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Masculinity, Criminality, and Russian Men

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Masculinity, Criminality, and Russian Men Masculinity, Criminality, and Russian Men By Marina Yusupova curious that these men only drew on the discourse [email protected] of criminality when they talked about masculinity or homosexuality, while the other parts of their Abstract biographical narratives were almost always This article explores links between discourses completely free of criminal language and norms. of masculinity and criminality in the narratives of non-criminal Russian men. Based on the analysis Some of these criminal articulations of masculinity of biographical interviews with Russian men tended to idealize criminals, their rigid code of residing in Samara, this study examines different conduct, relied heavily on prison jargon, and in ways in which some of these men draw on criminal general aimed to demonstrate that a speaker ideology or street lads’ hierarchies to construct wished to be seen as a respected insider of their masculine identities and reveals the complex the criminal men’s world. Others referred to relations between masculinity, homosexuality the generalized character of the criminal lord, and criminality in the post-Soviet Russian context. the members of street territorial gangs, and My data and personal life experience in Russia protagonists in Russian movies about bandits in both suggest that appropriation of criminal or order to ridicule, challenge, or at least disagree with semi-criminal discourse as a resource for making their type of masculine bravado. It is interesting masculinity among my respondents is not that even those men who specifically contrasted accidental and cannot be explained solely by themselves to “this kind of man” still paid their class and sociocultural backgrounds. I argue considerable attention to speculations about the that contemporary masculinities in Russia are not criminal world. only informed by criminal quasi-law (poniatiia) Drawing on in-depth biographical interviews with and rather similar ‘lads’ rules’ (patsanskie pravila), 20 Russian men living in Samara and interviewed in but are also in a state of complex power relations 2013, I focus on the narratives of eight individuals with criminal values and hierarchies. This article to explore the links between discourses of demonstrates that acceptance and internalization masculinity and criminality in the narratives of non- of criminal culture norms in the post-Soviet context criminal Russian men today. The fact that eight acquired a disciplinary character, and allows for the non-criminal interviewees spontaneously raised the construction of hegemonic masculinity – a specific topic of the criminal world supports the conclusions type of masculinity, which legitimates hierarchical of some Russian researchers about the prevalence gender relations. of prison values amongst all layers of contemporary Keywords: hegemonic masculinity, post-Soviet Russian society (Oleinik, 2001a, 2001b, 2003; Russia, criminal and street masculine hierarchies, Taibakov, 2001; Khanipov, 2008). homophobia. Criminological scholarship, however, ignores the The Russian prison system is a very rigid gender dimension of the topic. At the same time, hierarchical social structure that imposes an studies on men and masculinities in the Russian indelible imprint on its inmates. As the specialists context have overlooked how the broader ideologies working on prison reform in Russia have explained, of masculinity and criminality intersect. The notable a person who has spent three or four years in exceptions here are the works of sociologists prison in this part of the world is never the same researching youth cultures and delinquent gangs person again (Abramkin, Al’pern, 2005). Oleg had in post-Soviet Russia (Gromov, 2013; Gromov and spent six years in prison and so his use of terms Stephenson, 2008; Kosterina, 2006; Pilkington, of reference taken from prison culture comes as Omel’chenko and Garifzianova, 2010; Salagaev, 2001; no surprise. However the cases of eight other Salagaev and Shashkin, 2002, 2003, 2005; Shashkin respondents, who have never been imprisoned and Salagaev, 2002; Stephenson, 2009, 2011, 2012). and presumably have never had serious problems Whereas this literature shows that territorial gangs with the law, but still relied on the criminal quasi- and street lads’ groups emulate prison and criminal law or poniatiia and rather similar ‘lads’ rules’ or culture’s gender ideals and the romantic brotherhood patsanskie pravila in their articulation of masculinity, of outlaws, my research analyses the complex require special consideration. It is especially relations between masculinity, homosexuality 46 Sextures 3 and criminality in the broader post-Soviet Russian about masculinity in plural