Topical issues of the activities of the Prosecutor's office in the field of countering extremist activity and directions for its improvement

Vasnetsova Anastasiya Sergeevna Senior Researcher; University of the Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation 15 Zvenigorodskaya str., office 203, Moscow, 123022, Russia a.vasnetsova@yandex.ru Other publications by this author

In modern conditions, taking into account the fundamental trends in the development of the situation in the world and in Russia, it is necessary to take into account the protection and protection of the constitutional order, sovereignty, independence, state and territorial integrity of the Russian Federation, human and civil rights and freedoms as its priority national interests. These values serve as the basis for the sustainable development of the State and the well-being of its citizens. It is important that all aspects of domestic and foreign policy are aimed at maintaining and strengthening these key principles.

The provision and protection of these national interests are realized by concentrating the efforts and resources of public authorities, organizations and institutions of civil society on the implementation of such strategic national priorities as state, public, military (defense), information and economic security. An important element of this strategy is the formation of a unified system capable of responding promptly to challenges and threats arising in the context of dynamic changes in the socio-economic and geopolitical situation.

During the research in the preparation of this article, attention was paid to the study of the following issues:

socio-political and socio-economic situation;

migration processes in the system of determinants of extremism;

the state of legality in the field of countering extremist activities and terrorism;

the state of enforcement of laws on countering extremism by bodies that are part of the unified system of public authority, as well as non-profit and other organizations;

enforcement of laws on countering extremist activities in the field of education;

the effectiveness of measures taken by bodies and institutions of the penal enforcement system to prevent extremism;

countering the spread of extremist information;

the main causes and factors contributing to extremism;

problems and shortcomings in the work on countering extremism.

To analyze these issues, the forms of federal statistical observation are used: 1-Unified State Register of Crime", 4-Unified State Register of Crime"Information on the state of crime and the results of crime investigation", 1-FET "Information on crimes of a terrorist nature and extremist orientation", No. 10.4.2 "Report on the results of consideration of criminal cases under certain articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation on sentences and other court decisions that have entered into force, including crimes of terrorist and extremist orientation", materials of prosecutorial, investigative, judicial practice, data from the websites of the Ministry of Justice, Roskomnadzor, Rosfinmonitoring, the FSB of Russia, VTSIOM, etc.

It should be noted that the study of the above issues is the basis for the methodology of analyzing the state of enforcement of laws on countering extremist activities carried out by the prosecutor's office on a regular basis, including in the preparation of analytical documents. The use of this technique allows us to penetrate deeper into the essence of countering extremism, to identify the relationships and patterns that cause certain changes in the analyzed crime.

Considering the current areas of participation of prosecutors in the field of countering extremism, it should be noted that extremist crime causes enormous harm to society and the state. It devalues the value of law-abiding behavior in the public consciousness, undermines incentives for socially useful political and public activities, and imposes immoral living standards. The influence of various forms of organized extremist crime on the rule of law is particularly harmful, including cybercrime, violent crime motivated by interethnic and interfaith hatred and hostility, and the financing of extremism.

Thus, statistical data indicate that after an increase of one and a half times in the periods 2021 and 2022, the number of extremist crimes in 2023. it decreased by 14.4% and amounted to 1,340 (in 2021 – 1,057, +26.9%, in 2022 – 1,566, +48.2%). Meanwhile, the share of crimes committed using the Internet amounted to 56% (751 out of 1,340), which is higher than in 2022 (in 2021 – 62.5%, 661 out of 1,057, in 2022 – 52.3%, 819 out of 1,566). The public danger of committed crimes, their criminal organization and anti-state orientation has also increased ^[1].

A wide range of issues related to countering extremism is reflected in the Strategy for Countering Extremism in the Russian Federation until 2025, approved by By Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 344 dated 05/29/2020. Activities aimed at improving the effectiveness of the State anti-extremist policy are carried out on an ongoing basis. Thus, on 04.04.2024, a meeting of the Security Council of the Russian Federation was held on the problems of countering ethnic organized crime, on 23.05.2024, the board of the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation on the state of legality in the field of enforcement of migration legislation and legislation on countering extremism and terrorism was held.

