Special Rules of the Special Part of the Russian Criminal Code on Participation in the Activities of Organizations Registered in the Russian Federation or other Jurisdictions (Art. 239 of the RF CC)

The Russian legislator does not have a systematic approach to criminalizing the creation of groups of a certain orientation, their leadership and participation in such groups. At first glance, a variety of norms containing a ban on the commission of such acts are the norms of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, enshrined in the Part. 1-3 tbsp. 239 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. These norms prohibit the creation of associations or organizations, their management and participation in them. This prohibition is due to the nature of the activities of the relevant association or organization. The problem is that we are talking about associations or organizations that have legal status in the Russian Federation, and the activities of the leaders or participants of such organizations, which are prohibited by the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, go beyond the scope determined by their legal status. Thus, a participant or head of a legally existing organization can carry out illegal activities under the guise of such an organization without complicity with anyone, and, consequently, the norms of Art. 239 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation cannot be classified as special norms of the Special Part on criminal associations, since the presence of a criminal association when committing these crimes is an optional circumstance.