At what age do you not go to prison in Russia?

In Russia, teenagers who are 14 years old can go to prison. But this is not a prison, but specialized correctional colonies with their own regime and their own rules. If minor citizens have not reformed, after reaching 18 years of age they are transferred to a regular prison.

In the Russian Criminal Code, Article No. 20 talks about the criminal liability of minors. Cases involving teenagers are considered very carefully, but people who work on them can also make mistakes. At the slightest suspicion of injustice committed in a criminal case in relation to a child, you should immediately contact experienced lawyers.

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Do teenagers go to jail for murder?

The state tries to treat minors loyally, gives them the opportunity to improve, and does not imprison them. So, if a teenager has committed, for example, theft or another not particularly serious criminal act and is convicted for the first time, he will not be sent to a colony.

Expert opinion

Orlov Igor Severinovich

Practicing lawyer with 7 years of experience. Specialization: criminal law. Law teacher.

Restriction of freedom cannot be imposed for more than 2 years. When passing a sentence on each minor, the court takes into account living conditions, character, mental characteristics, and the influence of adults.

According to Article 20 of the Criminal Code, a citizen of the country who is 16 years old at the time of committing an unlawful act is subject to criminal liability. However, the age at which people can be prosecuted for serious offenses is 14 years old. The law includes such crimes:

murder;
rape;
participation in a terrorist group;
causing serious and moderate damage to human health and life;
theft, robbery, robbery;
crimes related to the storage, movement and sale of drugs;
various acts committed with brutal violence;
acts related to explosives and explosive devices.

Article of the Criminal Code lists 26 articles that apply to violators of the law for serious crimes. These children are prosecuted and protected from society.

If the child is under 14 years old, he is placed in a closed educational institution (Article 78 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), and not sent to prison.

He is not brought to justice - it is believed that he is not yet aware of the crime committed.

Is a children's colony the same as a prison?

In educational colonies, several types of regimes are observed, depending on the severity of the crimes committed: ordinary, strict, lightweight, preferential (Article 132 of the Penal Code of the Russian Federation).

The rules here are similar to those in prison: if a young offender behaves well, no punitive measures are applied to him or he is not put in a punishment cell. Subsequently, such teenagers are transferred to easier living conditions.

Malicious violators are subject to strict conditions of detention; they can be sent to a punishment cell, and this is the same prison. Those who are convicted for the first time are in normal conditions, and with good behavior they find themselves in better conditions. In case of violations, they are placed in more strict conditions.

In accordance with the regimes, a schedule of visits to juvenile offenders is built: from 8 short visits and 4 long ones (standard) to 6 long ones (preferential). Minors live in special dormitories, and persistent offenders live in isolated rooms.

Therefore, the daily routine is carried out impeccably, although children are treated more loyally than adult criminals who are sent to prison.

Among the rules that are observed in the colony are the following:

boys and girls are placed in different blocks;
the number of working hours meets the requirements for each age;
teenagers do sewing, make furniture, as well as clean the room and prepare food;
work on weekends and at night is prohibited;
children must necessarily study subjects included in the school curriculum;
special classrooms are equipped for training;
half of their earnings are transferred to the personal accounts of juvenile delinquents;
every day begins with construction.

According to Articles 135 and 136 of the Penal Code, a minor citizen staying in an educational colony can be punished and receive incentives from his superiors. These measures are taken only in accordance with the behavior of the minor.

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The fate and term of each of them is decided in two ways: after reaching the age of 18, they either go free or are transferred to an adult correctional colony (that is, they are sent to prison). It depends on three people: the student himself, his boss and the prosecutor who is handling the case.

Transfer of products and things

The number of parcels and parcels for juvenile prisoners is unlimited, unlike for adult prisoners.

But each parcel is taken into account in a special document. This is done by the senior colony inspector. Also, when handing over the parcel, the relative signs two statements. One remains with him, and the second - in the colony.

Transfers are regulated by Ministry of Justice Order No. 311 of 2006.

There are a number of prohibited things that cannot be given or purchased to prisoners themselves:

Weapon;
Flammable and explosive substances;
Valuables, including securities;
Any piercing or cutting objects, including household items (razors, etc.);
Alcohol;
Playing cards;
Optical instruments;
Electrical household appliances;
Means of communication and photo-video filming.

