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Walking Together
Over the last three years they have:
organised protests, vigils and rallies against Communists, the St
Petersburg Church of Scientology; and others, including several Russian
writers - even filing an obscenity suit against one prominent writer.
They’ve organised: trips to historic
cities around Russia; summer camps with the Russian Orthodox Church;
visits to orphans and war veterans; 20 young volunteers to teach social
studies in Chechnya’s schools. They promoted participation in last year’s
Russian census; encouraged support for President Putin; extolled
patriotism and traditional Russian values.
They are members of a Youth movement
known as: ‘Walking Together’. Their name in Russian -
Idushchiye Vmeste - can also be translated as ‘Going’ or
‘Moving Together.’ It has grown to a membership of some 80,000 in 60
cities and towns across Russia, according to the movement’s leadership.
The ages of members range from as young as 12 to as old as 30.
Vasily G. Yakemenko, 31, the energetic
and charismatic founder of the group, claims he brought it into existence
to fill a social and moral void that has swept Russia since the fall of
communism. He apparently often speaks of the need for some ‘spiritual
education’ and openly speaks out against: communists, Boris N. Yelstin,
homosexuals, and modern writers and artists – all of whom he perceives to
be enemies of a strong, modern Russia.
His youth movement has an almost military
structure, and is organised into units of five, called pyatyorki. Ten such
pyatyorki form a detachment. Twenty detachments make up a corps. Moscow
has 10 corps, each led by a coordinator who answers to Mr. Yakemenko.
According to Yakemenko young people who
join are expected to attend at least six concerts or plays a year, visit
four historic cities, check out six books from the library and volunteer
at least once a month at orphanages or senior citizen homes — all to
inculcate a sense of Russian history and culture. He has stated:
‘The values we
offer are patriotism and healthy families, consisting of a mother and a
father, not two fathers; cultural values, Tchaikovsky and Chekhov; and of
course, our history, of which people know practically nothing.’
Members are expected to follow a strict
moral code, set out in 10 commandments which reject the use of drugs,
alcohol and bad language. Members pledge to respect their elders, be
staunch patriots, and good Russian citizens. One of their commandments
prohibits extreme nationalistic or chauvinistic ideology.
Members think the movement is wonderful.
As 20-year-old detachment commander, Aleksei S. Metryushkin, expressed it:
‘It helps
us in our everyday lives - how to control ourselves, how to lead, how to
feel more self-assured.’
Not
everyone is so confident. The group seems to have good financial backing
and resources, and appears to exercise influence, power and control beyond
its actual size.
17 Jun 2007 21:41:16 +0900 |
