Who are skinheads? Where did this name come from?

Many people have heard this slang word - “skins”. Quite often it is used with a threatening connotation, and this is not surprising. The media is full of information about attacks on migrants, refugees and foreigners in general, especially those who differ from the majority of the population in their appearance.

However, it is worth thinking about who skinheads are and whether they are all the same. To be honest, initially this movement had nothing to do with politics, especially far-right politics. It was one of the youth brands, and it was followed by fans of some musical trends of the 60s, especially soul and reggae (by the way, rhythms of African and Jamaican origin). The “Britologists” had their own external characteristics: they liked to wear rolled-up jeans, specially cut sweaters and checkered shirts, as well as boots with thick soles. They had nothing against blacks or representatives of other races or nationalities in general. But time passed, and the question of who the skinheads were could no longer be answered so unambiguously. The phenomenon has become far from harmless. There are still traditional “skinheads” who continue to dance to Jamaican rhythms, but punk rock fans have also appeared. In addition, these groups began to be divided according to political beliefs, and therefore both the ultra-right (Nazi skinheads), and the ultra-left (anarchists and others), and even anti-fascists appeared.

But the first ones became very, very notorious.

Who are Nazi skinheads?

Emerging from Britain in the early 1980s, these far-right youths claimed to share a vision of a race war against “outsiders” (migrants, other races and ethnicities such as Jews and Roma) and “traitors” ( those who are tolerant of “enemies of whites”, people with a different sexual orientation, and so on). They consider themselves to be something like crusaders, and among their cult heroes are idealized SS officers and medieval Templars (not historical ones, but rather heroes of myths).

For the idea

These skinheads, photographs of which are presented in this article, gradually merged with another subculture - the so-called football hooligans. Stable groupings of the latter (they are called “firms”) did not necessarily have any political overtones. However, those of them who became interested in the ideological design of their activities predominantly adopted far-right, racist views. This merging of Nazi skinheads and football hooligans greatly enhanced the human potential of both movements and helped them structure their skills in tracking down people and attacking them. They have their own slang expressions, such as “scouting” (reconnaissance), “jump” (a sudden, unmotivated attack on a victim from different sides), “casual” (youth clothing that is not striking, but whose brands vary groups can recognize each other), and so on. Skinheads appeared in Russia in the 90s of the last century, and since then this direction of the subculture has acquired quite a serious force, playing a serious role in the activation of the neo-Nazi movement in general.

Previously, when it came to skinheads, many imagined well-organized detachments of shaven-headed thugs, ready, at the first order of their “Führers,” to take to the streets and organize brutal pogroms there, beating up people of non-Slavic appearance, and indeed anyone who looked “different.” , as everybody". The excitement was fueled by photographs and reports from places where neo-Nazis gathered, where dozens, or even hundreds of young people raised their right hands forward while shouting “Glory to Rus'.” The action, in most cases, took place against the backdrop of a banner with a swastika, a portrait of Hitler, and other paraphernalia of Nazi Germany. However, at present, the fascist idea in Russia has blurred, glamorized and gone beyond the boundaries of one subculture. Skinheads now have opportunities for rehabilitation, especially since the original SkinHead movement was far from fascism, Nazism, and indeed all “isms.”

Brief historical background:

Skinheads (from the English words skin head - literally: bald head) are a trend in the Western and then international youth subculture that arose in the 60s of the twentieth century. The first skinheads were young people who came from working-class neighborhoods, who themselves worked on the docks or in factories, or even visited the labor exchanges (the post-war economic crisis in England regularly supplied more and more young people to the skinhead movement). Unlike other spontaneous youth movements - for example, the dudes, they did not seek to imitate the clothing and manners of the youth of the bourgeois classes. On the contrary, skinheads cultivated a kind of “proletarian pride”, trying to emphasize that they were the children of factory, plant and port workers. Hence the short hairstyle - it is unsafe for workers to wear long hair, it can be pulled into the machine, mandatory suspenders and boots - like English dockers, a passion for the “proletarian drink” beer - while the “majors” or “hippies” preferred strong alcohol, marijuana and chemicals drugs, the cult of "proletarian sports - first of all, football (skinheads became famous for brawls after football matches). The greatest liberties that skinheads allowed themselves were short skirts for their friends (skin girls), who were also simply and neatly dressed and had short hair The first skinheads listened to American music in the style of rhythm and blues, then to reggae music that came from Jamaica. This alone shows that initially skinheads did not have the slightest racial prejudice, because both of them were the music of “colored people.” More Moreover, in the ranks of the skinheads of the 60s there were many boys and girls with black skin! The skins of that time were mostly apolitical. If they showed an interest in political ideologies, it was most likely to the left, as befits representatives of proletarian youth. Thus, a tattoo with a crucifix was popular among them, under which there was the inscription: “The capitalists crucified him.” Those of the Skins who did participate in politics preferred the Labor Party as a workers' party.

The second wave of the skin movement came in the 70s. The clothes are changing a little: now they are jeans and an American pilots' jacket, musical fashion - punk and music in the style of "Oil" are replacing reggae. But most importantly, the politicization of the movement begins, it splits into the right, with which all skinheads and leftists are often mistakenly identified. The birth of right-wing or brown skins was the result of intense propaganda among street youth of English ultra-right illegal parties - primarily the National Front and the British National Socialist Party. Neo-Nazis from such skins began to form street fighters of neo-fascist parties for fights with communists and anarchists and for attacks on “coloreds”. It was these “new skinheads” who began to apply tattoos in the form of a swastika or Celtic cross, use Nazi salutes, and chants of racist and anti-Semitic content. Since their actions - beatings and murders of blacks and Asians - attracted the greatest attention from the media, the average person mistook them for skinheads as such.

So, the very first skinheads were not Nazis. We can say that the closest Russian analogue of an old-school skinhead is a simple kid “from the district”, with a short haircut, wearing a cap and inexpensive sweatpants, who in his free time hangs out at discos, listens to Russian chanson, drinks beer with friends at the entrance. However, unlike ordinary gopotas, skinheads recognized themselves as a kind of community, as a subculture. This means that they desperately needed an ideology that was understandable to frail teenage brains. It was provided by smart guys from nationalist parties who decided to use the idle young energy in their political interests. Other guys, who are mostly producers of various musical groups, were also not asleep, and saw an opportunity to make money by creating the opposite direction in the subculture - anti-fascist. Using anti-fascism as a euphonious brand that evokes healthy associations in the public consciousness, producers began to promote musical groups, sell clothes and paraphernalia, making money from it. This is how anarcho-skinheads and anti-fascist skinheads appeared.

To date, the following types of skinheads can be distinguished:

1.Apolitical skins (traditional-skinheads).
This type of skins is closest to the first ones - the English skinheads of the early 60s. They are rare in their pure form, since almost everyone, to one degree or another, is influenced by propaganda from various ideological circles. They show aggression mainly towards all sorts of unusual-looking individuals, homosexuals, and beggars. The proletarian sentiments of the skins find outlet in beating up rich dudes who accidentally, through carelessness or out of curiosity, wander into poor working-class neighborhoods.