Ensuring counteraction to extremist activities is carried out by optimizing the activities of law enforcement agencies and special services, state control (supervision) bodies. A special place among them is occupied by the Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation, acting as an independent constitutional subject of such activity. The difference between the Prosecutor's Office and other state bodies in the system of countering extremism lies in the functions, content and objectives of activities aimed at ensuring the rule of law, unity and strengthening of the rule of law, protection of human and civil rights and freedoms, and the interests of society and the State protected by law.

This functionality is due to the availability of legal means for prosecutors necessary to eliminate violations of laws and protect national interests, the comprehensive use of supervisory, procedural, coordination and other powers in order to establish the rule of law in the country ^[2]. The designation of the Prosecutor's Office as the most important subject of countering extremism is primarily due to the fact that it oversees the implementation of laws by all other subjects of countering extremism ^[3].

By solving problems arising from the requirements of the laws and the state of legality prevailing in the country and specific regions, as well as the nature of the challenges and threats facing Russian society, the Prosecutor's office is directly involved in identifying, preventing and eliminating extremist threats.

In cooperation with other state bodies, the Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation actively participates in the implementation of strategic planning documents aimed at ensuring national security, countering extremism and terrorism, which include the annual messages of the President of the Russian Federation to the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, the National Security Strategy of the Russian Federation, various foundations of state policy, doctrines, concepts, plans in the areas under consideration. In addition, the Prosecutor's Office contributes to the formation and adjustment of state policy in the field of ensuring national security and countering extremism. The annual reports of the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation to the Chambers of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation and the President of the Russian Federation on the state of law and order in the Russian Federation and on the work done to strengthen them are devoted to this.

An important area of the Prosecutor's office's participation in the implementation of state policy in the field of ensuring national security is also the implementation of state monitoring of its condition.

The Prosecutor's Office has special powers in the fight against extremism and the implementation of coordination activities in this area. The scope of the prosecutor's supervisory powers in this area is defined, first of all, by Article 22 of the Federal Law "On the Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation" (hereinafter – the Law on the Prosecutor's Office), Articles 4 and 5 of the Federal Law "On Countering Extremist Activity", Part 2 of Article 37 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, as well as other normative legal acts.

Departmental Order No. 156 of the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation dated 03/21/2018 "On the Organization of Prosecutorial supervision over the Implementation of Laws on countering extremist activity" determined that prosecutors need to consider extremist activity as one of the main and systemic threats to state and public security of the Russian Federation (paragraph 1.).

Thus, when carrying out prosecutorial supervision, it is taken into account that countering extremism implies the complexity of such activities and includes the work of coordinating interdepartmental bodies, public councils, educational institutions, various types of activities such as monitoring the ethno-social situation, work with youth, adaptation of migrant workers and others.

The legislative process observed in recent years is characterized by a significant expansion of the range of prosecutorial powers to counter extremist activities and ensure the national security of the Russian Federation ^[4], which at the present stage include:

identification of the activities of individuals and legal entities acting as foreign agents, but who have not submitted an application for inclusion in the register of Foreign agents of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation, by exercising the powers provided for by Federal Law No. 255-FZ dated 07/14/2022 "On Control over the Activities of Persons under Foreign Influence" (Part 7 of Article 10);

making a decision on the undesirability of activities on the territory of Russia by foreign or international non-governmental organizations within the framework of the exercise by the Prosecutor General of Russia or his deputy of the powers provided for in Part 4 of Article ^3.1 of Federal Law No. 272-FZ dated 12/28/2012 "On Measures to influence persons Involved in violations of fundamental Human Rights and Freedoms, the rights and Freedoms of Citizens of the Russian Federation";

the submission by the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation or his deputy to Roskomnadzor of demands to restrict access to information containing calls to participate in illegal public events and mass riots, as well as extremist and terrorist activities, in relation to the Internet resources of foreign and international organizations deemed undesirable, and other information disseminated in violation of the law, as well as on permanent restriction of access to an information resource in cases of repeated dissemination of information prohibited by law (Part 1 of Articles 15.3, 15 3-2 of Federal Law No. 149-FZ dated 07/27/2006 "On Information, Information Technologies and Information Protection");

the adoption by the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation or his deputy of a decision on the prohibition (restriction) of activities (distribution of their products on the territory of Russia, including in the information and telecommunications network "Internet") of a foreign media outlet registered in the territory of a foreign state in whose territory the activities of the Russian media are prohibited (limited), as a retaliatory measure (Article ^3.4 of Federal Law No. 272-FZ dated 12/28/2012 "On Measures to influence persons Involved in violations of Fundamental Human Rights and Freedoms, the Rights and freedoms of Citizens of the Russian Federation").

