Nina Ostankina, chair of the State Duma Committee for the Protection of the Family, sent a request to Supreme Court Chairman Igor Krasnov to assess the possibility of restoring criminal liability for the first domestic battery. Ostankina said that current administrative procedures reduce the preventive effect of the law, and early state intervention could help stop further violence. She explained that the issue concerns the 2017 amendment, which made the first beating without aggravating circumstances an administrative offence under article 6.1.1 of the Code of Administrative Offences.
Copies of the five letters — to Krasnov, to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, to the Ministry of Labour, to the Human Rights Commissioner’s office and to the Judicial Department of the Supreme Court — are in the possession of RTVI. Ostankina pointed out that the 2017 amendment lacked support in the seventh convocation of the State Duma; the Communist Party faction opposed it and warned that de‑criminalisation could increase impunity and the frequency of domestic violence.
According to her letter, in 2025 the Russian women’s hotline received almost 24,000 calls; the average age of victims is 30‑40, most have children, and research estimates over 1,000 women die from domestic violence each year. The committee argues that the administrative preclusion mechanism often leaves the first incident without criminal response, though early intervention could prevent conflict escalation and protect the victim.
Deputy of the State Duma Ksenia Goryacheva commented that Ostankina’s decision to file a lawsuit over the dispute was surprising. Goryacheva believes that their conflict should be resolved not in court but through dialogue.
According to experts, restoring criminal liability for first‑time domestic battery could improve deterrence but also increase the burden on an already overstressed judicial system, while some civil society activists worry that it might lead to over‑policing of family relations. Others note that many regions currently lack shelters and support services, so a punitive approach alone will not solve the problem.
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