What an article for vandalizing a cemetery. Vandalism at the cemetery

When vandals attacked the cemetery three years ago, our patience and that of the townspeople came to an end. Instead of once again explaining to the newspapers that the mayor’s office does not have funds in the budget to combat vandalism, they decided to fight this evil on their own. To begin with, they created a headquarters of proactive and determined opponents of the vandals. We found like-minded people in youth associations, the police, the FSB, branches of political parties, and the veterans' council. Some of them, veterans, suggested using front-line experience in the fight against vandals. As you know, in the initial period of the Great Patriotic War, our soldiers had a hard time. The shortage of weapons and personnel affected. The soldiers made up for this lack with resourcefulness and ingenuity. For example, false towers with a scarecrow instead of a sentry were often used. Another example. When it was necessary to create an impression on the enemy of our numerical superiority, one of the soldiers with a powerful voice shouted commands like “first battalion, go around on the right, second battalion, prepare to attack!”, although no more than a company was located in the positions. Sometimes this trick worked, allowing us to gain time, or even completely decide the outcome of the battle in favor of our soldiers. In general, we decided to resort to the same trick, agreeing to keep our plans secret, primarily from the press: some journalists, as we know, can ruin a good deed in a matter of hours.
At first, every night we dressed up the stuffed sentry, changed its position and place on the tower. Someone suggested hanging a scarf that would flutter in the wind, creating the illusion of movement. An announcement was made to the press that the cemetery was now guarded, dogs were brought in, and notices were posted. They also used a sound effect. Through a loudspeaker mounted on a pole, a tape recording of the guard's warning commands was played.
The effect exceeded all expectations. The vandals did not appear in the first week or the first month. For three years now, there has been no more desecration of monuments. If we had money, we probably would have taken a different path, using foreign experience. There, the cemeteries have powerful lighting throughout the entire territory, and video surveillance is conducted. In many countries - Portugal, Spain, Italy, England - the police drive around the entire cemetery every hour at night. A high fence, automatically closing gates, a loud radio announcement about the closure of the cemetery, and walking with dogs are required. Of course, such security systems are not used everywhere. There are cemeteries in Germany, Finland, and Sweden that are not guarded at all. But there, a lot of money and public efforts are directed towards explaining why it is necessary to preserve and develop cemetery culture. Undoubtedly, the educational approach is more civilized in nature. For example, I prefer this approach when they talk about cemetery culture as a national treasure, heritage. I think the key word here is - "HERITAGE".
In Russia, apparently due to World War II, Bolshevism and communism, the word "heritage" was almost never used in this context. We are accustomed to another word - Memory. Memory of those killed. And less - Memory of deeds, achievements, conquests. The concept of a chronicle has practically disappeared. There are many biographies, but there is little true chronicle of the history of science and technology, and almost no descriptions of progress. It seems to me that our teachers made a mistake somewhere when they relied on education and training on the basis of heroic deeds and the lives of outstanding, famous people in the spirit of patriotism. All this, of course, should be present in pedagogy. But our life passes in the era of scientific and technological progress. People create it
many of which lie in cemeteries. Young people should know about these creators, and I have no doubt that any of my colleagues will support me. In our cemeteries there are many monuments to outstanding surgeons, famous scientists, famous cultural figures... The monuments stand on their own, only occasionally attracting the attention of casual visitors. It is not right. Excursions and collective visits on memorial days should be organized to such burials. Professional descriptions of monuments are required. At best, specialists come to the cemetery to clarify the location of the monument and what it is made of. People also need other information. In the cemeteries in Rostov there are many burial places of our outstanding contemporaries. But I, the head of the cemetery, do not have such information. When delegations arrive, I show the cemetery, but I cannot always answer the guests’ numerous questions. We have to limit ourselves to telling idle stories: the minister’s mother is buried here, he comes regularly. And this is the father of a famous politician. He completely forgot his father. True, he calls from Moscow, asking to put the grave in order. But the gang of “thieves”, everything seems to be a selection. I often feel embarrassed because I don’t have serious information.
My colleagues abroad, I know for sure, feel much more comfortable. Because historians constantly work in cemeteries, adding to the information stock of cemetery specialists. There, excursions to cemeteries are the norm. There is even a competition - the ten most visited cemeteries. When will we have it?
I am sure that if our schoolchildren were taken on excursions to cemeteries, introduced to the life and achievements of their deceased fellow countrymen, it is unlikely that these excursionists would raise their hand to the monument in the future. After all, every monument is our heritage.
In some countries, cemeteries acquired the status of museums, in others - cemeteries-reserves. There are cemeteries and parks where people are used to walking. People come there with children in strollers, with friends, classmates. There are kiosks and small cafes at the cemeteries. They have living cemeteries. They help the living. The very structure of the cemetery educates young people, teaches them to honor the memory of the dead, and helps them gain the basis of patriotic pride. Booklets about cemeteries and guides are published there, and routes for visitors have been developed. The graves of famous fellow citizens are something that people are proud of abroad in every city, in every locality. They have their own idea, developed over centuries, of what a cemetery should be like. Therefore, the pathfinders there set themselves slightly different tasks than ours. Although the strategic goal is the same - education of patriotism. The difference is in tactics - choosing examples that the younger generation can look up to. If we have heroism in defending the Fatherland, then they have the creative activity of individuals who glorified the village, city, country. They are proud of such fellow countrymen, remember them, honor their memory. Patriotism is brought up on this basis.
Unfortunately, not a single country in the world has escaped the cemetery typhoon of vandalism. This problem is planetary in nature. Vandalism has been recorded on different continents and in different countries, both in the West and in the East.
Reports of acts of vandalism in cemeteries appear every now and then on the pages of foreign media. In Europe, for example, a case will long be remembered when the President of the French Republic was forced to send a letter of apology to the Queen of Great Britain for an act of vandalism at the cemetery of British soldiers who died in northern France during the First World War. As the letter states, “these unacceptable and shameful actions are unanimously condemned by the French people. On behalf of France and on my own behalf, I ask you to accept my deepest regret for what happened.”
I don’t remember that the Russian authorities responded to at least one case of cemetery vandalism recorded on the territory of our Fatherland. The protesting voice of the Church is heard much more often. According to Archbishop Vincent of Yekaterinburg and Verkhoturye, people who decide to commit the sacrilege of desecrating graves, not only themselves, but also their descendants fall under a terrible curse.
I wanted to end the article with these words about a curse, but the idea came to look in the dictionary. According to the dictionary definition, vandalism is the senseless destruction of objects of material culture, works of art, and historical monuments. In the criminal law of the Russian Federation, this act is qualified as a crime against public safety, consisting of desecration of buildings or other structures and damage to property in public places. Based on this definition
division, then cemetery vandalism is nothing more than the desecration or destruction of graves and gravestones. But my article convinces me that this would be too narrow a definition of vandalism in a cemetery. This is not just about mechanical destruction. Cemetery vandalism is a desecration of the memory of the dead, an outrage against our spiritual heritage.
Needless to say, the final resting place of the dead on earth is worthy of our most reverent attitude. After all, in cemeteries we bury parents, children, relatives, benefactors and friends dear to our hearts. Therefore, a feeling of love, respect, and gratitude for the deceased should involuntarily arise in us. Death does not stop, but only outwardly changes our direct relationships with people close and dear to us who have passed on to another world. And is it possible to find any justification for an indifferent or unworthy attitude towards the graves of those who lived before us?