2.NS-skinheads (Nazi-skinheads). Skinheads are National Socialists, often called fascists and associated with the skinhead movement as such. Initially appeared as a protégé of the British National Front party. They promote right-wing and far-right political views and values: “Warriors of the Reich”, “Wars of Rus'”, etc. Opponents of NS skinheads use the name “boneheads” in relation to them (English boneheads - “bone heads”, “clubheads”) . To promote their ideas, Nazi skinheads use mainly forceful methods, i.e. fists. Recently, sXe ideology, namely its Hardline direction, is often used as a cover.

3.S.H.A.R.P. (Skinhead Against Racial Prejudices)- “Skinheads against racial prejudice.” They appeared in America in the 1980s as the opposite of far-right skinheads, but without political background. They adhered to internationalist and anti-racist views, thanks to which they received an influx of a large number of blacks and Latinos into their ranks. Among the far right, it is often equated with R.A.S.H., apparently due to the confusingly similar abbreviations. Now S.H.A.R.P skinheads are increasingly called anti-fascists, or antifa.

4. "Red Skinheads". Usually "red skinheads" are called "Red Skins". The movement especially spread in Italy (where memories of the “Red Brigades” were still alive). The "Red Skinheads" collaborated with punks and left-wing radicals, calling themselves "communists." Like Nazi skins, Redskins call for violence as a mode of action, but reject, in their own words, the “philosophy of violence.” They proclaim their anti-racist and anti-capitalist views. The appearance of the “red skinheads” is the same as that of skinheads all over the world. However, the "Red Skins" are distinguished from the neo-Nazi skins by their symbols and red laces on their shoes.

5.R.A.S.H. (Red and Anarhy Skinheads) - "Red anarchist skinheads." In the mid-90s, another skin organization of anti-fascist skinheads was formed in Canada - “Red Skinheads and Anarchists”. Gradually this movement spread across the American continent and Europe. Canadian anarchist Skins did not want their political ideas to be associated with the Red Skins. However, they always sided with the Red Skins if they needed help in a fight at a concert or in a bar. Ultimately, most of the differences between the Anarchist Skins and the Red Skins have become subtle at this point.

6. "Gay skins". (GSM - Gay Skinhead Movement). An artificially created freak movement, on the one hand, opposing homophobia and promoting homosexuality, and on the other, sharing the nationalist ideology of right-wing skinheads. Many homosexuals in this movement are attracted to the strong and masculine aesthetics of skinheads, which serves as a kind of sexual fetish.

Now let's see how things stand with the skinhead movement in Russia. Unlike the European one, the domestic skinhead movement initially originated as a Nazi movement. The basis for the emergence of the first Russian Nazi skinheads was the paramilitary Russian National Unity of Barkashov, which became famous for its participation in the Moscow armed clashes of October 1993. As in Europe, Russian Nazi skins were initially closely associated with political forces from the far-right RNE Barkashov and NBP Limonov to numerous national patriots of the leftist (communist) persuasion. After Putin’s government began to persecute ultranationalist parties in the early 2000s, skinheads began to move underground and into semi-criminal structures, and their gathering places began to disguise themselves as military-patriotic sports camps for youth. They were mainly engaged in beatings and murders of representatives of the non-indigenous population, mainly immigrants from Central Asia and the Caucasus. With the development of the Internet, Nazi skinheads began to conduct active ideological work online. Gradually, a political wing of nationalists, operating within the legal framework, emerged - movements like DPNI, etc. We can say that these movements became a kind of intellectual roof for skinhead criminals.

Starting around the 2000s, the anti-fascist skinhead movement began to spread in Russia, which intensified significantly after 2005. By the way, this is one of the arguments in favor of the fact that in terms of the level of development of youth movements, Russia is about twenty years behind the West, because these processes took place there back in the eighties. The means of struggle of antifa skinheads differed little from the methods of the Nazis themselves. “Anti-fascists” caught boneheads in gateways and vacant lots, tracked boneheads who had strayed from the main herd after fascist concerts and football matches, and, if they managed to gain a numerical superiority, they beat their faces. However, the “fascists” responded to their opponents in the same way - they covered up anti-fascist concerts, beat people with antifa symbols, and organized the murders of the leaders of the anti-fascist movement. In parallel with the fights in the streets, a fierce ideological war was and is being waged on the Internet between the Nazis and antifa. Considering that currently 90% of anti-fascists on the Internet are children, and they are opposed not by skin-headed street hooligans, but by specially trained Internet demagogues, the situation on the ideological front is not yet in favor of antifa. This is evidenced by numerous sites like antifa.ru, whose authors are unable to explain what fascism they are fighting against and what the strategy of this war is. In light of this, it is not surprising that we do not see the results of the efforts of these “anti-fascists” - nationalism is blooming wildly, and not only and not so much Russian.

And now let’s return, in fact, to the skinheads themselves. All of them, despite ideological differences, are united by one quality that is not common to other youth subcultures - ideologicalness. Strange as it may seem, a personality type characterized by the presence of a holistic opinion and a willingness to defend one’s principles is especially common among skinheads. Naive idealism, multiplied by youthful maximalism and confidence in one’s own rightness. Apparently, a bald head promotes clear and consistent thinking, protecting the brain from the schizophrenic influence of a heterogeneous external environment. However, apart from bare ideas and fanatical stubbornness in defending them, the motley skinheads have nothing to their credit. There is not even an approximate idea of ​​how these ideas can be brought to life, there is no understanding of how human society works. From here follows all the activities of a skinhead, which represent an expenditure of energy - physical, mental, intellectual. The energy that powers someone's political machine.

The media often uses the word "skinheads", and in the vast majority of cases it carries a negative connotation. Let’s not allow ourselves superficial judgments and let’s figure out who they are, and why in the minds of the British a skinhead is still more often dressed in a Crombie or Harrington than in the usual bomber jacket.

As we described in the previous article (see), in the sixties, the youth of Great Britain were captivated by the image of fashion - a young esthete, hedonist and dandy.

In the second half of the decade, several ways of developing this image were outlined. The world of music was captured by a wave of psychedelia, and fashion could not stay away. Parties became a veritable kaleidoscope of surreal patterns and bright colors. Young people developed a completely different style for themselves, who became known as “hard mods”. It was simpler, more practical and strongly contrasted with the images of bohemia.

It cannot be argued that this was a deliberate opposition to fashion. The differences between hard fashion and representatives of the “golden youth” and the creative intelligentsia were natural: the difference at the level of the social environment led to a divergence in tastes and outlook on life. However, by the end of the 60s it became more noticeable within the subculture itself. Those mods that went on a rampage during the famous pogroms in the south of Great Britain in the mid-60s can safely be considered hard mods. They loved to fight, engaged in thefts and robbery, carried bladed weapons and often united in real gangs. These were young people born after the war.

The adolescence of this generation came at a time when the difficulties of the war and post-war years were left behind: it was possible to live without thinking only about how to feed themselves and restore the country. The fashion revolution of the sixties, aimed at teenagers, was beginning. Everyone wanted to keep up with the times. A lot of music, clubs and stylish clothes appeared around, and all this could be yours - if only you had the money!

