What is extremism definition. The concept of extremist activity and its forms

Expand the concept of “extremist activity”.

Extremism– represents one of the forms of radical denial of existing social norms and rules in the state on the part of individuals or groups.

violent change of the foundations of the constitutional system and violation of integrity Russian Federation;

inciting social, racial, national or religious hatred;

propaganda of exclusivity, superiority or inferiority of a person on the basis of his social, racial, national, religious or linguistic affiliation or attitude to religion;

violation of the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of a person and citizen, depending on his social, racial, national, religious or linguistic affiliation or attitude to religion;

preventing citizens from exercising their voting rights and the right to participate in a referendum or violation of the secrecy of voting, coupled with violence or the threat of its use;

obstruction of the legitimate activities of state bodies, local governments, election commissions, public and religious associations or other organizations, combined with violence or the threat of its use;

committing crimes for the reasons specified in paragraph "e" of part one of Article 63 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation;

propaganda and public display of Nazi paraphernalia or symbols or paraphernalia or symbols that are confusingly similar to Nazi paraphernalia or symbols;

public calls for the implementation of these acts or mass distribution of obviously extremist materials, as well as their production or storage for the purpose of mass distribution;

public knowingly false accusation of a person holding a public office of the Russian Federation or a public office of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation of committing during the performance of his duties job responsibilities acts specified in this article and constituting a crime;

organization and preparation of these acts, as well as incitement to their implementation;

financing of these acts or other assistance in their organization, preparation and implementation, including through the provision of educational, printing and material and technical resources, telephone and other types of communications or the provision of information services.

Expand the concept of “Terrorist activity”.

The term “terrorism”” (from Latin terror - fear, horror) means one of the most serious crimes, which is the commission violent actions in a generally dangerous manner (explosion, arson, etc.) or threat by such actions in order to violate public safety, intimidate the population, or influence decision-making by authorities. At the same time, the goals of terrorists can be different: religious, political, economic, etc. The essence of terrorism should be understood a set of original features, characteristic features and distinctive features inherent in terrorism as a socio-political and legal category, and constituting its internal content.

Terrorist activities- activities that include:

organization, planning, preparation and implementation of a terrorist action;

incitement to a terrorist act, violence against individuals or organizations, destruction of material objects for terrorist purposes;

organization of an illegal armed group, criminal community (criminal organization), organized group to commit a terrorist act, as well as participation in such an act;

recruiting, arming, training and using terrorists;

financing a known terrorist organization or terrorist group or otherwise assisting them;

International terrorist activities- terrorist activities carried out by:

terrorist or terrorist organization on the territory of more than one state or damaging the interests of more than one state;

citizens of one state in relation to citizens of another state or on the territory of another state;

in the case where both the terrorist and the victim of terrorism are citizens of the same state or different states, but the crime was committed outside the territories of these states.

Crimes of a terrorist nature- crimes provided for in Articles 205-208, 277 and 360 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Other crimes provided for by the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation may also be classified as crimes of a terrorist nature if they are committed for terrorist purposes. Responsibility for committing such crimes occurs in accordance with the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

What function does an educational organization perform in the system of countering the ideology of extremism and terrorism in the Russian Federation?

The state policy of the Russian Federation in the field of education is based on the principles of humanism, the priority of universal human values, educating young people in the spirit of high citizenship and love for the Motherland, and contributes to the protection of human life and health. The Federal Law “On Education in the Russian Federation” reflects a new concept of the intellectual and spiritual development of the student’s personality. In this regard, the education of patriotism among students, the formation of spiritual and moral qualities in them, acquires fundamental importance. In recent years, a huge amount of work has been done in the field of education to instill in students patriotism, rejection of the ideology of extremism and terrorism, harmonization interethnic relations.

Education should instill in the individual the mechanisms of adaptation, life creativity, reflection, survival, and preservation of one’s individuality. Thus, in accordance with the requirements of federal educational standards, one of the components of the main educational programs and programs of additional education for children is the activities of an educational organization for patriotic education, spiritual and moral education of the younger generation, for the formation in students of such qualities as love for the Motherland, respectful attitude towards one’s family, the formation of a value-semantic attitude towards sociocultural values. In addition, in the content of the main educational program of preschool education in the areas of “Cognitive Development” and “Social and Communicative Development”, in the main general education program as part of the development of programs for academic subjects « The world around us”, “Fundamentals of religious cultures and secular ethics”, “Fundamentals of life safety”, “Social studies”, “History”, topics of anti-extremist and anti-terrorist orientation are studied. It is the above-mentioned work of educational organizations with children, adolescents and youth that is the basis of information counteraction to the ideology of extremism and terrorism in the educational environment.

Also, educational organizations are drawing up a plan to counter the ideology of terrorism and extremism in academic year, which must be comprehensive and systematic. The plan reflects the items “Educational activities with children”; “Educational activities with parents”; “Organization of information space”; "Events"; "Interdepartmental cooperation." You can't stop there. It is necessary to continue the activities of educational organizations at all levels of education, including preschool educational organizations and organizations for additional education of children, aimed at countering the ideology of extremism and terrorism in the educational environment.

Based on the above, one of the main tasks solved in the education system is the search for ways and means of developing spiritual and moral qualities in students, nurturing patriotism and forming a safe type of personality in students and pupils as a factor in preventing and countering the ideology of terrorism in the educational environment. Solving the problem of countering the ideology of extremism in the educational environment is impossible without putting forward new social attitudes, the internalization (appropriation) of which begins during the period of general education. Until now, issues of countering the ideology of extremism have not been associated with the problem of personality, its goals, motives, needs and value-semantic relations. It is impossible to form a value-semantic attitude to life frontally, by informing students and pupils of the rules of behavior, by memorizing norms and laws. This process is subjective, lengthy and complex. The value-semantic orientation of the educational work of teachers is realized in the course of organizing the educational activities of students and pupils using meaning-forming technologies.

Educational activities students and pupils are filled with situations of creativity and experience; during classes, independence in solving educational situations is supported, which encourages children to take an active position. To form a safe type of personality, it is proposed to use methods and technologies that ensure the integration of the process of cognition with the process of comprehension. This is a project method, multimedia technologies (conducting training sessions using a multimedia complex, demonstration of infographics, videos, photo reports, analysis of exercise situations, use of digital educational resources), case studies, trainings, problematic situations, case studies, discussions, business games(see additional material " Methodical recommendations on conducting training sessions with students of general education organizations on countering the ideology of extremism and terrorism").

