1. Illegal production and (or) movement across the State Border of the Russian Federation for the purpose of distribution, public demonstration or advertising, or distribution, public demonstration or advertising of pornographic materials or objects -
shall be punishable by a fine in the amount of one hundred thousand to three hundred thousand rubles, or in the amount of the wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of one to two years, or by forced labor for a term of up to two years, or by imprisonment for the same term.
2. Distribution, public display or advertising of pornographic materials or objects among minors, or involvement of a minor in the circulation of pornographic products, committed by a person who has reached the age of eighteen, -
shall be punishable by imprisonment for a term of two to five years with or without deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a term of up to ten years.
3. Acts provided for in parts one or two of this article, committed:
a) by a group of persons by prior conspiracy or an organized group;
b) using the media, including information and telecommunication networks (including the Internet);
c) with the extraction of income on a large scale, -
shall be punishable by imprisonment for a term of two to six years with or without deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a term of up to fifteen years.
Note. Large-scale income in this article, as well as in Article 242.1 of this Code, is income in an amount exceeding fifty thousand rubles.
- Article 241. Organization of prostitution
- Article 242.1. Production and circulation of materials or objects with pornographic images of minors
Commentary to Art. 242 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation
Countering the spread of pornography is carried out on the basis of the Geneva International Convention for the Suppression of the Circulation of Pornographic Publications and Trade in Them of 1923. States that have acceded to it undertake to prosecute the production or possession of writings, drawings, engravings, paintings, printed publications, images, posters, emblems, photographs, cinematographic films or other pornographic items for the purpose of selling or distributing them or publicly displaying them; import or export of these items; trading in them, even non-publicly, performing any transactions with them of any kind, distributing them, publicly exhibiting them, or renting them out as a profession.
The object of the crime is the foundations of public morality in the sphere of sexual relations.
Compositions, images or other objects that depict sexual relations in a crudely naturalistic and obscene manner should be considered pornographic.
The objective side of the crime covers the commission of at least one of the following actions: illegal production, distribution, advertising of pornographic materials or objects, as well as illegal trade in printed publications, film and video materials, images or other objects of a pornographic nature.
Combating the circulation of pornography is complicated by the lack of its legal definition, as well as the difficulties of obtaining expert opinions on the classification of materials and objects as pornographic.
Production - any actions aimed at producing objects of a pornographic nature through their composition, publication, reproduction, alteration, etc. Production methods can include drawing, photography, printing, filming, etc.
Distribution of pornographic items is their display, publication, transfer to at least one person (donation, loan, demonstration, reproduction, etc.) for a fee or free of charge.
Advertising is the demonstration, usually to many people, of pornographic items, as well as calls to purchase a particular item.
Trade means the alienation of pornographic items for material compensation, either by the manufacturer (owner) or by other persons. It can be retail, wholesale, secret, open, large quantities or piece.
The crime is considered completed from the moment of creating a work of a pornographic nature or committing other actions specified in the law, regardless of the occurrence of harmful consequences. The corpus delicti is formal.
The subjective side is guilt in the form of direct intent. Motives and goals do not influence qualifications. An exception is the production of pornographic materials or objects, which requires that the perpetrator has a purpose for distributing or advertising them.
The general subject of the crime is a sane person who has reached the age of sixteen.
The literature rightly notes that on the territory of the Russian Federation there is practically no regulatory framework in accordance with which it would be possible to determine the legal and illegal circulation of products containing pornographic images. For entities distributing works of literature, art or consumer goods, a special licensing system may be established for the publication of sexual content. In other words, these entities (publishers, editors, responsible employees of manufacturing companies, etc.) are obliged, in appropriate cases, to contact organizations called upon to give official opinions on whether the work (product) contains signs of pornography. If there is a conclusion about the pornographic nature of the item, the publisher (manufacturer) can be considered an informed person, and therefore subject to liability for releasing his products as pornographic. An entity that has released a product without obtaining a conclusion may be held liable for violating the conditions of the preliminary permitting procedure. The existence of such a procedure would make it possible to resolve many difficult and controversial issues in the area under consideration.
Object of crime
The activities of distributing pornography, as well as its creation, cause serious damage to public morals. The object of this illegal act is ethics in the field of sexual life. First, pornography damages family foundations. Secondly, its calling is to increase unhealthy sexual passion, which in turn encourages people to satisfy their sexual desires in a sophisticated form. Thirdly, these materials can lead to personal degradation, not only moral, but also physical. Fourth, pornography causes enormous harm to children whose worldview and moral principles are not stable and fully formed, and affects their development and upbringing. All of these negative consequences of the dissemination of “adult materials” are the reason why Article 242 of the Criminal Code currently defines such activity as criminal.
Judicial practice under Article 242 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation
Appeal ruling of the Judicial Collegium for Criminal Cases of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated October 31, 2019 N 5-APU19-81
to the competent authorities of the Republic of Belarus for criminal prosecution under Part 4 of Art. 210 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus and the refusal to extradite him in order to bring him to criminal liability under Part 2 of Art. 243, art. 242 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus, and the complaints of the lawyers of Razumovsky A.L. and Tyurina A.V. in the interests of Demidov V.P. left unsatisfied.
Determination of the Judicial Collegium for Criminal Cases of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated December 24, 2019 N 38-UD19-6
Convicted under paragraph “b” of Part 3 of Art. 242 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation to imprisonment for a term of 2 years, to be served in a general regime correctional colony. The sentence was calculated from October 1, 2022. By the appeal ruling of the judicial panel for criminal cases of the Tula Regional Court dated December 3, 2022, the sentence was left unchanged.