The booming British economy provided jobs, making it possible to earn money through honest work for a stylish suit and a motor scooter. It was possible to take an “easier” route - crime in all its forms helped to get money for new clothes, drugs and trips to the most fashionable clubs in the city. On Friday night, fashionists behaved like playmakers, pop idols and high society people, but the day came, and many of them had to go back to work or look for illegal income.

“I was called a hard mod... The media seized on the story of the pogroms [the famous clash between mods and rockers in the south of England in 1964] and described the mods as a crazy crowd of drug addicts, prone to violence and disorder. Of course, there was a grain of truth in the nonsense that the newspapers wrote. Among the mods there were those who went to Brighton, Margate and other cities just to cause complete chaos there. I must admit, I was one of them.

Reputation was everything. I started carrying a weapon (an axe) with me and was ready to use it if necessary... Appearance was very important - everyone around me was literally obliged to wear a woolen suit."

John Leo Waters

British hard fashion of the late 60s, London

The fact is that, despite the desire for elitism, the origins of the fashion movement largely lay in the working environment. The poor and disadvantaged areas of south London were home to many mods and ordinary teenagers who absorbed the city's culture with the vivacity of their age.

Brixton was one such area and included a large Jamaican diaspora. A declining economy, a crime wave, a hurricane that devastated eastern Jamaica in 1944, and the promise of jobs from the British government attracted immigrants from the Caribbean to London. A sharp influx of foreigners from a distant country played a crucial role in the transformation of hard mods into skinheads. In 1962, the former British colony gained independence, but such a large-scale political event could not but have negative consequences for the population. Many Jamaicans continued to emigrate to the former metropolis.

In a new place, Jamaican youth introduced their London peers to their culture. The island had its own subculture: rude boys - literally “rude guys”, but in Jamaican English they are more likely “hard”, “severe”. The Rude Boi were from working class backgrounds and were often violent towards each other and those around them. Their life was not easy, because they often grew up in the most disadvantaged areas of Kingston, the capital of a not very peaceful country. Like many young people, especially the more daring ones and often involved in crime, Rud Boi tried to dress like a brand: suits, skinny ties, Trilby and Pork Pie hats. Perhaps this style was inspired by US jazz musicians. The Rude Boys preferred the latest and most modern local music: ska and then rocksteady.

Ska is a musical genre that originated in Jamaica at the turn of the fifties and sixties. Combining American rhythm and blues with the Caribbean styles of mento and calypso led to the emergence of a completely new and very distinctive sound.

In the second half of the sixties, ska music evolved into rocksteady. Compared to its predecessor, this style is characterized by a slower tempo, syncopated bass and the use of small groups with an electric bass guitar (early ska groups were large ensembles and mainly used double bass). The most important ska bands and performers were and remain Toots and The Maytals, The Skatalites, Bob Marley and the Wailers (the latter's leader became one of the most recognizable musicians in history), The Upsetters (the band of the famous producer Lee "Scratch" Perry), Derrick Morgan , Max Romeo, Prince Buster, Desmond Dekker and many others.

So, on a wave of emigration, Jamaican youth culture came to the shores of Foggy Albion. It is not surprising that due to their close age, love of music and desire to look interesting, the English guys began to adopt the ore fighting style. The Mods traditionally loved American soul and rhythm and blues, but were also quite interested in Jamaican music. A huge credit for this goes to the English label Melodisc Records, founded in 1949 and releasing Afro-Caribbean music. The company began recording Jamaican musicians in London and, building on the success of these recordings, founded the Blue Beat Records division. It specialized in the music of ska and rocksteady, beloved by ores, mods, and then skinheads.

One of the brightest musicians with whom the label collaborated was Prince Buster, a man who made a huge contribution to the development of ska and the popularization of the genre in the UK.

The youth of south London with great interest visited clubs aimed at Jamaicans, which were called “ska bars,” learned to dance ska and adopted elements of the style. Records of African-American and Caribbean music were selling like hot cakes in stores.

Thus, when some of the mods began to gravitate towards psychedelic music in the late sixties, the south London mods already had a special connection with the music of Jamaica, and the hard mods did not follow the bohemians. Native Londoners and immigrants, hard fashion and ore fighting merged into a subculture that came to be called skinheads. The name of the subculture is made up of two words: “skin” - “skin” and “head” - “head”. There is a version that this word was taken from the vocabulary of American infantrymen.

“...Fashion and music changed. Clubs started playing weird music like The Byrds and Jimi Hendrix, and the mods had no choice but to go to Jamaican clubs - only they didn't stop playing black music. So the mods went to ska clubs and adopted the rudboy style, but since they weren't black, they couldn't call themselves that, so they borrowed the word "skinheads", which was the name given to US Marine Corps recruits who had their heads shaved when they went into army. In the Marine Corps, only the officers called a recruit a “skinhead,” like, “Hey, you skinhead, come here!” So originally the skinhead style was a white version of the rudboy style.”

Dick Coomes

These people moved further and further away from the refinement of mods, and after several decades the connection between the two subcultures was barely traceable. But let’s take a closer look at the first generation skinheads, the so-called Traditional Skinheads.

What did they look like? To the usual “Sta-Prest” mods, which kept their shape perfectly, several more equally practical elements were added: jeans, suspenders and heavy work boots. Haircuts have become shorter and simpler. Some, in the fashion of the fighting or the practicality of the workers, shaved almost baldly. Skinheads wore mohair, beloved by mods and hard mods, but with a slightly elongated cut, and plaid “button-down” shirts, the collar of which was secured with buttons.

The classic and famous MA-1 bomber jacket was extremely popular, which later became an icon of the subculture image and, in fact, its synonym. Even jackets have not disappeared from the wardrobe of hard mod skinheads. Among outerwear, the windbreaker was also popular - a cotton semi-sports bomber jacket with border stripes on the collar, sleeves and elastic at the bottom, as well as a working jacket for British dockers.

A curious detail was the manner of tucking the trousers. Lightly at first to show the boots, then harder to show off the colored socks taken from the Rudo Boi style. According to the recollections of those years, once the organizers of the concert gave the famous reggae singer Desmond Dekker a suit, and he asked to shorten his trousers by fifteen centimeters. In imitation of their idol, teenagers began to roll up their trousers. Not to mention that, to a certain extent, Mr. Dekker also contributed to the fashion for short haircuts among the future skinheads who admired him.

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The author continues a series of publications designed to highlight some of the problems associated with the study of the phenomenon of consciousness control. In his latest article, “Psychological characteristics of members of destructive and terrorist (radical) groups,” the author came to the conclusion that for a deeper scientific analysis of the phenomenon of consciousness control, it is worth classifying the activities of “destructive organizations” as the activities of groups (mini-societies), such as anti-globalists, radical ecologists, terrorists, criminals, some “gaming” communities, etc. Studying the collective activities of these subjects will help to better understand the nature of radicalism and the growth in the use of thinking reform techniques (mind control) in society.

The activities of “destructive organizations” in Russian society and the world have not yet been sufficiently considered in the context of radical asocial groups. Radicalism in all its forms and manifestations, in its scale and intensity, in its cruelty, has turned into one of the most acute and pressing problems of states today. One aspect of this problem, according to the author, is undoubtedly “misconceptions” about the role of youth groups in destabilizing modern society. The author will try to consider the activities of radical representatives of “youth subcultures” from different angles.

