The St. Petersburg Legal Forum was held in St. Petersburg from June 24 to 26. This year it was remembered not for discussions about law, but for proposals to tighten state control. The head of the Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin, once again proposed lowering the age of criminal responsibility to 12 years, and also advocated for the revival of Soviet children's organizations. Other forum participants discussed the threat of cohabitation to national security, questioned women's right to abortion, and proposed restricting the rights of "foreign agents." "Novaya Gazeta Europe" has compiled a selection of other statements and initiatives made at the SPIEF. Participants of the St. Petersburg International Legal Forum at the ExpoForum Congress and Exhibition Center, St. Petersburg, Russia, June 24, 2026. Photo: SOPA Images Limited / Alamy Live News / Vida Press. Bastrykin's lecture. The head of the Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin, proposed lowering the age of criminal responsibility to 12 years. The last time criminal responsibility from the age of 12 was introduced in the USSR during the reign of Joseph Stalin. "We made a proposal to lower the age of criminal responsibility to 12 years, but we were not agreed with. You see, on the one hand, they are silly, and on the other hand, they are growing much faster than we did in our time. And they already commit crimes at 12-13 years old, but they do not fall under the age of criminal responsibility and go unpunished," he said. Bastrykin noted that in 2025, the number of teenagers who committed "terrorist crimes" increased threefold. The head of the IC also said that Ukrainian recruiters are trying to relieve teenagers of moral responsibility and "present setting fire to a military enlistment office or sabotage on the railway as an act of justice, a struggle against the system, participation in a cool game of reality." Chairman of the Investigative Committee of Russia Alexander Bastrykin awaits the start of the plenary session of the 12th St. Petersburg International Legal Forum SPIEF in St. Petersburg, Russia, June 27, 2024. Photo: Alexei Danichev / IMAGO / SNA / Scanpix / LETA. In addition, Bastrykin proposed "to involve participants of the special military operation more widely in the position of deputy director for educational work": - Firstly, these are men. Because, as a rule, directors are women. Secondly, these are courageous people who have proven themselves in the difficult circumstances of a special operation. Bastrykin also criticized the state "Movement of the First" and instead proposed restoring "Octobrists, Pioneers and Komsomol." As examples of good public-patriotic organizations, he cited "Young Investigator" and "Yunarmia." Finally, the head of the IC also read a poem of his own composition about the desire to return to the USSR: Family Cohabitation Threatens Russia. Deputy Minister of Justice of the Russian Federation Vadim Balanin stated at SPIEF that cohabitation without registered marriage threatens national security. "It should be noted that in recent decades, the nature of family relations, unfortunately, has undergone significant changes. Now we are facing such a phenomenon as cohabitation without registered marriage. At the same time, the number of divorces of already registered marriages remains significant. And such trends, in our opinion, can be considered a direct threat to national security and the demographic health of our country," he said. Vadim Balanin at the St. Petersburg International Legal Forum, St. Petersburg, Russia, June 24, 2026. Photo: Maxim Konstantinov / SOPA Images / Zuma / Scanpix / LETA. In his opinion, now "the West" is experiencing an "era of revision of traditional values." He called it an "era of social challenges" that "can undermine the foundations of our country's statehood, which must not be allowed under any circumstances." Balanin believes that Russia should focus on protecting the family as a national value, on "supporting fatherhood, motherhood, and childhood." The official pointed out that the Ministry of Justice already supports strengthening family relations and taking measures to counteract the destruction of traditional ideologies. The right of a woman to abortion contradicts the Constitution. Head of the Secretariat of the World Russian People's Council, priest Vasily Losev, stated that "a woman's right to abortion on demand contradicts the Constitution." In his opinion, there is no single understanding of traditional spiritual values in Russia: "Some understand them from the position of the life and dignity of the unborn, while others - from the position of a woman's right to abortion." "Our ancestors did not doubt that abortion is the murder of a child before birth... Today there is a systemic contradiction between by-laws and the Constitution. A woman's right to abortion on demand contradicts the Constitution. This must be considered in the context of interpreting the Constitution, in the interpretation of these norms," said Losev. He stated that secular people, unlike him, find it difficult to understand that "life begins at the moment of conception." To rectify the situation, he proposed teaching the basics of traditional spiritual values in universities, regardless of students' majors. Law on "posthumous fertilization" for widows of "SVO" participants. Chairman of the Patriarchal Commission of the Russian Orthodox Church for Family, Protection of Motherhood and Childhood, Archpriest Fyodor Lukyanov, spoke against the development of IVF technology in