Igor MORDUKHOVICH, Director of the Municipal Unitary Enterprise of Specialized Utilities, Rostov-on-Don

On the night of September 1, dozens of graves were desecrated at the Khabarovsk city cemetery. Inverted crosses, split tombstones, monuments covered with cynical inscriptions and swastikas - such a picture can be seen almost every week in different parts of the country. Despite the fact that in May the punishment for these crimes was tightened, the vast majority of cemetery vandals avoid it, notes Mikhail Pozdnyaev in an article published on September 5 in the newspaper Novye Izvestia.

Over the past year, more than 1.5 thousand criminal cases have been initiated in Russia regarding the desecration of graves, but only 148 people have been convicted, and only one criminal has been sentenced to imprisonment. However, experts are convinced that punitive measures in this case are not a panacea. The problem is connected with social stratification, and with the loss of traditional values, and with gaps in the education of young people, and with the fact that the image of the enemy has not disappeared from our public consciousness.

The pogrom at the Khabarovsk cemetery is far from an isolated incident. Similar news comes every two or three days from various regions. Cemetery vandalism has become as much a reality of our lives as ordinary robberies. This year, most cases occurred in the first ten days of May - precisely on those days when the media were making noise about the transfer of the “bronze soldier” in Tallinn. At the same time, no one noticed the wave of pogroms that swept through our churchyards on the eve of Victory Day.