terms and that “certain context. My data shows that poniatiia and patsanskie masculinities are more socially central, or more pravila are important in the formation of masculinity associated with authority and power, than others” even to men who are not steeped in this culture. (Connell and Messerschmidt, 2005: 846). In any given society there is a hierarchy of masculine I argue that post-Soviet Russian masculinities are not behaviours and at the same time there is a specific only informed by criminal quasi-law and “lads” rules, form of masculinity that “structures and legitimates but are also in a state of complex power relations hierarchical gender relations between men and with criminal values and hierarchies. Although women, between masculinity and femininity, and not a representative sample, the interviews with among men” (Messerschmidt, 2012: 58). This is non-criminal men in this study demonstrate that known as hegemonic masculinity. Connell and the positive or negative referencing to the criminal Messerschmidt stress that hegemonic masculinity culture norms is an important resource for making is not fixed and is not necessarily the type of masculinities in the post-Soviet context. The data also masculinity that is dominant at a particular time and clearly demonstrates how the ideology of the criminal place. This masculinity is not the most culturally world legitimizes highly structured and hierarchical celebrated or the most common in particular gender order in Russia. While consideration of this settings, but the one that legitimates a culturally issue and a gender sensitive approach in criminology and historically specific kind of gender inequality is almost totally absent from the Russian academic and hierarchies between men and between men tradition, present study aims to fill this gap and and women (Messerschmidt, 2012). For this reason contribute to our understanding of the interplay hegemonic masculinity may only be understood in between masculinity and criminality in Russia. its relationship to femininities and nonhegemonic Hegemonic Masculinity and Criminality masculinities. The types of practices and discourses that are considered to be hegemonically masculine “What is “masculinity”? Although we seem to have differ according to historical context, geographic a difficult time defining masculinity, as a society location and cultural setting (Connell, 1995). we have little trouble in recognizing it, and indeed we spend massive amounts of time and money The concept of hegemonic masculinity, “originally ratifying and supporting the versions of masculinity formulated to conceptualize how patriarchal that we enjoy and trust” (Halberstam, 1998:1). relations are legitimated throughout society,” (Messerschmidt, 2012: 63) has influenced gender As Jack Halberstam rightly notes, defining studies across many academic fields. It has been masculinity is never an easy task for researchers embraced by many different disciplines, including and analysts. I approach masculinity as a socially criminology, a discipline that since the early 1990s constructed category and a strategy, rather than has been “seeking to engage with the sexed as a somehow “natural” or psychological set of specificity of its object of study–the fact that crime individual traits and characteristics. Masculinity is is, overwhelmingly, an activity engaged in by men” a configuration of practices and discourses that (Collier, 1998: viii). The recognition in the last few symbolise what it means to be a man in a given decades “that [crime] is almost always committed culture at a given historical period. “[T]he concept by men” (Newburn and Stanko, 1994: 10 in Collier, is also inherently relational. ‘Masculinity’ does not 1998: 1) and that “[m]en predominate not just as exist except in contrast with ‘femininity’” (Connell, officially ‘known’ (and unknown) offenders but 1995: 68). People are socialised into a collective also as workers within the criminal justice system” understanding of what masculinity and femininity (Collier, 1998: 2) has made criminologists in some mean and at the same time can actively challenge countries take masculinity seriously and focus their and transform conventional gender representations. attention on how men, masculinities, and crime Individuals are positioned differently within socially interact (Carlen and Jefferson, 1996; Collier, 1998; organised power relations and possess different Messerschmidt, 1993, 2005; Newburn and Stanko, social statuses on the basis of class, race and 1994; Sabo, Kupers and London, 2001). sexual orientation. International research confirms the initial insights of Connell that we can only talk Sextures 3 47 Although there is a certain degree of disagreement of this study, I draw direct parallels between within criminology about the ability of hegemonic
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