sending by the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation or his deputy a request to suspend the activities of the media (invalidation of media registration or termination of a broadcasting license) in case of detection of the dissemination of false information under the guise of reliable messages, including about the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, as well as information expressing in an indecent form that offends human dignity and public morality, obvious disrespect for society, the state and authorities; information aimed at discrediting the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, and information containing calls for the organization of unauthorized public events or participation in them (art. 56 ² of the Law of the Russian Federation dated 12/27/1991 No. 2124-I "On Mass Media"; art. 15 ³, 15 ^3-2 of Federal Law No. 149-FZ dated 07/21/2006 "On Information, Information Technologies and Information Protection").

if there is confirmed information about upcoming illegal actions containing signs of extremist activity, the prosecutor or his deputy sends a written warning to the head of a public or religious association or the head of another organization, as well as other relevant persons, about the inadmissibility of such activities (Article 25 ¹ of the Law on the Prosecutor's Office, Article 6 of Federal Law No. 114-FZ dated 07/25/2002 "On countering extremist activities");

the issuance by the prosecutor or his deputy of a warning to a public or religious association or other organization about the inadmissibility of carrying out extremist activities in the event that facts are revealed indicating the presence of signs of extremism in their activities, including in the activities of at least one of their regional or other structural divisions (Article 7 of Federal Law No. 114-FZ dated 07/25/2002 "On countering extremist activities");

the issuance by the prosecutor or his deputy of a warning about the inadmissibility of the dissemination of extremist materials through the media to the founder and (or) the editorial office (editor-in-chief) of this media outlet (Article 8 of Federal Law No. 114-FZ dated 07/25/2002 "On Countering Extremist activities");

the prosecutor's appeal to the court with an application for the liquidation of a public or religious association or other organization for carrying out extremist activities (Article 9 of Federal Law No. 114-FZ dated 07/25/2002 "On Countering Extremist activities");

the prosecutor's appeal to the court with an application for recognition of information materials as extremist (Article 13 of Federal Law No. 114-FZ dated 07/25/2002 "On Countering extremist activities");

sending by the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation or his deputy a request to take measures to delete information expressing in an indecent form that offends human dignity and public morality, obvious disrespect for society, the state, official state symbols of the Russian Federation, the Constitution of the Russian Federation or bodies exercising state power in the Russian Federation, and to restrict access to to information resources distributing the specified information, in case of its non-deletion (Articles ^15-1-1 of Federal Law No. 149-FZ dated 07/27/2006 "On Information, Information Technologies and Information Protection");

sending by the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation or his deputy a request to take measures to remove false information that discredits the honor and dignity of the applicant or undermines his reputation and is associated with accusing the applicant of committing a crime, and restricting access to information resources distributing the specified information, in case of its failure (Articles 15 ^1-2 of Federal Law No. 27.07.2006 149-FZ "On Information, Information Technologies and Information Protection");

sending by the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation or his deputy demands for taking measures to restrict access to information resources that disseminate information containing calls for mass riots, extremist activities, participation in mass (public) events and other information disseminated in violation of the law (Article ^15.3 of Federal Law No. 149-FZ of 07/27/2006 "About information, information technology and information protection");

the prosecutor's appeal to the court with an application for recognition of the organization as a terrorist organization, its liquidation and prohibition of its activities on the territory of the Russian Federation (Article 24 of Federal Law No. 35-FZ dated 06.03.2006 "On Countering Terrorism");

if there is confirmed information about upcoming illegal actions containing signs of extremist activity, the prosecutor or his deputy sends a written warning to the head of a public or religious association or the head of another organization, as well as other relevant persons, about the inadmissibility of such activities (Article 251 of the Law on the Prosecutor's Office, Article 6 of Federal Law No. 114-FZ dated 07/25/2002 "On countering extremist activities");

