RAJI: On Location in Rostov, Russia (Year 4)

It all started with my burning curiosity about a new curfew the Russian police passed on May 19th that said that anyone under the age of 16 was not allowed in clubs, discos, gambling houses, cinemas, computer clubs, or places of entertainment between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m.

To enforce this law the police would go to all the venues in their jurisdiction to inform the club owners about the new law. Once all the owners were informed the law would begin being enforced. Only the juvenlies wouldn’t be informed about the new law until Spetember 1st when an announcement would be made.

My curiosity led me to the “Head of Teenage Affairs of Rostov-on-Don,” Natalia Alekseevna Borodinova.

Natalia has worked for the Rostov police force for 5 years and has spent much of the time working with their “Teenager Program.” Although I wasn’t able to learn a lot of information from her about the program I was able to see the police in action.

“So, Russia has passed a new law, but only one region of Rostov is enforcing this law?” I asked. “Yes,” Natalia replied, indicating that she is only responsible for her jurisdiction.

“How much are the venues fined if someone underage is caught in their establishment?” I asked. Natalia didn’t know because the police don’t give the fines, it is the “Administrative Committee” who fines the offenders. The police just give tickets for infringements and those tickets must be brought to the Administrative Committee to pay a fine.

Another interesting fact: the curfew was only being enforced on Friday nights from 11 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. So in theory the establishment could only enforce the curfew between those times thus avoiding the fine.

And how can the juveniles prove their age? In Russia there are no identification cards and even if they have a passport, most people don’t carry them. Natalia didn’t have an answer.

At this point my interview with Natalia was beginning to sound like “Who’s on first?” Let’s recap:There’s a law, but you haven’t informed the offenders (juveniles) about the law. And you cannot tell if someone is an offender because there are no identification cards. On top of that, you only enforce the law on Friday night for an hour and a half. If you do catch an “offender” you do not fine or punish them, but instead you fine the establishment and inform their parents. How much do you fine the establishment? You don’t know. Why? Because you don’t actually exact any fines, you only give tickets and the Administrative Committee exacts the fines.

Got it.

Tune in for Part Two when Ruthie goes for a ride-along with the Russian police in the hopes of catching an offender.