State Reports - CRC - Russian Federation

2. This report has been prepared on the basis of the general guidelines regarding the form and content of initial reports to be submitted by States parties under article 44, paragraph 1 (a), of the Convention (CRC/C/5). It uses information obtained from ministries and government departments of the Russian Federation responsible for matters relating to children and their rights and from organizations dealing with children's probems. Part I of the report follows the consolidated guidelines for the initial part of the reports of States parties (HRI/1991/1). Part II gives a general picture of the situation of children in the Russian Federation, with particular reference to the social and economic developments taking place there. Part 3 presents information on steps taken to fulfil the obligations entered into by Russia under each article of the Convention, on progress achieved, on difficulties encountered and on further steps planned in order to give effect to the Convention.

3. The report examines the main legal instruments adopted in the Russian Federation (and the former USSR) for the purpose of implementing the Convention which are in force in Russia pursuant to decisions of its supreme governing bodies.

4. The Annexes contain statistical data, a list of laws and other regulatory instruments, and other information relevant to the subject of the report.

6. As of 1 January 1992, the population (currently resident within the Russian Federation) was 148.7 million, of whom 109.7 million (73.8 per cent) lived in urban and 39 million (26.2 per cent) in rural areas. The population density (persons per sq. km) ranges from 333.3 in Moscow and the Moscow region to 0.4 in the Magadan region. Of the total population, 69.5 million (46.9 per cent) are male and 78.8 million (53.1 per cent) female. As regards age distribution, 26.9 per cent (40 million) of the population are children (17 years of age or less), 56.5 per cent are of working age (16-59 years in the case of men, 16-54 years in that of women), and 19.4 per cent are of pensionable age. As regards the composition of the population by nationality, according to a census conducted in 1989 there are people of more than 120 nationalities living in Russia. Of the total population, Russians account for 120 million (82 per cent). Other nationalities numbering over 1 million include: Tatars - 5.5 million (3.8 per cent of the total population of Russia), Ukrainians - 4.4 million (3 per cent), Chuvashes - 1.8 million (1.2 per cent), Bashkirs - 1.3 million (0.9 per cent), Belarusians - 1.2 million (0.8 per cent) and Mordvins - 1.1 million (0.7 per cent).

7. Some 18 million inhabitants (12 per cent of the total population) belong to nationalities with their own separate national territories within the Federation; 7.5 million (5.1 per cent) are members of the indigenous nationalities of other Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries; and 350,000 (0.2 per cent) belong to nationalities with no separate national territories.

8. According to the 1989 census, 91.1 million persons aged 15 years or more (80.6 per cent of the age groups in question) have a secondary (complete or incomplete) or higher education. The proportion with a higher or specialized secondary education is 30.5 per ce t (34.5 million persons), and with a general secondary education, 27.4 per cent (31 million). Of the 23.7 million with an incomplete secondary education, 4.7 million are 15-17 years of age, and the great majority (87 per cent) of them are continuing their education. Most persons with an incomplete secondary education belong to the older age groups.

9. Gross domestic product was introduced as an indicator in economic accounting in the Russian Federation in 1989. In 1990 it stood at 626 billion roubles and in 1991 - according to preliminary estimates -at 1,042 billion (at current prices). The resulting per capita income in 1991 was 5,453 roubles (at current prices).

10. The consumer price index (reflecting changes in actual household expenditures) for the first half of 1992 relative to December 1991 was 1,004 per cent: 839 per cent in the case of food and 1,024 per cent in the case of non-food items. At the end of July 1992 there were 247,994 registered unemployed, 139,880 of them receiving unemployment benefits. More than a third of the unemployed had lost their jobs because the enterprises, institutions or organizations employing them had been wound up or because of staff redeployment or reductions. Women accounted for 71 per cent of the unemployed and young persons (aged 21 years or less) for 16 per cent.

12. The following federal organs have been established and are functioning in the Russian Federation:

- The Congress of People's Deputies of the Russian Federation (the highest body of State power) and the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation (the standing body of the Congress of People's Deputies, with legislative, administrative and supervisory powers);

- The Government of the Russian Federation (the highest executive and administrative body);

- The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation (the highest body of the judiciary, responsible for defending the constitutional system);

- The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation (the highest judicial body in Russia, with responsibility for supervising the work of the courts).

15. Since the latter part of the 1980s there has been an appreciable decline in the birth rate in Russia. The crude birth rate (number of live births per 1,000 population) for 1991, at 12.1, was 30 per cent lower than in 1987, when it was at its highest level for three decades. The decline during the past four years has been greater in the Russian Federation than in the other CIS countries, and the birth rate in Russia in 1991 was the lowest in the Commonwealth. Experts predict that it will have declined a further 9-10 per cent by the end of 1992.

16. The decline in the birth rate has two main causes. The first is the present social and economic crisis: falling standards of living among people who lack social security protection, and uncertainty among young married couples about what the next day will bring, are manifesting themselves in a significant reduction in the number of second and third children born; at present, the proportion of one-child families in Russia is 50.8 per cent and that of large families (with three or more children), 9.9 per cent; in 1991 almost 140,000 fewer second and third children were born than in 1990. The second cause is an unfavourable trend in the age structure of the population: the number of women at the age of highest fecundity (20-29 years) - who account for over two thirds of the children born each year - was 1.7 million (15 per cent) less in 1991 than in 1987 (a demographic "echo" of the 1941-1945 war).

17. As a result of the declining birth rate, in 1991 alone the natural growth in population fell by a factor of three, to only 104,000. Since November 1991 the mortality rate has been higher than the birth rate for the first time since the war.

18. A large number of children in the Russian Federation are living in one-parent families, usually with the mother. According to census data, there were 3.3 million such families in 1989 (the figure for 1979 was 3.1 million). Each year about 500,000 children are deprived of one of their parents, the main causes being divorce and death. More than a third of divorces are of young couples breaking up after less than five years of marriage.