In the Nizhny Novgorod region, unknown persons destroyed about 20 monuments and crosses in the cemetery of the city of Semenov. In Nizhny Novgorod itself, a suspect was detained for stealing copper sheets from a monument to fallen soldiers. In Nizhnevartovsk, vandals painted a swastika on a monument to front-line soldiers. Several dozen graves were desecrated by unknown persons at the Southern Cemetery in Tomsk, and the dug-up crosses were stuck upside down into the grave mounds. Employees of the main department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the North-Western District neutralized a youth group that committed cemetery pogroms in St. Petersburg. During the arrest, “tools of labor” were confiscated from the young men—reinforcement rods, baseball bats and aerosol cans of paint. In Moscow, a group of teenagers were detained who desecrated 79 graves at the Kuntsevo cemetery. In the Muezersky district of Karelia, a case was opened regarding the desecration of a mass grave of Civil War heroes: on May 9, four schoolchildren from 11 to 14 years old painted a monument to a Red Army soldier with Nazi symbols. According to them, they were “just joking”...

Crimes without punishment

The list can be multiplied and multiplied. During the year, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Supreme Court of Russia, 1,575 criminal cases were initiated under Article 214 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“vandalism”) and 515 criminals were identified. However, only 148 of them were convicted, and only one was sentenced to imprisonment.

An article providing for punishment for vandalism appeared in the Russian Criminal Code 10 years ago. And here’s the paradox: after its introduction, previously extremely rare acts of vandalism became systemic. And in recent years they have become a real disaster. The strange paradox is explained by the fact that in the worst case, a person convicted under this article was sentenced to correctional labor for a period of six months to a year, in the best case, three months’ salary was collected from him.

Legal scholars have been talking about toughening punishment for desecration of graves for almost as long as the article has existed.

On May 10 of this year, President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on amendments to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and the Administrative Code, and now cemetery vandalism is punishable by up to 5 years in prison. Naturally, the relatives and friends of those whose graves were desecrated consider this period too lenient. However, lawyers believe that such punishment is adequate to the crime.

“It should be taken into account that cemetery vandalism is an act not against a person, but against a symbol, albeit a particularly significant one,” Stanislav Markelov, president of the Institute for the Rule of Law, explained to NI. — Compared to what happened before, five years is a serious period. In any case, the outrage against history, culture, and the memory of the dead will remain on the conscience of the person. Five years is enough to think about such an act.”

However, the statistics we provided for the last year cast doubt on the effectiveness of the new provisions of the Criminal Code. Firstly, courts extremely rarely hand down sentences “to the fullest extent”. Secondly, amendments to Article 214 were made as part of the fight against extremism, and it is not so easy to prove that young people who broke a gravestone or knocked down a cross are extremists. Finally, thirdly, up to 70% of vandals disappear without a trace. Finding them is a troublesome task, despite the fact that cemetery vandalism was not considered a socially dangerous act before and is not considered now.

Let us note that the current law “On Burial and Funeral Affairs” does not stipulate the status of cemeteries as particularly important objects, our common property. “Burial places may relate to objects of cultural and historical significance,” the law carefully stipulates, but the word “may” is not synonymous with the word “should.” In addition, this regulatory act does not contain a word about the maintenance of graves and their protection.

Necropolis without an owner

The Kaplinsky cemetery is one of the largest in the Belgorod region. More than 30 thousand residents of the Starooskolsky district found their final rest here. Their peace is guarded by two watchmen, who are on duty in shifts every other day. Such protection cannot be called very serious. So it turns out that today in each quarter of the churchyard there are at least ten desecrated tombstones. At the Stary Oskol police department, the relatives' statements lie motionless. Police officers prefer not to call the desecration of graves vandalism: they say it still requires proof. One of the versions being considered is oversaturation of the local market for funeral services. In most cases, expensive tombstones are broken on well-kept graves, perhaps thereby stimulating “buying activity.” Even if the relatives don’t order a new monument, the repairs will also cost them a pretty penny. It is difficult to judge whether cemetery workers are really in cahoots with vandals, but the fact remains: after the funeral, the grave becomes virtually ownerless. Relatives visit her, as a rule, no more than two or three times a year. And any claims against the administration of the necropolis are meaningless.

This year in Omsk, on the eve of Radonitsa, the first day of remembrance of the dead after Easter, unknown persons desecrated several graves at the Novo-Yuzhny cemetery, stealing their tombstones. All monuments made of non-ferrous metals, just like the vandals, disappeared without a trace. Although from the very beginning there was no doubt that they should be looked for at collection points for non-ferrous metal. But almost all points are protected by the same policemen. So the massive-looking tombstones are defenseless. “Why be surprised, because not a single city cemetery in our country is guarded,” says Svetlana Vasilyeva, head of the ritual service of the Omsk Special Services Plant. “In this case, the cemetery administration can only contact the police with a statement about the desecration of the graves.”

In Krasnodar, eleven entrances to the Slavic cemetery were recently blocked. “This was done in order to reduce the number of cases of vandalism in the main city churchyard,” explained the municipal unitary enterprise Ritual Services. Previously, entry into the cemetery was prohibited for trucks and passenger vehicles from 7 pm to 8 am. Today, three entrances remain open, guarded at night.