the issuance by the prosecutor or his deputy of a warning to a public or religious association or other organization about the inadmissibility of carrying out extremist activities in the event that facts are revealed indicating the presence of signs of extremism in their activities, including in the activities of at least one of their regional or other structural divisions (Article 7 of Federal Law No. 114-FZ dated 07/25/2002 "On countering extremist activities");

the issuance by the prosecutor or his deputy of a warning about the inadmissibility of the dissemination of extremist materials through the media to the founder and (or) the editorial office (editor-in-chief) of this media outlet (Article 8 of Federal Law No. 114-FZ dated 07/25/2002 "On Countering Extremist activities");

the prosecutor's appeal to the court with an application for the liquidation of a public or religious association or other organization for carrying out extremist activities (Article 9 of Federal Law No. 114-FZ dated 07/25/2002 "On Countering Extremist activities");

the prosecutor's appeal to the court with an application for recognition of information materials as extremist (Article 13 of Federal Law No. 114-FZ dated 07/25/2002 "On Countering extremist activities").

Thanks to the new powers assigned to the prosecutor's office, 53 organizations were recognized as terrorist, 113 as extremist, 5,443 extremist materials were banned, 860 foreign agents – individuals and legal entities – were restricted, and 188 undesirable non–governmental organizations were authorized (data are provided as of 09/18/2024).

As part of the execution of these powers, the Prosecutor's office implements the following activities:

1) In order to develop scientifically sound proposals to optimize the range of tasks facing the prosecutor's office, constant scientific understanding of new extremist challenges and threats to Russia's national interests and their forecasting is required, which is carried out by the University of the Prosecutor's Office in cooperation with the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation, the Security Council of the Russian Federation, scientific organizations.

Thus, the causal complex of extremist activity is subject to special analysis by scientists of the University of the Prosecutor's Office, due to contradictions in interethnic and interethnic relations, educational and cultural policy, problems of socio-economic development and corruption, shortcomings and miscalculations in the work of state institutions, military-political confrontation in the world, propaganda of extremist ideology by international terrorist organizations banned in Russia and extremist organizations , etc .

2) An important role is also played by improving the quality of education of prosecutors in the field under consideration. The University provides continuing professional development and professional training among prosecutors exercising powers in the field of federal security, interethnic relations, countering extremism and terrorism with the participation of researchers from the relevant department in classes, training seminars, round tables and conferences.

3) The key areas of activity of the prosecutor's office, in addition to the above, are also the protection of traditional Russian spiritual and moral values, the preservation of the people of Russia, ensuring state and public security, as well as information and economic security.

4) Prosecutors actively use the powers to prevent the destructive activities of various religious organizations in the territory of the Russian Federation that have a foreign origin and represent non-traditional confessions for our state, which have a negative informational and psychological impact on individual, group and public consciousness by spreading social and moral attitudes that contradict the traditions, beliefs and beliefs of the peoples of the Russian Federation. For example, with the active participation of the prosecutor's office, the religious organization "The Management Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia" and local religious organizations included in its structure were recognized as extremist and banned.

5) The unceasing attempts to split Russian society and weaken the state by speculating on issues of an interreligious and interethnic nature deserve special attention from the prosecutor's office. Despite the relative stability of the state of interethnic relations, there are signs indicating the existence of causes and conditions for increasing social tension in this area. Due to the direct impact of the migration factor on the state of extremist and terrorist crime, prosecutors, in cooperation with the Department of Internal Affairs and local governments, have intensified activities aimed at ensuring timely and effective elimination of the risks of interethnic conflicts. The facts revealed by the prosecutor's office indicate that the causes of interethnic and interfaith conflicts can take on more complex forms, focused on purposefully provoking social tension and separatist manifestations, in connection with which measures are also being taken by the prosecutor's response. Such acts of provocation were suppressed in the Republic of Bashkortostan, the Republic of Dagestan, and the Republic of Ingushetia.

6) The Prosecutor's Office is taking measures, including of a coordinating nature, aimed at minimizing the negative impact of migration processes on the spread of extremist and terrorist manifestations. In order to monitor the situation in the migration environment and prevent manifestations of xenophobia, interfaith tension, as well as prevent migrants from participating in extremist and terrorist activities, the Prosecutor's office has established cooperation with national missions and diasporas, representatives of the clergy.