In contrast to the opinion of most ordinary people, modern subcultures, especially youth ones, are not amorphous and monotonous phenomena, but represent active “foci of resistance” to modern society with its Christian morality. These “foci” represent various options for escaping the “imposed” culture and in themselves are neither bad nor good. The peculiarity of subcultures in Russia is expressed in the fact that the majority of “youth subcultures,” and in this article we mainly consider them, are borrowed from Western culture and are not historically established “foci” of subculture in our country.

The paradox is that the more we try to resist globalization, the more we integrate into it. We do not want to become part of the global and lose our “national” advantages, but at the same time we are actively introducing into society an international (international) system of subcultures, whose true vocation (“in its pure form”) is to serve as a counterweight or slower to globalization. “Skinheads”, “neo-Nazis”, “reds”, “anarchists”, “anti-globalists”, “rappers” - all of them are representatives of European and American culture.

Welcome to globalization.

Main misconceptions associated with the skinhead culture movement

1. Skinheads are a movement associated with fascism
2. Skinheads are a criminal group and there is no culture there
3. The problem of skinhead “rage” is impossible to solve

In our article we will try to refute these misconceptions, for which we will consider the current state of “hotbeds of radicalism.”

Evidence that there is nothing in common between the classic skinhead movement and the “neo-fascist” organizations imitating it, except for some elements of clothing, we will consider below (“three waves of classic skinhead culture”).

History: three waves of classic skinhead culture

First wave. The “skinheads” of the late 60s were a product of “mod culture”, which was cultivated under the influence of Jamaican culture brought to England by immigrant rude boys. "Mods" are not only a musical style, but also a certain movement, lifestyle and manner of dressing, generated by the teenage culture of Britain in the early 60s. The eternal confrontation between “fathers and sons” flared up with renewed vigor with the advent of rock and roll (mid-50s): the younger generation of Americans, who received their own music, their own idols and their own fashion, began to recognize themselves as an independent social class that did not want to obey laws of adults and trying to self-determinate. English teenagers also wanted to listen and play rhythm and blues and rock and roll. This is how the fashion movement was born. Britain in the 60s was particularly affected by the economic problems caused by the post-war crisis: it was necessary to restore industry and destroyed houses, workers and employees were needed, but there were not enough people. This forced teenagers, even from good families, to get a job, often in offices (clerks, typists, etc.). Receiving their personal income, young Britons could buy clothes and spend money on entertainment. The “mods” dressed very neatly and usually wore expensive suits. “Fred Perry”, “Ben Sherman”, “Lonsdale” - these companies producing clothes and shoes were very popular among the “mods”.

This is how the “Teddy Boys” style of fashion appeared. The boys have corduroy jackets with large lapels, leather ties, trousers with cuffs, boots with grooved soles; hairstyles - elongated, with hair framing the face. Girls wore skirts above the knees and sweaters with closed necks, long and straight hair. Because of this hobby (dressing well), they were often accused of betraying the working class, because... The “mods” were not much different socially from working-class youth, but they spent a large amount of money on clothes. “Fashion” girls loved heavy makeup and dull lipstick. Scooters (motor scooters) became a favorite pastime. At the same time, the Teddy Boys were distinguished by a very hooligan disposition: they formed gangs that rode around on motor scooters, fought with rockers (who drove motorcycles), smashed store windows and frightened ordinary people.

By the way, unlike rockers, a popular youth culture at that time, the “mods” had representatives of both sexes in their ranks. In addition to civilian clothing, “fashion” could be recognized by a scooter (Scooter). Many who rode them called themselves "Scooterists". Scooters can also be considered a kind of product of “mod culture”. They usually decorated the scooters with mirrors and other flashy things. Football fans (“hooligans”), who also came out of the “mods,” were also into scooters. To be a “mod” meant to have everything new and original that existed at the moment, to stand out from the rest. All of London was flooded with scooters.

Music was a less important part of the movement than fashion and demeanor. Basically, “mod groups” started by copying American rhythm and blues standards and creating their own musical material in the same spirit. The Mods played rhythm and blues and rock and roll faster, heavier and dirtier than their predecessors. By 1968, the “mod” movement had practically died out, degenerating into other movements.

Already in the early 60s, the so-called Rudies appeared - young immigrants from Jamaica who worked in low-paid jobs (shops, bars, docks, factories). They had their own fashion. And most importantly, it has its own music - “ska”, which the British also liked. At the same time, the “mod” movement started.

At the same time, the first “hard-mods” or “skinheads” appeared. Every Saturday, these new representatives of progressive youth went to the stadiums to support their favorite teams. Lethal support of football teams often led to brawls between opposing fans, leading to the legendary British "football violence". Since representatives of the “hard-mod” often took part in fights, they began to shave their heads so that in a fight the enemy could not use a hair grab. It is worth noting that the “skinheads” did not immediately separate from the “mods”: everything happened gradually.

Not everyone called themselves “skinheads.” There were names like “herberts” (from Herbert Street in Glasgow (Great Britain)), “street kids” (that is, “street children”), “spy kids” (approximate translation - “hunters”), “peanuts” (that is, there are “nut crushers”; they got this name for the rumble of their scooters) and others.

Contrary to popular belief, the majority of “skinheads” around the world have never been “shaven” or “skinheads”. Those who worked on the river docks wore a short buzz cut on their heads, and cut their hair this way only to protect themselves from dust, dirt and lice. For this reason, “skinhead” in the mid-sixties was a derogatory nickname, something like “winghorn.” They didn't call themselves that. They were so scolded.

When night fell, skinheads dressed in the best they could afford (usually a cheap men's suit) and went to the dance halls. Here they danced to the sounds of new music that Jamaican immigrants brought to England. This music has been given many names, including "ska" (later called "first wave ska"), "Jamaican blues", "blue beat", "rocksteady", and "reggae".

By the way, about “ryudise skins”. Once upon a time, before he joined the reggae movement, a very young Bob Marley was a skinhead. Bob Marley wore high combat boots, camouflage and a buzz cut.

The first “skinheads” later began to prefer American clothing “Levi Jeans” and “Alpha Flight Jackets” and narrow braces with Doc Marten boots. With the rise of football hooliganism, dark green "Alpha Flight Jackets" (also called "MA1", "Flight Jacket" or "Bomber Jacket") came into use, allowing them to easily slip out of the hands of opponents. This is how they dressed on football days, but at concerts and on the street they wore ordinary jackets, often jeans, black suspenders and black laces. This tightening of clothing styles had a noticeable effect on working-class interest in “skinheads.”

“Skinheads” loved beer, unlike “mods” who used amphetamines and “rudeboys” who smoked marijuana. “Skinhead girls” dressed like guys, had short hair and also had a lot of troubles and problems with the police and other youth groups. Rudigirls, skinhead girls and mod girls wore miniskirts, which were very popular at the time and were seen as shocking to conservative parents.