However, for every such measure, vandals have countermeasures. Thus, two Nizhny Novgorod residents were recently detained who had been freely transporting monuments on “left-handed” trucks for several years, explaining the unusual nature of the cargo by the fact that they were supposedly relatives of the deceased and had just installed a new tombstone on his grave. Don't let the goodness go to waste. And the goods were regularly delivered to their destination, to the point of purchase of non-ferrous metals.

Children's face of vandalism

However, hunters for bronze, copper and brass occupy a modest place in the ranks of cemetery vandals. And in age they are very different from the typical modern vandal, old enough to be his father. 90% of tomb crushers are teenagers and young men. Girls rarely go to work with them. So the sensational story in April about how three 11-year-old girlfriends destroyed more than 30 graves in the Ryazan region is an exception to the rule.

“The fact that acts of vandalism in Russian cemeteries are committed by children today is quite understandable,” psychologist Olga Mezhenina told NI. - In this way they want to prove their fearlessness. This is a method of psychological attack: teenagers destroy cemeteries in order to rise above death. But at the same time they are deceiving themselves: modern youth are frightened by many factors in life, but this fear nests deep in their consciousness.”

Alas, the fact that vandalism in Russia has a childish face is rarely and reluctantly discussed. The same thing happened with teenage drug addiction at one time: the problem was hushed up until it got out of control.

“The main reason for the mass desecration of graves is that we do not have support for traditional spiritual values,” dean of the sociology department of Moscow State University, Professor Vladimir Dobrenkov, told NI. — The worldview vacuum, combined with the active propaganda of violence, moreover, impunity for violence, awakens aggressiveness in teenagers. It is inherent in our nature as a way of self-affirmation and, if you like, protest. But when aggression turns against the dead, against the graves, this does not happen spontaneously. Most of these acts are carried out in groups, and each always has a leader. This may just be a hooligan, or maybe an extremist, but in any case, he deliberately directs the energy of evil into what is, from our point of view, an inviolable channel.”

Until recently, vandalism in the public consciousness looked like senseless, unmotivated behavior. Only in the last two decades have psychologists begun to classify and motivate vandalism. In particular, ideological vandalism pursuing political or social goals has been identified (the most striking examples are the destruction of noble tombstones during the Great French Revolution and the destruction of church graveyards by the Bolsheviks). Vandalism can be a sophisticated form of revenge: you inflict acute pain, but at the same time you do not have contact with the enemy. Finally - and this is exactly the case we are talking about - vandalism as a game. Destruction is seen as an opportunity to raise status in the peer group. This pastime often has the nature of a competition: who can knock down the most tombstones. In addition, the cemetery fun of teenagers, according to psychologists, can be considered as an existential study. The possibility of one’s influence on society is tested. At the same time, the vandals are driven by the Herostratus complex, which burned down a beautiful temple in order to remain forever in history. However, his young followers indulge themselves with illusions. And not because their names, as a rule, are not known, but because too many of them are divorced today.

It would be a mistake to speak of cemetery vandalism only as “the growing pains of the Pepsi generation.” The roots of this phenomenon go back much further than the 90s, the time of the birth of vandal prodigies. We can talk about it not only in legal, social and pedagogical contexts. The destruction of tombstones is one of the objects of attention of necrosociology, a relatively young branch of science that studies the relationship between the world of the dead and the world of the living. In Russia, necrosociologists, alas, find rich food: after all, throughout the last century, all she did was engage in self-destruction, and this could not but affect the psychology of new generations.

“It would not be an exaggeration to call the wave of cemetery vandalism a civil war with the dead,” Leonid Ionin, Doctor of Philosophy, professor at the Higher School of Economics, told NI. “In periods like the one we are experiencing, when social contradictions grow, there is a sharp differentiation of ideologies and views, society is not only actively searching for living enemies - oligarchs, immigrants from the Caucasus, Jews, Freemasons, but the dead are also perceived as opponents. Harming the dead in our consciousness or subconscious is the same as harming the living, a victory over everything that is alien to us. Warring social groups do not form here and now, they are extended over time. And not only the living are at war with the dead in such a barbaric way, but also the dead are at war with the living. The works of bygone philosophers, ideologists, and politicians are widely published. Look at the ever-increasing interest in the personalities of emperors and Soviet leaders, their wives and children, the ongoing discussion about the Mausoleum - all this is a reflection of the overall picture. And there is only one conclusion: ideological conflicts do not stop after the revolution is victorious. In the early 90s, statues were crushed; today, tombstones are smashed. None of this should particularly surprise us. Although we need to fight this. But remember: in addition to social and legal norms, there are also universal moral norms. Unfortunately, their existence in modern Russia is the worst.”

