Dedovshchina as an Element of the «Small Society» : Evidence From Russia and Other Countries.

• Main Author: Anton Oleynik
• Format: Article
• Language: deu
• Published: Centre d'Etudes et de Recherche sur les Sociétés et les Institutions Post-Soviétiques 2004-09-01
• Series: Journal of Power Institutions in Post-Soviet Societies
• Subjects: Dedovshchina; Hazing; Small Society; Closed Institutions; Orphanages; Prisons
• Online Access: http://journals.openedition.org/pipss/136

Dedovshchina is considered as a by-product of a particular institutional organization, the «small» society. Non differentiation of the spheres of everyday life, personalized relationships, imperfect control of violence, duality of norms and the imposed authority characterize the «small» society. Dedovshchina consists in orienting the violence generated on everyday basis towards replacement victims or the victims that can be sacrificed. The «small» society produces phenomena similar to dedovshchina everywhere where it exists, in Russia as well as in the West. In the context of the Russian army, first-year soldiers transforms into replacement victims of the violence resulting from learning obedience as a centerpiece of the military service.