19. Nuptiality (the number of marriages per 1,000 population) has been declining appreciably (from 11.1 in 1979 to 8.6 in 1991), and the duration of marriages is not increasing. At present, about half of all men and women divorce at some time in their lives.

20. The unfavourable trend in the marriage-family situation is confirmed by a steady increase in the number of children born out of wedlock; in 1991, such children accounted for 16 per cent of total births. The number of children born out of wedlock to women under 20 years of age is increasing.

21. The problem of "social" orphanhood continues to be a serious one. More than 100,000 children are being brought up in various types of State institution (homes for infants, children's homes, orphanages, etc.), although about 90 per cent of them have parents alive who are shirking the task of bringing up their children, have been deprived of their parental rights, are in prison, have disowned their children, etc.

22. A current social and economic problem in the Russian Federation is the relatively high level of infant mortality (death before the first birthday). In 1991 the infant mortality rate was 17.8 per 1,000 live births (compared with 17.4 in 1990), and preliminary data for 1992 suggest that the upward trend is continuing. The phenomenon is not a demographic one, but rather a result of the social and economic crisis affecting society.

23. It should be noted that up to now, Russian maternity clinics have applied foetal viability criteria different from those recommended by the World Health Organization and introduced in other countries long ago. Estimates suggest that when these criteria begin to be applied in Russia the infant mortality rate will climb by more than 20 per cent. The main causes of infant mortality are pathological states arising during the perinatal period (from the twenty-eighth week of pregnancy to the end of the first week after birth) and congenital developmental anomalies. They are directly related to the mother's state of health.

24. Other unfavourable trends are an increase in the number of premature births and miscarriages, a rise in infant morbidity and a decrease in breast-feeding. According to a number of surveys, rickets, hypotrophy and diathesis are found in up to 60 per cent of young children, and anaemia in more than 10 per cent.

25. Some 15-20 per cent of school-age children are suffering from chronic ailments. Up to 40 per cent of school-leavers are restricted in their choice of profession by the state of their health. Surveys indicate that no more than 11-14 per cent of schoolchildren are in truly good health. Diseases of the respiratory organs, of the gastro-intestinal system and of the nervous system are widespread.

26. Owing to a decline in budgetary financing of health care (down in the first half of 1992 to 53 per cent of the level in the first half of 1991, at comparable prices), cuts in guaranteed State medical assistance to women and children are becoming a reality. For the same reason, there are difficulties in implementing the Republic's mother-and-child health care, pre-school care and education programmes, developing a network of child health care centres, establishing a baby food industry and so forth.

27. During 1991-1992, the situation has deteriorated in virtually all public welfare areas. As economic reforms go ahead, accompanied by a decline in the general standard of living, the impact on the situation of children has not been considered and insufficient compensatory and protective measures have been taken. The process of reforming the health care, education and social security systems has not yet reached the point where children's needs receive priority attention and are fully met.

28. The current decline in people's real incomes and the cuts in State appropriations are going hand in hand with an increase in the proportion of welfare services provided on a private basis, sharp increases in the prices charged and, consequently, a decline in the accessibility of such services for large segments of the population.

29. Most people at present spend the bulk of their incomes on food, the quality of which has fallen appreciably. There has been a decrease in the consumption of high-protein foodstuffs and of fruit and vegetables. Daily calorie intakes have declined by almost 20 per cent. Grain-based products and potatoes account for two thirds of the energy content of people's diets. In all parts of Russia there has been a significant increase in the number of families whose consumption of animal products is at a minimum level. In a third of all families, the monthly consumption of meat products is less than 2 kg per family member. The worst effects of undernourishment are seen in the deteriorating health of young women - future mothers, pregnant women and breast-feeding mothers.

30. Ensuring supplies of baby food continues to be a serious problem. Pursuant to a decision taken by the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation on 11 November 1990 to establish a baby food industry in Russia, a State programme covering the period up to 1995 has been launched with a view to ensuring supplies of baby food and implementing a range of related measures. However, the envisaged output of liquid and semi-solid milk products and dried-milk compounds for very young children will meet only a third of the standard requirement per child - and actual output has fallen short of target by 8,100 tons (12 per cent) in the case of liquid and semi-solid milk products, by 600 tons (3 per cent) in that of dried-milk compounds and by 47.4 million standard-size tins (26 per cent) in that of canned fruit and vegetables for children and other persons requiring special diets. Furthermore, the output of sterilized milk, cream, canned meat products and dry cereal-based products for children and other persons requiring special diets has declined since 1990. One factor hampering the production of baby food is a lack of modern equipment and the poor standard of the equipment that is available. The Government of the Russian Federation is currently addressing the question of budgetary financing for the development and manufacture of equipment for baby food factories. The task of supplying high-quality farm produce to such factories is being complicated by the tense environmental situation.

31. The production of children's clothing and footwear in the Russian Federation is declining sharply, and this - together with a significant increase in prices - has created serious problems for most families. During the current year, the prices of such goods have increased relative to 1991 by an order of magnitude.

32. State expenditure on maintaining and improving pre-school and other facilities for children and on ordinary schools is decreasing. The number of new places made available in pre-school facilities in 1991 fell short of the 1986 figure by 60 per cent; there has been a 25 per cent decline in new school places. At the same time, overcrowding at pre-school facilities is universal, and about 835,000 children are waiting for places in kindergartens and cr�ches. A third of the buildings housing pre-school facilities need major repairs or to be completely replaced; up to 30 per cent have no piped water, drainage or central heating.

