Vanguard of Red Youth
Encyclopedia
Radicalization
Radicalization is the process in which an individual changes from passiveness or activism to become more revolutionary, militant or extremist. Radicalization is often associated with youth, adversity, alienation, social exclusion, poverty, or the perception of injustice to self or others.-...
Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n communist youth group
Youth group
Youth group may refer to:* Youth Group, an Australian band* Youth club, a social and activities club for young people* Youth ministry, an age-specific type of religious ministry...
. Its website describes it as an "independent youth organization, entering the all-Russian public political motion." Its "territory of action" is Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, which it insists is still the heart and soul of "the republic of the USSR." The AKM's ideology
Ideology
An ideology is a set of ideas that constitutes one's goals, expectations, and actions. An ideology can be thought of as a comprehensive vision, as a way of looking at things , as in common sense and several philosophical tendencies , or a set of ideas proposed by the dominant class of a society to...
is Marxism-Leninism
Marxism-Leninism
Marxism–Leninism is a communist ideology, officially based upon the theories of Marxism and Vladimir Lenin, that promotes the development and creation of a international communist society through the leadership of a vanguard party over a revolutionary socialist state that represents a dictatorship...
and it forms part of the Left Front
Left Front (Russia)
The Left Front is a revolutionary anti-capitalist united front encompassing a range of far-left and ultra-left political organisations in Russia, as well as other countries of the former Soviet Union...
alliance. The unofficial leader of the AKM is Sergei Udaltsov (Сергей Удальцов), who has been arrested several times for protesting against Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
's regime.
The name of the organization is the backronym
Backronym
A backronym or bacronym is a phrase constructed purposely, such that an acronym can be formed to a specific desired word. Backronyms may be invented with serious or humorous intent, or may be a type of false or folk etymology....
of AKM
AKM
The AKM is a 7.62mm assault rifle designed by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is an upgraded version of the AK-47 rifle and was developed in the 1950s....
, a model of the well-known Kalashnikov
Mikhail Kalashnikov
Lieutenant General Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov is a Russian small arms designer, most famous for designing the AK-47 assault rifle, the AKM and the AK-74.-Early life:...
assault rifle
Assault rifle
An assault rifle is a selective fire rifle that uses an intermediate cartridge and a detachable magazine. Assault rifles are the standard infantry weapons in most modern armies...
. Its organizational structure uses military terminology: battalion
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
, brigade
Brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...
. Most cities will house an "отделение" or squad of AKM, with several squads forming a battalion. Currently battalions exist in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
The group entered on to the world
World
World is a common name for the whole of human civilization, specifically human experience, history, or the human condition in general, worldwide, i.e. anywhere on Earth....
scene by being the indirect subject of a November 2005 ZMag
Z Communications
Z Communications is a radical left-wing media group founded in 1986 by Michael Albert and Lydia Sargent. It advocates participatory socialism as a replacement for capitalism. Its publications include Z Magazine, ZNet, Z Media, and Z Video.Z Communications is based outside Woods Hole, Massachusetts...
article dealing with the annual November 7 demonstration commemorating the anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution, and also addressing the civil unrest in France
2005 civil unrest in France
The 2005 civil unrest in France of October and November was a series of riots by mostly Muslim North African youths in Paris and other French cities, involving mainly the burning of cars and public buildings at night starting on 27 October 2005 in Clichy-sous-Bois...
.
In the article, Boris Kagarlitsky of the Institute for Globalization Studies describes the AKM as "[the] Russian equivalent of [the] Western Black Bloc
Black bloc
A black bloc is a tactic for protests and marches, whereby individuals wear black clothing, scarves, ski masks, motorcycle helmets with padding, or other face-concealing items...
. . . surrounded by the police and strictly controlled."
Kagarlitsky quotes a young AKM radical as shouting: "We will turn Moscow into Paris
Paris Commune
The Paris Commune was a government that briefly ruled Paris from March 18 to May 28, 1871. It existed before the split between anarchists and Marxists had taken place, and it is hailed by both groups as the first assumption of power by the working class during the Industrial Revolution...
!" It is unclear how much support the AKM currently has from other organizations in Russia, or whether it truly plans on becoming a vanguard party
Vanguard party
A vanguard party is a political party at the forefront of a mass action, movement, or revolution. The idea of a vanguard party has its origins in the Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels...
.
On March 3, 2007, the AKM took part in the Saint Petersburg March of the Discontented, one of the biggest demonstrations of the opposition in recent years. It has also organized dozens of smaller rallies, and has participated in many protests including violent clashes with the police.
In October 2008, the AKM joined the Left Front
Left Front (Russia)
The Left Front is a revolutionary anti-capitalist united front encompassing a range of far-left and ultra-left political organisations in Russia, as well as other countries of the former Soviet Union...
, an alliance of revolutionary Marxist and anarchist groups, and is part of Garry Kasparov
Garry Kasparov
Garry Kimovich Kasparov is a Russian chess grandmaster, a former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist, and one of the greatest chess players of all time....
's The Other Russia
The Other Russia
The Other Russia , sometimes cited as Another Russia, is an umbrella coalition that gathered opponents of former President of Russia Vladimir Putin...
coalition.