Phenomenon of Youth Street-Criminal Subculture in Russian Society

This article is devoted to AUE, a street subculture on social media and in cities. The term AUE in Russian translates as "prisoners' ways are united", or "prisoners' criminal union". It is a subculture that promotes a criminal way of life, cultivates an image of a hooligan, and is based on hatred towards law enforcement. However, there is a certain stylization in all of that, especially when AUE manifests on Russian social media. Members are aged between 12-13 years and 25-30 years; there are older members as well. The goal of this study is to perform a comprehensive analysis of collective stereotypes about crime and prison that exist among the street youth. The phenomenon of AUE is viewed as a hierarchy of finance and power that solves the social problems that the youth faces. Financial and legal help may be provided to prisoners "from the street". It also creates youth financial institutions such as a shared cash fund and a system for financial and physical support. The article lists popular paradigms about crime and prison, and social practices of the street youth. This article also discusses the social and psychological features of AUE members by creating a generalized portrait of an AUE member. We also determine the degree of hostility of this movement to the state and society. Finally, we identify youth groups that may be targeted by the destructive AUE ideology.