Revolutionary Youth Union

Revolutionary Youth Union اتحاد شبيبة الثورة
Chairman	Maan Abboud[1]
Founded	13 January 1970
Dissolved	29 January 2025; 11 months ago (2025-01-29)[2][3]
Headquarters	Damascus
Ideology	Neo-Ba'athism Arab nationalism Anti-Zionism Arab socialism
Mother party	Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party in Syria
International affiliation	World Federation of Democratic Youth
Newspaper	Al Masirah[4]
Website	http://ryu-sy.org/

33°29′29.34″N 36°14′38.14″E / 33.4914833°N 36.2439278°E / 33.4914833; 36.2439278 Revolutionary Youth Union (officially abbreviated RYU; Arabic: اتحاد شبيبة الثورة, Ittihad Shabibat ath-Thawra) was the youth organization of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party in Syria. RYU was a member organization of the World Federation of Democratic Youth.

History

Revolutionary Youth Union was established in 1970^[5] as a youth organization of the ruling Ba'ath Party.^[6] The organization's membership was made up of 12-18 year olds, with all secondary school students in the country automatically being made members. Members were required to be solely affiliated with the Ba'ath Party and with no other political organization.^[7] The organization had a newsletter named al-Masirah (English: The March).^[6] The RYU oversees the management of a special property known as Medina Shabab (literally “Youth City”), which were used for youth competitions and events, also organized by the RYU.^[8] RYU pushed youth onto the militaristic path through military events and marches - the organization also ran special camps with a military focus, where children wore military uniforms and did military activities.

Syrian civil war

According to the organization itself, tens of thousands of young people have joined the government army since the start of the civil war in Syria.^[8] In 2021, the RYU launched a program to help wounded civil war veterans and their families (of course, only those who fought on the side of the Bashar al-Assad government), which became known as Wasiya (testament).^[8] The organization also planned to launch two projects to support small enterprises, training to support talents, as well as setting up productive and ideological camps for “preparation for the struggle” (again).^[8]

On July 9, 2021, a draft resolution to disband Revolutionary Youth Union and Baath Vanguard, another Ba'athist youth organization, was sent on review. The current status of this draft resolution is unknown.^[9]

Following the fall of the Assad regime, the Union was banned by the Syrian transitional government alongside its mother party.^[10]

External links

• RYU website Archived 2013-07-21 at the Wayback Machine

References

1. https://www.facebook.com/Revolution.Youth.Union/ ^{[user-generated source]}
2. "Ahmad Al-Sharaa officially named Syria's transitional president". www.aa.com.tr. Retrieved 2025-01-30.
3. Al-Ammar, Najjar (29 January 2025). "الإدارة السورية الجديدة تعلن وقف العمل بالدستور وتعيين الشرع رئيسا للبلاد في المرحلة الانتقالية" [The new Syrian administration announces the suspension of the constitution and the appointment of al-Sharaa as president of the country in the transitional period] (in Arabic). France 24. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
4. "صحيفة المسيرة – اتحاد شبيبة الثورة | سورية". Archived from the original on 2019-02-27. Retrieved 2019-08-30.
5. "مرسوم تأسيس اتحاد شبيبة الثورة عام 1970". التاريخ السوري المعاصر (in Arabic). 2017-12-29. Retrieved 2025-08-23.
6. publish2 (2021-02-14). "Political parties radicalize youth in Syria's Suwayda - North press agency". Retrieved 2025-03-15.
7. "The Ideology of Authority: 50 Years of Education in Syria". Firka Forum. April 28, 2016.
8. publish2 (2021-02-14). "Political parties radicalize youth in Syria's Suwayda - North press agency". Retrieved 2025-08-23.
9. Sh (2021-07-09). "Draft Resolution to Abolish the Baath Vanguard and the Revolutionary Youth Union - The Syrian Observer". Retrieved 2025-03-15.
10. Al-Jnaidi, Laith; Sio, Mohammad (29 January 2025). "Ahmad Al-Sharaa officially named Syria's transitional president". Anadolu Agency.