In the early 70s, “skinheads” were gaining strength compared to other youth subcultural movements. The “skinheads” of the first wave were growing up: they appeared on the streets less and less, started families, settled down, raised children, but still remained faithful to their roots.

The second wave of the skin movement marked the rise of punk rock in the UK. “Punk rock” blew up prim and cold England. “Punk rock” looked wild, rough, aggressive. He frightened housewives, respectable citizens and other gentlemen. But working youth were looking for and wanted a harder and faster sound for their culture. In addition, “punk rock” became simply student rebellious music, music for college. And the resulting synthesis of bright, fast and rough sound became “streetpunk” (street punk), later called “Oi!” by Sun journalist Gary Bushell. It was “punk”, but it was “punk” aimed at the working class. Due to the fact that the roots of “Oi!” music were in the working class, the media had a negative attitude towards this musical branch, calling “punk rock” itself as the music of the middle class, they welcomed it. The sound of "Oi!" differs from punk: simple guitar melodies are superimposed on a clearly audible line of bass guitar and drums and are accompanied by choruses similar to screams from the stands of football stands. Along with “street punk,” the “skinhead” movement was revived. Traits such as toughness and working-class pride began to be instilled into “punk.” Basically, the second wave of “skinheads” knew nothing about the heritage and their roots, “mods”, “ska”, “rudeboys”.

The old “skinheads” constantly criticized and scolded the new shoots for their innovations. For example, the '69 skins still wore Ben Sherman and Fred Perry clothes, while the new '79 skins wore mostly blue Levi jeans, work boots, suspenders and American pilot jackets. They called themselves "Bald Punks". During the 70s there were many changes to the classic "skinheads". Fashion moved from a blurred style to better clothing than what workers could afford - “blue collars”. In the 70s, a “military” style of clothing appeared among skinheads. Other "skins" were heavily influenced by the disco of the seventies: they wore their hair up and wore frilly pants and boots in the style of the 70s.

With the formation of their own musical groups among the “skinheads,” their political ideas began to lean towards the struggle of right and left parties, and even apoliticality. Politically right-wing groups tended to relate to the National Front (neo-fascists in England) and had similar ideas. Left groups focused on the struggle of the working class and used communist politics. Apolitical groups often avoided both sides as they wanted to choose their own subcultural politics.

A group of representatives of the punk movement formed the group “Skrewdriver” (“Screwdriver”), which greatly influenced “street punk” and after some time transformed into a “skinhead group”. Skrewdriver became the first group to declare their neo-Nazi views in skinhead culture, holding a concert under the slogan “Rock Against Communism.” Having sympathized with the National Front, they adopted a racist position and began to create the right wing of the “skinhead movement” subculture.

“Skinheads” of the 1969 model, on the contrary, remained on anti-racist positions, like most “skins” of those years, they were fond of “reggae” and “ska”. They visited “colored discos”, but still called the “blacks” - “darkies”. They supported the ideals of the working class and leftist politicians. England still remembered the Second World War, and therefore it was considered an honor for every patriotic citizen to remain in anti-racist positions.

By the end of the 70s, the National Front and the British National Socialist Party had infiltrated the skinhead movement. By that time, the “skinheads” were already a strong generation. The National Front decided that skinheads would be an excellent source of new members and would enhance its reputation and image. Young people were recruited as street soldiers for the National Front. A “racist skinhead” appeared at the “Donahuue” show (a popular show in England). This was a shock and a blow to the entire “skinhead movement.” Together with the media, the myth of “racist skinheads” was inflated by the National Front and Skrewdriver "("screwdriver"). Due to erroneous propaganda, society saw every "skinhead" as a racist. In our country, these consequences are especially evident. Most journalists, officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation and ordinary people reinforce the misconception that "skinheads" are neo-Nazis and racists.

A bad reputation only played into the hands of right-wing parties. Many young neo-Nazis, who had always been far from the working class and “skinhead culture,” began to call themselves “skinheads.” This is how “Nazism” began to penetrate the skinhead culture.

In the US, skins were even further removed from their roots and gravitated towards the emerging hard-core wave that originated in New York. “Street punk” for England was akin to “hard core” in the USA. For example, the “skins” of the early 80s knew practically nothing and had not heard of “ska” or “Oh!” But like their colleagues in England, they wore work boots and jeans, borrowing this style of clothing from the punks. The Hardcore Skins were stronger and more violent than their Punk Skins contemporaries in England. They appeared in crime reports more often than in 1969. Parties, like the National Front, created the image of “footsoldiers” (storm troopers) from “skinheads”.

In the 80s, no one liked “skinheads” for their aggressiveness; society considered them radicals and hooligans. But no one called them racists until that disastrous interview on the popular show.

The “skinhead” subculture has spread to all countries of the world. Each of them maintains an independent history of the skinheads' goals, their values, and the history of their emergence. The definition of "skinhead" varies from country to country.

In the mid-80s, Europe was rocked by a severe crisis, which can be considered a consequence of the “crisis of the 70s” that had previously erupted in America. Governments played the Cold War; businesses were closing; there was no money, and the standard of living fell further and further. This was reflected in the music: bands of 1984 began to write more angry songs than those that had sounded before. The musical subculture reflected the mood in society - tension and distrust of governments and their policies.

Politicians from various countries conducted a successful campaign to “advertise” the “atrocities of skinheads” among the population of Europe, about their fascist “essence”, etc. As a result, society’s attitude towards the “skinhead” movement changed to a very negative one, and the movement began to decline. In the eyes of ordinary people, “neo-Nazi” organizations increasingly began to be associated with the “skinhead” movement. This continued until the end of the 80s.

In the late 80s and to this day, a new major manifestation of the "traditional" values ​​of the skinheads of the 60s began. This happened in England, America and most of Europe. It entailed a new confrontation between classical (traditional) and non-traditional (neo-fascist, anarchist and communist) skins.

The third wave was the skinheads of the mid-90s. A sign of “Civil War” appeared in the “skinhead movement”. Many of those who became “skinheads” more than 15 years ago began to appear on the streets and participate in the development of “skinhead culture.” 17-18 year old “punks” began to shave their heads, getting rid of their “Iroquois” and “dumpsters”.

Modern “skinheads” of Europe and the West are a mixture of “hard-mod/rudeboys” (hard mods/rudeboys) of the late 60s, and “punk/hard-core” skins of the early 80s . Their musical tastes range from “reggae” to modern “hard core”, as well as “ska”, “rocksteady”, “rockabilly”, “punk”, “Oi!” Some people only listen to “reggae”, some only “Oh!” or "punk". Of course, they are interested in their roots, the culture of “mods”, “scooters”, etc., but still for most skinheads of the late 90s this is an example from history.

In our country, the situation at the moment is as follows: we have few “red skins” (communist), SHARP skins, classic (traditional) skins. In Russia, the word “bonehead” is almost never used. "Bonehead" is a term used by classic and other skinheads to refer to any "skinhead werewolves" who hold racist or neo-fascist views. The concept of “skinhead” in 99 cases out of 100 in Russia is associated with neo-Nazism and racism
.
For reference:

1. SHARP skins are “skinheads against racial prejudice” (SkinHeads Against Racial Prejudice), they appeared in New York (USA) in the late 80s. Movements that share the ideology of “skinheads against racial prejudice” are SCAR, SPAR, RASH, HARP and others. There are Chinese, Hawaiian, Japanese movements from other countries whose ideology is similar to SHARP skins. They wore "S.H.A.R.P." patches. with a Trojan helmet - the same orange icon that Trojan Records put on their records thirty years ago. The Sharps were proud that the fire lit by the skinheads back in 1969 burned in their hearts.

