On Some Urgent Problems of Prevention and Counteraction to Extremist and Terrorist Ideas in the Russian Penal System

the article considers problems that became urgent for the penitentiary system only in the last two or three decades, since neither in the years of the USSR, nor in the initial period of Russia’s formation as a sovereign state, the issue of prevention and countering extremism was relevant. Purpose: to reveal problems that the Russian penal system faces in connection with the intensification of extremist and terrorist manifestations both in our country and abroad, as well as to suggest possible ways to solve them. There is a need to create a comprehensive system for training special personnel from among employees of the Russian penitentiary system, as well as scientific and organizational support for activities aimed at preventing and countering illegal activities of carriers of extremist and terrorist views. Results: the research has scientific and practical significance, since it reveals for the first time the need to take into account the specifics of each type of extremist and terrorist activity in terms of illegal activity motives driven by the mental specifics of carriers of extremist and terrorist ideas, as well as the necessity to train special personnel from among penitentiary institution employees in preventing and counteracting these extremely destructive phenomena. Methods: a combination of logical, systematic methods, as well as conceptual types of analysis of the current state of prevention and counteraction to extremist activity in the penal system is effectively used to solve the set research tasks. Hermeneutical, comparative and exegetic methods help study sources that determine consciousness, cognitive abilities and behavior of modern extremists and terrorists. Conclusion: the authors state the relevance of the problem under study, its complexity and propose, taking into account the results formulated in the article, elaboration of the concept of prevention and counteraction to the most diverse types of extremist and terrorist views, which, in turn, should be reflected in the concepts of psychological, educational, operational and regime services, as well as the entire system of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia. In addition, the authors consider the introduction of a cycle of subjects related to prevention of extremist and terrorist views into curricula of higher and secondary educational institutions of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia to be an equally important task, which has not yet been solved, taking into account specialization of students.