Extremist manifestations are a problem, the relevance of which today has no doubt. Government authorities are taking measures against them, which nevertheless turn out to be insufficiently effective. The consequences of extremism are experienced by many countries. Russia is no exception. Therefore, even a call for such an activity is strictly punishable by law, which is spelled out in Art. 180 of the Criminal Code.
Extremism at the turn of the century
At the end of the last and the beginning of the present centuries, this antisocial phenomenon has acquired a dangerous international character. The world was shocked by the event of September 11, when the towers of the World Trade Center were destroyed in New York. As a result of the attack killed more than two million people.
The beginning of the 21st century for Russia was marked by a series of terrifying terrorist acts. The tragedy in Beslan, the hostage-taking in Budennovsk, the explosions in Moscow are all events that have become the result of not only illegal, but also not meeting any human and humane notions of activity.
What does the word extremism mean?
In Art. 280 refers to punishment for calling for extremist activity. But what does this concept mean? Extremist theory is based on the development of any views and ideas. At the same time, it is a whole direction within the framework of the political order, striving to change something in society. The term "extremism" itself means "critical", "extreme". But the trends that introduce any ideas among the population do not seek power. They are associated with dictatorship.
In practice, extremism is active and immediate, and therefore extremely aggressive methods of establishing a new order in the state. This dangerous phenomenon can take various forms - from a small publication on the Internet to the establishment of a dictatorial regime in the country. What is fraught with the latter is known to world and domestic history. Therefore, every modern state, and Russia is no exception, seeks to suppress the emergence of extremism in the bud, as art. 280 of the Criminal Code.
Threat to the constitutional order
Extremism violates the security and integrity of any state. Such activity undermines basic moral standards, concepts of equality and entails bitterness and general panic among the population. The separation of people according to ideological, national and religious grounds is aggravating. To counteract these phenomena, the formation of a new legal form has become a prerequisite. The concept of extremism was introduced into federal law in 2002. The punishment for such activities is spelled out in Art. 280, 282 of the Criminal Code.
Any actions that are aimed at inciting ethnic hatred, as well as humiliation of a person on racial, sexual and religious grounds, must be punished, which manifests itself either in the form of a fine or in the form of imprisonment. With regard to the call for extremist activity, then what it is expressed in and what responsibility the initiator bears is spelled out in Art. 280 of the Criminal Code. Comments on this criminal article can be found below.
What does this activity include?
In accordance with federal law, extremism includes:
- violation of the constitutional order;
- seizure of power;
- undermining public safety;
- incitement to racial, religious or national hatred;
- riot organization.
According to Art. 280 of the Criminal Code, public propaganda of Nazi symbols and financing of such activities are prohibited.
Online distribution
The law prohibits a public call for this activity. In h. 2 Article 280 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation says that propaganda of extremism carried out with the help of the media is punishable by imprisonment of up to three years. The very concept of “publicity” means an open and accessible form for a large number of individuals. The arithmetic approach to evaluation is not applied. That is, if the owner of the site posts calls for extremist activity on their web pages, the number of visitors to this resource does not play a role. Only the nature of the information is important.
Calls
In h. 1 Article. 280 of the Criminal Code says that the minimum fine for propagating illegal ideas is one hundred thousand rubles. In the article, these actions are called calls for extremist activity. What does this concept mean?
A call is a type of influence on the will, consciousness and behavior of people. Its form can be different: oral, written, using various technical means (microphone, loudspeaker). A qualified type of this crime is provided for in part 2 of article 280 of the Criminal Code.
A classic example of the call for extremism in history is the public speaking of Adolf Hitler. This man had an extraordinary ability to influence the consciousness of the crowd. His gift, which caused a monstrous number of victims throughout Europe, was studied by foreign and Russian researchers. The consequences of his activities became the clearest evidence of the danger of extremist slogans.
Motives
What prompts a person to commit a crime prescribed in Art. 280 of the Criminal Code? Among the motives can be both revenge and self-interest. As a rule, political, national, and religious ideas serve only as a pretext for extremist actions.
Types of Extremism
This activity, as already mentioned, is diverse in its manifestations. Extremism can also be qualified in the following areas:
- economic;
- political;
- nationalistic;
- religious;
- environmental;
- spiritual.
The greatest danger is the political variety of this phenomenon. At the same time, they distinguish between “left” and “right” extremism. The former is characterized by the borrowing of the revolutionary ideas of anarchism. Right-wing extremists prefer to criticize modern society and show a high degree of coordination and organization.
Establishment of a crime
Those who carry out public calls for extremism are prosecuted. Punishment for inducing a specific person to commit a crime is not provided for in Article 280. Incitement to riots and hooliganism, which does not bear a political, ideological or national character, is also not a call for extremist activity.
On December 20, 2013, the Federal Law was amended. In Art. 280 1 of the Criminal Code, it is said that fines or imprisonment are punishable by public appeals that violate the integrity of Russia.
Arbitrage practice
Most of the cases in court, considered on the basis of Article 280, are connected with the creation of thematic communities in social networks. Online communication has become an integral part of the life of modern people. And if earlier conversations of a political nature, as well as anti-Semitic and nationalist disputes, were usually conducted at home, in the kitchen, today web users who do not have the necessary knowledge of the Criminal Code prefer to express their views in public. The Internet has become a powerful carrier of information that does not always and not at all have a positive effect.
As a rule, young people are accused of such cases. So, in 2010, one of the Tyumen courts heard a case on a crime under Article 280. The defendant was a student, a native of the Caucasus. As a result of a clash between fans of the football team and a group of natives of Makhachkala, a fight broke out. Subsequently, one of the participants issued a call for violent acts against persons of Slavic nationality. The guilt of the accused has been proven. The punishment was imprisonment for one year.
A similar case was considered in Kaliningrad. A resident of this city on one of the Internet portals left comments containing a call for the extermination of people of Caucasian nationality. Kaliningrader subscribed under his statement with a fictitious name. For law enforcement agencies to calculate it was not difficult. Many Web users are for some reason confused that using a nickname can provide absolute anonymity. A nickname is, of course, good, but there is also an IP address ...
Over the past year, an impressive number of cases have been examined in court on the basis of an article calling for extremism. As a rule, citizens aged 18 to 25 were punished. In some cases, guilty proofs were graphic images with small signatures posted on a social network.
Extremism, being an acute problem of our time, in a few years has become one of the most painful issues in Russian society. Its constituent elements are xenophobia, fascism, nationalism. The spectrum of this activity is extremely wide. The consequences of extremist manifestations can be limited by psychological and economic damage, but often lead to the deprivation of life of specific people.
To divide people according to national, religious and other characteristics is an action devoid of morality. It is very difficult to instill in citizens this. And therefore the slightest manifestations and seemingly insignificant public statements of this nature are subject to criminal liability.