Mikhail Pozdnyaev

Vandal search engines are operating in cemeteries in Poland

Recently, Polish churchyards are increasingly included in crime reports. Thus, in mid-June, unknown persons stole two copper plates from monuments to Polish and Soviet soldiers in Bialystok. The authorities estimated the damage caused at 12 thousand euros. And at the end of July, several graves in Shchetin were desecrated: the slabs were turned over and painted on. It is mainly nationalist youth groups and hunters for non-ferrous metals who commit outrages in cemeteries. However, a new category of tomb robbers is already on their heels - search engine vandals. These people are primarily interested in the graves of German soldiers, where they can often “profit” from military awards and other army paraphernalia from the Second World War. In Germany they still pay well for helmets, awards, belt plaques, bowlers - for everything related to the memory of German soldiers who died on foreign soil. The Polish police agree that the problem of vandalism needs to be combated, but this is rather a matter of moral education. After all, you cannot organize a police patrol at every cemetery.

Victor Shankov, Warsaw

Karatekas in Germany destroyed graveyards

Recently, an emergency occurred in a small village in Swabia. For the first time in the multi-hundred-year history of the town, someone encroached on the local cemetery: they knocked down tombstones, scattered candles and wreaths between the graves... Within a couple of hours, local residents themselves found the culprits and put them on display for the indignant commune. They turned out to be teenage girls from “problem” families. They were training in a karate section and decided to test the power of their legs in such a barbaric way. The damage of 20 thousand euros will now have to be compensated by the parents of the 13-year-old destroyers. However, this is the exception rather than the rule. Usually in Germany you come across either young Nazis or Satanists desecrating cemeteries. The court, as a rule, sentences both of them to imprisonment. But hunters for non-ferrous metals cannot be found in German churchyards. The fact is that from the very first collection point for recyclable materials, such an outrageous fact will be immediately reported to the police.

A person is full of various vices, which become the motives for his destructive behavior. Vandalism is a destructive act aimed at destroying or desecrating private or public property. Examples include various historical events related to robbery, destruction of cultural monuments and religious objects. Depending on the actions of a person, types of vandalism are distinguished. The concept itself dates back to ancient times, when destruction, theft and war were normal among people.

So, vandalism is the deliberate destruction of cultural monuments that may belong to a private individual or the state. The online magazine site takes the reader to the first century, when a tribe of the German state attacked Rome and began looting, capturing people for the purpose of ransoming them. At that time, this tribe was called Vandals, despite the fact that their goal was not the destruction of cities and villages.

For the first time, the term “vandalism” was used by a religious figure, who thus called individuals who destroy religious monuments and documents in various ways. Today, vandalism manifests itself not only in the destruction of historical or cultural monuments, but also in other forms, which is criminally punishable. There are rules in the legal system that determine who a vandal is and how his act should be punished.

What is vandalism?

Vandalism is the destructive behavior of a person who destroys, desecrates, or spoils someone else's property of public or private importance. Psychologists also define vandalism as a state of mind when a person wants to destroy, cause harm, or spoil some property.

Vandalism only causes damage to property. It can be public, state or private. Vandalism is damage:

Cultural or historical monuments.
Elevators.
Walls of houses.
Writing on walls or fences.
Damage to trash cans.
Damage to children's attractions.
Writing on or destroying seats in public transport.

This also includes the destruction of graves or their desecration. You should also consider damage to private property, when a person punctures tires or writes on someone else’s car, marks the door to someone else’s house, etc.

Vandalism is often characteristic of impulsive, infantile and irresponsible people. Today, many movements of so-called extremists are being created that promote a special way of life, freedom from various rules and a revolution in public consciousness. Often such movements are accompanied by damage to public property as a sign of protest against everything that does not correspond to their faith.

In fact, psychologists note other motives for the behavior of vandals in modern society:

Internal dissatisfaction with life.
Irresponsibility bordering on blaming people for their troubles.
Lack of meaning in life.
Misunderstanding of how new ideas should be introduced to society.
Internal aggression, which spills out through damage to property.

Every person wants to live for something. As he grows up, he tries to find his meaning in life. Often this meaning is given to him by his parents or society. Often a person finds it himself. However, if a person has no meaning in life, then he becomes susceptible to various movements that will give him this meaning.

Vandalism is often carried out by teenage children, who in this way promote some of their ideas. One of the areas of vandalism is graffiti - applying various inscriptions or drawings to walls and fences. If these inscriptions are destructive or immoral in nature, then they are called property damage.