7) One of the most important areas of protection of traditional Russian spiritual and moral values, culture and historical memory, as well as countering the negative ideological impact on Russian society, is the work on recognizing the facts of the expulsion and extermination of the peaceful population of the USSR by the Nazi invaders and their accomplices, as well as newly identified crimes established by the verdict of the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg, committed by the Nazi invaders during the Second World War, the genocide of the peoples of the USSR.

On behalf of the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation, I.V. Krasnov, prosecutors are working to send applications to the court for recognition as genocide of the Soviet people of established and newly identified crimes committed by the Nazi invaders during the Second World War. The Prosecutor's Office is taking measures to effectively implement the instructions of the President of the Russian Federation on the "No Statute of Limitations" project, the purpose of which is to preserve the historical memory of the tragedy of the civilian population of the USSR – victims of Nazi war crimes and their accomplices during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.

8) The significant contribution of the Prosecutor's Office to ensuring national security is related to crime prevention activities, on which the success of implementing strategic national priorities and combating corruption depends. Prosecutors comprehensively analyze organized criminal and other illegal activities with the aim of subsequently recognizing organizations as extremist, as well as recognizing the activities of foreign non-governmental organizations as undesirable in the country. The prevention of extremism presupposes a comprehensive system of actions that ensures consistency and unification of efforts of actors in countering and preventing extremism. The consistent and purposeful work of prosecutors has succeeded in achieving the formation of basic preventive measures to counter extremism at the level of municipalities and regional public authorities ^[5].

Almost all ministries and departments are involved in the work to curb the spread of extremist ideology, especially those whose activities are related to the education of young people (the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia, Roskomnadzor, the Ministry of Culture of Russia, the Ministry of Justice of Russia, Rossport, etc.), as well as local governments.

9) The prosecutor's office is making serious efforts to protect the rights of minors, protect fundamental human and civil rights and freedoms, thereby ensuring the implementation of strategic national priorities for saving the people of Russia and developing human potential, and preventing the involvement of young people in extremist activities.

10) One of the priorities of the prosecutors' work has become countering foreign interference, protecting the sovereignty of our country and ensuring the conduct of its own.

11) The work of prosecutors, aimed at preventing violations of the rights of citizens affected by sabotage, extremist actions and terrorist attacks, and other emergency situations, needs special attention.

Timely and full provision of affected citizens with state support measures, assistance to them by authorized bodies and organizations, requires prosecutors to properly organize work in difficult conditions, prompt decision-making, effective choice of response measures aimed at the real elimination of violations of the law, restoration of industrial facilities, infrastructure, housing and communal services as soon as possible.

12) Countering the financing of extremist activities also plays a significant role, so according to the provisions of the instruction of the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation dated 05.12.2007 No. 193/27 "On the procedure for sending information to the Federal Financial Monitoring Service on countering the financing of extremist and terrorist activities", the prosecutor's office has established work with Rosfinmonitoring.

13) The most important area of work of prosecutors, which contributes most to the early prevention of extremist offenses, is the supervision of the implementation of laws while fulfilling a wide range of tasks of state policy in the field of ensuring economic security and social stability. Prosecutors are achieving significant results in ensuring Russia's economic security and minimizing the risks of the state's dependence on international economic sanctions.

14) International cooperation of the prosecutor's offices of the CSTO, CIS, and SCO member states in the field of prevention, detection and disclosure of extremist crimes, including those committed using information and communication technologies, also plays an important role.

It should be noted that these are just some examples of the work of the Prosecutor's office in the field of countering extremist activities. The list of powers and activities of the supervisory authority in this area is consistently expanding and is aimed at comprehensive and timely relief of internal and external threats to the National Bank. Based on the content of these powers, its tasks and functions, the Prosecutor's office is called upon to promptly monitor emerging threats and challenges to the National Security, promptly engage in their prevention and elimination, inform the President of the Russian Federation about phenomena and processes in the state of law and order affecting the protection of state interests, countering extremism and terrorism, and provide supervisory support for the implementation of laws aimed at strengthening the national security and defense capability of the country, the development of the social sphere, the protection of economic, environmental, cultural and other rights of citizens, and other important spheres of life.

