Saratov teenagers join the list of extremists and terrorists

The number of young extremists has increased by a third. In the first half of 2026, almost 50 minors in Russia became defendants in criminal cases on terrorist crimes, which is 28% higher than in the same period last year. Such data is provided by the Department for Prevention of Dissemination of Destructive and Prohibited Information on the Internet of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia.

Teenagers on the instructions of unknown handlers set fire to police cars, relay cabinets on the railway, gas stations. On September 23, in Krasnogorsk near Moscow, a 17-year-old teenager was detained on suspicion of setting fire to a gas station and a police car. On September 24, in St. Petersburg, a 14-year-old girl became a defendant in a criminal case about a terrorist attack at a gas station. The eighth-grader was forced to commit a crime by an unknown person, with whom the girl met through the channel of one of the messengers, the city Sledkom reported. On the same day, a 16-year-old boy was detained in Rostov-on-Don, who was allegedly preparing to set fire to the police department. A young man on the instructions of fraudsters photographed the building of the department, bought everything necessary for the crime.

Three 16-year-old boys from the Saratov region, accused of setting fire to railway equipment, will appear in court in Yekaterinburg. This became known at the end of the summer. Teenagers disabled all-weather and two relay cabinets on the stretch between the stations of Sazanka and Anisovka in the Engels district, according to the Western interregional Department of the Investigative Committee on transport. For sabotage, a stranger from the messenger promised the boys 30 thousand rubles. Two more young people, 17-year-old and 18-year-old residents of the Saratov region, will stand trial for not informing law enforcement officers about the impending terrorist act.

Becoming victims of manipulation or succumbing to dubious offers of easy earnings, teenagers do not understand the consequences, explains Vladimir Chernobrovkin, former chairman of the Commission on juvenile Affairs and protection of their rights under the government of the Saratov region.

- In order to avoid tragedies, it is important to instill in the child the rules of passive safety from childhood, says Vladimir Chernobrovkin. From household rules (do not leave the key under the mat) to digital literacy – do not join incomprehensible, suspicious groups on social networks, avoid correspondence with strangers, do not write code on a bank card. Prevention of extremism is not a one-time action, but a continuous process. You should start with school: hold class hours, where real threats and possible criminal consequences are discussed. It is important not to hush up the incidents, but to use them as an example to clarify the legal consequences.

The interlocutor of MK in Saratov believes that information should be submitted systematically: for each age group - its own program, taking into account psychological characteristics. Youth extremism should be raised at every parent meeting. When the school and parents act together, broadcasting the same principles, the child develops a reliable internal “autopilot” of safety.

- The program for the prevention of adolescent extremism should be unified and systematic, says Vladimir Sergeyevich. When the work is carried out separately: a teacher says one thing, a representative of law enforcement agencies - another, and an employee of the commission on juvenile affairs - a third, it will not be useful. In the Saratov region there is a powerful base for creating such a program: specialized departments of universities, a pedagogical institute, the Institute for Education Development.