Instead of football – Revolution

Information war is conducted not only in the global network and on the pages of Newspapers. In the end it always takes place in the real world, because of the “theoretical” perception of an idea to its practical embodiment is only one step.

That is, in the end, it came out with the movement of “ultras,” or, as they are called “football hooligans”. Moreover, this process has affected not only the events on the Maidan; it started much earlier and in all countries, from Serbia to Western Europe always works about the same.

In order to better understand the laws of development “about football” genre, the editor of “New Earth” met with one of the former Donetsk “ultras”. About how this movement was conceived in terms of Donbass, it became a purely “Ukrainian” and what ultimately led to – read this article. For security of our respondent “New Earth” does not publish his name.

— Artem Olhin: please tell me when did football hooliganism emerge as a decorated movement before it appeared?

– Respondent: football movement emerged in the early 1980s. It happened in England on the basis of the skinhead subculture (from the English skinhead – shaved head).

— A. O.: It turns out that the skinhead movement has become a breeding ground for the emergence of football hooliganism?

– Respondent: Yes.

— A. O.: Are these identical things? Is it required in the modern world, a skinhead is a soccer hooligan, and Vice versa, if a football hooligan is a skinhead?

— Respondent: In the modern world, such a thing as the skinhead is already mostly gone. Many people do not call themselves skinheads, and it started from there. But they have ceased to manifest in this form, anywhere there are words and names associated with that era. Roughly speaking, it so happened that at some point the guys began to consolidate against a certain nation, well as in England for example, against the visiting migrants, who supposedly took their jobs.

And over time, a large, strongly customized movement began out of control; the skins did everything they wanted. Therefore it was necessary to convince them of some idea, to consolidate in one direction. The idea for this was football, “defending the honor of their team.” By the way, football is not in vain chosen because all historians say that in England it was invented.

— A. O.: So was it considered so: here’s to you, the indigenous people of your national idea?

— Respondent: Yes.

— A. O.: And how football hooliganism appeared at us here, we are not England?

— Respondent: the fact that it’s very quickly spread around the world. First, just like fashionable within view of youth culture.

— A. O.: If it arose simultaneously all over the world and beginning to spread rapidly, can we say that the process was artificially started? Or was it as spontaneous natural phenomenon?

— Respondent: There are different theories. Not quite simultaneously, it extended, in England started to settle down first, there was a lot of people who supported it. After five or six years the process has become a disaster in Britain, began to appear books, movies and everything else. The first thing that came to us it was a few movies.

Before that we guys just went to the stadium. Yes, there were some roughly grater, fights between different clubs, but it’s more like a “heat lightning” and people’s fun “wall to wall”.But when it began to emerge movies, then this segment of the youth decided – it’s mine. The most famous films – are “The Football Factory” and “Green Street”.One of them was shot by the company «Discovery», to show football hooliganism as a negative phenomenon. But when the film came to us, all decided the other way around, that’s not bad, but very good. As often happens with subcultures, among other things.

— A.O.: Before 2008 Ultras in Donetsk was not, as such. How did they begin to appear here?

— Respondent: Yes, that’s right. Roughly speaking, it triggered the same mechanism as in England. There was a very developed Russian skinhead movement. And the Ultras were based on them; with they once were pro-Ukrainian organizations: “Patriot of Ukraine”, “Trident”. On the fan sectors of the stadium began to appear people who are lured to their side. It all started with the “basics” of fans who have had an indisputable authority in our circles, or children, which could lead for a large number of other young guys.

I think it is not necessary to explain what and how they are lured to them. NLP and the money have not been canceled. Thus they enticed from the “Russian” skinheads to “Ukrainian”. We once these guys asked, how is it that we’re standing back to back, you were Russian, and became “Ukrainians”. And in response: well, as there loot, they have order there, I’ll go to them.

As the guys changed the idea, it’s a very interesting question, but in fact it turned out that 80% of them have moved in the “Trident”, in the “Patriot of Ukraine” and even in a number of organizations. After this process of Ukrainianization has been launched for all who remained, all those who could continue to build here Russian movement. These people, they began to intimidate, came to direct violence. Then they have openly begun to carry out “shares” (scheduled fights or attacks) and torchlight processions. And local authorities, of course, this did not interfere. And when we went to the contraction, we tried to prevent this, we have arrested. Starting from the time of Yushchenko security forces and civil authorities of Ukrainian openly kept Nazis, it was a golden time for them.

It was at this point for a basis was taken the same as in England: their football movement. It is convenient to control, because each club, sort of like the in crowd, but the idea they have one, common. In England the hooligans believed that in the first place should be not even mother and father, but the country. It turns out that you can’t be ultras in England and being a patriot of France. So here it is imposed on local people “Ukrainian question”.

