Punishability of Acts of Extremist Orientation Stipulated by Article 282 of the Criminal Code of Russian Federation ('CCRF')

Abstract

The crimes of extremist orientation stipulated under Article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“CCRF”) is one of the most widespread crimes in the latest years in Russia. The article explores the statistical data on the number of cases and the severity of punishments for the crimes of extremist orientation in 2009-2019 in the Russian Federation. This data is then analysed in the context of the cumulative data on the punishments in all other criminal cases in Russia in the relevant years. Generally, it shows that the application of the law in this area is highly repressive e.g. relatively low % of acquittal, relatively high % of compulsory medical measures. Several other trends, including a raise of conditional imprisonment, noted from the data are analysed by the authors through a double-lenses of academics and human rights practitioners. The discussion is contextualized by the recent legislative reforms of Article 282 of the CCRF and briefly reviews the relevant policy trends. Among other a very broad discretion of the law-enforcement authorities appears problematic. Finally, the shift in the application of this part of Criminal law is noted, i.e. from the real-life situations to the Internet “likes” and “reposts”. Also, data analysis shows that part 2 of the Article 282 of the Criminal Code tends to lose relevance.