Meanwhile, there are a number of problems due to the presence of such a large amount of powers and functions in the Prosecutor's office in this area:

a wide range of activities with improper organization of work can lead to the dispersion of forces and resources, and as a result, the failure to achieve the necessary effectiveness, which requires their systematization and structuring, the creation of methodological, legal, methodological and organizational foundations for solving the tasks of the prosecutor's office in this area;

the presence of a large number of powers of the prosecutor's office, in case of insufficient rational use of them, may lead to duplication and substitution of powers in the same area from other public authorities (for example, the Interdepartmental Commission on Countering Extremism, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, Roskomnadzor, etc.), in this regard, it is necessary to continue work on the delimitation of powers of the prosecutor's office and other public authorities to finalize the system of interaction between the prosecutor's office and public authorities;

The complex and constantly changing situation, the emergence of new challenges and threats necessitates the modernization on an ongoing basis of the functions, tasks and powers of the prosecutor's office;

In turn, in order to develop timely and adequate response measures, give new powers, form an optimal organizational structure and personnel policy, identify new tasks, an important role is played by the organization of forecasting the emergence of new challenges and threats, developing preventive measures and planning state and public security adequate to real and potential military-political threats and challenges of the National Security, including the forecast in the fields of economics, demography, defense and military security, Russia's place in the outside world, the importance of international institutions (CIS, SCO, CSTO, BRICS, etc.);

The analysis of the activities of the prosecutor's office has shown certain difficulties in the interaction of the prosecutor's office with public organizations, in connection with which it is necessary to work out and define the specifics of such interaction.;

The new powers require scientific and methodological support for prosecutorial activities in this area, constant improvement of the level of professionalism and competence of prosecutorial staff.

The state of law and order in the field of countering extremist activities continues to be in the zone of close attention at the highest level. Thus, V.A. Burkovskaya ^[6], S.V. Borisov ^[7], A.I. Dolgova ^[8], A.V. Pavlinov ^[9], A.V. Petryanin ^[10], R.S. Tamaev ^[11], S.N. Fridinsky ^[12] and others dealt with the issues of countering extremism. the activities of the Prosecutor's office in the field of ensuring national security (hereinafter – NB) and countering extremist activities scientists of the University of the Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation (hereinafter – the University of the Prosecutor's Office) – P.V. Agapov ^[13], T.A. Ashurbekov ^[14], I.B. Kardashova ^[15], V.V. Merkuryev ^[16], V.P. Ryabtsev^[17], etc.

Scientists at the University of the Prosecutor's Office are doing a lot of work on the scientific understanding of the role of the Prosecutor's office in ensuring national security, countering extremism and terrorism, taking into account its versatility, and fulfilling fundamental tasks to protect national interests from emerging threats. With their participation, proposals are being prepared to empower the prosecutor's office with new powers in the area under consideration, issues of preparing departmental organizational and administrative documents are being initiated, and proposals are being made on legal regulation of responding to new challenges and threats to the National Security.

Meanwhile, University scientists are raising a number of controversial issues:

1. Constant attention is drawn to the need for the effectiveness of prosecutorial activities in the field under consideration ^[18]. However, the criteria for effectiveness have not yet been finalized and their quantitative and qualitative composition is the subject of extensive scientific discussions both in science ^[19] and in practice. We believe that this issue is of primary importance, and efficiency criteria, taking into account the guidelines laid down in strategic planning documents, should be developed and legislated.

2. Unfortunately, the question raised by Dolgova A.I., Guskov A.Ya., Chuganov E.G. about the boundaries of the balance between the interests of society and an individual citizen in terms of freedom of dissemination of information, expression and defense of one's opinion, etc. and the duty of the state to ensure the national security, as well as, accordingly, the role of the prosecutor as the guarantor of ensuring the specified parity ^[8]. In this regard, we believe that the provision of The NB should be based on rational and humanistic principles. The desired quality of its provision should be achieved by high quality public administration, including in the field of prosecutorial activity, taking into account the conceptual and program-targeted study of forecasts and scenarios for the development of the country and the civil service system, as well as maintaining the protection of the state and society from various challenges and threats, by developing an optimal management contour with a full package of direct and feedbacks (government-people) and with maximum coverage of segments of the NB provision sphere.

