Features of countering the spread of the ideology of Nazism among young people

Sergeeva Anzhelika Anatol'evna PhD in Law Associate Professor, Department of Criminal Law and Procedure, St. Petersburg Institute (Branch) All-Russian State University of Justice 190000, Russia, Saint Petersburg, Baskov lane, 16 lokhi@yandex.ru Other publications by this author

Pitul'ko Kseniya Viktorovna PhD in Law Associate Professor of the Department of Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure, Saint Petersburg’ Institute of the All-Russian State University of Justice 190000, Russia, Saint Petersburg, Baskov Lane, 16 lokhi@rambler.ru

The need to develop a special mechanism of preventive impact on the phenomenon of extremism, including among young people, has been recognized by scientists for a long time ^{[1, p. 19]}. Pedagogical studies have convincingly proved that extremist views are assimilated by young people 8 times more often than by elderly people, and 2.5 times more often than by people of mature age ^{[2, p. 25-26]}. Against the background of the ability to self-organize, radical views are becoming widespread, especially in combination with unfavorable socio-economic circumstances. The creation of a psychological image of the enemy encourages the justification of aggression towards him. Modern information dissemination technologies create a favorable ground for the establishment of extremist views.

Stereotypes about representatives of other nationalities and the opinion about the "high criminalization" of some of them are fertile ground for the assimilation of negative views ^{[3, p. 13]}. The most radical in this direction is characterized by the ideology of Nazism, built on the forcible assertion of imaginary national superiority.

It should be noted that these trends are relevant not only for Russian society. Thus, the famous Italian philosopher and writer Umberto Eco, investigating the activities of the Verona skinhead Nazis, notes that "having an enemy is important not only to determine one's own identity, but also to have a reason to test the existing system of values and demonstrate them to others" ^{[4, p. 13]}. Historian Lawrence Rees, who personally communicated with German citizens accused of committing war crimes, noted on their part the explanation of Hitler's support not so much by following orders as by the demand for the ideology of Nazism in specific historical circumstances when it was necessary to restore national pride ^{[5, p. 8]}. The recognition of extremism as a product of the disunity of society, which does not have common values and goals ^{[6, pp. 244-246]}, can be fully projected on the manifestations of the ideology of Nazism among young people.

In Russia, the popularization of the ideology of Nazism and its spread among young people occurred under the influence of a combination of socio-economic and political-legal reasons.

Thus, the collapse of the USSR and the economic transformations that accompanied it, one of the first results was a reduction in production, an increase in unemployment, an outflow of capital abroad and the impoverishment of a significant part of the country's population. For the majority of young people, this meant not only a change in the standard of living for the worse, but also a lack of prospects for its improvement. Measures of social support from the state significantly decreased in the 90s of the twentieth century, and subsequently, although they increased, they were significantly devalued in the conditions of the economic crises of 1998, 2008, 2014. The proclaimed ideas of establishing a system of "social elevators" have not yet been widely implemented. Proceeding from the above, the socio-economic block of reasons for the spread of the ideology of Nazism among young people can include contradictions in the implementation of economic and social reforms, low standard of living, unemployment, social inequality. The youth, as the most sensitive part of the population to these circumstances, found themselves in a situation of awareness of the unfairness of the ongoing reforms.