People often harbor aggression or dissatisfaction with their own lives. If a person cannot express his emotions, then he finds a way to damage property. So, a person can turn over a trash can while walking past it. A person can also express his thoughts with inscriptions on the wall of the house in which his offender lives.

Although man is a cultured and educated being, his level still does not reach those of general values. He finds a way to vent his emotions by damaging property. And here it should be remembered that this act is criminally punishable if it is proven what action was committed by a specific person.

Vandalism and hooliganism

Vandalism and hooliganism should be distinguished, despite the fact that they are both aimed at destroying the public order that is established by society:

Vandalism is damage to property.
Hooliganism is a violation of order, often in terms of behavior that is established in society.

Thus, hooliganism includes shouting in the middle of the night, attacking one person in a dark alley, and indecent behavior in a public institution. Hooligans generally do not cause material harm to the state. They often cause harm to individuals through their behavior, either on a mental or material level.

Vandalism is aimed solely at the destruction or destruction of some structure or object. Here this act is not just emotional, but also purposeful. If hooligans act in a crowd, subject to the effect of the general mood, then a person can engage in vandalism alone.

However, depending on the inconvenience caused, both vandalism and hooliganism are punishable by law. The differences can be identified as follows between the concepts:

Hooliganism is a general concept, vandalism is a type of hooliganism.
Hooligans act openly, even deliberately attracting attention to themselves. Vandalism is carried out preferably quietly so that no one sees.
Hooliganism was formed in the 18th century, while vandalism has been known since ancient times.
Hooligans primarily harm people, while vandals primarily harm human property.

People become criminally punishable from the age of 14-16 for causing hooliganism or vandalism.

Types of vandalism

The classification of vandalism is different. Depending on what object is being desecrated, the following types are distinguished:

Graffiti, bombing and tagging - if the drawings applied to walls and fences are immoral and antisocial in nature. Graffiti is very common today. Many unrecognized artists display their talents on the walls of homes and public places. However, this is often immoral. Tagging is the quick application of one's signature by the author, which does not carry any meaning for others, but only spoils the appearance of the wall.
Desecration of graves.
Burning of churches.
Damage or desecration of paintings and cultural monuments.
Destroying mailboxes and overturning trash cans.
Breaking glass, bottles, lanterns and light bulbs.
Book burning.
Hitting lawns.
Painting of seats in public transport.
Staining walls in hallways or other people's cars.

Experts cannot fully say exactly what causes vandalism. However, if earlier people destroyed monuments and cultural values of other settlements in order to destroy them, today no aggressive actions are being carried out. Vandalism is more likely to be characterized by human senselessness and irresponsibility, lack of moral values and respect for the social order.

According to E. Evmenova, the following types of vandalism are distinguished:

Ideological.
Desecration of graves.
Selfish.
Electronic computer vandalism.
Damage to small architectural structures, such as lawns.
Vandalism of sports and music fans.
Ecological.
Destruction of monuments and cultural buildings.

Separately, types of vandalism are distinguished depending on the criminological content:

Shocking actions. Often committed by teenagers and persons under 18 years of age. Here there is a desire to assert oneself and show oneself strong in one’s team. Teenagers desecrate graves, damage elevators, draw various satanic symbols on the walls, break windows, etc.
Domestic. What is meant here is that a person damages the property of another person with whom he is in a quarrel.
Criminal. Vandalism is committed with the aim of concealing another, more serious crime, hiding evidence.
Terrorist.
Ideological. Vandalism in this case is committed against some idea, for example, against the memory of those killed in World War II.
State official.

Special attention is paid to cemetery vandalism, when people, often teenagers, destroy gravestones, trample flowers and other plantings around graves, tear them up and even rob the dead. What is the reason for this behavior of people?

Experts pay attention to what a cemetery is like for every living person. This is the place where deceased relatives found their final resting place. In other words, vandals are trying to devalue and even desecrate any family values, the memory of ancestors and everything connected with it.

Undoubtedly, the criminal code also has articles on how exactly people who vandalized a cemetery are punished. The first step is to prove that a specific person committed an illegal act, and then punish him under the article under which he committed the criminal act.

Bottom line

Vandalism of a modern person is rather irresponsible, aggressive and childish behavior, which has rather superficial and insignificant motives. A person is simply guided by his emotions, which tell him that other people are to blame for his troubles and misfortunes.

If earlier vandals were people who wanted to win and take property that would feed them later, today vandalism is becoming a way of emotional release and even moral satisfaction. This suggests that people lack human values. They are driven by their selfish desires and grievances.

