by the post-war crisis: it was necessary to restore the industry and destroyed houses, workers and employees were needed, but there were not enough people. This forced teenagers even from good families to get a job, more often in offices and offices (clerks, typists, etc.). Getting their personal income, young Britons could buy outfits, spend money on entertainment. The "mods" dressed very neatly, usually wearing expensive suits. "Fred Perry", "Ben Sherman", "Lonsdale" - these clothing and footwear companies were very popular among the "mods".

This is how Teddy Boys fashion was born. Boys wear corduroy jackets with large lapels, leather ties, trousers with lapels, boots with corrugated soles; hairstyles - elongated, with hair framing the face. The girls wore skirts above the knees and sweaters with blind necks, long and straight hair. Because of this passion (dressing well), they were often accused of betraying the working class, because. The "mods" were not much different socially from the youth of the working class, but spent large amounts of money on clothing. Fashion girls loved heavy makeup and soft lipstick. Scooters (motor scooters) have become favorite entertainment. At the same time, the Teddy Boys were distinguished by a very hooligan disposition: they formed gangs that rode scooters, fought with rockers (who drove motorcycles), smashed shop windows and frightened the townsfolk.

By the way, unlike rockers, the then popular culture of youth, "mods" had representatives of both sexes in their ranks. In addition to civilian clothes, "fashion" could be recognized by a scooter (Scooter). Many who rode them called themselves "Scooterist". Scooters can also be considered a product of “mod culture”. Usually they decorated scooters with mirrors and other spectacular things. Football fans ("hooligans"), who also came out of the "mods", were also fond of scooters. Being a "mod" meant having everything new and original that existed at the moment, standing out from the rest. All of London was flooded with scooters.

Music was a less important part of the movement than fashion and demeanor. Basically "mod bands" started by copying American rhythm and blues standards and creating their own musical material in the same vein. The Mods played rhythm and blues and rock and roll faster, harder and dirtier than their predecessors. By 1968, the mod movement had almost died out, reborn into other movements.

Already in the early 60s, the so-called Rudies appeared - young immigrants from Jamaica who worked in low-paid jobs (shops, bars, docks, factories). They had their own fashion. And most importantly, their own music - "ska", which the British also liked. At the same time, the movement of "mods" also started.

At the same time, the first "hard-mods" (hard-mod) or "skinheads" appeared. Every Saturday, these new progressive youths went to stadiums to cheer on their favorite teams. Deadly support for football teams often led to brawls between opposing fans, leading to the legendary British "football violence". Since representatives of the "hard-mode" (hard-mod) often participated in brawls, they began to shave their heads so that in a fight the enemy could not use the hair grab. It is worth noting that the "skinheads" did not immediately separate from the "mods": everything happened gradually.

Not everyone called themselves "skinheads" (skinheads). There were names like “herberts” (from Herbert Street in Glasgow (UK)), “street kids” (that is, “children of the streets”), “spy kids” (approximate translation is “hunters”), “peanuts” (then there are "nut crushers"; they got this name for the rumble of their scooters) and others.

Contrary to popular belief, most "skinheads" around the world have never been "shaven" or "skinhead". Those who worked at the river docks kept a short "cut" on their heads, and cut their hair like that only to protect themselves from dust, dirt and lice. For this reason, "skinhead" in the mid-sixties is a derogatory nickname, something like "horned". They didn't call themselves that. They were so scolded.

When night fell, the "skinheads" dressed in the best they could afford (usually a cheap men's suit) and went to the dance halls. Here they danced to the sounds of the new music brought to England by Jamaican immigrants. Many names have been attributed to this music, including: "ska" (later called "first wave ska"), "jamaican blues", "blue beat", "rocksteady", and "reggae".

By the way, about "ryudiz-skins". Once upon a time, before joining the "reggae", very young Bob Marley was a skinhead. Bob Marley wore high combat boots, camouflage, and a clean cut.

The first "skinheads" later began to prefer American clothes "Levi Jeans" and "Alpha Flight Jackets" and narrow suspenders (braces) with boots "Doc Marten". With the rise of football hooliganism, the dark green Alpha Flight Jackets (also called the MA1, Flight Jacket, or Bomber Jacket) came into use, allowing them to easily slip out of the hands of opponents. This is how they dressed on football days, and at concerts and on the street they wore ordinary jackets, often jeans, black suspenders and black laces. This tightening of the style of dress markedly influenced the interest of the working class in "skinheads".

Skinheads loved beer, unlike amphetamine-drinking Mods and marijuana-smoking rudeboys. The "skinhead girls" dressed like boys, cut their hair short, and also had a lot of trouble and problems with the police and other youth groups. The Rudigers, Skinhead Girls, and Mod Girls wore miniskirts, which were very popular at the time and were seen as shocking to conservative parents.

In the early 70s, "skinheads" were gaining strength compared to other youth subcultural movements. The “skinheads” of the first wave matured: they appeared less and less on the street, started families, settled down, raised children, but still remained faithful to their roots.

Second wave of skin movement was marked by the rise of "punk rock" in the UK. "Punk rock" blew up stiff and cold England. "Punk rock" looked wild, rough, aggressive. He frightened housewives, respectable citizens and other gentlemen. But the working youth were looking for and wanting a harder and faster sound for their culture. In addition, "punk rock" became just student rebellious music, college music. And the resulting synthesis of bright, fast and rough sound became "streetpunk" (street punk), later called Sun journalist Gary Bushell as "Oi!". It was "punk", but it was "punk", oriented towards the working class. Because the roots of "Oi!" music was in the working class, the media was negative about this musical offshoot, going "punk rock" itself, as middle class music, they welcomed. The sound of "Oi!" differs from punk: simple guitar melodies are superimposed on a distinctly audible bass guitar and drums line and are accompanied by choruses similar to the screams of the football stands. Along with "street punk", the "skinhead" movement revived. Traits such as toughness and pride in the working class began to take root in "punk". Basically, the second wave of "skinheads" knew nothing about the heritage and their roots, "fashions", "ska", "rudeboys".

The old "skinheads" constantly criticized and scolded the new growth for innovation. For example, the '69 skins still wore Ben Sherman, Fred Perry, and the new '79 skins mostly wore blue Levi jeans, work boots, suspenders, and American pilot jackets. They called themselves "Bald Punks". During the 70s there were many changes in the classic "skinheads". The fashion moved from a washed-out style to better clothes than what the workers could afford - "blue collars". In the 70s, a "military" style of clothing appeared among skinheads. Other "skins" were strongly influenced by the "disco" of the seventies: they "put up their hair", put on frilly pants and boots in the style of the 70s.

With the formation of their own musical groups among the "skinheads", their political ideas began to lean towards the struggle of the right and left parties, and even apoliticality. The political right-wing groups leaned toward relations with the National Front (neo-fascists in England) and had similar ideas. The left groups were guided by the struggle of the working class, they used the communist policy. Apolitical groups often shunned both sides as they wanted to choose their own subcultural politics.

A group of representatives of the punk movement formed the “Skrewdriver” (“Screwdriver”) collective, which largely influenced “street punk” and after a while transformed into a “skinhead group”. Skrewdriver became the first band to make their neo-Nazi views known to the skinhead culture by holding a concert under the slogan "Rock Against Communism". Sympathizing with the National Front, they took a racist stance and began to create the right wing of the "skinhead movement" subculture.

"Skinheads" of the 69th model, on the contrary, remained on anti-racist positions, like most of the "skins" of those years, they were fond of "reggae" and "ska". They attended "color discos", but still called "blacks" - "darkies". They supported the ideals of the working class and left-wing politicians. England still remembered the Second World War, and therefore it was considered an honor for every patriotic citizen to remain on the positions of anti-racism.

By the end of the 70s, the National Front and the British National Socialist Party infiltrated the skinhead movement. By that time, the "skinheads" were already a strong generation. The National Front decided that "skinheads" would serve as an excellent source of new members and enhance its reputation and image. The youth were recruited as street soldiers of the National Front. A “racist skinhead” appeared on the Donahuue “show” (a popular show in England). This was a shock and a blow to the entire “skinhead movement.” Together with the media, the myth of “racist skinheads” was inflated by the National Front and Skrewdriver "("screwdriver"). Due to erroneous propaganda, society saw every "skinhead" racist. In our country, these consequences are especially evident. Most journalists, officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation and ordinary people reinforce the misconception that "skinheads" are neo-Nazis and racists.

