Z Generation: Into the heart of Russia's fascist youth
The Story
The Times
3.9 • 1.6K Ratings
🗓️ 5 June 2023
⏱️ 27 minutes
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Summary
As the war in Ukraine shows no signs of coming to an end, Vladimir Putin is betting on a new generation of Russians to march in step with the regime. Russia's Youth Army now has more than a million members and – through TikTok dances and influencers – is indoctrinating children as young as six years old.
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Guest: Dr Ian Garner, author of Z Generation: Into the Heart of Russia's Fascist Youth: https://timesbookshop.co.uk/z-generation-9781787389281
Host: Luke Jones.
Clips: Tiktok, International Film Foundation, SBS, AFP.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | If you're a young, new Russian patriot in your beige uniform with redberry, this is your |
| 0:09.6 | anthem. |
| 0:10.8 | Bessinging, shoulder to shoulder, the Russian army marches, and though the path of war is |
| 0:22.6 | not easy, we will serve Russia. |
| 0:31.0 | This is the Unamiya, Russia's youth army. |
| 0:36.7 | It's in just about every school in Russia. |
| 0:39.3 | The kids go on PR tours, they appear with Putin, they're almost everywhere, they're almost |
| 0:44.3 | inescapable in society, and the numbers involved are growing and growing rapidly. |
| 0:53.2 | It's not your ordinary afterschool group, they spout hate and prepare for battle on the |
| 0:58.5 | battlefield and online. |
| 1:03.0 | How is Putin trying to mold a new generation of zealous ultra-nationalists, and why Russian |
| 1:09.4 | teenagers falling for it? |
| 1:15.4 | You're listening to stories of our times from the times and the Sunday times. |
| 1:18.8 | I'm Luke Jones, today meet Generation Z, Russia's new fascists. |
| 1:36.8 | Are you much of a tick-tock person normally? |
| 1:39.0 | No, tick-tock is way beyond my social media presence, I'm not very good at social media |
| 1:45.0 | in general. |
| 1:46.0 | You're not missing much, I get a lot of dogs and salads weirdly, so let's have a look |
| 1:50.5 | at some of these young Russians. |
| 1:52.7 | You can read Russian, can't you? |
| 1:54.1 | Yeah, for sure. |
| 1:55.6 | With me in the studio at Times Towers, Doctor Ian Garner. |
... |
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