Youth Support for an Authoritarian Future. Imagining a Pro-Putin Future in Contemporary Russia

Social movement researchers often consider the young as driving forces for social and political change. Young people have fewer personal constraints and research has shown that they are quicker to take to the streets than adults despite their lacking interest in conventional political participation. Recent youth-led demonstrations, ranging from the Arab Spring to Hong Kong’s Umbrella Revolution, confirm the image of an idealistic youth striving for the democratic futures of their country to enable free choices and self-determination.

The case of contemporary Russia, however, sits unhappily with such visions. Those young Russians who got politically involved over the last decade expressed support for the authoritarian future offered under Putin’s leadership. These young activists have been critical in shaping the future Russian’s wanted and have legitimised the country’s authoritarian turn. Fear about a falling back into the chaos of the 1990s and a deception with Western values are relevant to account for this situation. Young Russians, unlike during perestroika, no longer desire democracy or individual freedom but are increasingly attracted by Putin’s nationalist ideas and visions of stable order. With their support for an authoritarian leader, young Russians come to terms with the uncertainty the future contains. Their preference for “sovereign democracy”, as the current regime is labelled in Russia, can best be understood by trying to get into the argumentative logic of the pro-Putin youth movements.

This presentation relies on internal documents of pro-Kremlin youth movements as well as recent opinion polls, which enable a better understanding of what current Russian youth strives for and what sets them apart from the generation of their parents. The case of Russia is important as it widens our perspective on the futures which youth mobilises for and challenges the hegemony of Western-led research which proves inappropriate when applied in a different context.