Thus, the activities of educational organizations of all levels and types of education, including preschool educational organizations and organizations of additional education of children, aimed at developing spiritual and moral qualities in students and pupils, is the basis for countering the ideology of extremism and terrorism in the educational environment, which corresponds to the objectives tasks facing the education system in paragraph 27 of the Strategy for Countering Extremism in the Russian Federation.

The concept of "extremism" comes from Latin word extremus, which means "extreme". Extremists, taking an aggressive position in society, cross the line of what is permitted by morality and law. If they go beyond this line, their actions are classified as criminal based on the degree of social danger.

For example, there is a mass permitted demonstration of protest against a certain decision of the city authorities, etc. This is the legal right of citizens to express their opinions. But if this demonstration is accompanied by calls for violence and develops into hooliganism and riots (arson of cars, pogroms of shops, attacks on citizens or law enforcement officials), these are already illegal extremist actions, which, based on the degree of public danger, can be classified as criminal.

It should be noted that one of the reasons for the emergence of extremist motives and actions may be social injustice that has arisen in society, which is expressed in a decrease in the quality and standard of living of citizens, in a decrease in the level of protection of their vital interests from internal and external threats. All this can lead to serious social consequences, creating increased tension in society.

The most vulnerable and susceptible to the influence of extremist ideology are non-students and non-working teenagers and young people with a low level of education, culture and legal awareness, excess free time and lack of socially significant interests.

Joining an extremist organization or terrorist formation is largely a consequence of the lack of a clearly formulated purpose in life, as well as economic hopes.

IN Russian legislation The definition of extremism is contained in the Federal Law “On Combating Extremist Activities.”

Here is the text from the Federal Law “On Combating Extremist Activities”:

1) extremist activity (extremism):

• violent change in the foundations of the constitutional system and violation of the integrity of the Russian Federation;
• public justification of terrorism and other terrorist activities;
• inciting social, racial, national or religious hatred;
• propaganda of exclusivity, superiority or inferiority of a person on the basis of his social, racial, national, religious or linguistic affiliation or attitude to religion;

• violation of the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of a person and citizen, depending on his social, racial, national, religious or linguistic affiliation or attitude to religion;
• obstruction of citizens' exercise of their voting rights and the right to participate in a referendum or violation of the secrecy of voting, combined with violence or the threat of its use;
• obstruction of the legitimate activities of state bodies, local governments, election commissions, public and religious associations or other organizations, combined with violence or the threat of its use...
• propaganda and public display of Nazi paraphernalia or symbols or paraphernalia or symbols that are confusingly similar to Nazi paraphernalia or symbols;
• public calls for the implementation of these acts or mass distribution of obviously extremist materials, as well as their production or storage for the purpose of mass distribution;
• publicly knowingly falsely accusing a person holding a public office of the Russian Federation or a public office of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation of committing, during the performance of his official duties, the acts specified in this article and constituting a crime;
• organization and preparation of these acts, as well as incitement to their implementation;
• financing of these acts or other assistance in their organization, preparation and implementation, including through the provision of educational, printing and material and technical base, telephone and other types of communications or the provision of information services.”

Based on the provisions contained in the Federal Law, three areas of extremist activity can be distinguished.

1. Physical implementation of mass riots, hooliganism and acts of vandalism for ideological, political, racial, national or religious reasons.
2. Spreading extremist ideas in society, inciting racial, national or religious hatred.
3. Financing of extremist activities.

Extremist activity associated with a threat to material cultural objects, private property and, most importantly, people’s lives is especially dangerous. Frequent messages of funds mass media about unrest during demonstrations, vandalism of personal and public transport, even monuments. Thus, in 1997, members of one of the youth organizations blew up a monument to Nicholas II in the village of Taininskoye near Moscow and a memorial plaque in memory of the death of the imperial family at the Vagankovskoye cemetery. The perpetrators of these events were punished under the article of the Criminal Code “Vandalism”.

In 2008, members of another extremist group, which existed under the guise of an informal military sports club that was not officially registered anywhere, were convicted of committing explosions at the Cherkizovsky market and other public places. These explosions, unfortunately, are an example of how extremism finds expression in its extreme form - terrorism. The convicts received various sentences, including four of them - life imprisonment.

This type of extremist activity, such as the dissemination of extremist ideas in society, has now become widespread through the Internet. In recent years, the role of using the Internet as a means of promoting extremist and terrorist ideas has increased. Through the World Wide Web, extremists openly recruit new supporters, post game videos, communicate with each other, and promote symbols, including xenophobic and fascist ones. Many extremist organizations in the world have their own websites (according to experts, there are over 500 of them), through which criminal ideology is spread, aimed at undermining public order and state power.

The third type of extremist activity - financing - is carried out in the form of providing financial and material assistance to extremist organizations or their participants with the initial knowledge that the transferred funds will be used in the interests of organizing and carrying out extremist and, possibly, terrorist activities. Financing of extremists can even come from abroad through the channels of special services. various countries interested in instability in the Russian Federation.

Conclusions

1. Extremist activity creates increased tension, as it serves to incite social, racial, national and religious discord in society.
2. Adolescents and young people with a low level of education, culture and legal awareness, excess free time and lack of socially significant interests are most susceptible to the influence of the ideology of terrorism.
3. Terrorism is an extreme form of extremism.

Questions

1. What types of extremist activities exist and what are their differences?
2. Which categories of people are most susceptible to extremist ideology?
3. What is the relationship between religious and non-religious extremism?

Exercise

Analyze the following actions related to extremist activities and prepare a message about the importance of extremist thinking for involvement in terrorist activities.

Additional material to § 15

Ways of spreading extremist ideas

Extremism occurs not only in the form of mass riots, but also “verbal”, in the form of propaganda - the spread of extremist ideas, such as the superiority or inferiority of citizens in relation to religion, social, racial, national or linguistic affiliation, agitation of racial, national or religious hatred, as well as social hatred associated with violence or calls for violence. A form of “verbal” extremism is derogatory and/or offensive characteristics of members of a particular religious, social, racial, national, or linguistic group.

“Verbal” extremism also manifests itself in the form of informational influence on people who are thus involved in extremist activities.

