The rise of the skinhead subculture in Russia is interesting to me from an anthropological perspective. The skinheads or neo-Nazis in Russia have swelled from a few dozen a decade ago to more than 50,000 in recent times (Zarakhovich 40). Primarily made up of teenagers, skinheads dress in bomber or camouflage jackets, wear heavy steel-tipped boots, and shave their heads. Such individuals launch violent physical attacks on Jews, Blacks, Chechens, Asians and others. Primarily white, the skinheads often use the Nazi salute, carry signs that feature racial slurs, and protest minority functions and business establishments. Carrying clubs and steel rods, the Russian skinheads have been responsible for an increasing number of violent assaults on minorities in Russia. When one fifteen-year-old skinhead, Zakhar, was asked why they do what they do, he replied, ôBecause [Hitler] gave us the holy idea of National Socialismö (Zarakhovich 40).
The formation of the skinhead subculture and its increasing level of deviance is clearly understood from the theories posited by Emile Durkheim. Durkheim argued that social conflict or deviance rises in proportion to the degree of social cohesion in society. Society is always in a state of flux, an organism that exhibits varying degrees of cohesion over time and space. When social cohesion is low, Durkheim maintains that a greater level of deviance or variation away from social norms will occur. This is particularly true when old and new orders clash in society. This is exactly the case in Russia, as the country tries to throw off centuries of Communist influence and institutions in favor of more democratic markets, government, and lifestyles. This is readily apparent as a source of motivation for the skinheads, trying to stave off the impact of democracy and technology in favor of clinging to old notions of nationhood and genetic superiority. Zarakhovich (40) points out that during one rally ...