On the other hand, the political and legal transformations carried out from the beginning of the 90s of the twentieth century to the present cannot be evaluated unambiguously positively. Firstly, there were miscalculations in the migration policy, attention to which has been paid relatively recently. Meanwhile, in Russia, migrants actually replaced some jobs, which increased social tension and was repeatedly expressed in conflicts, including those related to violence (the events in Kondopoga, 2006, mass riots in Moscow in 2010 and 2013). Incorrect migration policy resulted in the development of elements of national enmity. At the same time, against its background, distorted ideas about the Russian national identity were formed, representing a direct analogy with the ideology of Nazism. Secondly, the criminalization of extremist activity due to the use of polysyllabic and opaque formulations led to the perception of the relevant provisions of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation as intended for criminal prosecution of "Russian patriots". In addition, in the conditions of the rejection of the national idea in the Soviet period and its replacement by patronage of the creation of a special formation – the Soviet people, there was a certain shift in ideas about national identity and national pride. The misconception of patriotism and the radicalization of the "Russian idea" is nothing more than the modernization of the ideology of Nazism and its use in the conditions of Russian reality. Under such circumstances, some young people formed false ideas about the protection of national interests and the priority of the interests of Russian nationality when stating hostile attitude on the part of representatives of other nationalities. Informal movements "Russian National Unity" and similar ones, skinhead associations and other extremist communities widely use Nazi symbols and attributes, some rituals and openly share the ideas of Nazism about racial superiority. The involvement of young people in such activities is associated with the desire for radicalization, the use of elements of "being chosen", a misconception of justice, patriotism, and activities for the good of the country. Thus, the political and legal reasons for the spread of the ideology of Nazism among young people can be called contradictions related to the adoption of political decisions that have no social justification, and laws whose real meaning is not perceived in the absence of legal knowledge, as well as the radicalization of patriotic ideas under the influence of a misconception about them.

A separate block of reasons for the spread of the ideology of Nazism among young people should be defined as cultural and moral. On the one hand, Russia has been apologizing for the victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War for 70 years. In addition to strengthening the traditions of military glory, this had a pronounced negative consequence in the form of a partial "devaluation" of the perception of the national feat. On the other hand, the high intolerance of Russian society, expressed primarily in hostility towards persons of other nationalities, led to the formation of a tolerant attitude towards the ideology of Nazism. First of all, this is typical for poorly educated groups of young people who are easily persuaded by more erudite individuals.

The main phenomenon of the ideology of Nazism, which determined its survivability and adaptability to various social formations, is the proclamation of the need to confront an internal or external enemy. Such a need arises in the conditions of socio-economic transformations, when the population cannot quickly adapt to the new realities of life. The presence of an internal or external enemy simplifies psychological adaptability, since it is accessible to understanding the source of economic and social problems. The individual characteristics of such an enemy are formed under the influence of xenophobia, anti-Semitism, religious hatred as factors most developed among the illiterate and uneducated population. The ideology of Nazism is associated with the proclamation of national exclusivity, which may be in demand in any reforming society. Young people are the most vulnerable part of the population, actively accepting radical ideas, especially if they are logically stated and meet the needs for social transformation. Such provisions of the ideology of Nazism as the recognition of the primacy of the state over the interests of an individual, the leveling of democratic values, the proclamation of unconditional subordination to the supreme power also contain a special danger.

In order to neutralize these negative determinants and to organize the prevention of the spread of Nazi ideology among young people, it is important to implement general social and special criminological measures.

Among the general social measures that may be in demand in the system of countering and preventing criminal manifestations of the ideology of Nazism among young people, the following can be mentioned:

- strengthening the legal certainty of recognizing individual actions as manifestations of the ideology of Nazism;

- changing socio-economic conditions of life with real provision of stable well-being;

- improvement of cultural, moral and patriotic education with the priority of promoting tolerance;

- involvement in the education of young people of subjects declaring the need for a tolerant attitude to any phenomena of society that do not carry a criminogenic coloring.

Thus, giving legal certainty to the concept of criminal manifestations of the ideology of Nazism, along with the complex application of socio-economic, cultural and educational measures of counteraction, can rightly be called essential directions for improving counteraction to its spread among young people. However, the prospect of adopting a separate regulatory legal act with the inclusion of such a concept in it seems unlikely. Strengthening legal certainty is possible as follows. Firstly, by reflecting in the Federal Law "On Countering Extremist Activity" the definition of "manifestations of the ideology of Nazism", defined as a set of administrative offenses and crimes committed by persons who are followers of the ideology of Nazism, and supplemented with a specific list of such acts. Secondly, by adding a note to Article 282.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation with a list of crimes related to criminal manifestations of the ideology of Nazism. Thirdly, by reflecting these concepts in the current resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation. Thanks to this, the legal tools used to counteract the criminal manifestations of the ideology of Nazism among young people would become more understandable for law enforcement officers.   

