Nonconformity

The regime has made strenuous efforts to combat symptoms of rebellion among youth, particularly the "stilyagi," or teddy-boy cult. The methods used are to increase participation in sport, and in the D.O.S.A.A.F. (Voluntary Organisation to co-operate with the Army, Navy and Air Force) a para-military outfit which teaches its members to shoot, drive cars and motor cycles, fly planes and sail boats. These pursuits undoubtedly satisfy many of the outdoor types, but for others Bohemianism is often the only escape from everyday drabness. A more disturbing symptom has been juvenile alcoholism, with an increased crime rate among teenagers, both of which the government castigates as evils without enquiring into the causes.