3. The works repeatedly point out the need to increase the effectiveness of interaction and coordination by the prosecutor's office of the activities of law enforcement agencies ^[20], the organization of information and analytical support for the prosecutor's office ^[21] and prosecutor's checks ^[22] in the area under consideration. Meanwhile, these issues remain insufficiently studied scientifically and methodically.

4. The broad scope and scale of the Prosecutor's office's activities in the field of countering extremism and ensuring national security, as well as the need for further legislative consolidation of these activities, are rightly noted ^{[14],[15],[17]}. But the proposals of scientists mainly relate to departmental rulemaking and the preparation of departmental organizational and administrative documents. Meanwhile, there has long been a need for a conceptual rethinking of the role of the prosecutor's office in the field of ensuring national security and countering extremism, and, accordingly, its reflection in federal legislation.

Thus, in the development of the works of scientists of the University of the Prosecutor's Office, taking into account the system-forming and stabilizing role of the Prosecutor's Office to ensure the rule of law in the process of formation and functioning of national systems of socio-legal control and national security, as well as the expansion of the powers of the prosecutor's office in the field of ensuring national security and countering extremism, the status of the prosecutor's office in this area is subject to further theoretical substantiation, the study of prospects standardization in terms of the expediency of endowing the prosecutor's office with a wide range of other functions and powers demanded by the processes of socio-economic and political development of the country, ensuring national security. It is also necessary to comprehensively consider the possibility of more intensive integration of the prosecutor's office into the general system of national security entities as a coordinator of law enforcement agencies' activities to combat crime, a guarantor of legality, a key element of the system of checks and balances of separation of powers.

Improving the activities of the Prosecutor's Office in the field of countering extremism

The results of the analysis of the activities of the prosecutor's office in the field of countering extremism allow us to formulate several of the most significant conclusions and proposals.

1. Taking into account the challenges facing the Russian Federation to social, interethnic and interfaith harmony, the need to ensure public and state security, the Prosecutor's office has a special role to play in the system of countering extremism and maintaining social stability. As noted above, the range of prosecutorial powers in this area is consistently expanding. In order to systematize the tasks and functions of the prosecutor's office, it is proposed to begin the scientific development of the possibility of determining a new, more significant status of the prosecutor's office in the field of countering extremism and ensuring national security in federal laws No. 2202-1 dated 17.01.1992 "On the Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation", dated 07/25/2002 No. 114-FZ "On Countering extremist activity" and dated 12/28/2010 No. 390-The Federal Law "On the security and inclusion of the Prosecutor's Office among the full-fledged subjects of ensuring the National Security.

2. When exercising prosecutorial supervision, special attention should be paid to the prevention and early warning of extremism, using the entire arsenal of prosecutorial response measures ^[23].

With the active participation of the prosecutor's office with the involvement of scientific institutions, it is necessary to organize at the federal level a scientifically based design of targeted programs for the prevention of terrorism and extremism, containing an effective and sufficient set of measures that can have a significant preventive effect on the emergence of interethnic and interfaith conflicts, the formation of hotbeds of protest activity.

3. It is advisable to implement additional measures to improve the effectiveness of monitoring the Internet and the interaction of the prosecutor's office in these matters with law enforcement agencies. In the aspect of forming a system to counter the spread of illegal information, one of the important measures is the organization of monitoring the current state of the information environment, primarily by automating the search and analysis of information. In addition, the transformation of radical ideology requires constant analysis in order to take measures to criminalize new forms of extremist activity.

It is necessary to take comprehensive measures aimed at improving the efficiency of work on the prompt replenishment and centralized analysis of relevant information, as well as the constant exchange of analytical and scientific results and good practices in this area, in order to increase the level of preparedness to respond to any extremist manifestations.

4. The active process of Russian lawmaking currently necessitates further scientific and practical research of such a multidimensional phenomenon as countering extremism, which will serve as a methodological basis for developing legal, organizational, law enforcement and other measures to ensure it. At the same time, scientific research should cover a significant number of different methods of obtaining, processing, analyzing and summarizing scientific data ^[24]. In this regard, it is necessary to increase the level of scientific validity of the work of the prosecutor's office and other public authorities with appropriate competence in this area.