33. Physical conditions at ordinary schools are inadequate. More than 30 per cent require major repairs, and 6.2 per cent are in a dangerous state of disrepair. Only 39 per cent have all necessary facilities. Owing to a shortage of places, during the academic year 1991/92, 23.8 per cent of pupils had to attend school on a "second shift" and 0.5 per cent on a "third shift". The number of new schools opened in 1991 was 25 per cent lower than in 1986 (this figure applies to all schols, regardless of funding source; the decline in the case of State-funded schools was 22 per cent). Owing to low levels of pay, qualified staff are leaving the State schooling system.

34. The situation as regards vocational training is difficult. The equipment at many vocational and technical training establishments falls short of modern requirements. Such establishments have only 30-40 per cent of the equipment they need - no more than 20 per cent in the case of some items, and no more than 1 per cent in the case of vehicles. Over a hundred establishments have been closed down during the past two years, a third of the buildings and equipment being reassigned to non-educational activities.

35. Progress in expanding the network of institutions for children suffering from developmental anomalies (children with damage to the musculoskeletal system blind children, children with impaired eyesight) is slow. For example, between 8,000 and 9,000 children with cerebral palsy need remedial training, but the existing network can cope with only 6,400.

36. At most boarding institutions which take in orphans and children from deprived families, the physical installations and the conditions in which the children must live are unsatisfactory. There has been a recent increase in attempts by parents of large and deprived families to have their children admitted to such institutions, even going to the lengths of disowning their children (especially if they are disabled because of the high cost of looking after them). In general, there is a rapidly growing demand for boarding schools where children's upkeep is provided by the State.

37. Children - like adults - are increasingly falling victim to inter-ethnic conflicts. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, there are now over 332,000 refugees and displaced persons in Russia. The majority of such families include children.

38. Recently, the number of neglected children has increased appreciably. There are no statistics on the number of such children. Studies indicate that about 80 per cent of neglected children have families. The proportion of adolescents sent to transit centres for minors in 1991 who had no parents rose by 13 per cent; the increase for adolescents with one parent was 37 per cent.

39. During the past five years, the number of offences committed by minors has risen by 50 per cent. Minors are taking to crime at an increasingly early age. Between 1987 and 1991 the number of 14 and 15 year-olds involved in criminal acts increased by 47 per cent (from 36,000 to 52,000). The number of jobless minors not attending school who committed offences rose by a factor of 2.5. Delinquency is on the increase among girls; in absolute terms, it has doubled (from 6,000 offences to 12,000). Last year, Ministry of Internal Affairs authorities had in their files records of 35,000 girls who had committed offences. Every third juvenile offender lives in a family where the parents engage in alcohol abuse, make no effort to bring up their children and do not supervise their behaviour.

40. Legislative, administrative and other measures are being taken in Russia to bring national policy on children into line with the Convention. The measures are described in the appropriate sections of this report. Conceptual work is in progress on a national family policy, State social welfare assistance to the family and the child, and comprehensive federal programmes ("Children of Russia", "Social welfare assistance to the family and the child", etc.). Surveys are being conducted of the problems affecting families and children. A federal programme of research and practical measures for the period 1992-1995 is being developed under the title "The family".

41. At all levels of the Russian Federation there are bodies dealing with family, women's and children's problems. A Committee on Women's Questions and the Protection of the Family, Mothers and Children has been established under the Supreme Council; it is not only drafting legislation in these areas, but also shaping State policy towards the family and children. The Russian President has appointed an Advisor on Questions regarding the Family, Mothers and Children. A new department, the Committee for Social Assistance to the Family and the Child, has been established within the federal Ministry of Social Services. At the regional executive level, local Councils of People's Deputies have Committees (departments) dealing with family and children's problems.

42. Implementation of State policy on children is coordinated by the Coordinating Committee on Questions regarding the Family, Mothers and Children, which reports directly to the President of the Russian Federation. At the local level, coordination is the responsibility of similar Committees reporting to the heads of local administrations.

43. The Principles and Provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child are being made known to adults and children mainly by the Ministry of Publishing and Mass Information, the Ministry of Education, the Russian Television and Radio Corporation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The text of the Convention has been published in "Semya" ("Family"), the weekly magazine of the Soviet Children's Fund (1989); "Narodnoe Obrazovanie" ("National Education") (1990); and "Sovetskaya Pedagogika" (1991) publications for educational specialists and other publications, including som for children. Steps are being taken to give people more information about the Convention: an illustrated edition (to be published in 1992) and manuals on legal questions for senior school pupils and students at teacher training colleges have been prepared. Non-governmental organizations are also making the principles and provisions of the Convention widely known.

44. Efforts to make the contents of this report widely known to the public began at the drafting stage. In April 1992, the editors of "Rossiiskaya Gazeta" (a publication of the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation) conducted a "round table" on the full range of children's problems covered in the report. The draft report was sent to many State and other organizations, whose comments and wishes were taken into account as it was finalized. Special measures are planned to make the report widely available to the public; they include publication in large numbers of copies, the publication of excerpts in the press, and discussions on television and radio.

- the age of majority is 18 years; a child marrying before the age of 18 is considered to be an adult as of the time of marriage (Civil Code);

- the concept of minimum age for the end of compulsory education does not exist; the completion of nine classes of general education is compulsory (Education Act);

- the minimum age for full-time employment is 16 years; in exceptional cases, it may be reduced to 15 years by arrangement with the trade unions. If the parents agree, the child has free time available and there is no risk of damage to the child's health, part-time employment from the age of 14 may be permitted (Labour Code);

- the minimum age for purposes of deprivation of liberty is 14 years (Penal Code);

- the minimum age for marriage is 18 years; the limit may be reduced by up to two years by decision of local authorities (Code on Marriage and the Family);

- the minimum age for compulsory (and voluntary) military service is 18 years (Military Service Act);

- restrictions on the acquisition of alcoholic beverages apply up to the age of 21 (Trade Regulations).