The vandalism of modern people can be stopped if preventive work is carried out, which begins from an early age in the family where the child is being raised. Parents should instill in him moral values and respect for everything that surrounds him. It is necessary to instill the value of the culture and history that led a person to the life he lives now. If you value what a person has, then he will not have the desire to spoil property. After all, one day he will also grow up and give birth to his own children, whom he will raise in the world in which he himself lives. And what will a person show to his children - painted walls and the absence of any cultural beauty, since he himself destroyed everything?

The number of acts of vandalism in St. Petersburg cemeteries has noticeably decreased: if in 2008 103 applications were filed on this issue, then in this year only two cases have been recorded. This data was provided by the director of the city specialized service for funeral matters, Andrei Moldovanov. However, the last two incidents, unfortunately, cost a lot: on the territory of the oldest necropolises, dozens of monuments were damaged, some of them cannot be restored. What gives the hooligans a free hand, the RG correspondent found out.

Both incidents happened in April, just a few days apart. First, vandals desecrated the Gromovskoye Old Believer cemetery in the Moscow region: they set fire to wreaths and crosses and destroyed gravestones. In total, according to a necropolis employee, six tombstones were damaged. Before the law enforcement officers had time to begin the investigation, the next alarm signal arrived. A group of young people destroyed more than 30 monuments at the Smolensk cemetery, and after inspection it turned out that half of them were completely lost. Eight vandals (including minors and visitors) were detained almost immediately, and the case was brought to court.

The media immediately saw a national motive in the actions of the hooligans, but, as it turned out, they had neither that nor religious or political motives - the company just wanted to take a shortcut and, apparently, “for fun” they destroyed all the gravestones they came across along the road. At the same time, relatives of the deceased will now have to restore the tombstones: the maximum amount that the city can compensate in such cases is 9,784 rubles. For a monument made of granite (and they got the most) this, of course, is not enough.

Experts say that positive dynamics are evident: they managed to stop, for example, the breaking down of fences that just a few years ago hooligans carried en masse to non-ferrous metal collection points, but they agree that it is not yet possible to completely control order in the territories of cemeteries.

Of course, every city cemetery has security, but often the burial areas are huge. There are some that cover more than 50 hectares. You can't put a camera on every corner. And even if we wanted to, we couldn’t stretch the network through the green areas. Back in 1991, our police posts were removed; now there is no mobile group that would regularly check the territory,” Andrei Moldovanov formulates the problem.

But the desecration of resting places is not only the destruction of gravestones. At the historical Mitrofanyevskoye cemetery, for example, unknown people have become adept at storing garbage. The townspeople have been fighting for this necropolis, where more than 400 thousand St. Petersburg residents are buried, for many years now.

At first they wanted to build it up and lay a highway through it, but thanks to protests the decision was reversed. We also achieved its inclusion in the list of cultural heritage sites. However, the vast territory of the cemetery, almost destroyed during Soviet times, remains today accessible to all kinds of violators.

We found six garbage heaps, and those that can only be removed with the help of specialized vehicles. As long as there is no fence, this will continue. Two more plots in the very center of the cemetery are used for storage of ferrous scrap. Apparently, there were no other places for these purposes,” says Ilya Popov, deputy chairman of the St. Petersburg Mitrofanevsky Union.

Social activists do not hope to cope on their own and are very much counting on the support of officials. So far, we have only managed to demolish the illegal buildings and begin to evict the tenants who actually occupied the territory of the cemetery, but this work is progressing extremely slowly.

According to experts, the main problem is that today the state does not provide any measures to protect memorial tombstones. The cemetery is supposed to have security, and that's where it ends. In the current law “On Burial and Funeral Business,” the status of cemeteries as particularly important objects is not spelled out, and security and maintenance measures are mentioned in passing. This may be why some churchyards today are not even fenced around the perimeter. Moreover, sometimes it is not at all clear who owns the territory and whether anyone is watching it. Today, many St. Petersburg residents prefer to negotiate with caretakers - for a certain fee they agree to inspect the graves more often. Some insure granite crosses, which, if anything happens, covers the cost of installing a new monument. Law enforcement officers ask you to be vigilant and report if suspicious individuals are suddenly noticed - they may not destroy the tombstone, but cases of theft are also not isolated. Let us remind you that vandalism in burial places is punishable by up to five years in prison.

Art.

Arrest up to three minutes.

Acts recorded in Part 1 of Art. 244 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the following may be committed:

Desecration of graves article

At the same time, an undoubted advantage of Art.

229 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR compared to Art. 244 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation was the presence in it of the sign of “theft from graves”. Firstly, the title of the article does not correspond to the content, i.e. the title is narrower than the meaning of the article, the title only indicates the concept of desecration, and the objective side is also represented by other actions: destruction, damage, desecration. Commentary on Article 244 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation Art. 2282; 2002. N 30. Art. 3033; N 50.

