Pro-Government Militias
Mestnyye (Russia)
Basic Group Information
| Name assigned by coder: | no |
| PGM ID Number: | 458 |
| Country: | Russia |
| Date formed: | Nov. 1, 2005 |
| Accuracy of date formed: | month |
| Details of Formation: | Originally founded as an apolitical environmentalist/anit-drug/anti-gambling group at the will of the Moscow Region government, Mestnyye quickly joined the trend of political youth groups then evolving in Russia by adopting political actions in favour of the government to its regular agenda, such as demonstrating and campaigning. It is not exactly clear when the group was first armed. |
| Date dissolved: | Unknown |
| Accuracy of date dissolved: | day |
| Details of Termination: | |
| Termination Type(s): | not terminated |
Former and Successor Group Information
| Predecessor group(s): | none |
| Successor group(s): | none |
| Private Military Company? | no |
| Former Group? | no |
| Former Armed Group? | no |
| Former Rebel Group? | no |
| Former Rebel Group UCDP ID: | none |
| PGM Becomes Rebel Group? | no |
| Successor Rebel Group UCDP ID: | none |
Government Relation, Support, and Training
| Government Relation: | semi-official (type 2) |
| Created by the Government?: | unclear | Main Creating Government Institution: | none |
| Government Link(s): | person/minister; state (institution) |
| If link to party, name of party: | |
| Training and Equipment: | yes |
| Shared Information and Joint Operations: | yes |
| Shared Personnel: | no information |
| Type(s) of Material Support: | domestic government; no information |
| State Sponsor(s): | none |
| Other Connection(s): |
Group Characteristics
| Membership: | ideology; adolescents; students |
| Primary Membership: | local |
| Alternative Primary Membership: | no information |
| Location: | Moscow |
| Force Strength: | [50, 45000] |
| Target(s): | immigrants |
| Purpose(s): | self-defense and security; intimidation of ethnic/religious groups; anti crime; intimidate political opposition |
Ethnic Characteristics
| Ethnic Target(s): | none |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Targeting: | not applicable |
| Ethnic Membership: | none |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Membership: | not applicable |
| Ethnic Purpose: | none |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Purpose: | not applicable |
Other Information
| Other Information: | Some sources refer to the group as "Locals" (the translation from Russian of "Mestnyye") or use the alternative transcription "Mestnye". As the majority of sources used the writing "Mestnyye", the PGM was given that name. |
New Variables from Meta-Analysis
Purpose
| Purpose: | Mestnyye was founded to clean the environment. Mestnyye are used by the government to intimidate immigrants (Human Rights Watch 2007) and support security forces in fight against crime. The group is frequently active against immigrants. The government profits from supporting Mestnyye because it is an alternative to the far-right anti-immigrant group Movement Against Illegal Immigration. |
| Relative Benefit(s) of PGM Use | unknown |
Treatment of Civilians
| Treatment of Civilians: | Mestnyye aims to protect (ethnic) Russians from crime and terrorism. But it instills ethnic hatred against non-ethnic Russians. |
| Type(s) of Violence against Civilians: | unknown |
Reasons for Membership
| PGM Members Coerced? | no |
| PGM Members Paid? | no |
| Reasons for Membership: | Mestnyye members participate primarily to protect and improve their region and local environment, as well as for ideological reasons (against immigrants, in favour of Putin). |
| PGM Members Killed? | never |
PGM Size
| Size: | At the end of December 2005, 45,000 people allegedly participated in Mestnyye’s actions. Later reports of other actions mention significantly lower numbers of participation, decreasing from 7,000 participating in the anti-Bomb action in 2006 to 50 participating in a rally in 2012. |
Weapons and Training
| Weapons and Training: | Mestnyye receives material support from the state. It is not clear if this includes weapons. |
Organisation
| Organisation: | The leader of Mestnyye is called Sergey Fateyev, but sources give no more information about him. The government supplies Mestnyye with media, material and financial support. The Federal Migration Service officially enlisted Mestnyye in 2007 (Human Rights Watch 2007). |
Reference(s) for Meta-Analysis
Evidence
- Examine the evidence for this coding.