The bad reputation only played into the hands of right-wing parties. Many young neo-Nazis, always far away from the working class and the "skinhead culture", began to call themselves "skinheads". This is how "Nazism" began to penetrate the culture of "skinheads".

In the US, "skins" were even more distant from their roots and gravitated toward the incipient "hard-core" wave that originated in New York. "Street punk" for England was akin to "hardcore" in the US. For example, the "skins" of the early 80s knew almost nothing and had not heard about "ska" or "Oi!". But like their counterparts in England, they wore work boots, jeans, borrowing this style of clothing from the punks. The Hardcore Skins were stronger and more violent than their Punk Skins contemporaries in England. In criminal reports, they flashed more often than in the 69th. The parties, like the National Front, created the image of "footsoldiers" (stormtroopers) from "skinheads".

In the 80s, no one liked "skinheads" for their aggressiveness, society considered them radicals and hooligans. But no one called them racists until that ill-fated interview on the popular show.

The subculture of "skinheads" has spread to all countries of the world. Each of them maintains an independent history of the skinheads' goals, their values, and their origin story. The definition of "skinhead" varies from country to country.

In the mid-1980s, Europe was shaken by a severe crisis, which can be considered a consequence of the "crisis of the 70s" that had erupted earlier in America. Governments played the Cold War; businesses closed; there was no money, and the standard of living fell more and more. This was reflected in the music: 84 year old bands began to compose more evil songs than those that sounded before. The musical subculture reflected the mood in society - tension and distrust of governments and their policies.

Politicians of various states have carried out a successful campaign to "advertise" the "skinhead atrocities" among the population of Europe, about their fascist "essence", and so on. As a result, the attitude of society towards the "skinhead" movement changed to a very negative one, and the movement began to wane. In the eyes of the townsfolk, "neo-Nazi" organizations have increasingly become associated with the "skinhead" movement. This continued until the end of the 80s.

In the late 80s and to this day, a new big manifestation of the "traditional" skinhead values ​​of the 60s began. It happened in England, America and most of Europe. It entailed a new confrontation between classical (traditional) and non-traditional (neo-fascist, anarchist and communist) skins.

The third wave was the skinheads of the mid-90s. There was a sign of "Civil War" in the "skinhead movement". Many of those who became "skinhead" more than 15 years ago began to appear on the streets, to participate in the development of "skinhead culture". 17-18 year old "punks" began to shave their heads, getting rid of the "Iroquois" and "garbage heaps".

Modern "skinheads" of Europe and the West are a mixture of "hard-mod / rudeboys" (hard mods / rudeboys) of the late 60s, and "punk / hard-core" (punk / hardcore) skins of the early 80s . Their musical tastes range from "reggae" to modern "hardcore", as well as "ska", "rocksteady", "rockabilly", "punk", "Oi!". Some only listen to "reggae", some only listen to "Oh!" or "punk". Of course, they are interested in their roots, the culture of “mods”, “scooters”, etc., but still, for most skinheads of the late 90s, this is an example from history.

In our country, the situation at the moment is as follows: we have few "red skins" (communist), SHARP skins, classic (traditional) skins. In Russia, the word "bonhead" is almost never used. "Bonehead" (bone head) is a term used by classic and other skins to refer to any "were-skinheads" who hold racist or neo-fascist views. The concept of "skinhead" in 99 cases out of 100 in Russia is associated with neo-Nazism and racism
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For reference:

1. SHARP-skins are "skinheads against racial prejudice" (SkinHeads Against Racial Prejudice), they appeared in New York (USA) in the late 80s. Movements that share the ideology of "skinheads against racial prejudice" are SCAR, SPAR, RASH, HARP and others. There are Chinese, Hawaiian, Japanese movements from other countries, whose ideology is similar to SHARP skins. They wore "S.H.A.R.P." with a Trojan helmet - the same orange badge that Trojan Records put on their records thirty years ago. The Sharps were proud of the fact that the fire lit by skinheads back in 1969 burns in their hearts.

2. "Redskins" or "RASH" - "Skinheads against Nazism and the power of capital" or "Red and Anarchist Skinheads". They appeared independently of the "sharps" a few years after them. RASH are leftist, have no nationality, are against racial purity and support anyone who needs their support. Their very name suggests that they are anarchists - they want freedom of action for everyone and everyone and strive to eliminate any pressure on people.

If we consider schematically the history of the "skinhead movement", then we can come to the conclusion that neo-fascist organizations that use elements of the culture of the "skinhead movement" are by definition not.

Developing over the three stages we have discussed above, the contemporary skinhead culture movement has been forced to remain a non-political (apolitical) and non-racist movement. However, this position led to the emergence of two “twin movements”, which use elements of the classical (traditional) “skinhead culture”, but are not them.

The red skinhead movement is a group of organizations representing different political and social groups, with different goals, but having one common and important goal - the destruction of the bonhead movement. Even 15 years ago, the “red skinhead” movement could be described as a radical wing of the classic “skinhead movement”. But during this time, the “red movement” has gone too far from being apolitical, and every year it grows more and more closely with youth organizations of the communist and anarchist persuasion. Representatives of the "Reds" criticize the representatives of the classical (traditional) "skinhead movement" for their apathy.

The bonhead movement is an artificially created neo-fascist organization of the late 60s. Over the past decades, this movement, with elements of the skinhead movement fashion, has transformed into an active radical wing of neo-Nazi and racist organizations. At the moment, apart from the common fashion elements of "boneheads" and "skinheads", there is practically nothing in common.

It is worth noting that the movement of classical (traditional) skinheads promotes apoliticality, are not racist organizations and are more transformed into their initial stage - into an informal musical movement with their own attributes, culture of behavior and consumption. However, "classic skinheads" continue to be adherents of certain values:

You must be a patriot of your country;
- You have to work;
- you have to study;
- you can't be a racist;

Misconception #1 “Skinheads are a movement associated with fascism”

As we have established, having examined the history of the emergence and development of the "skinhead" subculture, the "skinhead movement" has nothing to do with neo-Nazi movements and neo-fascist organizations.

It is safe to say that "skinheads" fell victim to political intrigues in the late 70s, where neo-fascist parties successfully used the popularity of the movement among young people to increase the number of their adherents. "Traditionalists" became a victim of their absolute apoliticality and failed to promptly respond to the political provocation properly at the necessary moment. This situation repeated itself at the end of the 80s, when the state politicians of European countries launched a campaign against the "skinhead movement" as the culprit of all problems. It is worth noting that these are standard political tools that are very often used in politics in order to distract voters from the question "Where do our taxes go?" the question "Who is to blame for all the problems?".

Continuing to be an apolitical and youth subculture, the "skinhead movement" will be constantly considered by the media and the townsfolk as part of neo-fascism.

In order to refute the misconception that "skinheads are a criminal group and there is no culture there", let's look at music, fashion and tattooing in all the movements discussed in this article.

Music

We will not consider this direction in depth, because. We talked about it in the previous part of our article. Here are the differences in the musical preferences of "bonheads" and "skinheads".

It can be seen from the table that there are no common musical preferences for these two movements. It makes no sense to specifically consider the musical culture of the “skinhead movement”, because our work pursues other goals.

Fashion

"Suspenders" are an integral part of skinhead clothing. Suspenders were already worn by "hard mods" in the mid-60s, along with high boots and cropped jeans, even before the nickname "skinhead" (skinhead) was born. Such clothes were called "working class style". The presence of suspenders has always meant belonging to the working class.

Workers and laborers at the river docks dressed this way as early as the beginning of the 20th century. Suspenders were needed so that the shirt would not catch on anything. The word "braces" is translated from English as "fasteners", and in relation to clothing it can be translated as "construction fasteners".

