Bastrikin proposed to lower the age of criminal responsibility to 12 years.

      The Chairman of the Investigative Committee of Russia, Alexander Bastrykin, stated that he had previously proposed lowering the age of criminal responsibility from 14-16 to 12 years. He made this statement at the St. Petersburg International Legal Forum (SPIEF). According to the head of the Investigative Committee, the initiative did not receive support. However, as Bastrykin noted, the problem of juvenile crime remains relevant. He explained that modern teenagers mature earlier and can commit serious offenses at the age of 12-13, while not always falling under criminal responsibility. As an example, he cited the United Kingdom, where the minimum age for criminal punishment is 10 years. Currently, in Russia, criminal responsibility begins at 16 years, and for certain serious crimes, at 14. This threshold has already been lowered: in 2025, the age of responsibility for sabotage was reduced from 16 to 14 years. Bastrykin also drew attention to the problem of recruiting teenagers into illegal activities. According to him, criminals try to create a sense of impunity and the "importance" of their actions among minors. According to the Investigative Committee, last year the number of serious and particularly serious crimes committed by teenagers increased by 21% and reached 12,600. In total, in 2025, law enforcement agencies investigated more than 29,000 crimes involving minors.