46. The Constitution of the Russian Federation and the laws on the legal status of citizens living within Russia (see inter alia the RSFSR Citizenship Act of 28 November 1991) grant children all the rights called for under the Convention without discrimination of any kind, irrespective of their or their parents' or legal guardians' race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinions, national, ethnic or social origin, property, disability, birth or other circumstances.

47. After ratification of the Convention, this provision was embodied, in very general terms, in the Fundamental Principles of Civil Legislation of the USSR and Union Republics, pursuant to which all citizens are recognized as being capable of having civil rights and responsibilities in equal measure. These principles were made applicable within Russia by a decision on the regulation of legal relations between citizens during the period of economic reforms passed by the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation on 14 July 1992.

48. The RSFSR Freedom of Religion Act of 25 October 1990 provides for the rights and interests of citizens to be protected regardless of attitude towards religion. Directly or indirectly limiting rights or granting privileges in the light of a citizen's attitude towards religion, like arousing hostility and hatred or injuring feelings in that connection, renders the culprit liable at law.

49. The RSFSR Code of Criminal Procedure lays down rules whereby justice is administered in Russia on the basis of the equality of citizens before the law and the courts regardless of origin, social, official or property status, race, nationality, sex, education, language, attitude towards religion, type and character of employment, place of residence and other factors.

50. Similarly, the right to education is laid down in the Education Act of 2 May 1992, article 5 of which guarantees the right to education regardless of race, nationality, language, sex, age, disability, social, property or official status, social origin, place of residence, attitude towards religion, opinions, party affiliation and criminal record.

51. These legislative provisions, however, still do not ensure the full exercise by every child of its rights. In their discussions of the reasons for violations of human rights, law enforcement bodies, sociologists, the general public and the press reveal that children do suffer discrimination, especially in everyday situations. Increased stratification of the population in recent years in terms of material prosperity, the commercialization of medical care, education, culture and leisure, making them less accessible for many people, and other adverse developments are exacerbating relations within society and frequently give rise to conflicts - sometimes taking the form of ethnic or religious disputes, or political or other differences - into which children are drawn.

52. This principle is enshrined in current legislation. A USSR Act of 22 May 1990 amending and supplementing certain USSR laws concerning women, the family and children clarified the rights of parents to bring up their children and made parents more accountable for that upbringing, and for abuse of or failure to care for their children. Children have a statutory right to apply to the child welfare authorities for protection of their rights and interests if these are being violated by their parents or guardians.

53. Procedures have been established whereby, in exceptional cases when the child's life or health is in immediate danger, a child welfare authority can decide to remove the child from the care of its parents or other persons bringing it up forthwith. In such cases, the authority must inform the public prosecutor's office at once and, within seven days of its decision, apply to the courts for termination of the parental rights of one or both parents or for removal of the child.

54. On 1 November 1990, the Supreme Council of the RSFSR passed an order entitled "Urgent measures to improve the situation of women and the family and to protect mothers and children living in the countryside", which establishes a series of benefits for rural women, including an increase in the duration of pre- and post-maternity leave. The same benefits were subsequently introduced for women in urban areas as well.

55. The "best interests of the child" principle is reflected in the way in which legal relations within society are governed under general civil law. A number of provisions in the present Civil Code of the RSFSR provide legal underpinnings for the competence of a child to manage its own affairs. For example, minors aged 15-17 years may enter into contracts with the consent of their parents, adoptive parents or guardians. In the case of minors under 15, contracts may be concluded on their behalf by their legal representatives. However, children are entitled to engage independently in small-scale everyday transactions, to dispose of their earnings or grants as they wish, to copyright works of literature and art produced by them, etc.

56. The law watches over the rights of minors at work, bringing them into line with the rights of adults and providing for a number of privileges as regards health and safety, working hours, time off, etc.

57. With a view to protecting the life and dignity of the child, Russia's criminal legislation penalizes persons found guilty of: cruelty to a minor; deliberately exposing a minor to danger; not fulfilling or improperly fulfilling professional obligations to protect the lives and health of minors at institutions for children and adolescents; evasion of parental duty to maintain their children; or enticing minors into crime, drunkenness, begging, prostitution and gambling, drug abuse, or the non-medicinal use of medical and other psychotropic substances.

58. Bringing up their children is citizens' constitutional duty. The RSFSR Code on Marriage and the Family holds parents responsible for bringing up their children and caring for their physical development and education. To this end, parents are accorded certain rights - including the right to bring up their children themselves. At the same time, in the interests of the child, the legislature has set limits to parental rights. They may not be exercised contrary to the interests of the child.

59. The best "interests of the child" principle was taken into account in the drafting of a federal Bill on the protection of the family, mothers, fathers and children (which had its first reading in the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation in June 1992) and a Bill on the rights of the child (which has been submitted to the Supreme Council for consideration).

60. Information on compliance by institutions, services and facilities responsible for the care or protection of children with the established requirements is presented in the relevant sections of this report.

61. Under Russia's health care legislation, pregnancy may be interrupted in a medical establishment up to the end of the twelfth week at the request of the woman, and after the end of the twelfth week on medical grounds.

62. In the field of criminal law, the right to life is ensured by measures designed to protect the child from violent attempts on its life or physical integrity. At present, such protection is afforded by the criminal law on the same basis as for adults. There is no special provision covering offences against the life or health of a child or adolescent. The age of the victim is merely regarded as an aggravating circumstance in the sentencing of the guilty person. Russia's criminal legislation likewise has no special provision making infanticide a crime. The draft penal code now before the Supreme Council proposes stiffer penalties for attempts on the life of a child.