Most of the "skinheads" of the first wave were engaged in heavy manual labor. The further they went, the more they moved away from the "always new and sophisticated clothes" worn by their predecessors - "fashions". Those who worked with hand winches on the docks needed durable and comfortable clothing that could, above all, ensure their safety. Boots with a strong steel toe could protect the legs from falling boxes or other heavy objects, braces pressed the clothes to the body and did not give her the opportunity to catch on anything or get into the screw winches. Jeans or simple canvas trousers made of strong fabric had strong double seams, and, finally, the shirt and jacket had pads on the shoulders that protected workers from rain and damp sea wind.

Names for clothes are notable, for example, a coat or jacket with an overlay on the shoulders was called "donkey Jacket". The word "donkey" is translated as "winch", and the combination of these words means "winch jacket". Thin suspenders were not called "suspenders", as usual, but "braces" - this word had the additional meanings of "brackets" and "construction fasteners". The boots were called "boots", not "shoes", and so on. Skinheads wear solid-colored, unpatterned suspenders, usually black or dark red; brightly colored suspenders are less common. They are always thin, no more than two fingers wide, folded together. It's good if they have shiny locks and crocodiles.

By the way the suspenders are fastened on the back, there are two varieties - X and Y. Suspenders in the 60s looked like "X", today "Y" is more common. But it doesn't matter: someone wears X, and someone wears Y. Sometimes they make X turn into Y by fastening ribbons on the back nearby.

For the first time, a detailed description of the clothes of traditional skinheads was given by Hard as Nails and Zoot magazines in Scotland. They drew the attention of readers to the fact that skinheads at all times dressed differently. They had different clothes for the street and weekends. Meeting each other, they sometimes could not understand who they were dealing with, the differences were so strong. But there was nothing strange - no two people are the same. And no two skinheads are the same.

Other skinhead clothing, dating back to the days of mods, is meant to go to a concert or make a good impression. This is an English suit, with which you can wear all the same boots and suspenders, and with which a long coat is required in cold weather. Sometimes a hat is worn on the head, like those worn by the Rudie Boys.

At various times, skinheads have laughed at themselves by drawing monkeys in Ben Sherman shirts and Doctor Martens boots, blue work jeans and docker suspenders. Thus, they tried to show that it was not only about clothes. There must be something else in your head.

The skinhead community loves tattoos, but there are a limited number of images on this topic. Here are the most common ones.

A flying swallow tattoo means freedom. Often there are laurel wreaths of glory and glowing inscriptions "Oi!" - such drawings mean a lot to those who wear them. Sometimes drawings well known to other skinheads or record covers are reproduced.

Here is another example: this is the legend of the crucifixion of Christ, portrayed in this way. It means suffering, its original meaning is "crucified by capitalism". This drawing reflects the beliefs of the first wave of skinheads.

Its continuation is a "skin" rising from the grave, on the stone above which the inscription "Oi!" or a laurel wreath of glory. This drawing means that there is no death, and that the tradition will never be stopped.

The birthplace of these two drawings is Scotland, the city of Edinburgh. In the Middle Ages, Catholic "myths" about ghosts and spirits were widespread there, as now about skinheads. The inhabitants were so sure of their existence that they even covered the graves with stone slabs. In the twentieth century, when hypocrisy became clear, these drawings appeared.

Quote: “Killed by modernity, he will return” is a protest against Catholic morality, where everything is controlled by external forces: a good god, a carrot stick and money. Against a world in which no one owes you anything from the start. And where no one cares about you. This only applies to traditional skinheads and only matters to some of us. As a rule, we do not like to talk about it. And let's not discuss it now." .

Most skinheads have a negative attitude towards patches. It is considered indecent to demonstrate one's belonging to the movement with stripes. Quote: “Most of us do not need patches - if you are aware of your belonging to us and know how to dress, your appearance will be more than enough. Sparkling boots, rolled up jeans, a plaid shirt and suspenders - what could be better than such clothes in the world? Why even stripes?

The bonhead movement adopted some of the fashion elements of the skinhead movement, such as shoes, jeans, suspenders, hairstyles, and jackets (usually leather). In addition, various stripes with Nazi swastikas, etc. are welcomed in the bonhead movement. (rice.)

Bonheads have a very obsessive attitude towards tattoos, as a rule, they try to make them a lot and of an aggressive fascist nature. Neo-Nazis have a definition of an “enemy” in terms of fashion (clothes and style), which must be destroyed. According to this scheme, it is necessary to search for and destroy the "enemy of the race." The movement of the traditional "skinheads" never had such a "portrait" and most likely never will. Among the "red skinheads" such an "enemy" is the "bonehead".

The traditional drink of the "skinhead culture" is "beer" ("ale"), the use of strong drinks is not welcome.

В движении «бонхэд» не существует какой-либо культуры употребления напитков, кроме запрета употребления «ниггерских» напитков. Russian "bonehead" prefers to use a true Slavic drink - vodka.

Misconception No. 2 “Skinheads are a criminal group and there is no culture there”

Consider the concepts of culture and subculture. Subculture- a system of values, behavior patterns, life style of any social group, which is an independent holistic formation within the framework of the dominant culture.

culture- a set of material and spiritual values, life ideas, patterns of behavior, norms, methods and techniques of human activity:

Reflecting a certain level of historical development of society and man;
embodied in subject, material carriers and transmitted to subsequent generations

Note that the skinhead movement has all the necessary subcultural elements. It is impossible to call a subculture a criminal group, just as it is impossible to call the activities of a criminal group a manifestation of a subculture. The bonhead movement is also a youth subculture, but it has nothing in common, except for suspenders, boots and hairstyles, with the skinhead movement.

The situation is frightening when hundreds of crimes are committed by "boneheads", and for them there are all the necessary articles in the administrative and criminal code of the Russian Federation, and law enforcement agencies shrug their shoulders and say: "So these are skinheads - what can we do ?!".

One can argue about the responsibility of the state to citizens for a very long time, but only the state has the monopoly right to use force (violence) to protect citizens. When officials refuse to fulfill their duties and offer citizens to cope with their problems themselves (without violating laws), this spurs a wave of myths and fears about the impossibility of solving the problem of “riot of skins”. After all, if the state cannot, what can a citizen do? Everyone has the right to be afraid.... And it's scary. After a while, philistine myths and fears increase the problem and complicate it.

Let's try to consider delusion No. 3 "The problem of skinheads' rampage is impossible to solve."

Misconception No. 3 "The problem of the" rampage "of skinheads is impossible to solve"

We agree that the problem of growing radicalism and illegal behavior cannot be solved. Moreover, it is impossible to decide: if you do nothing and do not understand what you are facing. Let's try to analyze what we are faced with and what can be done.

Let's try to look at the problem from different points of view. Let us quote officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation (//News.ru, February 4, 2003). “The tactics and methods of their [bonhead] actions have changed. Skinheads switched to tactics, as we call it, "point strikes." According to the representative of the GUUR, skinheads do not have a single organization. “There are many varieties in the movement itself - Nazi skins, privateer skins and others. The only thing that unites them is the incitement of ethnic hatred by calling for violence.”

“There are between 15,000 and 20,000 skinheads in Russia. The movement includes disparate groups whose numbers fluctuate. Thus, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, there are about 5,000 active participants in this movement and about 100 leaders of various levels in the capital region. In St. Petersburg, there are about 3,000 skinheads and 17 neo-fascist organizations on the preventive list. ...According to him, various media provide them with considerable support in this. And, as a rule, agitation acts on 13-17-year-olds. That is why, according to Komarov, the Ministry of Internal Affairs concentrates its work "not on bringing the maximum number of extremists to criminal responsibility," but on operational and preventive activities. In particular, last November an attempt by neo-fascists to hold a congress dedicated to the birthday of the organizer of the skinhead movement, Ian Stuart, was thwarted, in which about 400 people wanted to take part.

According to RIA Novosti, in total in 2002, under Art. 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (inciting ethnic, racial or religious hatred), 71 criminal cases were initiated, 31 of them were sent to court, 16 people have already been punished.”

