More than 350 younger brawlers have reportedly been detained in Moscow over the previous few days
A wave of violence between teams of youngsters has hit Russia during the last week. The brawls, which broke out at malls, have been linked to the mysterious ‘PMC Ryodan’ youth motion that’s believed to have been impressed by Japanese anime and manga.
According to a number of experiences, the motion’s title comes from a gang within the present ‘Hunter x Hunter’. The members determine themselves by sporting garments with a spider emblem. The acronym ‘PMC’ (ChVK in Russian) means ‘non-public army firm’.
Most Ryodan members are underage and are reported to have ‘unhealthy blood’ with soccer hooligans. According to news web site Baza, additionally they oppose migrants and other people from Russia’s Muslim-majority Caucasus area.
The first widely-reported combat broke out on February 19 on the Aviapark mall in northern Moscow, in keeping with Baza. The publication mentioned a number of Ryodan members had been concerned in an argument with one other group over chairs in a meals courtroom. Other experiences mentioned the combat erupted due to how one of many members of the group was dressed.
The youngsters reportedly agreed to fulfill for a showdown within the Aviapark the subsequent day, in addition to inside Marcos Mall, one other well-liked spot within the northern a part of the capital. Both confrontations had been damaged up by the police, Baza mentioned. The Moscow Investigative Committee has additionally launched a probe into the matter.
Similar incidents had been later reported within the Russian capital and different main cities. Four younger folks attacked and pepper-sprayed an individual sporting garments with a spider emblem in a Moscow subway station, in keeping with native media experiences. Three of the assailants had been mentioned to have been minors, in addition to the sufferer.
More than 350 folks, together with 319 minors, had been detained in Moscow on Saturday and Sunday, RIA Novosti reported, citing a police supply. Some had been mentioned to have been armed with pepper spray, knives, and airsoft pistols. Most of the detainees have since been launched, whereas the dad and mom of 11 of them have been charged with “dereliction of parental duties.”
Officials in St. Petersburg, Russia’s second-largest metropolis, mentioned a 17-year-old school pupil was arrested on suspicion of attacking a 15-year-old schoolboy in one of many malls. Social media, in the meantime, has been flooded with movies of teams of younger folks preventing one another and making threats towards ‘spiders’.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov informed reporters on Tuesday that it was essential to stop illegal actions. He described Ryodan as a “negative pseudo-subculture that doesn’t offer anything good to our young people.”
Ekaterina Mizulina, a member of Russia’s Civic Chamber – a physique advising the federal government on civil society points – mentioned on Monday that she had requested the judiciary to formally ban Ryodan. Mizulina wrote on her Telegram channel that phenomena like Ryodan develop into well-liked as a result of younger folks “are left to themselves” and spend time on-line as a substitute of getting access to sport golf equipment and different actions.