63. On 1 June 1992, the President of the Russian Federation issued a decree on initial measures to give effect to the World Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children in the 1990s. The decree establishes child survival, protection and development as a priority at all levels, including federal and regional, in budget preparation, the allocation of raw materials, the organization and expansion of the production of children's goods, investment in construction work and other matters. It calls for the budgetary funding of measures targeted at children's problems and the finalization by 1 October 1992 of the federal "Children of Russia" programme, which includes the "Baby food industry", "Children of Chernobyl", "Family planning", "Disabled children", "Orphans" and "Children of the north" programmes and the production of a systematic catalogue of free welfare services for women and children which must be guaranteed by the State. Ministries and other government departments have been instructed to devise urgent steps to better the situation of children in the Russian Federation.

64. In the past two years, regulatory instruments have been adopted with a view to ensuring, to the maximum possible extent, the survival and healthy development of children, especially under extreme conditions. A federal law on welfare for people exposed to the effects of radiation following the disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant established a number of benefits for minors. A single State programme to protect the population of the Russian Federation from the effects of the Chernobyl disaster in 1992-1995 and up to the year 2000 has been adopted. The nationwide "Children of Chernobyl" programme lays down medical, psychological and social welfare measures for the protection and rehabilitation of children and women exposed to radiation effects as a result of the Chernobyl disaster, but implementation is being held up by financial difficulties.

65. The federal Environmental Protection Act says that the general public, including children, is entitled to be given genuine opportunities to live in pleasant and healthy surroundings. A State scientific programme entitled "Ecology of Russia" has been launched with a view to repairing environmental damage and averting the adverse effects of ecologically harmful activities. The scientific programmes entitled "Environmental safety" and "Ecological rebirth of Russia" are being drawn up: They lay down measures for ensuring, to the maximum possible extent, children's healthy growth and environmentally sustainable development without undermining the lives of future generations.

66. The Constitution and a number of other legal instruments of the Russian Federation guarantee to the child, as to any citizen, the right to form and express its own views freely. The Education Act stresses the humanistic nature of education, the primacy of free development of the personality and the dissociation of education from the ideological aims of parties, movements and organizations. This also helps to ensure that the child is able to form and express its views freely. The child's right of free expression is supported by judicial practice. The Code on Marriage and the Family ensures that the child's opinion is taken into account in the consideration of matters relating to the determination of paternity, to the changing of given name and family name, and to adoption, if the child has reached the age of 10 years.

67. The federal Bill, on the protection of the family, mothers, fathers and children contains a provision whereby a child will have the right to be heard during judicial, administrative or other proceedings if by virtue of its level of development, it is able to comprehend what is happening and to express its own views freely. The child's opinion must be taken into account when the court takes its decision.

68. Questions of nationality are governed by the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the USSR Acts amending and supplementing certain USSR laws concerning women, the family and children, and governing procedures for the changing by USSR citizens of their family names, given names and patronymics, the RSFSR Citizenship Act and other legal instruments. A decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated 10 April 1992 confirmed the Statute on the Procedure for Examining Questions of Citizenship of the Russian Federation.

69. The RSFSR Citizenship Act, which entered into force on 6 February 1992, contains detailed provisions on the citizenship of children and the procedure for acquiring or changing citizenship with due regard for the opinions of a minor. A child acquires citizenship at birth if both parents are citizens of the Russian Federation. In choosing their child's citizenship, parents of different citizenships are required to submit - before the child's first birthday - to the Internal Affairs Department or the consulate for their country of permanent residence a copy of the child's birth certificate and their written agreement as regards choice of citizenship. Applications to change such children's citizenship before their eighteenth birthday may be submitted by their parents or legal guardians (with the child's written agreement to the change of citizenship if the child is 14 years of age or older).

70. Under article 51 of the RSFSR Code on Marriage and the Family, every minor must be given a family name, given name and patronymic. The child's family name is determined by its parents'. If the parents have different family names, the child may with the parents' consent take the name of its mother or father or - in the absence of parental consent - by decision of a child welfare authority. The end of the parents' marriage does not entail a change of family name for the child. If the given name received by a child at birth is not euphonious, it may be changed before the child's fifth birthday. Upon reaching 16 years of age, a child may apply to change its family name, given name and/or patronymic in accordance with the USSR Act of 3 July 1991 on procedures for the changing by USSR citizens of their family names, given names and patronymics.

71. The Federal Bill on the protection of the family, mothers, fathers and children provides that the State shall defend the constitutionally established rights of the child to inviolability of its person; preservation of its identity (including citizenship, name, family relations, sex, nationality and native language), honour and dignity; freedom of conscience and religion; and to upbringing, education, health and other personal and property rights. The Bill would make divulging confidential information about or information detrimental to the honour and dignity of a child's family, unlawfully interfering in family affairs or illegally interfering in the exercise by a child of its rights, causing it material or moral harm, an offence.

72. The child's right to freedom of expression is governed by general civil legislation. The Constitution of the Russian Federation enshrines the right to freedom of thought and speech and the untrammelled expression of thoughts and beliefs. Everyone is entitled to seek, receive and freely disseminate information. This right may be restricted only by law. The constitutional provision in question is reflected in federal laws on freedom of religion, the mass media and education.

73. One way in which freedom of expression is actively promoted is creative participation by children in the production of their own mass media. Many regional, urban and young people's newspapers and local radio and television networks give page space and air time to children; often, children are part of the production teams, governing material and broadcasting programmes. The children's news agency YUNPRESS links young journalists not only in Russia, but also in Armenia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and other CIS countries. YUNPRESS publishes information bulletins prepared by children and its own newspapers, magazines and digests of non-professional press material (under the title "Most" ("Bridge")) and organizes children's press festivals. It receives support from the Russian Ministry of Publishing and Mass Information and the Federation of Children's Organizations. At present, however, these progressive trends in the communications field lack a proper legal basis.