Let's look at some facts. Here are the titles of books and manuals "Hooligan style of hand-to-hand combat", "Use what is at hand", "Fight as it is", etc. All of these are detailed guides on how to conduct street fights, how to use improvised means, how to inflict maximum injury and much more. These reference books are studied and intensively studied. These guides are openly sold. Let's give some examples as an example: "You should wear a razor so as not to injure yourself ... ... it is better if the blade is fixed with tight-fitting pieces of clothing ... ... removing the weapon should not take much time ... ".

“...The razor strikes along their trajectory resemble glancing fist strikes .... ... eyes, forehead skin (bleeds heavily - blinds), neck, large arteries of the arms and legs, stomach .... ... the muscles of the peritoneum, often covered with a thick layer of fat, break through with a powerful circular blow ... ... there are no invulnerable places for a razor ... ... but it heals slowly, unlike wounds inflicted by a blunt weapon ... ".

“A headbutt to the face is much more dangerous than the previous blows - delivered quickly and at close range, it is almost irresistible. ... make a throw with a foot in the stomach ... ... keep the enemy at a distance convenient for such an attack ... ".

Neo-fascist groups study and constantly practice these tips. If we generalize the experience of creating radical groups, for example, blackshirts in Germany, brownshirts in Italy in the 30s, and modern youth groups, we can find a lot of identical signs. In the process of turning ordinary people into "stormtroopers" in the 30s and at present, the transformation of young people into members of organized criminal gangs has a lot in common.

According to Lifton's "doubling" concept, the best way to consolidate a new role model of behavior is to put it into practice and recruit new members. Based on this, it can be assumed with great confidence that every year the neo-fascist movement is becoming more cohesive and coordinated, and the number of attacks and crimes against "racial enemies" is also growing. The statistics of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation and human rights organizations prove this.

It is worth noting that "bonheads" and "red skinheads" are actively fighting for an important resource to replenish their ranks. Football fans, mostly young people, are the best source for replenishing the ranks of their group. Practically at all major football matches, well-planned and prepared actions take place - beating and attacking the fans of the other team. Perhaps someone will say that the author exaggerates the problem of football fights, but then how to explain that every year the number of law enforcement forces at football matches is increasing (including riot police)?! How to explain the fact that the fans of the other team are taken out on special buses, accompanied by enhanced police protection?! “Security measures,” you say, and you will be right.

I can object that only by protecting and allowing the activities of criminal youth groups under the guise of certain subcultures, the state deepens the problem of the growth of radicalism in youth subcultures.

Football massacres are a phenomenon of recent years, and this problem did not exist before. What are officials doing wrong? What allows the problem to take on a larger scale? Misunderstanding and struggle not with the source of the problem, but with the consequences. At the moment, methods of misleading society are being used. We are offered a new brand of evil - "skinheads", equating it with an incurable disease, such as "AIDS".

In this article, the author set the goal of explaining the brand "skinheads" not from the position from which it is offered to us by officials and many media outlets, but from the position of a youth subculture that is not directly related to the lawlessness being committed. "Skinheads" is a youth subculture that arose as a protest against public morality and which is focused on its values. I note - on civic values, among which there will once be no place for racial intolerance.

There is a problem of the lack of control over the existence of illegal radical, often criminal groups that call themselves "Aryan skinheads", but, in fact, are neo-Nazi groups. Perhaps officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation should turn their attention to the principle of "justice and irreversibility of punishment", and perhaps in the near future our country will stop beating people of a different, dissimilar culture.

With hope for the best

Vershinin Mikhail Valerievich
Psychologist, exit consultant
[email protected]
09.01.2004

By publishing this article, the Author does not pursue commercial purposes, but acts solely within the framework of scientific research, expressing a subjective opinion without the purpose of discrediting the mentioned legal (individual) persons, and reporting deliberately false results. The author does not pursue the goal of popularizing his ideas in the light of the consequences of the terrorist acts that took place in Russia and the world.

Note. Author: J. Lifton is an American psychologist who developed the concept of personality duplication in his book Nazi Doctors: Medical Murder and the Psychology of Genocide. This research led to a more accurate understanding of how people who are mentally and physically healthy, educated and idealistic can quickly become fanatics of movements whose entire ideology and activities directly contradict their original views of the world. Such a sharp and deep resocialization of the individual is the result of a specific adaptive reaction under conditions of extreme group pressure and manipulation of basic human needs. Lifton called it "a doubling". Doubling consists in dividing the system of one's own "I" into two independently functioning wholes. The separation occurs because at some point the member of the group is confronted with the fact that his new behavior is incompatible with the pre-group self. The behavior demanded and rewarded by the totalitarian group is so different from the "old self" that the usual psychological defenses (rationalization, repression, etc.) are not enough for life functioning. All thoughts, beliefs, actions, feelings and roles associated with being in a destructive cult are organized into an independent system, a partial "I", which is fully consistent with the requirements of this group, but this does not happen by the free choice of the individual, but as an instinctive reaction of self-preservation in almost unbearable - psychologically - conditions. The new partial "I" acts as a whole "I", eliminating internal psychological conflicts.

We often see gangs of shaven-headed thugs throwing out their arms in the Roman salute, shouting "Glory to Russia" at the top of their voices. A negative attitude has long been formed towards them. They themselves do not seek to dispel the fears of the townsfolk. Young people like that society fears and despises them.

There were many girls among the skinheads. They wore short hair, shirts and jeans, often fought with the police and liked to drink beer on the streets.

Many ordinary people prefer to think in clichés and accept ready-made images. No one seeks to understand that a subculture is not a criminal group, just as a criminal group cannot be the basis for a subculture. The problem of the harsh temper of skinheads is being solved. It, like any other manifestation of radicalism, cannot be solved exclusively in courts and prisons. Without a doubt, any violation of social norms should be punished to the fullest extent. But in any civilized society there is such a thing as the presumption of innocence, and not every skinhead is a priori a criminal.

On the territory of our country, according to official figures, there are more than 20,000 skinheads. They are constantly "processed" by representatives of radical organizations, backed by people who seek to sow the seeds of instability and ethnic discord in the state.

(Angel) / SKINHEADS

The topic of "skinheads" has recently become fashionable, fashionable for the authorities and politicians and the media associated with them, since it allows their actions to be used as a propaganda background, for example, when adopting "anti-extremist laws" or to justify gross police brutality against left-wing opponents capitalist globalization. Therefore, this topic needs to be dealt with. We believe that the material published below, which we received from the SKM RF mailing list, gives some idea of ​​skinheads in Russia. Naturally, our attitude towards this phenomenon is determined by our position - the position of the Marxists, internationalists and enemies of the capitalist system, including fascism - the open dictatorship of the most reactionary circles of the bourgeoisie.

IS IT EASY TO BE YOUNG.

Skinheads or skinheads are members of a relatively new informal stylistic countercultural youth movement that emerged in Europe and America around the 60s-80s. The word "skinhead" comes from the fusion of two English words: skin - "skin" and head - "head"; the word skinhead literally translates as "leather head". In Russia, representatives of the skinhead movement prefer to call themselves "skinheads", because, in their opinion, this name sounds more patriotic. All participants in the movement shave their heads to a shine and wear special military-style paraphernalia (white and green camouflage). They have their own customs and traditions, their own musical culture. Compared to other informal youth groups, Russian skinheads have a rather complex and developed ideology. Our politicians do not always take this into account. And there are many dangers here.

THE ORIGIN OF THE SKIN MOVEMENT IN RUSSIA. Early 90s

The first skinheads appeared in Russia already in the early 90s. First they were seen in Moscow, which since then has become considered the ideological and spiritual center of the skin movement. At that time, there were no more than a few dozen fans of skin culture and ideology in Moscow.

The main place for meetings and communication for the then skinheads at this time was the Old Arbat and the streets next to the Kitai-Gorod metro station. Initially, when the skinhead movement in Russia was in its infancy, there were very few people who recognized themselves as skinheads. Their aesthetic and cultural tastes were fully satisfied by the recordings of foreign, non-Russian skin groups that came to them through friends and acquaintances, and by foreign self-translated articles from foreign newspapers and magazines that came to them from the same source. A completely understandable desire to listen to or read something of one's own (ideologically close) was satisfied by listening to songs and studying the texts of some domestic extreme "punk rock" or "heavy metal" groups. Already in the early 90s, extremist and national-chauvinist features and shades appeared in the lyrics of many of them, but they were still very, very far from real racist-Nazi songs.

