Informals are a social group; a common name for representatives of various groups and their subcultural youth movements in the USSR of the 80-90s of the XX century. The definition of "informal" comes from the phrase "informal youth associations", which arose in contrast to "formal" associations: Komsomol organizations and others allowed by the authorities. "Informals" in the mid-1980s, employees of the internal affairs bodies and local organizations of the CPSU called a variety of informal, amateur communities of young people — social initiative groups, interest clubs and teenage gangs. Initially, the word "informal" had a rather pronounced negative connotation and was not a self-designation of representatives of subcultures. In colloquial speech, abbreviated forms are also used — "nefors", "nifers" and so on.