Terrorist acts, as a rule, are preceded by public calls for the implementation of specified activities or the commission of specified actions, and the perpetrators of terrorist acts were involved in the execution of these actions. Extremist agitation can be considered a form of violence against an individual, since with the help of certain information technologies it forces a person to commit antisocial acts that are contrary to human nature, morality, and religious institutions. A striking example Such extremist agitation is turning a person into a suicide bomber. But upon closer examination, all forms and types of extremist agitation are such.

And propaganda, and even the slogan written on the fence “Destroy (someone)!” - these are ideas put into words. Ideas do not travel themselves, but are distributed through books, brochures, tape recordings, CDs, radio, television, and the Internet. And through actions - public calls for the implementation of these ideas in the form of sermons or speeches, statements or publications in the media or otherwise.

Extremism (from French extremisme, from Latin extremus - extreme) - commitment to extreme views and, in particular, measures (usually in politics). Such measures include provoking riots, civil disobedience, terrorist acts, and methods of guerrilla warfare. The most radical extremists often deny in principle any compromises, negotiations, or agreements. The growth of extremism is usually facilitated by: socio-economic crises, a sharp drop in the standard of living of the bulk of the population, a totalitarian political regime with suppression of the opposition by the authorities, and persecution of dissent. In such situations, extreme measures may become for some individuals and organizations the only opportunity to really influence the situation, especially if a revolutionary situation develops or the state is engulfed in a long civil war - we can talk about “forced extremism.”

1. The problem of defining the concept

IN different countries and at different times many different legal and scientific definitions of the concept of “extremism” were given. There is no single definition today. Dr. Peter T. Coleman and Dr. Andrea Bartoli, in their work “Addressing Extremism,” gave a brief overview of the proposed definitions of this concept:

Extremism is actually a complex phenomenon, although its complexity is often difficult to see and understand. The easiest way to define it is as the activities (as well as beliefs, attitudes towards something or someone, feelings, actions, strategies) of an individual that are far from the usual generally accepted ones. In a situation of conflict - demonstration of a tough form of conflict resolution. However, labeling activities, people and groups as “extremist”, as well as determining what should be considered “ordinary” or “generally accepted” is always subjective and political question. Thus, we assume that any discussion on the topic of extremism addresses the following:

• Typically, some extremist actions are viewed by some people as just and virtuous (for example, prosocial “freedom fighting”), while other extremist actions are viewed as unjust and immoral (antisocial “terrorism”). This depends on the values, political beliefs, moral restrictions of the evaluator, as well as on his relationship with the figure.
• In addition, the same person’s moral assessment of the same extremist action (for example, Nelson Mandela’s use of guerrilla warfare tactics against the South African government) may change depending on conditions - leadership, opinion of the world community, crises, “settling of historical scores” and so on. Thus, the contemporary and historical context in which an extremist act occurs shapes our views on it
• Power differences also matter in defining extremism. During conflict, the actions of members of a weaker group often appear more extreme than those of members of a stronger group defending its status quo. In addition, marginalized people and groups who view more normative forms of conflict resolution as inaccessible to them or are prejudiced against them are more likely to take extreme measures. However, dominant groups also often resort to extreme actions (for example, government-sanctioned violent paramilitary actions or the Waco attack carried out by the FBI in the USA).
• Extremist actions often involve violence, although groups of extremists may differ in their preference for violent or nonviolent tactics, the level of violence tolerated, and the preferred targets for their violent actions (from infrastructure and military personnel to civilians and even children). Again, weaker groups are more likely to use and undertake direct and episodic forms of violence (such as suicide bombings), while dominant groups are prone to more structured or institutionalized forms of violence (such as the covert use of torture or informal authorization of police atrocities).
• Although extremists and their groups (such as Hamaz or Islamic Jihad) are often seen as a united and concerted evil, it is important to understand that within them there can be conflict and ambivalent behavior among group members. Thus, for example, individual Hamaz members may vary widely in their willingness to negotiate with the Palestinian Authority and, ultimately, with certain factions in Israel.
• Finally, the main problem is that the extremism present in situations protracted conflict- not the most cruel, but the most noticeable of the actions of the parties. The rigid and intolerant position of extremists is extremely difficult to change.

Another approach is demonstrated by the co-coordinator of the International Movement for the Protection of Peoples' Rights V. D. Trofimov-Trofimov. According to his definition, extremism is not associated only with politics and extends to all types of human activity:

Extremism is the ideology of the permissibility of using extreme measures, extremes social behavior, to obtain the desired effect.

2. International legal definition

The “Shanghai Convention on Combating Terrorism, Separatism and Extremism” of June 15, 2001 gives the following definition of extremism (clause 3, part 1, article 1):

Extremism- any act aimed at the forcible seizure of power or forcible retention of power, as well as forcible change in the constitutional system of the state, as well as a violent encroachment on public safety, including the organization of illegal armed groups for the above purposes or participation in them, and those prosecuted criminally in accordance with the national legislation of the Parties.

This Shanghai Convention was signed by: the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Chinese People's Republic, Kyrgyz Republic, Russian Federation, Republic of Tajikistan and Republic of Uzbekistan. It was ratified in January 2003 and came into force in Russia on March 29 of the same year.

3. Legal definition in Russia
In Russia, the legal definition of what actions are considered extremist is contained in Article 1 of Federal Law No. 114-FZ “On Combating Extremist Activities.”

In accordance with the amendments of April 29, 2008, extremist activities (extremism) include:

• violent change in the foundations of the constitutional system and violation of the integrity of the Russian Federation;
• public justification of terrorism and other terrorist activities;
• inciting social, racial, national or religious hatred;
• propaganda of exclusivity, superiority or inferiority of a person on the basis of his social, racial, national, religious or linguistic affiliation or attitude to religion;
• violation of the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of a person and citizen, depending on his social, racial, national, religious or linguistic affiliation or attitude to religion;
• obstruction of citizens' exercise of their voting rights and the right to participate in a referendum or violation of the secrecy of voting, coupled with violence or the threat of its use;
• obstruction of the legitimate activities of state bodies, local governments, election commissions, public and religious associations or other organizations, combined with violence or the threat of its use;
• committing crimes for the reasons specified in paragraph “e” of part one of Article 63 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation;
• propaganda and public display of Nazi paraphernalia or symbols, or paraphernalia or symbols that are confusingly similar to Nazi paraphernalia or symbols;
• public calls for the implementation of these acts or mass distribution of obviously extremist materials, as well as their production or storage for the purpose of mass distribution;
• publicly knowingly falsely accusing a person holding a public position in the Russian Federation or a public position in a constituent entity of the Russian Federation of committing, during the performance of his official duties, the acts specified in this article and constituting a crime;
• organization and preparation of these acts, as well as incitement to their implementation;
• financing of these acts or other assistance in their organization, preparation and implementation, including through the provision of educational, printing and material and technical base, telephone and other types of communications or the provision of information services.