– A.O.: That is, if you’re sick of the Ukrainian team, you must be a Ukrainian nationalist?

– Respondent: Yes, definitely.

– A.O.: Do I understand correctly that turns a mechanism such that the first radical guys went to the sector, then it began to coalesce with the skinhead culture, and then these same sectors were recruiters from nationalist organizations and the process is spun?

– Respondent: Yeah.

– A.O.: And how long did it take the transformation of ordinary hooligans to ideological Ukrainian nationalists? How quickly it happened and what mechanisms were used for this purpose? Besides the money, what attracted more than?

– Respondent: The process itself was not very long, about a year. We must pay tribute, as though it may sound; in terms of the propaganda they have all been much delivered. I understand they have this very long prepared to break us here, maybe right after the collapse of the Union since the mid-nineties. And they all turned out.

Mechanisms were quite different from money to intimidation. Most of all they came to youth. It is easier to draw: come to us, we cool, cool, look how much we have flags, we have some fireworks… And the youth went there. Moreover, it is good to pass on their city in a crowd of like-minded people. Man considers himself more than cool, he is trendy, good and everything’s great at it. Changing point of view on what is family: his mother does not understand, the father does not understand, but these guys — they are now his family. Because not only they spend time together, playing football and do “about football” together, they also fight with other fans. This is a good mechanism of cohesion. And the more time a person spends in a way the more he gets the feeling that this is his real family. But in the end like the mafia in Chicago: get out of the family you can only when you are killed.

– A.O.: Is that a blood tied things – together they commit crimes?

– Respondent: Yes, exactly.

– A.O.: Do I understand correctly that the reason your way out of the ultras movement was exactly that was not left Russian hooligans and the movement turned into a fully Ukrainian?

– Respondent: Yeah.

— A.O.: The people who went to the Ukrainian ultras movement, do they ask questions themselves, was any kind reflection? For example, have you ever wondered that the very serious role of the same soccer hooligans played in the overthrow of Milosevic in Serbia? Did they understand that they would be used in this way in a few years on the Maidan, was this awareness?

— Respondent: No, they still don’t understand it. Just as the Internet can correspond with a participant of the Maidan, to ask him some things. And what he will answer, we are not absolutely clear — absolutely brain washed. The same thing we have those guys asked, we’re like friends. But I have asked and received some answers sky-high, some, roughly speaking, nonsense, otherwise I can’t say. It all continues, you can verify this by speaking with a Ukrainian nationalist from Kharkov or any other city. Talk and ask him why he became a Ukrainian nationalist? He has not a logical answer.

— A.O.: In your opinion, what percentage of football hooligans, who lived in Donetsk and were active, later took part in the first events on the Maidan, and then in punitive operations against the Donbass, which for some reason called “ATO”?

— Respondent: A very large number of people; it can be 70-80%, they are still there are many even headed “territorial battalions” – “Dnepr”, “Donbass”.That is, how to use them and continue to use. Finally, it became clear that such a move ultras, on May, 2 when people were burned in Odessa. After all, who got there? There fans arrived from Kharkov, from Kiev, more from somewhere. They wound up the crowd, they directed traffic. In principle, these same people wound up maidan.

— – A.O.: On Maidan against the “Berkut” were the ultras?

— – Respondent: Yes, the ultras. It is possible to track each video interview you can see the way it was. You can just say that all of this was created and, therefore, invested so much money in it.

— A.O.: Is that entirely a man-made process?

— Respondent: Yes, absolutely, it is.

— A.O.: In connection with this, what to expect now in Russia, where there are a very large number of different “companies” (associations of ultras) and other similar structures?

— – Respondent: What we see in Russia today, the people who come to the “Russian March” – first of all, they believe that they are “the most Russian”. Therefore, they raise the imperial banners. However, they believe that Putin – is bad. There is now a split. There are ultras, which are hostile to the Novorossia. And there are, on the contrary, parts of the ultras that are fighting, to the militia came. These are series of fans of “Zenith”, from “Spartacus”, from other clubs.

But be that as it may, the backbone of who shouts, supported Ukrainian Nazis, but it goes to the Russian marches, and which, as we have seen in the Bolotnaya out a few years ago – a huge number of young and determined people. The Russian leadership can still muster a problem with them, obviously.

However, there are guys who think that Russia is different. Worldwide ultras movement was getting out of control are the ideological splits. Just as in Ukraine, are on opposite sides, and in Italy and Spain. Rather, it can lead to certain “hot” effects.

— A.O.: Is this split of football clubs or on this principle, as people tend to think about what was happening?

— Respondent: As football clubs are no partitions. You have to fight for the honor of the club, for the city, if you come to hurt another country – for your national team, and then all the bullies become one. But here the differences are already other plans. Maybe she Novorossia will be eventually turning point for them, maybe the Russian