Mid 90s.

In 1993-1994, the number of Moscow skinheads reached 150-200 people. Their activities have already actively influenced the criminal reports of the capital. Around the same time, the first "teams" of skinheads began to appear in several of the largest cities in Russia, and primarily in St. Petersburg, Rostov and Volgograd.

Since the mid-90s, the total number of skinheads has exceeded 1000 people, their subculture and ideology have become a noticeable phenomenon in the world of modern Russian right-wing political extremism.

Well-known neo-fascist and ultra-Nazi political parties and movements are beginning to seek contacts with the most authoritative and odious leaders of Russian skinheads. By the mid-1990s, there was a certain growth and revival in the narrow and cramped world of skin culture. Pod nil magazine began to appear in Moscow, the first in Russia printed organ of the actual skinhead movement (although at one time, in 1995-1996, the musical "metal" magazine Iron March acted as a skinhead magazine). Around the same time, the first skin bands appeared - musical groups playing the "OY" style (the musical style of skinheads, typologically close to "post-punk").

Late 90s.

Between 1994 and 1998, there was a giant leap in numbers and organization among the skinheads. Their total number increases by several tens of times. Quite large groups appear in Moscow and St. Petersburg. In Moscow alone in 1998 there were about 20 associations. The bone-breaking activity of the skinheads takes on catastrophic proportions, every day several dozen "foreigners" become their victims.

By 1998, a huge change had taken place in the skin culture, expressed in the popularization of the skin movement as such among young people. As a consequence of this, the number of skinheads increased significantly and began to become a prominent phenomenon in the counterculture world. The ever-increasing number of skinheads and the demand for skin attributes that has grown along with this have given rise to the world (more precisely, to the expanses of Russia) an entire skin industry created exclusively for skinheads.

Instead of a single skin-magazine "Under Zero", which appeared irregularly for quite a long period of time, several new skin-printing publications appear only in Moscow - the magazines "Stop", "Blow", "Street Fighter", "Screwdriver". And the number of musical skin groups began to number several dozen. In Moscow alone, about a dozen of their own musical skin groups constantly exist and operate, many of which are known throughout Russia. Among them, one can name "Sturm", "Russian Ghetto" (now "Kolovrat"), "Radegast", "Vandal", "Ultimatum". There are also several strong skin groups in St. Petersburg, including the group "Totenkopf" (literally: "dead head" - skull), the oldest skin group in Russia. The skin group T.N.F. has been playing songs in Yaroslavl for several years now, having repeatedly toured all over Russia. In Moscow, St. Petersburg and other large cities of Russia, skin concerts are held almost every month, a couple of times a year there are real music festivals of "OY" style music. The leader here, of course, is Moscow, where the most organized skins invite foreign musical groups playing in the style of "white rock".

The needs of skinheads in "overalls" are satisfied by many different firms, both ours and foreign ones. Moreover, piece, custom-made, handicraft costumes and symbols were replaced by entire workshops producing wholesale consignments of goods. The sale of skin attributes occurs in different ways. Powerful boots-boots "Marten" ("Dr. Marten"), "Grinders", "Combat", "T-34", "Bulldog" and others are sold quite openly in Moscow on Novy Arbat, in the central stores of large cities, at numerous markets. These shoes are comfortable, popular and in demand among various groups of young people. But in order to buy a skinhead bomber jacket or camouflage pants, you have to go to a special place, which even in Moscow was counted once or twice.

SHAVED ENVIRONMENT.

Youngsters.

The first, most numerous group is “youngsters”, these are teenagers 12-14 years old who still don’t really know what it is to be a real skinhead, but have already picked up Nazi or racist slogans, have understood some basic norms of behavior inherent in skinheads. Most often this happens with direct imitation of older and more experienced comrades. This category actively uses external symbols and attributes of the skin movement - the Celtic cross, Nazi symbols. Although it should be noted that at the moment there is no single, well-established model of the uniform.

Young growth.

The second category is "youngsters", older teenagers, 14-16 years old, actively participating in all kinds of neo-Nazi rallies and gatherings, gathering in large regular groups. This category of skinheads has a more clearly defined political orientation and the ability to more or less coherently state the main principles of the skin movement.

Starshaki.

The third category - "starshaki", in addition to participating in rallies, gatherings and gatherings, have a solid, fairly well-established political orientation, are able not only to coherently state the main points of the political program of their movement, but also carry out propaganda work.

Old skinheads.

Among the huge crowd of skins of various types, levels and degrees of organization, there is a small (in relation to the entire skin movement as a whole) close-knit group called "old skinheads".

This relatively small part of the skin movement consists of the most ideological, persistent and active skinheads. The average age of a skinhead of this species is over 20 years old. "Old skinheads" know the customs, traditions and principles of skinheads best, being their main guardians and interpreters for the bulk of skinheads. Each of them has a certain experience of being in the skin movement, from three to five to ten years, during which he must live and act, observing all the principles and commandments of the skin movement. Interruption of the length of service is not allowed, transition for a while to another informal course with a subsequent return is also not allowed, it must be a skin "throughout life".

"Old skinheads" are the main core of the skin movement, they form it, they unite it. With their beliefs, they try to influence those around them, and first of all, young people and teenagers, from which, over time, they form skin groups, where they become the main ones. One of their main tasks is to stimulate and radicalize both individual skin groups and the entire skin movement as a whole. The classic "old skinheads" are basically either "politicians" - "bone-breakers" who take an "active life position" and reinforce the "word" with "deeds", or "militants" with political overtones, although there are some variations. Some particularly aggressive musicians who write and perform songs in the style of "white rock" can also have the status of "old skinhead".

At the moment, the number of "old skinheads" has increased significantly, which is directly related to the popularization of the skin movement. Their ideological education also increased. Adepts of this type of skin actively participated in the third congress of Russian nationalists, held in St. Petersburg. It is in the midst of the "old skinheads" that actions are being taken to legalize and create their own party.

Mods.

Separately and apart in the general mass of skinheads is the category of "mods" - skins - the lowest and most despised category. This type of skins is almost completely apolitical and inert - in fact, this is the main fault of the "mods". They wear skin trappings, listen to skinhead music, sometimes attend skin concerts, but for the most part they are quiet and non-aggressive. As a rule, they are not even able to repel insults and ridicule from the "correct" skinheads, all the more they cannot commit any serious act, "glorious" and "heroic" from the point of view of the main body of skinheads. Veterans of the skin movement speak of such "fake skinheads" with obvious contempt. Unfortunately, the bulk of the skinheads are punks paying tribute to fashion, as the movement becomes more and more popular. They are unorganized, they don't know how to think, and in general they judge movement only by external paraphernalia: a bomber jacket, a bald head, suspenders, beer, "Doctor Marten" (a kind of boots).

TRENDS.

In Russia, skinheads behave differently from any ordinary informal youth association. This is especially noticeable in the largest cities of Russia - Moscow and St. Petersburg. Although "they", like most informals, gather in certain places, go to music concerts and holidays, wear special paraphernalia. However, not all participants in the skin movement are satisfied with a harmless existence in the form of an informal countercultural movement. The current unstable situation in Russia has sharply politicized the majority of Russian skinheads. From a countercultural informal movement, imbued with the spirit of aggression and outrageousness, it gradually turned into an unorganized youth political movement of a neo-Nazi persuasion. Unlike other informal youth movements and groups that exist at the moment, the skinhead movement - Russian skinheads - is the toughest, most aggressive and criminalized among other informal groups. Skinheads constantly arrange skirmishes, conflicts, clashes, and most of the illegal actions are committed on the basis of racist ideas and neo-Nazi ideology.

Similar tendencies are emerging throughout Russia as a whole. All this is especially relevant at the moment, when national and racial conflicts on the territory of Russia, as well as the confrontation of individual nationalities, have reached a record high.