4. Legal definitions in the USA
Such crimes are classified as “hate crimes” in some US states. This is a special legal qualification of a special kind of crimes against the person, committed under the influence of hatred towards persons of a different race or nationality, religion, ethnic origin, political beliefs, gender and sexual orientation, and people with disabilities. Such additional qualifications, aggravating guilt and toughening punishment, exist in some states of the United States and in a number of countries in Western and Central Europe, but are absent in other states and countries.

5. Basic principles of countering extremist activities
Countering extremist activities is based on the following principles:

• recognition, observance and protection of human and civil rights and freedoms, as well as the legitimate interests of organizations;
• legality;
• publicity;
• priority of ensuring the security of the Russian Federation;
• priority of measures aimed at preventing extremist activity;
• cooperation of the state with public and religious associations, other organizations, citizens in countering extremist activities;
• the inevitability of punishment for carrying out extremist activities.

6. Main directions of countering extremist activities
Countering extremist activities is carried out in the following main areas:

• acceptance preventive measures aimed at preventing extremist activity, including identifying and subsequently eliminating the causes and conditions conducive to extremist activity;
• identification, prevention and suppression of extremist activities of public and religious associations, other organizations, individuals.

7. Subjects of countering extremist activities
Federal government bodies, government bodies of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, and local government bodies participate in countering extremist activities within the limits of their competence.

In the Russian Federation, issues of countering extremist activities fall within the competence of the Department for Countering Extremism of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia.

8. Prevention of extremist activities
In order to counter extremist activities, federal government bodies, government bodies of constituent entities of the Russian Federation, and local self-government bodies, within their competence, prioritize preventive, including educational, propaganda measures aimed at preventing extremist activities.

9. Responsibility of officials, state and municipal employees for their implementation of extremist activities
Statements by an official, as well as another person in the state or municipal service, about the need, admissibility, possibility or desirability of carrying out extremist activities, made publicly, either in the performance of official duties, or indicating the position held, as well as failure to accept the official in accordance with with its competence to take measures to suppress extremist activities entails liability established by the legislation of the Russian Federation. The relevant state bodies and higher officials are obliged to immediately take the necessary measures to bring to justice persons who committed the actions specified in part one of this article.

10. Responsibility for carrying out extremist activities
For carrying out extremist activities, citizens of the Russian Federation, foreign citizens and stateless persons bear criminal, administrative and civil penalties. legal liability in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation of the Russian Federation. In order to ensure state and public security on the grounds and in the manner provided for by federal law, a person who has participated in extremist activities may, by a court decision, be limited in access to state and municipal service, military service under contract and service in law enforcement agencies, and also to work in educational institutions and engage in private detective and security activities. If a manager or member governing body public or religious association or other organization makes a public statement calling for the implementation of extremist activities, without indicating that this is his personal opinion, as well as in the event that a court sentence for a crime of an extremist nature comes into force in relation to such person, the corresponding public or religious an association or other organization is obliged, within five days from the day on which the said statement was made, to publicly declare its disagreement with the statements or actions of such a person. If the relevant public or religious association or other organization does not make such a public statement, this may be considered as a fact indicating the presence of signs of extremism in their activities.

11. International cooperation in the field of combating extremism
On the territory of the Russian Federation, the activities of public and religious associations, other non-profit organizations of foreign states and their structural divisions, the activities of which are recognized as extremist in accordance with international law, are prohibited. legal acts And federal legislation. A ban on the activities of a foreign non-profit non-governmental organization entails:

a) cancellation of state accreditation and registration in the manner established by the legislation of the Russian Federation;

b) prohibition of foreign citizens and stateless persons staying on the territory of the Russian Federation as representatives of this organization;

c) a ban on conducting any economic or other activities on the territory of the Russian Federation;

d) prohibition of publication in the media of any materials on behalf of a banned organization;

e) prohibition of dissemination on the territory of the Russian Federation of materials of a banned organization, as well as other information products containing materials of this organization;

f) a ban on holding any mass actions and public events, as well as participation in mass actions and public events as a representative of a prohibited organization (or its official representatives);

g) a ban on the creation of its successor organizations in any organizational and legal form. After the entry into force of a court decision to ban the activities of a foreign non-profit non-governmental organization, the authorized state body of the Russian Federation is obliged to notify the diplomatic mission or consular office of the relevant foreign state in the Russian Federation within ten days about the ban on the activities of this organization on the territory of the Russian Federation, the reasons for the ban, as well as consequences associated with the ban.

The Russian Federation, in accordance with international treaties of the Russian Federation, cooperates in the field of combating extremism with foreign states, their law enforcement agencies and special services, and also with international organizations involved in the fight against extremism.

12. Combating child extremism
The target program “Prevention of homelessness, neglect and juvenile delinquency for 2007-2009” adopted by the city parliament of Kaluga in 2006, in particular, contained measures designed to develop in adolescents a rejection of Nazi paraphernalia and participation in unauthorized meetings.

13. Criticism public policy Russia in the fight against extremism
According to a number of journalists, in Russia beginning of the XXI century, the term “extremism” has acquired a clearly negative meaning and is mainly used in state media with the aim of:

• creating a negative image and criminal prosecution of public activists, members of opposition movements, independent journalists;
• creating a negative image of nationalist and/or religious movements and organizations, discrediting their positions and views and legitimizing their prohibition.

On June 9, 2011, during a discussion of the draft resolution of the plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation on criminal cases on extremism, the speaker, Supreme Court Judge Vladimir Davydov, expressed concern that the legislation does not spell out the definition of the controversial concept of “social group”, and suggested that by introducing such a term, “The legislator wanted to highlight weak, unprotected groups, but did it extremely unsuccessfully.” It was stated that the Supreme Court plans, pending assistance from the legislature, to recommend that courts interpret “social groups” restrictively rather than expansively - that is, violations may be in relation to “socially weak groups” - pensioners, disabled people, orphans. However, in the adopted resolution the term “social group” was not interpreted in this way. However, it was pointed out that criticism in the media of officials (professional politicians), their actions and beliefs should not in itself be considered in all cases as an act aimed at humiliating the dignity of an individual or group of individuals, since in relation to these individuals the limits of acceptable criticism are wider than for private individuals.