At what age can one be imprisoned as a punishment?

It is generally accepted that a person can only be sent to prison if he or she is already an adult.

Expert opinion

Orlov Igor Severinovich

Practicing lawyer with 7 years of experience. Specialization: criminal law. Law teacher.

Actually this is not true. The court may apply imprisonment as a punishment from the age of 14 if a serious or especially serious crime has been committed, as well as a crime of average gravity with aggravating circumstances.

From the age of 14 you are not sent to prison where adult citizens are imprisoned. There are special correctional colonies for juvenile offenders, where they study, work, and try to become good citizens. In fact, these correctional institutions are not much different from colonies for adults.

If the prison term has not expired before the offender becomes an adult, he is transferred to an adult penitentiary. Which one depends on the severity of his article.

So it can be a colony with a general regime, a light regime, a special one, or a strict one. They can also be sent to a colony-settlement, and this is the most loyal type of penitentiary institution.

Also, for juvenile offenders, a different system is used to determine the terms of imprisonment. They cannot have life imprisonment; for a serious crime the maximum sentence will be six years, and for a particularly serious crime ten years.

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For what crimes can a minor be imprisoned? This:

Murder.
Rape.
Participation in a terrorist group, committing a terrorist attack.
Causing serious harm to health.
Robberies, robberies, thefts on an especially large scale.
Crimes related to the sale of drugs.
Crimes related to the manufacture or sale of explosives.

Deprivation of liberty of a minor is an extreme measure that the court can apply. In such cases, the mental state of the child, his environment, the moral and material situation in the family, and his characteristics are taken into account.

The case will definitely be considered with the participation of the guardianship and trusteeship authority, a reference will be requested from the place of study and place of residence, and official representatives of the criminal will be involved.

Juvenile prison

A friend of mine has a minor son going on trial for robbery. His parents are at a loss, trying to find out what awaits him - they will send him to a colony or give him a suspended sentence.

And, if sent, then in what conditions will he have to live? I, as a practicing lawyer, described to my parents all the “prospects” for convicting the young man.

I am ready to share my knowledge with you. Study my article.

Here you will get answers to questions such as:

At what age can a person be sent to prison?
What is a colony?
What modes of serving sentences exist?
What crimes can a teenager be imprisoned for?
How do juvenile criminals live in colonies?

About the advantage of old age

How to survive in the zone [Advice from an experienced prisoner] Krestovy Fedor Age matters a lot in places of deprivation of liberty. Prisoners are the same people and are condescending towards the elderly, even if they are “oblique”, condescending to their eccentricities. We had a grandfather in our colony, about seventy years old, but he was such a lively guy.

He was the chairman of the SDP. Sometimes he behaved towards the “damn” men like a real cop.

He could yell at the regime violator throughout the entire zone and put him in a punishment cell.

But either due to his age, or because he knew exactly who he could attack, they did not touch him. Even though he committed simply immoral acts.

For example, the political officer was too lazy to write, and all the documentation and orders regarding the educational part were carried out by the chairman of the SDP.

It is only by law that the issue of parole is decided by the court. Everything depends on the request of the employees, and they know in advance who will be released.

What does the legislation say?

Juvenile offenders in modern practice around the world represent a special type of subjects of legal relations. Due to their behavioral, general moral, and also intellectual failure, adolescents are not able to realize the actions they are performing.

For this reason, special institutions have been created for this category of people in the modern correctional state system.

Criminals under 18 years of age are not sent to prison in the usual sense of the word. They are sent to specialized colonies.

Any colony for teenagers does not belong to the category of punitive, but only correctional. This approach creates a special basis for the effective correction of minors, protecting them from future problems and violations of the law.

At what age are teenagers imprisoned?

According to established rules, teenagers under 18 years of age are sent to children's colonies. In Russia, criminal liability applies from the age of 16. However, this factor does not mean that teenagers 14 years of age and younger cannot be sent to prison for a crime.

Children of this age category are held accountable by law for crimes such as:

Killing a person.
Aggravated theft and robbery.
Sale and storage of narcotic substances.
All forms of terrorism with grave consequences.
Car theft.