Why is the skinhead movement not disappearing, why is it slowly but steadily growing and expanding? I think there is no main common cause here, but there is a set of reasons that, having combined together, gave Russia a new aggressive racist-Nazi youth movement of the right-wing, and at the moment also of the left-wing extremist. First of all, it should be noted the intensification of migration processes, the war in Chechnya, the growth of conflicts of cultures and ethnic groups and, of course, the deterioration of living conditions in Russia.

IDEOLOGY OF SKINHEADS.

The most widespread in Russia is the ideology of "right" skinheads. It penetrated Russia before any other skin ideology and received the greatest recognition from young people. In itself, the ideology of the "right" skinheads is quite complex. In the Russian skin movement itself, there is already a written ideology of precisely "brown" skinheads. It appeared in April 2000 in the form of a samizdat brochure called "The ABC of Slavic Skinheads". This pamphlet was written in 2000 by the Russian neo-Nazi Salazar and was originally distributed only in Moscow and the Moscow region.

However, skinheads draw a significant part of the "ideologically useful" information from written publications (most often magazines) distributed by the skinheads themselves in their environment. An important role in the assimilation of the rudiments of ideology is played by watching a number of video films that tell about the life of skinheads.

Nevertheless, the basic "concepts" - ideological dogmas, rules of conduct - are usually spread orally by skinheads. Their assimilation occurs gradually, from case to case, and the amount of information learned is determined by the curiosity of a particular skin. However, every young skinhead novice who wants to further increase his rank and authority must learn a certain minimum, which a "real skinhead" simply must know.

The very ideology of skins includes both ideological dogmas proper and primitive social theories, as well as rules of behavior in a given situation. The BASIC IDEOLOGY of the average member of the skinhead movement, excluding the more educated, "upper" layer and the lower layer who knows almost nothing or nothing at all (who does not know the very ideology of the skinhead movement, even in its most primitive version), is unbridled aggression towards all that. what goes beyond the boundaries of the narrow world of the group and what remains beyond the understanding of the consciousness of primitive, extremist-minded, uncultivated youth.

Their ideology contains an extreme form of racism, manifested in the open expression of hostility and hatred on a racial and national basis, both through slogans, appeals, inscriptions, drawings, symbols, and through direct actions, skirmishes, clashes, mass fights, acts of intimidation. All these actions are directed (without special specification) in relation to the Negroid and Asian races. But in principle, any "non-Russian" person, "non-Slavic" appearance, with a more or less dark skin color, can suffer from the hands of skinheads. The objects of influence are determined by eye, mainly by visual signs: skin color, facial features, eye shape, hair. A certain part of skinheads is dominated by anti-Semitic and anti-Caucasian sentiments, there is a desire to use extreme forms of genocide, especially pronounced against persons of "Caucasian nationality" (in particular, Muslim diasporas, and also personally in relation to the Vainakh diaspora, residents of Chechnya are especially often mentioned). Sometimes threats can be made against the inhabitants of Central Asia. Aggressive xenophobia (hostility towards foreigners) takes place, mainly on a racial basis, especially towards foreign immigrants (refugees, internally displaced persons from neighboring countries).

Aggressive xenophobia is expressed in insults and violent actions. All this is motivated by the fact that "the dominance of immigrants will lead to the fact that they will build their own state with us, where we will be superfluous. Well, what do we see today? We are being forced out of our country, our lands are being occupied by "black" and "oblique" The authorities turn a blind eye to this, as immigrants have a lot of money with which they can buy anyone."

The main thing in their ideology is nationalism, national racism, the exaltation of their (in this case, Russian) nation as a nation belonging to the "whites", standing above all other races (mainly in comparison with the Negroid and Asian races). With what the white race elevates itself above others, almost every skinhead interprets in his own way and does not particularly specify. At the same time, the nationalism of the skinheads manifests itself in the sense of pride and a sense of superiority of their own people, their nation. Pride also affects the customs and traditions of one's country and one's nationality.

SOCIAL THEORIES OF THE SKINDHEADS.

The ideology of the skinheads is inherent in a certain set of social theories that are known to every more or less competent skinhead. These social theories can vary greatly depending on the direction of the ideology and the intellectual level of a skinhead. Ideally, the social structure of the state is conceived by skinheads on the principle of South African apartheid of the 50s - 80s with some elements of the social structure of Germany during the Third Reich. It should be a unitary state in which there is a significant social and property inequality in terms of skin color and the most obvious racial discrimination. In the Russian version, this state should also have the priority of the Russian (Slavic) nation over the rest.

Some social theories of skinheads are embodied in their slogans: "Russia for Russians, Moscow for Muscovites", "All the best for whites", "Work not for emigrants".

Skins oppose an uncontrolled wave of "non-Russian" illegal immigrants, both from countries adjacent to Russia and from many subjects of the Russian Federation itself. According to the skins, illegal emigrants and the migrating "non-Russian" population of Russia itself are taking over jobs intended for Russians. They are also opponents of mixed, international marriages between people belonging to different races. Among Russian skinheads, this principle primarily applies to the Russian (Slavic) population. The fundamental criterion is nationality and skin color. According to the skins, "hybrids" are born in interracial, international marriages - racially handicapped children. Among most skins, there is an opinion that social protection measures, such as free education and free health care, social insurance and pensions, should first of all be provided to the Russian (Slavic) population.

For the most part, skins are supporters of the most radical solutions. In a state built according to their principles, those who, in their opinion, are "human garbage" - chronic drug addicts, homosexuals, pedophiles and other individuals who differ from normal people, must be mercilessly persecuted and destroyed.

RULES OF BEHAVIOR FOR SHIELD HEADS.

Russian skinheads have a certain set of "concepts" - rules of conduct that they must strictly follow, of course, if they have the opportunity to do so. They quite clearly regulate what can and cannot be done by a "real skinhead", how he should act in a given situation. These rules of conduct are usually not fixed in writing, although there are exceptions. As a rule, they are best known to the "old skinheads" and other adherents of the skin movement. More literate skins have been bringing them to the attention of every novice skin for some time.

First of all, these rules of conduct include a number of prohibitions, the implementation of which is strictly mandatory.

A real skinhead should not be friends with "foreigners", try not to communicate with them under any circumstances. Ignore any attempts of contacts by an individual of "non-Russian" nationality. At any opportunity to express his hatred and contempt to him. A real skinhead should, to the best of his ability, prevent friendship and communication between his friends and the "non-Russian" population. Asking for help from a "foreigner" is allowed only in case of the most extreme need. It is forbidden to offer him your help, console and sympathize. At any opportunity, a real skinhead should show aggression towards a "foreigner". It can be a beating, and bullying, and a simple insult. It is also allowed to inflict so-called "minor harm" - setting fire to doors, breaking glass, drawing slogans.

Separately, it should be noted that at the sight of a “non-Russian” (especially a Negro, Asian or Caucasian) and a white Russian girl walking together, the skinhead is obliged to attack him at the slightest opportunity and beat him severely. The girl is not supposed to be touched. Failure to carry out aggressive actions indicates "laziness", "cowardice" and may serve as a pretext for the loss of authority.

An alternative to aggressive actions can only be active work to develop your organization and the entire skinhead movement as a whole. This may be writing leaflets, writing lyrics, publishing and distributing neo-Nazi literature, establishing contacts with other skin organizations.

If the skinhead sees a fight involving skins, he must join them, standing on their side, without finding out the reasons for the fight. At every opportunity, a skinhead should help "his own", primarily skinheads, members of his group, as well as friendly neo-Nazis and national patriots. In extreme cases, possible assistance is provided simply to "white Russian people." This assistance concerns both protection, and support, and material support. Naturally, this happens only if the "white Russian man" is not a sectarian, democrat, pacifist or anti-fascist, and most importantly, shares or at least sympathizes with the beliefs of the skinheads.

Not the last role in the rules of conduct is occupied by questions of revenge. In the event of causing significant harm to any of the skinheads, his "team" - a group of his comrades is obliged to appear and take revenge on the offenders. If the enemy turns out to be very serious and numerous, then several teams of skinheads temporarily unite to carry out revenge.