74. Several pieces of legislation on the development of book publishing and the mass media which touch on children's access to appropriate information have been adopted recently in the Russian Federation. The RSFSR Mass Media Act has entered into force (1991). An order of the RSFSR Council of Ministers dated 17 April 1991 confirmed temporary regulations on publishing in the RSFSR, which lay down measures to expand and democratize publishing and to cater to the interests of readers in all segments of society and all age groups, adults and children. Decree by the President of the Russian Federation on 20 February 1992 ordering additional legal and economic protection for the periodical press and State book publishing is intended to ensure that publishers are economically able to publish socially worthwhile books including textbooks and children's literature, during the period of transition to a market economy. Given rising price levels, additional appropriations to finance the publication of textbooks and children's literature are envisaged. Pursuant to the decree, a programme has been set up in support of publishing for children and other young people; it includes provision for financial assistance and additional funds for the purchase of paper.

75. The measures being taken reflect the growing problems in the field of book publishing. The production of children's books in 1991 was over 130 million copies less than in 1989. Textbook publishing is also facing an acute financial crisis. Production costs have recently increased on average by a factor of 10, making textbooks significantly less affordable. Reduced print-runs for the children's books that are pubished are also affecting the variety of subject-matter.

76. Measures are being taken in the Russian Federation to ensure that children have access to appropriate info`mation in the language of the country's different peoples. The RSFSR national Languages Act was passed on 25 October 1991, and action is being taken on the 11 March 1991 decision by the RSFSR Council of Ministers regarding a State programme of economic and cultural development for the peoples of the northern regions from 1991 to 1995. These and similar measures are very timely given the declining social role of the languages of some nationalities. So far, not enough children's literature has been published in the languages of the smaller ethnic groups. The acute shortage of children's literature reduces children's interest in learning their native tongues, each of which enriches Russia's collective national heritage.

77. During the past year there have been some positive developments. For example, the languages of the peoples living in the northern regions have begun to be used more by the local mass media. In general, the reinstatement and legislative anchoring of the theory and practice of federalism in the Russian Federation are creating a situation in which the smaller ethnic groups of Russia can participate actively in the development of their cultures and the renascence of their native tongues.

78. The Federal Environmental Protection Act guarantees, for adults and children, the right to reliable, complete and objective information about the environment and measures to protect it. At present, however, there is really no mechanism for implementing provisions designed to raise the level of "ecological culture" within society and to create ecological awareness among the rising generation. As a result, the mass media present only fragmentary information that does not give an overall picture of the complex ecological situation in Russia. For economic reasons, not enough material for children on ecological subjects is being published. Some children's magazines that feature environmental questions are ceasing publication, and the print-runs of others are being reduced. Specific steps to rectify the situation are propsed in the State ecological programmes now being formulated, which include measures to provide people, including children, with information about the environment.

79. The Constittion of the Russian Federation (art. 44) and the Federal Freedom of Religion Act of 25 October 1990 deal extensively with the right of citizens freely to choose, hold and disseminate religious and atheistic beliefs, to profess any religion or none, and to act in accordance with their convictions provided that the laws of the State are not infringed. As stated in the Act, children have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.

80. The Federal Education Act makes it the right of religious communities to establish educational institutions, and the right of parents (or persons acting in their place) to choose the kind of instruction and type of educational institution they wish for their minor children. The only condition is that the education provided should be up to the general standard of State-provided education.

81. Besides the necessary legal regularization, these laws have laid the foundations for a new kind of relationship between the State, the various religions and religious believers; this relationship is being built in a spirit of mutual understanding and with a desire for constructive cooperation. For example, during the past two to three years, over a thousand church (Sunday) schools for children aged 6 to 12 have been established in the Russian Federation under the Russian Ordhodox Church. Representatives of various religions have opened 50 kindergartens.

82. A group formed voluntarily through the free expression of will by citizens joining together on the basis of a community of interests is an association within the meaning of the USSR Associations Act of 8 October 1990. This Act was the first legal instrument to specify that children had the right to form associations. It has begun to work in the direction of the democratization that had also gripped social forces, organizations and movements in Russia.

83. In the field of children's organizations, uniformity has given way to variety and pluralism. New types of organization have appeared, voluntary and based on a community of interests - ecological, charitable, cultural, etc. Associations that existed in pre-revolutionary Russia have been revived - the Scouts, religious groups and children's chapters of adult organizations. At the federal level alone, more than 30 children's organizations are at present registered in Russia. They include the Federation of Children's Organizations, the Children's Association of the Russian Federation, the League of Young Mariners, the Federation of Youth Sports Associations and Clubs and the All-Russia Aerospace Society. Various children's associations exist at the republic, territory, region, town and district levels within the Federation.

84. The multiplicity of children's associations gives children a wide choice of organizations, and the variety of activities offered gives them the opportunity to select activities that match their interests and needs. For example, the Federation of Children's Organizations offers children and adolescents more than 10 programmes, including: "For a green world", an ecological programme; "The world of beauty", a programme on art appreciation and aesthetics; "I want my own business", a programme for young entrepreneurs; "School of democracy", a programme for young parliamentarians; and others such as "Young people's order of charity" and "Tree of life". There is a new quality to children's organizations that makes them once again an important factor in the social development of children as free, active citizens of a democratic society and a rapidly changing world.

85. An Association of Researchers into Children's Trends has been established in the Russian Federation; it numbers more than 200 academics (educational specialists, psychologists, philosophers, lawyers) and professionals experienced in working with children. Together with the Federation of Children's Organizations, the Association proposed an outline federal law on children's organizations, movements and associations. The outline is currently before the Committee for Youth Affairs of the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation for consideration. In order to promote children's affairs in the Russian Federation, measures will be taken to enhance the role of the State and of commercial, social and other bodies in facilitating the activities of children's organizations.