Judicial practice shows that modern courts do not impose penalties on teenagers that involve actual imprisonment. For violations of mild and moderate severity, a suspended sentence is imposed.

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Expert opinion

Orlov Igor Severinovich

Practicing lawyer with 7 years of experience. Specialization: criminal law. Law teacher.

Sentence to a colony for juvenile offenders is only possible in the presence of various aggravating circumstances, as well as if the teenager poses a significant danger to society.

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Educational colony - what is it?

A modern teenage colony is the most common type of modern educational institutions in Russia. Until the beginning of 1997, such institutions were called labor colonies of various regimes or educational labor colonies. Their number was an order of magnitude lower than at present.

The rules for the correction of adolescents in institutions and their functioning are regulated by the 17th chapter of the modern Criminal Code.

Basic regimes of stay in a colony

According to the modern criminal and executive code, there are four main modes of implementing punishment for teenagers:

Lightweight;
Standard;
Preferential;
Strict.

Juvenile offenders who commit a crime for the first time are placed in a colony strictly under normal conditions. If the violator does not violate the regime and rules of stay during three months of official stay in the colony, he is automatically transferred to a more loyal regime.

If a criminal is constantly observed to have violations, if he periodically conflicts with those around him, he is automatically transferred to a strict regime. Just before his release and the end of his sentence, the offender is sent to a more loyal preferential treatment.

A detailed list of grounds for redirecting a convicted person from a previously established regime to another is prescribed in Article 132 of the Penal Code.

The main rules for keeping teenagers are also spelled out here. Here are the most basic conditions regarding the number of visits with family and friends:

Standard conditions - 8 short visits and 4 long ones per year.
Special facilitated conditions - 12 short and 4 longer meetings are allowed per year.
Preferential conditions for stay – 6 long dates, the number of short ones is not limited.
Strict conditions - 4 long meetings and 6 short ones.

Under all conditions, except strict ones, convicted teenagers spend a specified period of time in hostels. Under stricter conditions, violators who have not reached the age of majority live in special isolated premises.

Conditions

The conditions are:

Are common;
Preferential.

Are common

When a teenager enters a colony, he is placed in general conditions. In this case, the teenager:

Lives in a barracks with other prisoners;
Participates in formations and movements around the territory of the colony together with other prisoners in an established routine;
He is under the supervision of colony workers.

If for a certain period the teenager does not have any violations of the regime, and also studies and works well, then he can be transferred to easier conditions. Specifically for this you need:

First-time convicts must serve three months of imprisonment;
Repeat offenders for at least six months;
For girls, three months is enough even in case of relapse.

Preferential

Another step in easing the detention regime is preferential conditions. If the teenager, after being transferred to lighter conditions, continues to comply with the requirements and does not allow their violations.

Preferential conditions are a kind of degree of trust of the colony administration in the prisoner. In this case, he can stay outside the walls of the colony and gradually become accustomed to life in freedom.

At the same time, the period of compliance with the regime, after which they can be transferred to preferential conditions of detention, is not specifically defined. Usually it corresponds to that in the case of a transfer from general to simplified conditions.

Daily routine in the colony

The rules for staying in colonies and the internal regime are strictly regulated.

In any case, they are distinguished by more tolerant conditions of detention, in contrast to colonies that are used for adults. Teenage girls and boys who are sent to correctional colonies live separately. The content of criminals in these colonies looks like this:

Teenagers are attracted to work. At the same time, the number of hours per working day fully corresponds to age;
The work consists of sewing, making furniture, cooking;
It is mandatory to attend school classes in which the school curriculum is mastered;
It is prohibited to work at night and on general weekends;
Exactly half of the earnings received are automatically transferred to the personal bank accounts of the criminals;
Getting up on a normal day is carried out as standard at 6 or 7 am;
Any daily important event begins with construction.

Minors, while serving their sentence, may receive special or higher education by correspondence.

General information

As a rule, juvenile offenders who, having been convicted, have committed another intentional crime, end up in a correctional colony. Also, this measure of correctional punishment applies to those transferred from light or, conversely, strict regime.

It is important to understand that children often do not fully understand the consequences of their actions, following the path of trial and error. In the absence of parental control, this often leads to disastrous consequences - minors become criminals and end up in a colony.

