The State Duma proposed tightening punishment for calls to terrorism and mass riots

For public calls to mass riots, it is proposed to raise the upper limit of punishment in the form of restriction of freedom from two to three years, and of forced labor and imprisonment — from two to four years. For the same calls using the internet, the initiative’s authors propose punishments of imprisonment for up to six years.

For public calls to terrorism, deputies want to set a minimum term of additional punishment in the form of deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities — two years, and a maximum of six years. Currently there is no lower limit, and the maximum term is up to five years.

The deputies explained the need for the amendments by “strengthening the preventive function of criminal law” and stated that public calls to terrorism are often made in closed groups whose participants do not intend to report what is happening to law enforcement agencies or assist them. TASS does not specify whether the bill has been submitted to the State Duma or when this may happen.

According to OVD-Info, Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation on calls to terrorism remained the most common political charge in 2025: there were 102 such cases. In 2024, 147 cases were opened under this article.

Sources

• Material: meduza.io