This Resolution “On judicial practice in criminal cases involving extremist crimes” was adopted on June 28, 2011 and published in Rossiyskaya Gazeta on July 4.

The SOVA Information and Analytical Center has been monitoring the application of anti-extremist legislation since its inception. You may not agree with our views or assessments, but you should listen to us, given our experience.

What's happening

Anti-extremist legislation has existed in Russia since 2002 and continues to expand. It is based on the framework law “On Combating Extremist Activities” and as of June 2016 includes a number of articles of the Criminal Code (CC), several articles of the Code on administrative offenses(Administrative Code) and a number of provisions related to civil law. This legislation concerns:

Terrorism,

Attempts to overthrow the government and attacks on its representatives,

Common crimes committed on the basis of national, religious and other enmity,

Several types of public statements (see below),

Organizational activities related to the above,

Minor offenses - images of swastikas and other prohibited symbols, distribution of prohibited materials, etc.

This is very broad legislation, but here we will focus only on those rules that relate to public statements, and those made specifically on the Internet.

The number of people convicted of crimes (this is the Criminal Code) or offenses (this is the Code of Administrative Offenses) of an “extremist nature,” that is, for everything mentioned above, amounts to hundreds per year and continues to grow. According to monitoring data from the SOVA Center (albeit incomplete), sentences for statements occupy an increasingly large share in criminal anti-extremist law enforcement. For example, in 2015, almost twice as many people were convicted for “extremist statements” more people than for other “crimes of an extremist nature.” And of these statements, 85% in 2014-2015 were made on the Internet. According to the SOVA Center, from 5% to 10% of such sentences are clearly unlawful, but there are also many that are controversial.

The practice of anti-extremist law enforcement raises concerns Russian society growing concern.

Why should you even read this memo?

It would seem that if the authorities abuse anti-extremist legislation in a relatively small part of cases and at the same time you yourself believe that you are writing something on the Internet not with the aim of calling for pogroms, murders or a coup, then wouldn’t it be better to proceed from the fact that the risk for are you small? It is comparable to the risk of getting into a plane crash, but we all (or almost all) fly on airplanes.

This is how things stand if you have not somehow attracted the hostile attention of the police or other authorities. However, if you haven’t attracted, or rather, you don’t think that you have attracted, the risk is not zero, as with airplanes, and it is useful to at least know what makes this risk higher or lower and what the consequences may be.

Anti-extremist legislation

There is an opinion that these laws are directed against the “bad guys” and cannot affect you and me. But there are fewer and fewer people who share this opinion.

A much more popular point of view is that anyone can be attracted for anything. But judging by the data we collected, it is also incorrect: not for anyone and certainly not for anything. Your statement - we will use this word to call a demonstration of views in any form, be it words, drawings, photos, videos, audio or anything else - must fit at least one of the many norms of anti-extremist legislation. There is no such offense as “extremism,” although this is often said in everyday and journalistic speech. You can only violate a specific rule of law.

Basic concepts of the law “On Combating Extremist Activities”:

1) extremist activity (extremism):
- violent change of the foundations of the constitutional system and violation of the integrity of the Russian Federation;
- public justification of terrorism and other terrorist activities;
- inciting social, racial, national or religious hatred;
- propaganda of exclusivity, superiority or inferiority of a person on the basis of his social, racial, national, religious or linguistic affiliation or attitude to religion;
- violation of the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of a person and citizen, depending on his social, racial, national, religious or linguistic affiliation or attitude to religion;
- obstruction of citizens' exercise of their voting rights and the right to participate in a referendum or violation of the secrecy of voting, coupled with violence or the threat of its use;
- obstruction of the legitimate activities of state bodies, local government bodies, election commissions, public and religious associations or other organizations, combined with violence or the threat of its use;
- commission of crimes for the reasons specified in paragraph “e” of part one of Article 63 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation;
- propaganda and public display of Nazi paraphernalia or symbols or paraphernalia or symbols that are confusingly similar to Nazi paraphernalia or symbols, or public display of paraphernalia or symbols of extremist organizations;
- public calls for the implementation of these acts or mass distribution of obviously extremist materials, as well as their production or storage for the purpose of mass distribution;
- publicly knowingly false accusation of a person holding a public office of the Russian Federation or a public office of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation of committing, during the performance of his official duties, the acts specified in this article and constituting a crime;
- organization and preparation of these acts, as well as incitement to their implementation;
- financing of these acts or other assistance in their organization, preparation and implementation, including through the provision of educational, printing and material and technical base, telephone and other types of communications or the provision of information services;

2) extremist organization- a public or religious association or other organization in respect of which, on the grounds provided for by this Federal Law, the court made a decision that has entered into legal force to liquidate or prohibit activities in connection with the implementation of extremist activities;

3) uh extremist materials- documents or information on other media intended for publication, calling for the implementation of extremist activities or substantiating or justifying the need for such activities, including the works of the leaders of the National Socialist Workers' Party of Germany, the Fascist Party of Italy, publications substantiating or justifying national and (or ) racial superiority or justifying the practice of committing military or other crimes aimed at the complete or partial destruction of any ethnic, social, racial, national or religious group;

4) symbols of an extremist organization- symbolism, the description of which is contained in constituent documents an organization in respect of which, on the grounds provided for by this Federal Law, the court made a decision that has entered into legal force to liquidate or prohibit its activities in connection with the implementation of extremist activities.

We will briefly list the types of statements that can be interpreted as extremist and entail criminal or administrative liability. There are many legal subtleties in the relevant norms, but it makes no sense to analyze them all, since many of them are too often ignored by themselves law enforcement agencies. We will note only those subtleties that are of practical importance.

All punishment options can be viewed in the Appendix; below we discuss only the minimum and maximum options. But it is important to note that in a criminal case, the court can also impose additional punishment in the form of a ban on certain professional activities or on using the Internet for a period of several years.

Inciting hatred and discord (Article 282 of the Criminal Code)

If you make a public statement regarding something large group people, which can be described in terms of nationality, citizenship, religion, language and so on, try to treat it more carefully.