The right not to be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; Abuse and neglect; Physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration

86. According to various educational bodies and departments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Public Prosecutor's Office, instances of cruelty to children are increasing. Children are being subjected to incorrect methods of upbringing and to humiliation, sometimes involving mental and physical violence, within the family, at kindergartens and other pre-school institutions, in schools and technical training establishments, children's homes and other boarding institutions, and at special educational institutions. They are sometimes maimed or fall victims to various forms of criminal assault. Particularly alarming is the fact that the victims are mainly younger children: about 30 per cent of the children hospitalized because of ill-treatment are infants less than a year old; another 30 per cent are below school age and the remaining 40 per cent are of school age. In order to escape ill-treatment, some 50,000 children run away from home every year, and close to 20,000, from children's homes and other boarding institutions.

87. The criminal legislation of the Russian Federation makes the gravest forms of cruelty to children (beating, torture) indictable offences. For other forms of cruelty to children, the law provides for disciplinary action against the culprits.

88. In support of the principle of the inviolability of the person of children and adolescents, steps are being taken to strengthen the sanctions applicable when children are subjected to impermissible treatment. The draft of the Russian Federation's new Criminal Code sets higher penalties for torturing minors and makes other forms of cruelty to children by persons on whom the children are dependent (in particular, the staff of child care institutions), and failure to fulfil obligations to protect children's lives and health, into criminal offences. A decision passed by the USSR Supreme Soviet on 12 April 1991 regarding immediate measures to halt the promotion of pornography, the glorification of violence and cruelty was also intended to check these problems.

89. The physical and psychological recovery and reintegration of children who have been subjected to ill-treatment are dealt with case by case by health care organizations, departments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Educational Bodies.

90. Russian law contains provisions designed to give parents legal guarantees as regards the upbringing of their children and to ensure responsible guidance during the formation of a child's personality. In ensuring the right of parents to bring up their own children, the RSFSR Code on Marriage and the Family stipulates that responsibility for protecting the rights and interests of minors lies with their parents. Parents are the legal represetatives of their children and are required to defend their rights and interests in dealings with all institutions, including courts of law. The Code also regulates the rights of parents, other relatives and guardians to be with children and participate in their upbringing. Restrictions may be placed on those rights through a court order or by decision of a child welfare authority on grounds strictly defined by law. Parents may demand the return of their children from any person holding them without legal justification or court authorization.

91. In recognition of the special role of parents in bringing up their children, Russia's criminal legislation permits juvenile offenders to be placed under the strict supervision of their parents or persons acting in loco parentis instead of being subjected to penal measures.

92. The federal Education Act gives parents the right to choose the forms of teaching and the educational institution that they wish for their child or to provide the necessary education within the family. The Act regards parents as being primarily responsible for a child's education. Parents are required to lay the foundations for the child's physical, moral and intellectual development from earliest infancy. Relations between pre-school educational institutions and parents (or persons acting in their place) are governed by agreements that may not restrict the rights of either party further than the Act itself does. The Act also lays down a procedure whereby the joint consent of the parents (or persons acting in their place) and the local education authorities is required if a child, having reached the age of 14, wishes to leave the educational institution which it has been attending without completing its basic education.

93. The responsibility of parents for the upbringing of their children is enshrined in the Constitution of the Russian Federation, legislation on marriage and the family, the Education Act, administrative and penal legislation, and the Statute on Commissions on the Affairs of Minors. For the first time, children are now entitled by law to apply to child welfare authorities for protection if their parents abuse their parental rights. The principle that parents are jointly and severally responsible for the upbringing and development of their children has been introduced. Parents are required to care for the physical and moral development and the education of their children and to protect their rights and interests. Parental rights may not be exercised in a manner contrary to the interests of the child. Both parents are equally responsible for bringing up and supporting their children, even if their marriage has ended.

94. Under Russia's family legislation, parents living apart from their children are required to participate in the children's upbringing and are entitled to have contact with them. The parent with whom a child is living may not prevent the other parent from having contact or participating in its upbringing. If the parents cannot agree about the participation of the parent living apart, an arrangement is prescribed by a child welfare authority in consultation with the parents, the child's interests being paramount. It must be said that, in practice, child welfare authorities and the courts are still frequently unable to enforce the child's right to contact with and upbringing by its mother and father if they are divorced and no longer living together.

95. The State renders assistance to parents and guardians in the performance of their responsibilities. This assistance takes the form of grants, supplementary benefits and reimbursements. The network of child care institutions (cr�ches, kindergartens, boarding institutions) where children are maintained wholly or partly at the State's expense is expanding. Legislative steps are being taken to exempt from value-added tax all educational services, expenditures connected with on-the-job training, payments for children and adolescents to take part in educational study groups and use sports facilities), child care services provided at pre-school institutions, and refunds of the fees for kindergartens and other institutions that care for the children of working parents.

96. The laws of the Russian Federation include measures to prevent the separation of children from their parents without special reason. The Constitution of the Russian Federation, by requiring parents to bring up their children, protects the right of every child to both maternal and paternal care. Under the RSFSR Housing Code, a minor's place of residence is determined by its parents'. The RSFSR Code on Marriage and the Family assigns parents a preferential right to bring up their children and provides -following judicial proceedings instituted at the request of one or both parents - for the removal of children from persons who are holding them illegally. The father and mother have equal rights and obligations as regards their children's upbringing, even if their marriage has ended. If one parent prevents the other from having contact with the child, an arrangement whereby the parent living apart can participate in its upbringing is prescribed by a child welfare authority or a Court of Law.

97. Questions regarding the removal of a child from its parents, whether the father and mother retain their parental rights or are stripped of the right to bring up the child, are resolved exclusively by judicial means. Parents deprived of their parental rights may be allowed to have contact with their children if such encounters do not have a harmful effect on the children. Current legislation requires the competent bodies to consider all such questions strictly in the light of the interests of the child.