In this case, not only punishment is necessary, but work to correct the child’s behavior. This is the main goal of educational colonies.

End of term

For colonies originally intended for teenagers, the issue of reaching adulthood before the end of the term is quite acute. This problem can be solved by one of two methods:

Staying in an educational institution even after turning 18 years old.
Transfer of a criminal from an educational colony to a more strict correctional colony.

The decision is made by the immediate head of the colony and the prosecutor leading the case. They are based on the following rules:

A convicted teenager is left in a colony for one year until he turns 19;
After turning 18, a violator can be transferred to a penitentiary if he constantly violates the established rules.

Such a transfer is carried out only on the basis of a court order. In the standard regime, criminals who have reached the age of 19 are sent by order of the chief to adult correctional colonies.

Problems of such establishments

Of course, the declared goals of re-education of juvenile offenders are not always achieved. There are many problems associated with the work of children's educational colonies. Among them:

The persistent antisocial behavior of some teenagers, due to which they cannot be included in their studies, and their behavior among other prisoners is associated with constant conflicts. Often such criminals negatively influence other prisoners, and in the future join the ranks of repeat offenders in adult colonies;
After the maximum age at which one can stay in a juvenile colony was reduced from 21 to 19 years, the problem of low motivation of prisoners to comply with the regime arose. Because they understand the inevitability of ending up in adult prison and see no point in seeking reform;
Also, due to changes in the maximum age for detention in a children's colony, opportunities to obtain a profession were limited. This had a negative impact on the education of prisoners.

Punishment of teenagers and possible rewards

Directly depending on the teenager’s behavior and compliance with the rules, while serving his sentence, he may receive both punishment and special beneficial incentives from his superiors. This rule is enshrined in Articles 135 and 136 of the Penal Code.

If a juvenile offender behaves well, he will receive as a special reward or benefit:

Transfer to more favorable conditions of stay for the colony.
Attending interesting, educational cultural events and sports competitions. These could be events that happen outside. In this case, the prisoner must be accompanied by an employee of the institution.
Providing the opportunity to go home early.
You are allowed to leave the colony during the arrival of relatives.

In case of bad behavior and regular violation of rules, the following common sanctions are applied to a teenager:

A reprimand that is recorded in the personal file;
Placement in an isolation ward for some time;
A fine in an amount not exceeding two minimum wages;
Any leisure activity is prohibited.

If a teenager regularly violates the order and regime in a colony, he is transferred to tougher conditions by decision of the warden.

Entertainment and relaxation

Each colony has its own club, where children participating in amateur performances perform concerts. There is also a library and games rooms. In the latter you can play educational games. You are also allowed to listen to the radio and watch TV at set times.

You can leave the colony by agreement of the administration with the colony employee or relatives to attend cultural events.

In case of health problems, prisoners can visit the medical center.

Juvenile delinquents. Why do they end up in an educational colony?

Teenagers rarely receive real sentences. Only serious crimes bring mature children to the dock. But even this in rare cases ends in actual imprisonment. There is a known case where a juvenile criminal ended up in a juvenile correctional facility only based on the results of the 11th trial!

Usually, the most lenient punishments are applied to minors - fines, compulsory and correctional labor, and so on. A very common measure of influence is placement in a closed educational institution, that is, a special school or special vocational school.

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Criminal liability of children

According to Russian legislation, criminal liability for most crimes begins at the age of 16. From this age, for a serious or especially serious crime, as well as a repeated crime of a minor degree of gravity, a minor can be placed in a penal colony.

In rare cases, teenagers over 14 years of age are punished with imprisonment. They are sent to a correctional colony to serve their sentences and only for particularly serious crimes :

intentional infliction of harm to health;
murder;
theft (especially committed by a group and repeatedly);
robbery;
extortion;
rape;
certain drug trafficking crimes;
vandalism;
car theft;
terrorist attack;
kidnapping and hostage taking;
aggravated disorderly conduct;
operations with explosives.

Differences between men's and women's children's prisons

Representatives of male and female genders are kept in different educational colonies. There are only 2 educational colonies for women in the country, and 21 for men .

Girls work in sewing shops and in the kitchen, while boys most often do other work intended for male hands - they work in workshops, assemble parts, plan and saw furniture.