Perhaps one of these groups annoys or frightens you, or perhaps even arouses stronger hostile feelings in you, and you are ready to express these feelings or express some thoughts that are clearly directed against this group. The SOVA Center advocates tolerance, but we are aware that everyone cannot be tolerant all the time, so manifestations of intolerance are inevitable. Taking moral assessments out of the equation, we note that such statements are your right, but it is limited (which, by the way, is usually in world practice), and it is up to you to decide how much you consider it necessary to encroach on these restrictions.

Statements directed against people united on the basis of nationality (in the sense of ethnicity, not citizenship) and religion are considered criminally punishable. Other unifying characteristics mentioned in Article 282 of the Criminal Code are not used, but we can talk about almost any group of people united by some characteristic - about a “certain social group,” as stated in the Criminal Code.

In principle, the Supreme Court's clarifications limit the application of Article 282, but these limitations cannot be relied upon in full. For example, on at the moment There are no cases of inciting hatred against a “social group” of government officials or political figures, but it cannot be ruled out that they may appear again (as happened more than once before the Supreme Court’s clarifications).

The Supreme Court explained that the case should involve inciting hatred and enmity towards people, but not towards their organizations (religious, national, political and others) or their leaders, not towards ideas, views and customs. These are very correct explanations, but Article 282 of the Criminal Code includes, in addition to “inciting hatred,” also “humiliation” of people based on the same group characteristics - and the Supreme Court did not explain what kind of humiliation is criminal and what is not. Therefore, in practice we see that harsh statements about religious ideas, national customs, etc. may be considered criminal in the sense of Article 282 of the Criminal Code.

From the Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of 2011 No. 11 “On judicial practice in criminal cases involving extremist crimes”

3. When conducting criminal proceedings on crimes of an extremist nature, courts must keep in mind that, in accordance with paragraph 2 of part 1 of Article 73 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation motives must be proven commission of these crimes.

7. Actions aimed at inciting hatred or enmity should be understood, in particular, as statements justifying and (or) asserting the need for genocide, mass repression, deportations, and the commission of other illegal actions, including the use of violence, against representatives of any or nation, race, adherents of a particular religion and other groups of persons. Criticism political organizations, ideological and religious associations, political, ideological or religious beliefs, national or religious customs in themselves should not be considered as an action aimed at inciting hatred or hostility.

When determining that acts committed against officials (professional politicians) were actions aimed at humiliating the dignity of a person or group of persons, courts must take into account the provisions of Articles 3 and 4 of the Declaration on Freedom of Political Discussion in the Media, adopted by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on February 12, 2004 , and the practice of the European Court of Human Rights, according to which political figures seeking to secure public opinion, thereby agreeing to become the object of public political discussion and criticism in the media; Public officials may be subject to criticism in the media regarding the manner in which they carry out their duties, as this is necessary to ensure that they exercise their powers transparently and responsibly. Criticism in the media of officials (professional politicians), their actions and beliefs should not in itself be considered in all cases as an action aimed at humiliating the dignity of a person or group of persons, since in relation to these persons the limits of permissible criticism are wider than in relation to individuals.

8.
It is not a crime under Article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation to express judgments and conclusions using facts of interethnic, interfaith or other social relations in scientific or political discussions and texts and not pursuing the goal of inciting hatred or enmity, as well as to humiliate the dignity of a person or group of persons on the basis of gender, race, nationality, language, origin, attitude to religion, membership in any social group.

To minimize the risk of criminal prosecution, it is not enough to avoid calls for illegal actions against people due to their skin color, nationality, religion, etc., this goes without saying. You should not speak about such groups of people in terms that are considered rude, you should not hint (much less directly indicate) the desirability of any infringement of their rights, you should not speak in rude terms about their beliefs, symbols and customs.

If your anger or other negative emotions are not actually directed at the entire group, but only at a certain part of it in connection with some of its activities, it is very important to say this clearly. Perhaps your statement will still not be very tolerant, but there is less chance that it will also turn out to be criminal, and most importantly, it will become more accurate and meaningful.

Article 282 provides for punishment ranging from a fine of 100 thousand rubles to five years in prison, but if the statements involve calls for violence, were committed in a group, or you somehow used your official position, then up to six years.

Calls for extremist activity (Article 280 of the Criminal Code) and separatism (Article 280 1 of the Criminal Code)

The definition of extremist activity is long (see below), but it must be at least general outline remember, since public call for any of the actions included in this definition is a rather serious crime. If the call is made on the Internet, then the punishment for it is up to five years of forced labor (that is, work where the court sends) or imprisonment.

A call does not necessarily have to have a clear grammatical form corresponding to the call; all kinds of hints about the need to do this and that can also be considered a call. You may want to make a joke, but keep in mind that your humor may not be understood.

So one should not hint at the desirability (and even more so the necessity) of a coup, separatism, terrorism, inciting hostility towards some groups (see above) or discrimination against them, creating any forceful interference with the authorities (including, of course, the police, but also election commissions), committing any crimes motivated by hostility towards some national, religious, etc. group, display of prohibited symbols (see more below) or financing of all of the above.

To be honest, the list is so long that it is not easy to remember, but it is intuitive and gives an idea of ​​what types of actions are considered extremist and which, accordingly, cannot be called upon. There are, however, three nuances that should be discussed in more detail.

First, about the discrimination mentioned in this list. Discrimination itself is almost never prosecuted in our country; this issue is little discussed, so many people do not understand what exactly should be considered discrimination. This topic is indeed complex, but in order to avoid charges under Article 280 of the Criminal Code, one should avoid statements about the desirability of violating someone’s rights or legitimate interests depending specifically on his/her/their race, nationality, religion (or lack thereof), language and social background.

Secondly, the ban on inciting hostility in the definition of extremism (for some reason the word “discord” is used there) is formulated much more broadly than in Article 282 of the Criminal Code: “propaganda of exclusivity, superiority or inferiority of a person” on group grounds is also prohibited. Taken together, these terms seem to cover all conceivable negative statements associated with group characteristics, as well as “degradation” provided for in Article 282. So, avoid at least the most obvious negative statements, as written above in relation to the article 282, but most importantly, do not say that others should treat other people disdainfully or negatively based on such group characteristics. After all, unless your goal is to actually provoke conflict, you shouldn't teach other people to treat someone badly; other people are just as good at it themselves as you are.