2. “Redskins” or “RASH” - “Skinheads against Nazism and the power of capital” or “Red and Anarchist Skinheads”. They appeared independently of the Sharps a few years after them. RASH have leftist beliefs, they have no nationality, they are against racial purity and support everyone who needs their support. Their very name suggests that they are anarchists - they want freedom of action for everyone and strive to eliminate any pressure on people.

If we look at the history of the “skinhead movement” schematically, we can come to the conclusion that neo-fascist organizations that use elements of the culture of the “skinhead movement”, by definition, are not them.

Developing through the three stages we discussed above, the modern "skinhead culture" movement was forced to remain a non-political (apolitical) and non-racist movement. However, this position has led to the emergence of two “twin movements” that use elements of classical (traditional) “skinhead culture”, but are not them.

The red skinhead movement is a group of organizations representing different political and social groups, with different goals, but having one common and important goal - the destruction of the bonehead movement. Just 15 years ago, the “red skinhead” movement could be characterized as the radical wing of the classic “skinhead movement.” But during this time, the “red movement” has gone too far from apoliticality and every year is merging more and more with youth organizations of a communist and anarchist nature. Representatives of the “reds” criticize representatives of the classic (traditional) “skinhead movement” for their apoliticality.

The Bonehead movement is an artificially created neo-fascist organization of the late 60s. Over the past decades, this movement, with elements of the skinhead movement, has transformed into an active radical wing of neo-Nazi and racist organizations. At the moment, apart from the common elements of fashion, “boneheads” and “skinheads” have practically nothing in common.

It is worth noting that the movement of classic (traditional) skinheads promotes apoliticality, is not a racist organization and is more transformed into its initial stage - into a musical informal movement with its own attributes, culture of behavior and consumption. However, “classic skinheads” continue to remain adherents of certain values:

You must be a patriot of your country;
- You have to work;
- you must study;
- you can't be racist;

Misconception No. 1: “Skinheads are a movement associated with fascism”

As we have established, having examined the history of the emergence and development of the “skinhead” subculture, the “skinhead movement” has nothing in common with neo-Nazi movements and neo-fascist organizations.

It is safe to say that “skinheads” became victims of political intrigue in the late 70s, where neo-fascist parties successfully used the movement’s popularity among young people to increase the number of their adherents. The “traditionalists” became victims of their absolute apoliticality and were unable to promptly respond to a political provocation properly at the right time. This situation repeated itself at the end of the 80s, when government politicians in European countries began a campaign against the “skinhead movement” as the culprit of all the problems. It is worth noting that these are standard political tools that are very often used in politics in order to distract voters from the question “Where do our taxes go?” with the question “Who is to blame for all the problems?”

Continuing to be an apolitical and youth subculture, the “skinhead movement” will constantly be considered by the media and ordinary people as part of neo-fascism.

In order to refute the misconception that “skinheads are a criminal group and there is no culture there,” let’s look at music, fashion and tattooing in all the movements discussed in this article.

Music

We will not consider this direction in depth, because... We talked about it in the previous part of our article. Let us present the differences in the musical preferences of “boneheads” and “skinheads”.

The table shows that there are no common preferences in music for these two movements. It makes no sense to specifically examine the musical culture of the “skinhead movement”, because our work pursues other goals.

Fashion

“Suspenders” are an integral part of skinhead clothing. Suspenders were already worn by "Hard mods" in the mid-60s, along with tall boots and cropped jeans, before the nickname "skinhead" was even a thing. This type of clothing was called “working class style”. Wearing braces has always meant being working class.

Laborers and laborers on the river docks dressed this way back in the early 20th century. The suspenders were needed to prevent the shirt from getting caught on anything. The word “braces” is translated from English as “fasteners”, and in relation to clothing it can be translated as “construction fasteners”.

Most of the “skinheads” of the first wave were engaged in heavy manual labor. The further they went, the more they moved away from the “always new and sophisticated clothes” worn by their predecessors - “fashion”. Those who operated hand winches on the docks needed durable, comfortable clothing that would ensure their safety above all else. Boots with strong steel toes could protect feet from falling boxes or other heavy objects, and suspenders held clothing close to the body and prevented it from catching on anything or getting caught in the screw assemblies of winches. Jeans or simple canvas trousers made of strong fabric had strong double seams, and, finally, the shirt and jacket had pads on the shoulders, protecting workers from rain and damp sea wind.

The names for the clothes are notable, for example, a coat or jacket with padding on the shoulders was called a “donkey jacket”. The word “donkey” translates as “winch”, and the combination of these words means “winchman’s jacket”. Thin suspenders were not called “suspenders”, as usual, but “braces” - this word had the additional meaning of “brackets” and “construction fasteners”. Boots were called "boots", not "shoes", and so on. Skinheads wear monochrome suspenders, without patterns, usually black or dark red; brightly colored suspenders are less common. They are always thin, no more than two fingers wide, folded together. It’s good if they have shiny locks and “crocodiles”.

Based on the way the braces are secured to the back, there are two types - X and Y. The braces of the 60s looked like “X”, today “Y” are more common. But it doesn't matter: someone wears X and someone wears Y. Sometimes they make X turn into Y by fastening ribbons on the back next to each other.

For the first time, a detailed description of the clothing of traditional skinheads was given by the magazines “Hard as Nails” and “Zoot” in Scotland. They drew readers' attention to the fact that skinheads at all times dressed differently. They had different clothes for the street and on weekends. When they met each other, they sometimes could not understand who they were dealing with, the differences were so strong. But there was nothing strange - no two people are alike. And no two skinheads are alike.

Other skinhead clothing, which dates back to the mod era, is intended for going to a concert or making a good impression. This is an English suit, with which you can wear the same boots and braces, and with which you can wear a long coat in cold weather. Sometimes a hat like the ones worn by the Rudie Boys is placed on the head.

At various times, skinheads laughed at themselves by drawing monkeys in Ben Sherman shirts and Doctor Martens boots, blue work jeans and dockers' suspenders. Thus, they tried to show that it’s not just about clothes. There must be something else in my head.

Skinheads love tattoos, but there are a limited number of images on this topic. Here are the most common ones.

A flying swallow tattoo means freedom. Often there are laurel wreaths of glory and illuminated inscriptions "Oi!" - such designs mean a lot to those who wear them. Sometimes drawings well known to other skinheads or record covers are reproduced.

Here is another example: this is the legend of the crucifixion of Christ, depicted in this way. It means suffering, its original meaning is “crucified by capitalism”. This drawing reflects the beliefs of the first wave of skinheads.

Its continuation is the “skin” rising from the grave, on the stone above which is carved the inscription “Oi!” or laurel wreath of glory. This drawing means that there is no death, and that the tradition will never be stopped.

