The bill was submitted by seven deputies, among them Vasily Piskarev, chairman of the State Duma committee on security and anti-corruption, along with Ernest Valeev, Andrei Lugovoi and Anatoly Vyborny. Piskarev announced the move in his Telegram channel.
Under the current Criminal Code, calls for mass unrest carry a maximum of two years in prison. The deputies propose raising that to four years, and to six years for the same acts committed using the internet or the media, according to documents reviewed by The Insider.
The bill adds a new part 3.1 to Article 212 of the Criminal Code, creating separate liability for calls for mass unrest via social networks, messaging apps and the media. It would carry up to five years of forced labor or up to six years in a penal colony.
The authors explain the tightening in an explanatory note. They cite "the holding of mass unlawful actions and rallies, often instigated by unfriendly states with the aim of destabilizing the situation in the country." Among the events used to justify the initiative are the mass unrest at Makhachkala airport in October 2023 and the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall in March 2024.
In his Telegram channel, Piskarev wrote that "the collective West," together with "fugitive criminals, relocants and foreign agents," is trying to provoke Russians into unlawful actions. According to him, the bill was supported by the government and the Supreme Court.
A second block of amendments concerns Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code, on public calls for terrorism, its justification or propaganda. For crimes committed through the media and the internet, the deputies propose raising the additional penalty banning a person from holding certain posts from five to six years, with a minimum of two years. The main penalty of imprisonment under this part is unchanged.
A third block concerns the fine for violence against a representative of authority (part 1 of Article 318 of the Criminal Code). The deputies propose raising the maximum from 200,000 to 500,000 rubles.
The explanatory note contains statistics on crimes registered under Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code. There were 393 in 2021, 564 in 2022, 624 in 2023 and 967 in 2024. In the first half of 2025 alone, 781 such crimes were registered. According to the deputies, 93% of these cases in 2024 involved the internet.