Ban for an hour

The Moscow City Duma may change the timing of night restrictions for teenagers

The Moscow authorities again became concerned with the moral issues of teenagers and began to protect fragile minds from the vices of the metropolis. Yesterday, the Moscow City Duma adopted in the first reading new amendments to the Code of Administrative Offences, changing the time of the so-called “curfew” for young people under 16 years of age. It is assumed that now the prohibited time for appearing in various types of entertainment establishments for them will begin not at 22:00, but at 23:00. In particular, according to the changes that were made to bring the norms of the capital’s Code of Administrative Offenses into line with the federal law “On Basic Guarantees of the Rights of the Child in the Russian Federation,” from 10 pm to 6 am, teenagers will not be able to visit entertainment venues without the accompaniment of parents or “other official representatives.”

Explaining the logic behind the adoption of the amendments, the head of the Moscow City Duma Commission on Legislation, Alexander Semennikov, noted that he made changes only in order to bring uniformity to the norms of the capital’s Code of Administrative Offenses with federal legislation. “These amendments are purely technical. And nothing more,” the deputy noted. Mr. Semennikov recalled that currently in Moscow, teenagers under 16 years of age are not allowed to be in entertainment establishments from 11 pm to seven am. “The appearance of a minor in such places at this time is punishable. The fine for an official ranges from 2.5 to 5 thousand rubles, and for organizations involved in the entertainment business, from 10 to 30 thousand rubles,” the deputy recalled.

At the same time, Alexander Semenikov himself believes that his amendments will be rearranged during subsequent readings so that the duration of the curfew in the capital will remain the same. According to him, the desire to keep the ban in force within the current framework was expressed during the discussion of the amendments by officials from the Moscow Department of Family and Youth Policy - they also suggested a loophole provided to the regions by federal legislation. “Most likely we will use our right as a constituent entity of the federation to make changes regarding the timing of the curfew,” Mr. Semennikov said in an interview with a Vremya Novostei correspondent.

Let us recall that the so-called curfew for teenagers in Moscow has been in effect since 2004 - the capital was one of the first regions to remember the experience of the last years of Soviet power and limit the night stay of children in public places. Her example was also cited by President Dmitry Medvedev, on whose initiative the night ban was introduced throughout the country in April 2009. Moreover, it was initially assumed that young people under 18 years of age would not be able to appear in any public places, including on the street, after 10 pm and before 6 am. In this form, the presidential initiative was met with ambiguity by the public and was eventually adjusted - exactly according to the same scenario as in Moscow in 2003-2004. As a result, the ban only affected visits by teenagers after ten in the evening to drinking establishments and places where “products of a sexual nature and alcohol are sold,” as well as places “being in which can cause harm to the health of children, their physical, intellectual, mental, spiritual and moral development." At the same time, the regions were given the right to determine the nature and object of punishment independently - measures of influence, according to the law, can apply both to parents who did not monitor their children, and to legal entities “organizing events with the participation of minors and committing these violations.”

It is noteworthy that Alexander Semennikov does not agree that the curfew is a prohibitive measure, divorced from reality. The deputy believes that there is every opportunity to make this ban “a really effective norm.” “I don’t understand what a 15-year-old child should do in a restaurant after 11 pm. Obviously, he doesn't stay there to eat cakes. But we can do without this,” the deputy believes. In addition, Mr. Semennikov argues, the curfew increases the level of responsibility of the managers of entertainment establishments. “I am convinced that in this case it all depends on what is more important - fear or greed; fear of paying a fine or thirst for profit. This norm allows us to solve this dilemma,” says the deputy.

Vyacheslav KOZLOV