The birthplace of these two drawings is Scotland, the city of Edinburgh. In the Middle Ages, Catholic “myths” about ghosts and spirits were widespread there, as they are now about skinheads. The inhabitants were so sure of their existence that they even covered the graves with stone slabs. In the twentieth century, when hypocrisy became apparent, these drawings appeared.

Quote: “Killed by modernity, he will return” is a protest against Catholic morality, where everything is controlled by external forces: the good God, the carrot and stick and money. Against a world in which initially no one owes you anything. And where no one cares about you. This only applies to traditional skinheads and only matters to some of us. As a rule, we don't like to talk about it. And we won’t discuss it now.” .

Most “skinheads” have a negative attitude towards stripes. It is considered indecent to demonstrate one's membership in the movement with stripes. Quote: “Most of us don't need stripes - if you realize you belong to us and know how to dress, your appearance will be more than enough. Sparkling boots, rolled up jeans, a checkered shirt and suspenders - what could be better than such clothes? Why also the stripes?

The bonehead movement adopted some of the fashion elements of the skinhead movement, such as shoes, jeans, suspenders, hairstyles and jackets (usually leather). In addition, various stripes with Nazi swastikas, etc. are welcomed in the “bonehead” movement. (rice.)

“Boneheads” have a very obsessive attitude towards tattoos; as a rule, they try to get a lot of them and have an aggressive fascist character. Neo-Nazis have a definition of an “enemy” based on fashion (clothing and style), which must be destroyed. According to this scheme, it is necessary to search for and destroy the “enemy of the race.” The traditional “skinhead” movement has never had such a “portrait” and, most likely, never will. For “red skinheads” such an “enemy” is the “bonehead”.

The traditional drink of “skinhead culture” is “beer” (“ale”), the consumption of strong drinks is not encouraged.

В движении «бонхэд» не существует какой-либо культуры употребления напитков, кроме запрета употребления «ниггерских» напитков. The Russian "bonehead" prefers to drink the true Slavic drink - vodka.

Misconception No. 2 “Skinheads are a criminal group and there is no culture there”

Let's consider the concepts of culture and subculture. Subculture- a system of values, behavior patterns, and life style of a social group, which is an independent holistic formation within the framework of the dominant culture.

Culture- a set of material and spiritual values, life ideas, patterns of behavior, norms, methods and techniques of human activity:

Reflecting a certain level of historical development of society and man;
embodied in objective, material media and transmitted to subsequent generations

Note that the skinhead movement has all the necessary subcultural elements. You cannot call a subculture a criminal group, just as you cannot call the activities of a criminal group a manifestation of a subculture. The “bonehead” movement is also a youth subculture, but it has nothing in common, other than suspenders, boots and hairstyles, with the “skinhead” movement.

The situation is frightening when hundreds of crimes are committed by “boneheads”, and for them there are all the necessary articles in the administrative and criminal code of the Russian Federation, and law enforcement agencies throw up their hands and say: “So these are skinheads - what can we do?!”

One can argue about the responsibility of the state to citizens for a very long time, but only the state has the monopoly right to use force (violence) to protect citizens. When officials refuse to fulfill their duties and invite citizens to deal with their problems themselves (without breaking the laws), this fuels a wave of myths and fears about the impossibility of solving the problem of “skin violence.” After all, if the state cannot do what can a citizen do? Everyone has the right to be afraid... And it's scary. After some time, common myths and fears increase the problem and complicate it.

Let's try to look at misconception No. 3: “The problem of skinhead violence cannot be solved.”

Misconception No. 3 “The problem of skinhead violence cannot be solved”

We agree that the problem of growing radicalism and illegal behavior cannot be solved. Moreover, it is impossible to solve if you do nothing and do not understand what you are faced with. Let's try to analyze what we are faced with and what can be done.

Let's try to look at the problem from different points of view. Let us quote officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation (//News.ru, February 4, 2003). “The tactics and methods of their [the boneheads’] actions have undergone changes. The skinheads switched to the tactics of what we call “target strikes.” According to a representative of the GUUR, skinheads do not have a single organization. “There are many varieties in the movement itself - Nazi skins, privateer skins and others. The only thing that unites them is inciting national hatred by calling for violence.”

“There are from 15 to 20 thousand skinheads in Russia. The movement includes disparate groups whose numbers fluctuate. Thus, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, in the capital region there are about 5 thousand active participants in this movement and about 100 leaders at various levels. In St. Petersburg, about 3 thousand skinheads and 17 neo-fascist organizations are registered as preventive measures. ...According to him, various media provide them with considerable support in this. Moreover, as a rule, propaganda affects 13-17 year old teenagers. That is why, according to Komarov, the Ministry of Internal Affairs concentrates its work “not on bringing the maximum number of extremists to criminal responsibility,” but on operational and preventive activities. In particular, in November last year, an attempt by neo-fascists to hold a congress dedicated to the birthday of the organizer of the skinhead movement, Ian Stewart, was stopped, in which about 400 people wanted to take part.

According to RIA Novosti, in total in 2002, under Art. 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (incitement of national, racial or religious hatred) 71 criminal cases were initiated, 31 of them were sent to court, 16 people have already been punished.”

Let's look at some facts. Here are the titles of books and manuals: “Hooligan style of hand-to-hand combat”, “Use what is at hand”, “Fight as it is”, etc. All these are detailed guides on how to conduct street fights, how to use improvised means, how to inflict maximum injuries and much more. These reference books are studied and intensively studied. These guides are openly sold. Let's give some examples: “You should wear a razor in such a way as not to injure yourself... ...it is better if the blade is secured with tightly fitting clothing... ...removing the weapon should not take much time...”.

“...Blows delivered by a razor along their trajectory resemble glancing blows with a fist.... ...eyes, skin of the forehead (bleeds heavily - blinds), neck, large arteries of the arms and legs, stomach... ...the muscles of the peritoneum, often covered with a thick layer of fat, are pierced by a powerful circular blow... ...there are no invulnerable places for a razor... ...and it heals slowly, unlike wounds inflicted by a blunt weapon...".

“A head blow to the face is much more dangerous than previous blows - delivered quickly and at close range, it is almost irresistible. ...make a throw with your foot in the stomach... ...do not let the enemy get to a distance convenient for such an attack...".

Neo-fascist groups study and constantly practice these tips. If we generalize the experience of creating radical groups, for example, the Blackshirts in Germany, the Brownshirts in Italy in the 30s, and modern youth groups, you can find a lot of the same signs. The process of turning ordinary people into “storm troopers” in the 30s and currently turning young people into members of organized criminal gangs have a lot in common.

According to Lifton's concept of “doubling,” the best way to consolidate a new role model of behavior is its practical application and recruitment of new members. Based on this, we can assume with great confidence that every year the neo-fascist movement is becoming more united and coordinated, and the number of attacks and crimes against “racial enemies” is also growing. Statistics from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation and human rights organizations prove this.

