Peculiarities of the Formation of Groups With Nationalist Worldviews in Lithuania: a Case of Skinheads ; Nacionalistinių pažiūrų grupuočių formavimosi ypatumai Lietuvoje: Skinhedų atvejis

Abstract

The skinhead subculture is a global phenomenon – like many other youth subcultures. Thus, the research question arises – which features of a skinhead's identity emerge in the local environment of the Lithuanian society, and in which manner? Is the identity of a Lithuanian skinhead exceptional? The aim of the research was to reveal the peculiarities of right-wing skinheads' identity, the motivation for choosing such identity, and the character of skinheads' social activity. The work is based on empirical material collected during 2004–2013. The methods included an in-depth interview, a questionnaire survey, an integrated observation, and collecting visual material (photo and video) revealing the expressions of the subculture. The visual material presented in skinheads' Facebook accounts was analyzed. The study was conducted by applying the induction technique where issues and individual and group aspects of identity and behavior characteristic of the skinheads were obtained from the available data. The study showed that the ideas characteristic of Lithuanian right-wing skinhead ideology are patriotism, nationalism, racial nationalism, as well as racism and neo-Nazism. Masculine values – strength, courage, fortitude and physical resilience, and ability to defend one's ideas with force – occupy an important position on the list of skinheads' values. In addition to characteristic internationally used elements, Lithuanian skinheads' subcultural style is complemented with local – national – elements. The combination of all three features of identity – ideology, masculine values, and the skinhead style – defines a person as a member of the right-wing skinhead subculture. It has been noted that a person's identity changes and acquires new features when the person communicates with members of other subculture groups (reenactors, metalheads, football fans, or bikers) and joins their activity. The analysis of how individuals joined the right-wing skinhead activity revealed that the majority of the respondents had already formed ideas similar to those characteristic of this subculture. The respondents mostly associated the formation of such ideas with patriotic upbringing in the family, stories from family members about repressions of the Soviets against their relatives, events at the time of the National Liberation Movement (Sąjūdis), family members' hostility towards foreigners, and conflicts with ethnic minorities. The analysis of the activity level of right-wing skinhead groups showed that this level may change depending on the social environment; in total, three levels of activity were identified: inactive (dormant), active (parties, entertainment), and highly active (extremist).