Art. 4931; 2003. N 2. Art. 160, art.

167; N 27 (part 1). Art. 2700. Desecration of the bodies of the dead and their burial places (Article 244 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) 4 of the Federal Law of January 12, 1996 N 8-FZ (ed.

dated July 28, 2012, as amended. dated 06/04/2014) “On burial and funeral business”). 2. The subject of the crime is the bodies of the dead, burial places, gravestones and cemetery buildings where ceremonies are performed in connection with the burial of the dead or their commemoration (see Subsequently, a dense forest grew in this place, evidence of the tragedy disappeared, but the secret always becomes apparent.

When the process of rehabilitation of victims of totalitarianism began in the country, Kurapaty was spoken about loudly. The only pity is that later the mournful place became an arena for the struggle of political opinions, sometimes reaching the point of speculative provocations.

Today the tract is revered in the country as a burial place. The methods of committing abuse are not defined in the laws. This could be: desecration, incl. by applying obscene inscriptions, drawings, pouring out sewage; destruction of grave structures; digging up a burial site, dismembering a corpse or destroying it, tearing off clothes. Desecration is characterized by both an objective moment - the commission of certain actions regarding the ashes or burial place, and a subjective one - the desire to insult the memory of the deceased (emphasis added - by the author - approx.

Article 244

Article 244 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

Desecration of the bodies of the dead and their burial places New edition of Art.

244 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation 1. Desecration of the bodies of the dead or destruction, damage or desecration of burial places, gravestones or cemetery buildings intended for ceremonies in connection with the burial of the dead or their commemoration - 2.

The same acts committed: a) by a group of persons, a group of persons by prior conspiracy or an organized group; c) with the use of violence or the threat of its use - is punishable by restriction of freedom for a term of up to three years, or forced labor for a term of up to five years, or arrest for a term of three to six months, or imprisonment for a term of up to five years. 1. The object of the criminal attack is public morality, which requires respectful treatment of the deceased.

Vandalism in a cemetery, desecration of a grave, article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

244 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation: punishment Punishment For what is specified in the first part of Art. 244 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation the subject faces the following corpus delicti:

Arrest up to three minutes.
No more than 360 hours of compulsory work.
Correctional labor for up to 12 months.
Fine up to 40 thousand rubles. or equal to income for 3 months.

The acts recorded in Part.

1 tbsp. 244 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the following may be committed:

A group of citizens, including those who have previously agreed, as well as an organized community of individuals.
Accompanied by violent actions or under the threat of their use.
Based on racial, political, national, ideological, religious hostility, hatred towards a particular social association or towards an architectural, sculptural structure that is dedicated to the victims of fascism or the fight against Nazism, as well as burial sites of participants in such confrontation.

Vandalism at the cemetery

Vandalism in modern legislation is understood as desecration of buildings and various structures, damage to property in public transport and other public places. Vandalism is punishable under Article 214 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Important! If you are dealing with your own case of vandalism in a cemetery, then you should remember that:

The possibility of a positive outcome depends on many factors.
All cases are unique and individual.
Understanding the basics of the law is useful, but does not guarantee results.

However, if the bodies of the deceased or their burial places become the object of vandalism, then criminal actions are qualified under Article 244 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

The danger of this act lies in the insult to public morality, the feelings of the living towards the deceased, the memory of the deceased, as well as religious or folk customs and burial rituals.

Article 244 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

Desecration of the bodies of the dead and their burial places New edition of Art. 244 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation 1. Desecration of the bodies of the dead or destruction, damage or desecration of burial places, gravestones or cemetery buildings intended for ceremonies in connection with the burial of the dead or their commemoration - 2.

1. The object of the criminal attack is public morality, which requires respectful treatment of the deceased.

Article 244

Desecration of the bodies of the dead and their burial places 1.

Desecration of the bodies of the dead or destruction, damage or desecration of burial places, gravestones or cemetery buildings intended for ceremonies in connection with the burial of the dead or their commemoration - 2. The same acts committed: a) by a group of persons, a group of persons by prior conspiracy or an organized group; c) with the use of violence or with the threat of its use - is punishable by restriction of freedom for a term of up to three years, or forced labor for a term of up to five years, or arrest for a term of three to six months, or imprisonment for a term of up to five years.

1. The social danger of this crime lies in the insult to the memory of the deceased, the feelings of the living towards the deceased, and folk customs of honoring the dead. Crimes under Part.

Criminal Code, N 63-FZ, Art. 244 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

Criminal Code, N 63-FZ | Article 244 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation 1.