The most orthodox and "stubborn" skinheads try, if possible, not even to use products and products of Asian and African production. This mainly concerns products and products with pronounced national features of the country of origin, for example, rice and Ankle Benz sauce, Asian down jackets, and Japanese-made electronics. At the same time, the purchase of non-Russian, but European products is not condemned.

ATTITUDE TO DRUGS.

One can especially say about the sharply negative attitude of skinheads to drugs. It's no secret that in the marginal environment of poor working-class families (where skinheads mainly come from), "children of dark streets and dirty doorways" are constantly being attacked and pressured by society, the law, the state, etc. Therefore, in such a social environment, there is a very large percentage of those who do not see a way, see no way out from under this unbearable pressure, want to somehow, at least temporarily, change their lives, get away from the harsh reality, even with the help of drugs. So most skinheads know the problem of drug addiction firsthand, many of the victims of the narcotic potion turned out to be friends or relatives.

Therefore, the attitude towards drug addicts, drug dealers and drug distributors is sharply negative, all the more negative because in Russia most of the business of transporting, storing and distributing drugs is run by residents of the Caucasus, Central Asia, as well as residents of Africa.

Dislike for drugs is expressed both in slogans such as: "Nationalists against drugs - fight against them", and in the program-slogan of the skinhead movements: "Our time has come", "Being a skinhead is not going into the world of drug illusions, it is a living feeling of life ".

BELIEF.

According to ideology and beliefs, skinheads are of several types: "brown" skins - neo-Nazis, "red" skins - adhering to extreme left-wing views, there are also anti-fascist skinheads.

The above skin ideology is mainly written about the "brown" neo-Nazi skins, who are both the most numerous and ideological and the most extremist part of the skin movement. In different countries, their numbers vary from 90 - 95 percent to almost 100 percent of the total mass of skinheads.

The first skins in Russia were "brown" ultra-right Nazi skins. Their ideology penetrated into Russia earlier than any other skin-ideology, and fell on fairly fertile ground. But over time, "skinheads" appeared in Russia who adhere to communist or anti-fascist ideology.

Red skinheads (Red Skins).

Usually referred to as the Red Skins, the Redskin movement itself was born in the early 80s as a counterweight to the growing influence of neo-Nazi skinheads. The first musical group of the Red Skins was "01" - a group from England, associated with the far left Trotskyist party. This musical group called for anti-fascist resistance against the Nazis, who, as they believed, had betrayed the multi-racial culture of the "first" skinheads - proletarians. In the mid-80s, the redskin movement began to gain strength, groups of "red skinheads" appeared in many European countries. The movement especially spread in Italy (where the memories of the Red Brigades are still alive). Red skinheads collaborate with punks and left-wing radicals. Red skins call themselves communists. In fact, despite the use of "hammer and sickle" Soviet symbols, few of them are associated with any party. They prefer the famous revolutionary Che Guevara to Lenin, and the company of friends to party comrades. Whether joining autonomous factions or creating their own, red skins brutally persecute Nazi skins. For this purpose, they often team up with their former punk enemies, especially if they are anarchists.

Like the Nazi Skins, the Redskins call for violence as a modus operandi, but reject, in their own words, the "philosophy of violence". They declare their anti-racist and, of course, anti-capitalist views, but they are united primarily by anti-fascism. The appearance of red skinheads is the same as that of skinheads all over the world. However, Red Skins differ from neo-Nazi skins in their symbolism and red laces on their boots. Very often in the ranks of red skinheads there are people with non-white skin color.

Skinhead Antifascists (SHARP).

The movement "S.H.A.R.P."s" (Skinheads Against Racial Prejudices) - "Skinheads Against Racial Prejudices" arose in America in the late 80s. In 1988, in groups of American skins, mostly apolitical, there was a sharp ideological stratification into neo-Nazi skinheads and everyone else, as a result of this there was a sharp split.

Some skins joined the Ku Klux Klan and various Nazi groups. Part of the skins, on the contrary, decided to counteract the growth of fascism, racism and neo-Nazism on the American continent. In 1989, they created the first SHARP organization in New York. In the 90s, this movement, in addition to America, is gaining popularity in Europe. The SHARP organization, together with the red skins, acts as a united front against the Nazi skinheads, denying their belonging to the skin culture.

Members of the Red Skins and SHARP movements call Nazi skinheads not skinheads (skinheads) - "leather heads", but "boneheads" (boneheads) - "head - a billiard ball". However, this does not offend the latter, on the contrary, most of the "right-wing skins" themselves prefer to draw a clear line between simply skinhead and skinhead neo-Nazis, calling themselves "bonheads".

However, the SHARP movement abandons the red-skinned left and embraces anti-fascism and anti-racism as a political "creed". In the "Declaration of Principles SHARP" it is written that "the organization fights for the eradication of fascism and racism from the skin movement and the whole society."

Red Skinhead Anarchists (RASH).

In the mid-90s, another anti-fascist skinhead organization was formed in Canada - the Red and Anarchist Skinheads RASH. The Canadian anarchist skins did not want their political ideas to be associated with the red skins, that is, thus mixed with communist ideology, even "anti-fascist" communism. However, they always sided with the red skins if they needed help in a fight at a concert or in a bar. Ultimately, most of the differences between anarchist skins and red skins have become subtle at the moment.

Red Skins and SHARP "s-skinheads have a fairly developed ideology, and it is enshrined in writing. Nevertheless, at the grassroots level of "ordinary" participants, ideology is not often remembered.

Conscious of the complexity, dullness and uninteresting (for most of the youth) of their own skin program and their own skin ideology, the "red" skinheads are forced to borrow something from the customs, traditions and principles of their neo-Nazi opponents. In appearance, Red Skins and SHARP "S almost completely adopted the clothing style of the Nazi Skins and differ from them only in patches with portraits of Lenin, Che Guevara, Nelson Mandella or patches with the names of their organizations and leftist groups that they focus on.

In fact, they are related only by shaved heads, clothing style and the general social environment from which they come, the environment of the working, low-income and poorly educated youth and other poorest sections of society.

Differences in political preferences are especially pronounced when choosing an object of aggression. The ultra-right neo-Nazi can attack almost anyone, his ideology gives him a wide choice of objects of application of aggressive actions. But the "red" skinheads, anti-fascist skinheads are forced to act within very strict, restrictive limits, while their main opponents are only racists, fascists and neo-Nazis.

Apolitical skinheads.

Along with the skinheads, who build their ideology in accordance with various directions in politics, there are also separate groups of skins that are completely apolitical. This type of skin is closest to the first - the English skinheads of the early 60s. At that time, most of the skins still held anti-racist views and were closely tied to their proletarian roots and marginal environment. So, for example, some of the skins maintained friendly relations with the Jamaican punks from the poor quarters of the Rude boys ("rude guys"). Common to them was the love of reggae, SKA, rock steadi. Nevertheless, the non-racist ideology did not at all reduce the aggressiveness of this type of skins. On the contrary, non-racist skins used their fists quite often. The main objects of their influence were usually any non-standard-looking individuals, homosexuals, beggars. The proletarian sentiments of the skins found an outlet in the beating of rich dudes who accidentally, through negligence or out of curiosity wandered into poor working-class neighborhoods.

Today there are very few completely apolitical skins in Russia. At its core, a modern skinhead cannot be apolitical, otherwise he loses the right to be called a skinhead and turns into a "fashionista". What the skinhead movement will result in in the future is the question.

She talked about the history of the style of the skinhead subculture in her homeland in the UK in the 1960s and 70s. This time we will talk about the fashion of Russian skinheads, who, unlike the British, mainly shared nationalist views from the late 1980s to the present day.