Thirdly, calls for separatism are now included in a separate article 280 1 of the Criminal Code. The punishment under it is the same as under Article 280. And keep in mind: judging by practice, we are not talking specifically about calls for a separatist revolt; under it they can be prosecuted for any statement about the desirability of reducing the territory of the Russian Federation, as it is depicted on the official map .

Justification of terrorism (Article 205 2 of the Criminal Code)

This statement applies immediately to both terrorist and extremist crimes, punishment under it if we're talking about about the Internet, ranges from a fine from 300 thousand to a million rubles to seven years in prison. What is prohibited is not justification in the moral or pedagogical sense (“he avenged his father,” “he suffered trauma as a child”), but rather the assertion of the correctness and desirability of terrorist attacks as a method of action.

Naturally, this should not be said.

“Rehabilitation of Nazism” (Article 354 1 of the Criminal Code)

The quotation marks here indicate the title of the article, as well as the fact that its composition does not correspond to the title. In relation to statements, this new - so there is very little practice yet - article of the Criminal Code includes several different compositions varying degrees understandability.

The first is denial or approval of the crimes established by the Nuremberg Tribunal. Most of us do not know the list of these crimes, but in general we are talking about the most widespread crimes committed by the German authorities during the Second World War, so, in general, it is clear what we are talking about.

The second composition can only be quoted: “dissemination of deliberately false information about the activities of the USSR during the Second World War.” It is impossible to say how broad an understanding is here - there is no practice. This raises concerns about the criminalization of historical discussions. But since the wording is “knowingly false,” your defense against this type of accusation can be to point to a source that is as marginal as possible.

Punishment for the first two offenses varies from a fine to 300 thousand rubles to three years in prison.

The third offense is less severe - from the same fine to a year of correctional labor (that is, a deduction from wages) - and we are talking about rude statements or desecration memorable dates and symbols associated with Russian military history. Few people remember all these dates and symbols, but if you write about them, you understand that they relate to military history - in which case just be polite. Being polite is generally not bad, but in this case it is also safer.

Insulting the religious feelings of believers (Part 1 of Article 148 of the Criminal Code)

What the term “insult to feelings” means, how exactly to distinguish the “religious feelings” of believers from their other feelings - all this is left to the discretion of the investigation and the court, which in practice means complete arbitrariness and chaos in law enforcement. It is only clear that we are talking about statements directed against religious customs, beliefs, symbols and institutions. Judging by the wording, similar to the wording of the article “Hooliganism,” and by existing practice, only statements made in a rude manner are considered criminal.

Interreligious disputes and disputes between believers and non-believers have always been very emotional, but now, if you succumb to emotions in such a dispute and become rude, you risk being prosecuted and incurring punishment ranging from a fine of up to 300 thousand rubles to imprisonment for one year.

Participation in an extremist community (Article 282 1 of the Criminal Code) or organization (Article 282 2 of the Criminal Code)

If you are not a member of an organization (including an informal community) that is already prohibited as extremist (Article 282 2) or whose activities, it seems to you, can easily be suspected of extremism in the sense of its definition in the law, you hardly need to worry .

It is generally very rare for people to be charged under these articles for online publications, but the practice may change. In principle, the publication of documents, policy articles, statements by the leaders of such organizations can be considered a form of participation in the activity, at least if it is a systematic publication. Just in case, here is the list of already banned organizations on the Ministry of Justice website: you may easily not know which are banned and which are not, but this will not save you from responsibility. And liability ranges from a fine of 300 thousand rubles to imprisonment for six years (if you do not consider options that are unlikely to apply to statements on the Internet).

All the same is true for organizations that are prohibited as terrorist, and communities focused on terrorist activities, only articles of the Criminal Code, 205 5 and 205 4, respectively (there the penalties are more severe: only imprisonment - from ten to 20 and from five to ten years respectively). Of course, you are not involved in terrorist activities, but look at the list of organizations that are banned as terrorists - it is also not so obvious.

A consolidated list of banned organizations is available on the SOVA Center website.

Sometimes the question arises whether participation in a social networking group associated with such an organization can be considered participation in the organization. According to the laws and current practice, no. But it still makes sense to check which groups you're in, even if you don't actually read them.

Distribution of “extremist materials” (Article 20.29 of the Administrative Code)

In any corner of our big country the court can ban this or that “material” as extremist, be it a book, video, page or website on the Internet, song, etc., including just a certain file seized from someone’s computer. The content of these materials in practice varies from completely cannibalistic to completely innocent, and the ideological spectrum covers almost all known movements. And the distribution of any of these materials is an offense under Article 20.29 and entails punishment either in the form of a small fine, up to three thousand rubles, or in the form of arrest for up to 15 days.

In principle, the matter could lead to criminal charges under the articles listed above, but in reality such charges do not require that the material be prohibited at all - on the contrary, it is the publication of prohibited material that only occasionally leads to a criminal case.

The list of prohibited materials is officially published on the website of the Ministry of Justice, but it is technically extremely difficult to read it there; it is easier to use the more understandable and convenient version on the website of the SOVA Center - start here (this is the first part, but as of June 2016 there are already nine of them). Finally, the current version of the list can be downloaded in its entirety from the Ministry of Justice website.

We admit that the contents of the list, which is already more than three and a half thousand items long, are impossible to remember, and often impossible to understand, since the descriptions in many cases do not give any idea of ​​what is prohibited. No contextual search will help you find out whether this or that material is prohibited. And yet, this does not exempt anyone from liability under Article 20.29. Finally, article of the Code of Administrative Offenses implies punishment only for “mass” distribution, but any online publication is considered by the courts to be mass distribution.

Thus, there is no way for you to be sure that you are not breaking this rule of law if you republish anything at all. But if you don't want to take risks, you can take at least some precautions:

Avoid distributing materials from already banned organizations (see above), unless you are sure that this particular material is not prohibited;

If you have doubts about the material, enter variations of its name, for example, in news.yandex.ru - and perhaps you will see news about its ban;

If you yourself think that this material is some kind of “obviously extremist”, refrain from republishing: if it is not banned today, it may be banned tomorrow, but you will still have it (see more about this below).

Demonstration of prohibited symbols (Article 20.3 of the Administrative Code)

It is important to immediately emphasize that, according to the unsuccessfully formulated part 1 of Article 20.3, the public display of certain symbols is considered an offense, regardless of your intention and the context; the mere presence of prohibited symbols in the picture or video is sufficient. The punishment for this is from one to two thousand rubles or arrest for up to 15 days.