It is worth noting that “boneheads” and “red skinheads” are actively fighting for an important resource to replenish their ranks. Football fans, mainly young people, are the best source for recruiting members of their group. At almost all major football matches, well-planned and prepared actions take place - beatings and attacks on fans of the other team. Perhaps someone will say that the author exaggerates the problem of football fights, but then how can one explain that every year the number of law enforcement forces at football matches increases (including riot police)?! How to explain the fact that fans of another team are taken out on special buses, accompanied by heavy police security?! “Security measures,” you will say, and you will be right.

I can argue that only by protecting and allowing the activities of criminal youth groups under the guise of certain subcultures does the state deepen the problem of the growth of radicalism in youth subcultures.

Football massacres are a phenomenon of recent years, and this problem did not exist before. What are officials doing wrong? What allows the problem to grow in scale? Misunderstanding and struggle not with the source of the problem, but with the consequences. At the moment, methods are being used to mislead the public. They offer us a new brand of evil - “skinheads”, equating it to an incurable disease, for example “AIDS”.

In this article, the author set the goal of explaining the “skinheads” brand not from the position from which officials and many media offer it to us, but from the position of a youth subculture that is not directly related to the lawlessness being committed. “Skinheads” are a youth subculture that arose as a protest against public morality and is focused on its values. Let me note - on civil values, among which there will never be a place for racial intolerance.

There is a problem of uncontrollability of the existence of illegal radical, often criminal groups that call themselves “Aryan skinheads”, but, in fact, are neo-Nazi groups. Perhaps officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation should pay attention to the principle of “justice and irreversibility of punishment,” and perhaps in the near future our country will stop beating people of a different, dissimilar culture.

Hoping for the best,

Vershinin Mikhail Valerievich
Psychologist, “exit consultant”
[email protected]
09.01.2004

By publishing this article, the Author does not pursue commercial goals, but acts exclusively within the framework of scientific research, expressing a subjective opinion without the purpose of discrediting the mentioned legal entities (individuals), and reporting knowingly false results. The author does not pursue the goal of popularizing his ideas in light of the consequences of terrorist attacks that occurred in Russia and the world.

Note Author: J. Lifton is an American psychologist who developed the concept of personality duplication in his book “Nazi Doctors: Medical Murder and the Psychology of Genocide.” This research has led to a more accurate understanding of how people who are mentally and physically healthy, educated and idealistic can quickly become fanatics of movements whose entire ideology and activities directly contradict their original views on the world. Such a sharp and deep resocialization of the individual is the result of a specific adaptive reaction under conditions of extreme group pressure and manipulation of basic human needs. Lifton called it "doubling." Doubling consists of dividing the self-system into two independently functioning entities. Division occurs because at a certain point the group member is confronted with the fact that his new behavior is incompatible with the pre-group self. The behavior required and rewarded by the totalitarian group is so different from the “old self” that the usual psychological defenses (rationalization, repression, etc.) are not enough for life functioning. All thoughts, beliefs, actions, feelings and roles associated with being in a destructive cult are organized into an independent system, a partial “I”, which is fully consistent with the requirements of this group, but this does not happen by the free choice of the individual, but as an instinctive reaction of self-preservation in almost unbearable - psychologically - conditions. The new partial self acts as the whole self, eliminating internal psychological conflicts.

Have you perhaps come across groups of young people with shaved heads, wearing the same black jeans and camouflage jackets without collars, wearing high combat boots, with the flag of the slaveholding Confederacy sewn on the sleeve? These are skinheads, or, in other words, skinheads. They call themselves the short word “skins”. Now almost no one writes about them, but among teenagers in big cities they are already a legend.

The first skinheads appeared in England in 1968. Today's followers would be surprised to learn that their predecessors got along well with mulattoes and blacks. The fact is that skins appeared as a working, and not a racial, subculture, directed against both the official culture and in defiance of many alternative movements. For example, they considered rockers “fake” because they were a threat to the roads only on weekends, and on weekdays they worked hard in the office. The one skinheads didn’t like were the “Pakis” (Pakistanis). And not as foreigners, but as traders. And the blacks and Arabs who worked with the skinheads in the same factories were their own guys.

Skinheads of the “first wave” got along well with mulattoes and blacks

The first skinheads were not skinheads in the literal sense of the word, but their short haircuts with sideburns contrasted with the long hair that was fashionable at that time. The style of clothing was not “militaristic”, but proletarian: coarse wool jackets or short coats with a leather yoke, rough trousers with an “eternal arrow”, a long, knee-length zoot jacket and heavy, durable high boots for construction workers and dockers. The first skinheads had no followers, and by 1973, when the guys grew up and started families, the movement faded away.

Skinheads of the “first wave”, 60s of the XX century

Skinheads were revived in the late 70s, when Margaret Thatcher's government liquidated entire sectors of the economy, which led to an unprecedented increase in unemployment and unrest in the so-called depressed regions. The new skins were no longer a working aristocracy, but a declassed environment; they were brought up not on relaxed reggae, but on aggressive punk rock. These guys beat all the immigrants indiscriminately because they were “taking their jobs.” Neo-Nazi ideologists worked with the new skinheads. Skin clubs emerged, and the slogan “Keep Britain white!” was heard for the first time.

"Let's keep Britain white!" - slogan of the “second wave” skinheads

Then the “first wave” skinheads emerged from their apartments, furious that their movement had become associated with the fascists. Fights between “old” and “new” skinheads took on the character of street riots (especially in Glasgow). The result of these clashes was the emergence of two skin movements - on the one hand, the Nazi skins ("new"), on the other, the "red skins", "red skins" ("old"). Externally, the red skins differed only in stripes with portraits of Lenin, Mandela, Che Guevara and sometimes red laces in their shoes. They became widespread in England, France, Poland, and Spain. Nazi skins took root in Germany, Holland, Scandinavia, Canada, the USA, and later in France, Denmark, and Belgium.

Hoxton Tom McCourt, bass player for The 4-Skins, 1977

In Europe, Germany has become an outpost of the Nazi-skin movement

In America there were groups of white skinheads, black skinheads, Puerto Rican skinheads, Jewish skinheads, and Latin American skinheads. In Germany, the Nazi Skins became famous not only for beating guest workers (foreign workers, mainly Turks and Kurds), but also for killing them. At the same time, the judges, who were more afraid of the “Red Terror,” showed rare favor to the skinheads (in the 80s in Germany, skinheads were convicted only once for the murder of the Turk Ramazan Avsi in the summer of 1986).

Meanwhile, skinheads turned into a political force: they smashed anti-fascists and dealt with trade unions. The authorities realized who they were dealing with when in 1987 in Lindau skins attacked Christian believers during a church holiday in St. Stephen's Cathedral (the city authorities refused to provide a municipal hall for a skinheads' convention). The Vatican intervened, and the police clamped down on the skinheads.

Skinheads appeared in Russia in the early 90s

But soon the Berlin Wall collapsed, and the ranks of skinheads swelled with Germans from East Germany, where unemployment and despair reigned among the youth. German neo-fascists began to be considered throughout the world as “experts” in working with youth, and Germany in the 90s became notorious for setting fire to immigrant dormitories.

After the collapse of the Eastern Bloc, skinheads appeared in Poland, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Bulgaria and Russia.