Cassation ruling of the Judicial Collegium for Criminal Cases of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated June 10, 2020 N 18-UDP20-36-K4
convicted: under clause “b”, part 3 of Art. 242 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation to 2 years of imprisonment with deprivation of the right to engage in activities related to preschool, primary, secondary and higher education for a period of 5 years; according to Part 1 of Art. 137 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation to a fine of 20,000 rubles.
Appeal ruling of the Judicial Collegium for Criminal Cases of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated 02/07/2019 N 45-APU19-2sp
- November 23, 1993 under paragraph “a” of Art. 242, part 2 art. 108, paragraph “c” of Art. 244 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR, on the basis of Art. of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation to 9 years in prison, released on April 2, 1999 on parole for 2 years 8 months 19 days;
Resolution of the Presidium of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated February 17, 2021 N 124-P20
Aliev Ruslan Abdullaevich, ..., convicted: November 23, 1993 under paragraph “a” of Art. 242, part 2 art. 108, paragraph “c” of Art. 244 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR to 9 years in prison, released on April 2, 1999 on parole for 2 years 8 months 19 days; February 5, 2009, taking into account the changes made, according to clauses “a”, “d”, “e”, part 2 of art. 161 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation to 4 years in prison, released on May 12, 2010 on parole for 1 year 10 months, -
Appeal ruling of the Judicial Collegium for Criminal Cases of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated September 14, 2021 N 45-APU21-1sp
- November 23, 1993 under paragraph “a” of Art. 242, part 2 art. 108, paragraph “c” of Art. 244, Criminal Code of the RSFSR, to 9 years in prison, released on April 2, 1999 on parole for 2 years 8 months 19 days,
Determination of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation dated September 27, 2019 N 2314-O
RIGHTS BY PART TWO ARTICLE 242 OF THE CRIMINAL CODE OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION AND ARTICLE 401.16 OF THE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE CODE OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION by the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, composed of Chairman V.D. Zorkin, judges K.V. Aranovsky, A.I. Boytsova, N.S. Bondar, G.A. Gadzhieva, Yu.M. Danilova, L.M. Zharkova, S.M. Kazantseva, S.D. Knyazeva, A.N. Kokotova, L.O. Krasavchikova, S.P. Mavrina, N.V. Melnikova, Yu.D. Rudkina, V.G. Yaroslavtseva,
Subject of crime
This category indicates a certain thing, some material element, as a result of direct influence on which an illegal act is carried out. Article 242 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation considers “materials for adults” as the subject of a crime. Printed publications, drawings, photo or video materials, and sculptures can be considered as such. Pornography is an image of the sexual life of people of an obscene, especially cynical and extremely naturalistic nature. Erotica is not the subject of the crime in question.
Despite the fact that it also reflects the sexual aspects of people's lives, it still does not have that immoral and rude character and does not evoke such lustful attraction. In addition, Article 242 of the Criminal Code does not provide for punishment for the creation and distribution of images of naked people for the purposes of science and education in textbooks and manuals. Artists, sculptors, photographers and other representatives of creative professions who record the beauty and aesthetics of the human body will not be held accountable.
Lack of composition
What should the criminal prosecution body or the court do in cases where one of the spouses shows the other “material for adults”? Is it possible that Article 242 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation applies in this case too? The commentary to this legislative act interprets this act as not having a public danger. It is believed that in this case there is no damage to morality and traditional family structures. Also, people who created pornographic materials and transported them across the state border for personal purposes, and not if they wanted to distribute them, will not be held accountable. Thus, Article 242 of the Criminal Code contains a lot of elements of atrocities, many qualifying features, and imposes special requirements on the subjects of the crime.
Objective side
Article 242 provides for punishment for committing six acts in this area. The first of them is the creation of pornographic materials, be it photo or video filming, printing, copying of relevant items. The second component is their movement across the border of the Russian Federation (both import and export). The third act is the distribution of such materials. It can be expressed in the transfer, donation, sale of pornographic items. The fourth component involves the public demonstration of “adult materials” (on television, banners, and also done in other ways). The fifth type of act is advertising of such pornographic items, which is committed with the aim of introducing a wide range of people to them. And finally, the last, sixth element, which Article 242 of the Criminal Code provides for in its 2nd part, is the involvement of a child under 18 years of age in the circulation of such materials.
Additional items
The provisions of Article 242 of the Criminal Code also provide for a number of qualifying characteristics, the establishment of which aggravates the responsibility of criminals. The first of these is the minority of the victims. The law makes it a priority to protect the normal development of children, both moral and physical. The second sign is the method of committing the crime, namely the use of the media and the Internet for criminal purposes. The third basis for increasing liability for such acts is the receipt of a profit of more than 50,000 rubles (large income) as a result of this crime. The fourth sign describes the subjects of the crime. The law provides for increased liability if the creation and sale of “adult materials” was carried out by a group of people and this activity was agreed upon and organized in advance.
Subjective side
It is impossible to commit such acts through negligence. Article 242 refers to an atrocity that can only be committed with direct intent. Another element of the subjective side of the crime we are considering is the goal. It acts as a mandatory feature in the production and movement of “materials for adults” across the country’s borders. Thus, in these cases it is mandatory to establish the desire of the criminal to distribute, demonstrate in public or sell such items.
