Хулиганство в Советской Белоруссии в годы оттепели (1953-1968)
Hooliganism in Soviet Belarus during the Thaw (1953-1968)

Summary/Abstract: The article is devoted to one of the manifestations of deviant behavior in Belarusian Soviet cities in the 1950s–1960s. During the Khrushchev “thaw” there was a significant increase in hooliganism. The reasons for this phenomenon were, first of all, the rapid urbanization caused by the large-scale industrialization of Soviet Belarus during this period. The heavy demographic consequences of the Great Patriotic War, as well as Stalin’s repressive policy during almost the whole post-war decade also played an important role. The hooligans themselves, most of whom were young members of the working class, justified their behavior with primitive propaganda clichés about social superiority which gave rise to a sense of permissiveness and impunity. During the “thaw” years, the authorities, which for a long time did not see hooliganism as a serious threat, undertook a series of legal and educational measures to curb it. However, the state policy to combat hooliganism was inconsistent and ineffective. Hooligans remained an integral part of everyday life in Belarusian cities even during the “stagnation”. The article shows the legislative initiatives of the authorities to curb hooliganism, in particular the decree of the Soviet Belarus Supreme Soviet of December 30, 1956 on responsibility for hooliganism; the division of hooligans in the 1960 Soviet Belarus Criminal Code into “bad” and “small” with the transfer of the cases of the latter to the comrades’ courts; and the decree of the USSR Supreme Soviet of July 26, 1966 “On increasing responsibility for hooliganism”. Particular attention is paid to the extent and forms of hooliganism in urban societies, the degree of its public danger, as well as forms of public counteraction to this phenomenon in the form of voluntary people’s squad.

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