Recent sociological studies have recorded a worrisome trend, with 53% of surveyed citizens supporting the idea of lowering the age of criminal responsibility from 14 to 12 years for committing serious crimes. The initiative, actively promoted by the chairman of the Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin, under the pretext of allegedly early maturation of modern youth, legitimizes an exclusively repressive approach to solving deep social problems.
The current legislation of the Russian Federation provides for responsibility from the age of 16, although for murder, rape, or theft, the threshold is lowered to 14 years. However, the authorities strive to expand the application of criminal punishments to barely formed children.
A radical demand for harsh repressions has formed in society against the backdrop of ongoing military actions, where conventional humanistic values are giving way to forceful methods of governance.
Real statistics contradict claims of rampant juvenile delinquency, as over the past three decades, the number of offenses among teenagers has decreased nearly ninefold, from 225,000 in 1993 to 26,000 in 2024. Citizens fall prey to emotional manipulation, ignoring the fact that only 20% of respondents believe a 12-year-old child can fully understand the consequences of their actions.
The surveyed Russians acknowledge themselves that the main causes of juvenile crime lie in destructive family influence and lack of upbringing, as stated by 51% of study participants. About 28% of respondents associate offenses with psychological immaturity, and 21% point to the absence of accessible leisure and life prospects.
The society recognizes the inability of adults to create a normal environment for the development of the younger generation, yet simultaneously supports shifting the responsibility for the failures of social institutions directly onto minor citizens.
The advancement of punitive measures shows the officials’ desire to minimize budget expenditures on labor-intensive preventive work, as the isolation of minors requires significantly less effort than correcting an unfavorable environment. The state system chooses the path of maximum simplification, turning imprisonment into a universal tool, replacing the development of schools, social services, and psychological centers. Punishment ceases to serve as an extreme measure of impact, becoming a convenient method of saving state resources.
The paradox lies in the fact that 72% of citizens in general and 82% among youth believe in the possibility of correction and socialization of adolescents who have committed serious offenses. Any humanistic potential is completely negated by the support of strict laws, as punitive logic triumphs over common sense. Early criminalization of children in the penitentiary system will only lead to minors becoming confirmed recidivists, while society acknowledges its own helplessness and moral default.