Among the special criminological measures in the system of countering and preventing criminal manifestations of the ideology of Nazism among young people, one can distinguish:

- identification of persons who approve of any manifestations of the ideology of Nazism and do not hide this approval, with their registration on a special operational reference account;

- unconditional bringing to administrative and criminal responsibility of persons who promote the superiority of representatives of any human community and express readiness to use violent methods;

- prohibition of any depiction of Nazi paraphernalia, except in cases where it is necessary for cultural, educational, scientific purposes;

- development of legislation on patriotic education with a ban on engaging in this activity to persons who openly speak out about the presence of personalized internal or external enemies who need to be identified and neutralized (this is unacceptable for educational purposes in interaction with an insufficiently experienced audience).

Thus, the priority is to improve information support for countering criminal manifestations of the ideology of Nazism among young people. Monitoring of the operational situation in the youth environment, the need for which is justified by some authors ^{[7, p. 199-204]}, seems to be an important means of detecting crimes being prepared, or illegal actions related to the demonstration of Nazi symbols, their use during public events, or the dissemination of extremist materials on the Internet. Taking measures aimed at blocking this information in a timely manner could be an effective means of preventing the spread of the ideology of Nazism among young people.

Referring to the foreign experience of countering the manifestations of the ideology of Nazism and violent extremism, we can note the OSCE recommendations based on the organization of police interaction with the population. Thus, the need for various preventive measures is recognized as a reasonable alternative to criminal prosecution, which aims to prevent the possible radicalization of young people and their involvement in the activities of extremist and terrorist communities. At the same time, directly views or beliefs recognized as extremist or Nazi, as well as their peaceful expression, should not entail criminal prosecution and be the subject of counter-extremist activities of law enforcement agencies, but should be leveled as part of preventive activities. The main measures to counter the criminal manifestations of the ideology of Nazism are recognized as strengthening democratic institutions and the rule of law, including the democratic foundations of police work; supporting dialogue between the state and society and ensuring human rights and fundamental freedoms ^{[8, pp. 47-52]}. In European countries, elements of counter-propaganda activities have been implemented, including involving former active members of radical organizations who abandoned the ideology of Nazism or other extremist ideas. In addition, conducting thematic information campaigns in the "traditional" and electronic media, to participate in the implementation of which both scientists and law enforcement officers specializing in countering criminal manifestations of the ideology of Nazism can be involved, will allow developing a visual system of counterarguments refuting the main Nazi postulates.

When improving the criminological prevention of criminal manifestations of the ideology of Nazism among young people should be in demand:

- psychological and pedagogical methods aimed at minimizing delinquent behavior;

- methods of patriotic education based on respect for national history and critical perception of its individual periods;

- counter-propaganda methods that strengthen the elements of tolerance in communication and social behavior.

The combination of these methods should form the basis of criminological prevention of criminal manifestations of the ideology of Nazism among young people and be used by all subjects implementing preventive measures. It is she who may be in demand in the formation of the moral image of young people.

In conclusion, it can be noted that the need to improve the criminological prevention of manifestations of the ideology of Nazism among young people is due to the lack of legal certainty in the provisions of the law regulating the conditions for criminal prosecution, the lack of an organized system of preventive impact, general unfavorable trends in the spread of the ideology of Nazism among young people. The main areas of improvement include information and propaganda, operational and investigative, legislative and counter-propaganda vector. Their unifying link is the reorientation of criminological prevention to criminal manifestations of the ideology of Nazism, unrelated to socio-political discussions, expression of beliefs and virtual communication. Otherwise, prevention becomes imitative.