Today, several types of symbols (and paraphernalia) are prohibited.

1. Nazi. This includes symbols used in the Third Reich, but sometimes also symbols of modern neo-Nazis. Many, although not all, actually or potentially illegal symbols can be found

2. Similar to the Nazi one to the point of confusion. The term “confusingly” is standard in civil law and means similarity that makes it difficult for anyone to distinguish ordinary person. The degree of similarity is determined by the court. In practice, it is known that all conceivable signs that are somewhat similar to a swastika can be considered similar to one, but in other matters the courts often show common sense.

3. Symbols of organizations banned for extremism and terrorism (see about them above). There is no catalog of such symbols anywhere now, and not all such organizations have very specific symbols. The situation is complicated by the fact that many symbols used or used by banned organizations are widely used outside them - for example, the hammer and sickle or the shahada (a short confession of the Muslim faith written in Arabic). In practice, people are almost never charged for such popular symbols, and in general this rule is rarely applied, so you just need to know what the main symbols of prohibited organizations look like - if in doubt, just google pictures of the name of the organization, and if any symbol This clearly applies to her, draw your own conclusions.

4. Symbols of organizations that collaborated with the Third Reich during World War II or denied Nazi and related crimes. This norm is so incomprehensible that the Duma instructed the Government to compile a catalog of such symbols, but the Government has not yet compiled it, so the norm does not yet work.

Problematic points

Publicity

Only public speech can be illegal. And apparently, if the content of a statement is illegal, then the more public it is, the more dangerous it is. But these nuances, like many others, are rarely taken into account by the courts. The main thing that is assessed in court is the content of the statement. It is considered public in all cases when it was accessible to an “indefinite circle of persons,” no matter how many people actually read, listened to, or watched it.

De facto, this means that the court will consider any statement on the Internet that is not hidden, in one way or another, with a password, to be public. But even the statements “for friends only” in social networks or sent by e-mail to a sufficiently large number of people were recognized as public. So you should forget about the privacy of your blog or account - or rather, assume that everything you write on the Internet will be considered public by the court.

Repost

According to the law, the court must evaluate your statement, that is, not the copied text itself (picture or video), but your publication as a whole. Your publication includes, in addition to the copy itself, some of your comments or lack thereof, as well as context - the content of your blog or account as a whole. After all, the majority of real readers perceive the repost precisely in this context, which they are familiar with at this moment or have become familiar with previously, and imagine your position. In fact, a repost is a quote that must always be assessed in context (and in relation to the media this has been confirmed by the Supreme Court). Alas, the court almost never evaluates reposts in this way.

If you want to repost something that you, having read this memo, think a court might judge as extremist speech, then from the point of view of your own safety, you should do one of two things. Or simply not repost such a thing, which, of course, solves the security problem, but clearly excessively limits your freedom of speech and the ability to discuss topics that interest you. Or accompany the repost with a comment clearly showing that you do not agree with the content that you think the court will consider extremist. This option does not guarantee security, but, judging by practice, it increases it quite significantly.

Of course, you may believe that even if the court considers the quoted statement to be extremist, you do not agree with this in advance and are not ready to refrain from supporting this statement. You may also find it simply ridiculous to make self-evident comments on a repost. Then just decide if you are willing to take the risk.

And lastly: they often say that we attract people for “likes.” No, not yet. But there was already a sentence for tagging one’s name in someone else’s VKontakte post, which included a prohibited video. Interpreting an accepted mark as dissemination of information is an obvious stretch, but such a verdict was passed and entered into force, so you should be more careful about accepting mentions of your name (in those networks where there is such a mechanism).

commitment in politics and ideas to extreme views and actions. E. Generates a variety of factors: socio-economic crises, a sharp drop in the living standards of the bulk of the population, deformations of political institutions and structures, their inability to solve pressing issues of social development, a totalitarian regime of suppression of the opposition by the authorities, the desire of social or political groups to accelerate the implementation of the tasks they put forward , the political ambitions of their leaders, etc.

Excellent definition

Incomplete definition ↓

EXTREMISM

lat. extremus - extreme), commitment to extreme views, measures (usually in politics).

Extremism, literally understood, is nothing more than an extreme manifestation of something - actions, statements, views, etc. Consequently, extremism can be political, religious, economic, social, etc., even everyday. Consequently, political extremism is the implementation of politics by extreme methods. The entire history of mankind shows that almost all peoples of the world have encountered extreme, extreme situations and manifestations, as well as precedents for overcoming them, therefore extremism is not an exotic phenomenon either for Russia or for the world as a whole. And political extremism in particular. For example, the mortal threat of external invasion forced governments to turn states into besieged fortresses, introduce brutal centralization, unquestioning submission to power, and restriction of rights and freedoms. And this is the conduct of internal and foreign policy extreme methods, i.e. political extremism. The story surrounding the existence of the notorious political extremism in Russia began to intensify back in 1993 - 1995, at the height of the criminal reign of B. N. Yeltsin. It was at this time that the protest mood of the masses reached its apogee. In 1995, Presidential Decree No. 310 “On measures to ensure coordinated actions in the fight against manifestations of fascism and other forms of political extremism in the Russian Federation” appeared. In pursuance of this decree, a presidential commission was created, which was supposed to provide a legal justification for the term “fascism” and indicate the actions that fall under this definition. However, the results of the “titanic” efforts of the commission unpleasantly surprised the customers. It turned out that all the actions of the ruling Yeltsin regime fall under the definition of fascism formulated by this commission. The results of the work were not communicated to the general public, and the commission itself as a structure quietly ceased to exist. The next stage was a report prepared by the regional public foundation “Informatics for Democracy”, commissioned by the presidential administration, on the problems of political extremism in Russia. This report became the basis of the federal program to counter political and religious extremism in the Russian Federation for 1999-2000, adopted by the board of the Ministry of Justice and approved by the government. As part of this program, relevant bills were developed, in particular, “On the prohibition of Nazi symbols” and “On countering political extremism,” which were sent for consideration to the State Duma.

The “Program...” gives the following definition of this phenomenon: “Political extremism is the activity of disseminating ideas, movements, doctrines that are aimed... at dividing people along class, property, racial, national or religious lines.”

See also: anti-fascism, elections, Eurasianism, manipulation of public opinion, Russian fascism, media, fascism, extremist groups.

Excellent definition

Incomplete definition ↓