Russia: The Fate of the Nashi Youth Movement

Rumors are circulating among Russian media that the controversial youth movement, Nashi, could be restructured or disbanded in the next few weeks. During the week of April 1, several news articles reported that Nashi founder (and current head of the Kremlin's youth agency, Rosmolodezh) Vasily Yakimenko met with four Nashi commissioners and told them that the movement was over and would be disbanded. The story spread quickly through Russian media but on April 8, Nashi spokeswoman Kristina Potupchik said the rumors were unfounded.

Managing Russia's youth has always been critical to Russian leader Vladimir Putin and the ruling Kremlin regime. It seems as though Russia's shifting political landscape is forcing the Nashi movement to evolve, but Putin must carefully manage any such change or decentralization of the movement to avoid losing control of the powerful youth population.