Guys in military uniform

Why are you wearing Levi's? Levi's are your Jewish jeans.
- Because when I returned from Iraq, my brother gave me these jeans. Does he understand what we are fighting for? No. But I definitely won't let the Zionist conglomerate decide what I wear.
Film "Absolute Power" 2016

Right and far right movements in Russia began to emerge in the mid-1980s, and clothing, of course, was one of the important elements with which the nationalists formed their image. The nationalist movements of the 1980s, such as the Memory Society, emerged from the Society for the Preservation of Monuments. The movement rethought historical processes, its participants were engaged in reenactment and wore the "White Guard" uniform, for the most part consisting of a modified form of the Soviet army.

Later, a military-style uniform appeared, consisting of black tunics with epaulettes, black trousers tucked into black cowhide boots, black tunics with a standing collar and epaulettes. In winter, overcoats, caps and caps with oval cockades of the "royal" type were used. The buttons were not Soviet stars with a hammer and sickle, but the royal double-headed eagles. The reconstruction of the Cossack uniform was also popular. It is now people in Cossack uniforms that have become the standard landscape of the urban environment, but in the late 1980s they looked extremely outrageous.

The "monuments" were replaced by more militarized Barkashovites. The dress code for this formation consisted of a black military uniform, a beret, military boots, and a bandage on the sleeve. Many participants in the movement, especially in the regions, wore the usual military uniform, which they brought from the army or bought at the nearest military store.

In Russia, the fashion for retro-military uniforms has quickly become a thing of the past, but in the USA it still takes place - today, members of the National Socialist Movement (NSM) hold their rallies in a uniform that clearly copies the NSDAP uniform of the last century. The Ku Klux Klan remains true to the same white robes as they did 150 years ago.

Military style is generally a hallmark of the right in the United States. And this is not so much a tribute to fashion as a lifestyle - the very way of life that skinheads talked about in the 1960s and 70s in Great Britain. Many right-wing skins, especially in the States, have served in the military. In Germany, neo-Nazi cells in the ranks of the Bundeswehr are systematically uncovered.

As a result, military uniforms have been and remain an important element of right-wing skinhead fashion around the world. The right wing in the United States tends to be closely associated with militarized radical structures like civilian militia. Fashion for these people is formed in military stores in the neighborhood.

Not surprisingly, in January 2017, a gun shop ran an ad that depicted alleged customers confronting a mob of anti-fascists. The poster featured the inscription: "Anti-fascists, today is not your day." Many modern brands targeted at the far right have military-style items in their collections. What's more, Alpha Industries, a favorite skinhead brand of the 1990s, is now seeing a rebirth, which originally made clothing for the US military.

Modern designers have revived the fashion for bomber jackets by including them in their new 2013 collections. Alexander McQueen, Dior, Victor & Rolf offer leather bomber jackets with contrasting cuffs and buttons. Stella McCartney designed a lace, silk and cashmere version of the bomber jacket. Pinko designers also did not abandon the lightweight version of the jacket, sewing it from mint-colored nylon and decorating it with lace inserts and embroidery on the back.

Life-giving bomber

School bell...
First lesson...
Bomber and knife.
Beat the devils, destroy everyone!

Tsunar was the first to accept this knife
The bomber saved you - your best friend.
Blood is dripping from his bomber
This was done by a bribed cop.
Corrosion of metal, "Beat the devils"

In the early 1990s, the right-wing ranks came mainly from the fan movement. At that time in Russia, these subcultures were for the most part inextricably linked. Most of the ultra-right fashionistas refused to take part in large movements like the RNU (“Russian National Unity”) and were very skeptical about their baggy form. The main attribute of the skinhead in the 1990s was the bomber or M65 field jacket. Few could buy the original jacket due to the high price - bombers are much more expensive than leather jackets from Turkey, which were worn by gopniks and brothers of all stripes.

Frame: the film "Russia 88"

Demand soon gave rise to supply, and inexpensive Chinese black bombers with the famous orange lining appeared on the markets in many cities of the country. Their prices were more than moderate. These jackets were worn almost all year round: in winter, they wore a warm sweater knitted by grandmother under them. The original M-65 jacket did not have a collar to make it easier for the pilot to place the parachute straps. Among the skinheads, there was a tale that this was done specifically so that in a fight the enemy could not grab you by the scruff of the neck.

The orange lining also had its own functionality. The pilot needed it in case of an emergency landing: he had to turn his jacket inside out so that he could be more easily found from the air. The fans turned their jackets inside out to make it easier to understand who is inside and who is a stranger in a fight. According to one version, the inventors of this were Spartak hooligans from the "firm" Flint's Crew.

In especially severe frosts, many wound a “rose” (scarf) of their favorite team around their necks.

Camouflage pants were also in use, which were also purchased on the market due to the presence of fashionable colors there, in contrast to the dull baggy green products from the military department. Especially advanced users wore blue jeans, but again, due to their high cost, they were not widely used, especially in the regions. The finishing touch is army boots. In the provinces, many marched in them until the 2000s.

Also, you can not ignore the use of such an accessory as suspenders. The most relevant were suspenders in the colors of the Russian or German tricolor. Then came the fashion for tight suspenders, which were a real shortage. Suspenders were not just an element of the wardrobe - lowered suspenders meant that "the fighter is ready for a fight," so many wore suspenders exclusively in this form, emphasizing their brutality.

shoe cult

The first store of the company "Doctor and Alex" - "Shoes of the XXI century" began to work on October 1, 1998 in the area of ​​​​the Voykovskaya metro station. This truly epoch-making event finally gave the Moscow public access to the famous Dr. Martens, Grinders and Shelly's. The most popular were Grinders boots with a high top and the same metal glass. Similar boots were worn by the protagonist of the film "American History X" in the famous scene of the murder of an African American, which entered folklore as "bite the curb".

This scene became a direct guide to action for many skinheads of that time. "Grindar" was literally swept off the shelves. True, unlike Chinese bombers, not everyone could afford them. The answer to the popularity of "grindars" was the emergence of the Russian company Camelot. She positioned herself as a Polish brand and made shoes that looked like samples of English brands, but at much more affordable prices.

As a rule, boots were worn with black laces, but the most desperate wore white ones, which said that their owner had cleared the land of a foreigner. An unrealizable dream for many skins was the famous Panzer boots with swastikas and zig runes on the soles, released by the American brand Aryan wear. This dress code was classic in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The reference skinhead look of the time included high-top boots, camouflage pants or rolled-up jeans, suspenders, a radical graphic T-shirt, and a bomber jacket.

When the ultra-right movement became radicalized by the mid-2000s, and serious sentences began to be given for crimes motivated by ethnic hatred, this fashion came to naught. At the end of the decade, antifa skinheads dressed in this way, who tried to revive the spirit of 1969 in this way. Young people who remain true to the traditions of this fashion can be found even now, but this can only be regarded as cosplay of those times.

The fashion for heavy boots has come to naught. American right-wing brand Aryan wear has shut down. Shelly's, with its famous Rangers model, specializes in women's shoes, and Grinders began producing cowboy boots. The only brand that remained true to its roots and managed to survive in the competition was Dr. Martens. Moreover, in 2010, the brand got a second wind : The classic 1460 boots began to appear in the wardrobes of people very far from skinhead fashion.Alice Erskine and other stars of the first magnitude were seen in Dr. Martens.

However, in the UK, the traditional style of skinheads has been preserved. There are families where skinhead traditions are passed down from father to son. Of course, instead of Chinese fakes, traditional European skinheads wear original Dr. Martens, Levi's jeans, Fred Perry polo shirts or checkered shirts and original Ben Sherman jackets. This style has not said anything specific about a person's political views for a long time.

Fashion Guys

Remember I'm cool now
I have my Lonsdale.
I bought it in "Children's World",
Clock work times - Lonsdale

“After five minutes, another mob passed, clearly striving to merge with the first. And another one in ten. Mostly they were young, 20s, guys dressed in the fashion of their hardcore: gingham shirts, blue jeans, sneakers. Almost no one had our favorite weapons, titanium shitsuckers, but most of the fighters carried packages in their hands, and everyone had glass bottles in their hands. Well, strategists, a scribe on your shaved heads! - These are lines from the book "Die, old woman" by Sergei Spiker Sakin, which he wrote in 2003.

Around this time period, hooligans and right-wing skinheads began to move away from heavy boots and bomber jackets. There are several reasons for this.