Print

Mail

wiki links

Right and wrong all relative for new Russian youth

Anton Rodionov, 20, a photographer, has a hard time reconciling his work -- he takes nude pictures of striptease dancers -- with his Islamic faith.

But in the fast-paced and unforgiving world of today's Moscow, he has a ready answer for his critics: "If you observe any religion, there are rules you don't follow. You don't need to be a fanatic. After all, I have to make a living."

Descended from Crimean Tartars who were deported to Kazakhstan under Stalin, Anton, who wears an earring, rediscovered his maternal grandparents' Muslim religion and started going to the mosque a few months ago.

In a society in Russia where young people struggle to find any values after the collapse of Communist ideology, he says he was looking for some answers.

But he is unapologetic about his lifestyle, spent in seedy strip joints where dancers often pay him with free sex if he makes a portfolio for them.

Not worried

His friend Zhenia Pavlenkov, who is the same age, doesn't worry either about what is right and wrong. A philosophy student who works part time as an IT technician, he has been a successful computer hacker, carrying out minor credit card fraud.

Neither can remember the Soviet Union -- it broke up when they were nine years old -- and feel quite free.

"This is a time for young people. The old and pensioners are lost but we can do what we want with our lives. It depends only on your efforts and capabilities. The only thing that bothers me is that drugs aren't legal," says Zhenia.

Cynical? He denies it, saying that he admires Russian President Vladimir Putin and his efforts to modernize Russia. But he believes all you can do is to help yourself, your friends and family.

Varvara Orlova, a 21-year-old with tattoos on her arms and her hair dyed red and gold, also has no problems in keeping afloat in this sink-or-swim capitalist ocean.

"The only thing that counts now is money. Without money, how can you pay for an apartment, go on holiday? It doesn't matter what I think. That's how life is," she says.

Varvara was at college but got bored and took a job selling pirate CDs at Gorbushka, a market for counterfeit goods in Moscow. Now she has a senior position managing distribution of pirate music nationwide.

Masha Philipenko, a journalist who writes on youth culture and presented a TV talk show devoted to controversial issues like multiple sexual relations and drugs, welcomes the go-getting attitude of young people as a breath of fresh air.

No hangups

"It's good that they are free. They have known nothing about the KGB or censorship. They really believe in themselves" she says. Unlike their parents, many speak English, know how to surf the Internet and are open to contacts with foreigners.

Russian teenagers are also free of Soviet inferiority complexes that make older people uncomfortable about travel to the West and resistant to change.

But Philipenko worries that this new generation start having sex and taking drugs too early, which is fuelling one of the world's fastest growing AIDS epidemics because of drug users sharing needles and unprotected sex.

Zhenia lost his virginity aged 14, and has had more than a dozen sexual partners. Anton first had sex when he was 13 and started sleeping with erotic dancers two years later.

"For girls, romance is important but not more than for guys. Now we have the choice, we have the opportunity to realize ourselves," says Varvara, criticizing the prudish Soviet attitude to sex.

The economy in Russia is also not developed enough to offer the well-paid employment that young people expect. "They can get very disillusioned because our society is advancing more slowly than this generation. There are not enough companies for everyone to find work," the journalist warns.

Although Anton's mother earns a good wage as a concert organizer at a top Moscow jazz club, he is concerned about the future and dreams of working as a top-notch advertising photographer.

Varvara hopes to go into business, even set up her own casino. Zhenia plans to get a second degree in business studies and get a job in a major Russian corporation. He remains brightly confident, absolutely certain that he will succeed in life.

"Communism's only advantage was that everyone was guaranteed something. Now there's no stability but opportunities are there for the taking," he says.
This story has been viewed 1425 times.