Girls are allowed to take care of themselves, do makeup, different hairstyles, and paint their nails. In colonies for boys and girls, some subjects taught at school differ. But in general, the conditions of detention for men's children's colonies are not much different from women's.

Who ends up in juvenile detention

By 2022, there will be two dozen male and only two female educational colonies left in the Russian Federation. Less than a thousand young convicts are serving their sentences there. And this is for all of Russia! Back in 2007, there were three times as many of these colonies, with over 16 thousand teenagers being held there.

Nowadays it is extremely rare for people to end up in the VK by accident, mainly for manslaughter and other fatal circumstances. The state is in no hurry to isolate difficult teenagers from society, giving parents the opportunity to raise them until the last moment.

It’s hard to believe, but many of them even like it in VK: a clean room and bed with normal linen, three meals a day (now in VK they feed more than decently), contact with authoritative adults.

Expert opinion

Orlov Igor Severinovich

Practicing lawyer with 7 years of experience. Specialization: criminal law. Law teacher.

Upon reaching the age of 18, young convicts are transferred to adult zones. Completely different orders reign there, so many young people find this transfer quite difficult.

If the convicted person has no violations or his sentence is nearing completion, he can be kept in the VK for up to 19 years. Previously, you could stay in a correctional colony until you were 21 years old, but the conditions were much more stringent, from everyday life to relationships between students.

Previously, the “youngster” was a truly terrible place. Hypersexual teenagers often “put down” their peers for the slightest offenses; bloody riots, severe beatings and other bullying were not uncommon.

Many experienced inmates admitted that the most cruel morals exist in the VTK (educational labor colonies, as “youngsters” were called until 1997). In adult zones, authorities simply did not allow such lawlessness, so transfer to a correctional facility for adults was perceived by many as a relief.

It cannot be said that such phenomena have been completely eliminated - violent young blood is sometimes shed even now. However, the VTC before 1997 and today’s VK are fundamentally different penitentiary institutions. The latter, compared to the former, look like pioneer camps, only with a “thorn” and guards on towers.

What is it and what is a correctional institution like?

A correctional colony is one of the main types of correctional institution in which juvenile offenders who previously served imprisonment, prisoners for intentional crimes that were committed while serving their sentences, as well as those who were transferred from light or strict conditions serve their sentences.

3 most popular IR for teenagers in Russia

The Novooskol educational colony of the Federal Penitentiary Service in the Belgorod region of the Russian Federation is one of two women’s colonies in the country (read about women’s colonies for minors in this article).
Kirovgrad educational colony of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia in the Sverdlovsk region.
Novosibirsk VK GUFSIN RF for the Novosibirsk region.

Over time, there are fewer and fewer correctional colonies on Russian territory due to a reduction in the number of juvenile offenders . In 2007, there were 62 educational colonies in the Russian Federation, where there were more than 16,000 people. For 2021, their number was reduced to 23, which is almost three times less, and the number of those convicted as of November 1, 2021 amounted to 1,318 people.

Educational process

The main task of the VK is the education of a teenager, his socialization and crime prevention. Educators, psychologists, doctors, career guidance specialists, subject teachers, and sports coaches constantly work with convicts.

For good behavior, teenagers are encouraged: they are transferred to a softer regime, they are allowed to go outside the VK, accompanied by employees or visiting relatives. Informal rewards are also possible: more TV watching, free time and other “goodies”.

Study, work, leisure

The daily routine is very busy, with the bulk of the time devoted to studying. This is understandable: many 16-year-old colony students have difficulty writing and have no idea about the multiplication table. Some did not go to school at all when they were free. What’s interesting is that even when serving a sentence in a pre-trial detention center (like a pre-trial detention center, but “underage”), teenagers are taken to classes.

The rest of the time, juvenile convicts are engaged in activities according to the schedule. Many work in subsidiary farms, canteens, workshops - the role of labor in education cannot be overestimated. They have at their disposal sports sections, gyms, hobby groups and clubs, libraries and leisure rooms with board games and TVs.

In colonies for girls, even milder rules reign, which is primarily due to the relationships between the convicts themselves - violations associated with violence are extremely rare there.