Russia. According to him, the country allocates money for "posthumous fertilization," and this is "a very noble goal in terms of helping the widows of those who died in the SVO." At the same time, he is concerned that the development of the technology will allow the legalization of "a deliberately incomplete family." "And if so, then two men can have a child. Where will we end up from a legal point of view? And if we do not protect the right of a child to be born healthy, naturally, in a natural family consisting of a man and a woman, we can go very far," said Lukyanov. Special legal status for the embryo. Head of the Department of Philosophy of Education at the Faculty of Philosophy of Moscow State University, Elena Bryzgalina, proposed granting the embryo a special legal status. "I propose to conduct an interdisciplinary discussion on the special legal status of the embryo, involving the creation of a special legal regime for embryos, taking into account their potential ability to develop into a human being. To introduce the concept of ethics into the Law on Science. To determine the state's position regarding scientific research with embryos," she stated. Her proposal was supported by Dmitry Malyshev, advisor to the General Director of JSC "Rosgeology." In particular, he said that "his life as a father began when he stroked the belly of his pregnant wife," writes "Bloody Lady." Foreign Agents and Human Rights. Who are such foreign agents? During the SPIEF, State Duma deputy Andrei Lugovoi was asked who foreign agents are. "What should I explain to the children? They ask: Dad, why did these citizens leave, who went abroad, and are conducting such activities against us, who are they?" - asked a forum listener who introduced himself as a lawyer with 20 years of experience as an operative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Lugovoi replied that if a person "receives money from abroad and uses this money to counteract society," then he is a traitor. He also noted that Russia might as well act like the USA, "for which the law on foreign agents is needed to be used as a cudgel, when you can be accused at any moment, without any trial, be jailed, fined, jailed, the FBI will then work closely and clearly with you." Prohibition of disposing of property. Deputy Minister of Justice of the Russian Federation Oleg Sviridenko proposed to prohibit "foreign agents" from carrying out gratuitous transactions with real estate. "As of today, it turns out that through simple gifts or marriage contracts, they fictitiously transfer rights and circumvent the format of using a special account. We have worked and seen the problems, and we propose to try to fix all transactions through a notary," said Sviridenko. He also believes that "the CSTO countries are a little behind" in laws on "foreign agents." The official proposed "to develop a specialized and balanced regulatory legal act that suppresses destructive foreign influence on political and social processes within the CSTO countries." Priority of human rights over state interests. Head of the Ministry of Justice of Russia Konstantin Chuychenko stated that the priority of human rights over state interests is "not entirely correct." Konstantin Chuychenko. Photo: Pelagia Tikhonova / Moscow Agency. "We had approaches that arose from the early 1990s, when our Constitution was written and it was said that the rights and freedoms of citizens are a priority. It seems to me that this is not entirely the correct approach," he said. In his opinion, a weak state cannot guarantee the rights and legitimate interests of citizens. At the same time, he believes that a balance must be maintained: "If we let go of something somewhere, then on the other hand, we need to tighten up." Rap and destructive literature. Deputy Minister of Culture Zhanna Alekseeva stated that the Russian State Library named after Lenin will create a closed repository of destructive literature. "The Russian State Library named after Lenin is currently working on creating a special repository, a closed storage for literature that was presented in our historical territories and was of a destructive nature," she said. At the same time, she noted that Russian libraries have stopped replenishing their collections with books by foreign agent authors, as they consider it "unacceptable to use information products produced by foreign agents during book exhibitions and cultural and educational events." Ministry of Justice against rap. Deputy Minister of Justice of Russia Oleg Sviridenko promised that the Ministry of Justice will "seriously deal with" rap. According to him, many rap artists promote drugs. Oleg Sviridenko. Photo: Wikimedia. "Violence. The same thing. Denial of moral and ethical foundations. And all this is presented as a norm and lifestyle. Persons spreading such ideas have a negative impact on public consciousness," he pointed out. To combat this, the Ministry of Justice will seriously deal with this issue "together with other structures and departments." Portable correctional center. The Federal Penitentiary Service presented a model of a quickly assembled correctional center at SPIEF - a "new generation labor colony." According to the project description, the institution includes a sports ground, a public garden, a parking lot, and a green walking area. "In principle, it can also be used for "civilian" objects, for example, temporary dormitories and construction camps," noted Roscongress. Such centers will be designed for 200 places. Their main feature is the ability to quickly assemble and relocate.