98. In cases where children cannot always be with their parents, penal legislation and various industry-specific regulations require conditions to be created whereby they can see each other and maintain family ties.

99. Female convicts more than four months pregnant or caring for children under three years of age are placed, for the appropriate portion of their sentence, in a corrective labour institution with an attached children's hostel where mothers can see and spend time with their children. If, when a child turns three, its mother has no more than one year of her sentence left to serve and is carrying out her maternal responsibilities conscientiously, the administrators of the institution may, at her request, allow the child to remain in the children's hostel until her release. Moreover, a female convict with a child in the children's home of a corrective labour colony may be granted parole for a brief period (during which she may correspond with and visit her child) in order to arrange for the child to stay with relations or guardians or to be placed in a children's home.

100. Measures have been taken to facilitate contacts between convicted adolescents and their parents. A federal law of 12 July 1992 amending and supplementing the RSFSR Corrective Labour Code, the RSFSR Penal Code and the RSFSR Code of Criminal Procedure provides for a number of improvements in conditions for minors serving sentences in educational labour colonies: visits lasting up to three days, telephone calls, and annual leave at the place of residence of the parents or persons acting in loco parentis are now permitted; there has been an increase in the number of parcels and the amount of printed matter which may be received, and the number of short visits permitted and a certain category of convicts may be allowed to live outside the guarded areas. Moreover, punishments such as withdrawal of a convicted adolescent's right to receive visits, to receive parcels and to purchase food have been abolished. Parents' committees have been established with a view to the more effective treatment of minors in educational labour colonies.

101. A still unresolved problem is the fact that convicted adolescents may serve their sentences far from their parents' place of residence. The Supreme Council of the Russian Federation is at present examining the draft of a new code of penal administration that would enable adolescents to serve their sentences closer to where their parents live.

102. The procedure whereby citizens of the Russian Federation can enter or leave the country with children is governed by the regulations on leaving and entering the USSR adopted by decision of the USSR Council of Ministers on 28 August 1986. Under these regulations, minors may leave the country only in the company of their parents, and written permission must be obtained before adolescents (aged 14 to 17) may leave. If one parent is leaving the country (with or without a child), the written agreement of the other parent -certified by a notary - must be submitted to the competent authorities. Contacts between children and parents living in different countries are not covered by the current regulations. This is to be dealt with in the bill on departure from and entry into the Russian Federation for citizens of the Federation now being prepared for submission to the Supreme Council, under which - contrary to the present procedure - Russian citizens will not require an invitation from abroad in order to travel to another country.

103. Under Russian law a child that has been temporarily or permanently deprived of its family environment or that cannot, in its own best interests, be allowed to remain in that environment is taken into care: placed with a guardian or curator, offered for adoption or put in a boarding institution.

104. In the Russian Federation, the number of children deprived of parental care is increasing from year to year. In 1988 there were 49,000; in 1991 there were 59,000. A fifth of them had been taken away from their parents because of the impossibility of ensuring a normal upbringing within the family. At the beginning of 1992, there were in Russia 414,000 children under 18 who had been orphaned or deprived of parental care. Of the children deprived of parental care, 75 per cent have been placed with families (foster or adoptive parents) and 25 per cent have been placed in institutional care.

105. The facilities at many boarding institutions are not yet adequate, and the children there cannot lead full lives and enjoy a proper upbringing. The situation is worse for disabled children at boarding institutions. There are unresolved problems regarding the organization of summer holidays for orphaned children and children deprived of parental care. Most boarding institutions do not have holiday recreation centres of their own.

106. In 1988, family-type children's homes - a new form of accommodation for orphaned children and children deprived of parental care - began to be established in the Russian Federation. These allow children to live and grow up in conditions as close as possible to those of a normal family. Local authorities, in conjunction with branches of the Russian Children's Fund, have so far established 348 such homes, each accommodating five or more children.

107. The adoption of children is governed by the RSFSR Code on Marriage and the Family. Adoption takes place by decision of the local authorities and is permitted only in the case of minors and in their interests. Once a child has reached 10 years of age, it must consent to adoption. Citizens of full legal age may become adoptive parents. Persons who have been deprived of their parental rights or legally certified incapable or only partly capable of managing their own affairs may not become adoptive parents. For the adoption of a child whose parents have not been deprived of their parental rights, the written consent of the parents is required. Adoption may be authorized without the parents' consent if it is established that they have not been living with the child for six months and, despite being warned by the child welfare authorities, have taken no interest in its upbringing or maintenance and are not giving it parental attention or care.

108. For cases where the legal requirements and formalities have not been complied with and the child's interests have suffered, a procedure exists for annulling or terminating the adoption. Adoption may be terminated or annulled only by a court order. If the suit succeeds, mutual rights and responsibilities between the child and its parents or other relatives by birth are restored. Children placed with adoptive families (and foster families) account for 75-80 per cent of the children known to have been deprived of parental care. Over 50 per cent of them are adopted before they reach school age. For a long time, adoption was difficult to arrange if the child had brothers or sisters, had a problematic hereditary background or was physically or mentally handicapped. In 1991, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health jointly established new adoption procedures which to a great extent overcome such difficulties.

109. Specialized centres and agencies are being established in the Russian Federation to provide information on parentless children available for adoption or, more generally, for placement with families. Under the statutes of such non-profit-making organizations, the monies received by them are used to improve living conditions at child care institutions.

110. Recently there has been a considerable increase in the number of agencies officially licensed in other countries that are seeking to arrange, with local assistance, the adoption of Russian children by foreign citizens. The competent State organs are engaged in coordinating the activities of these agencies within the Federation. The RSFSR Code on Marriage and the Family specifies that the adoption by foreign citizens of children who are citizens of the Russian Federation is to be governed by the laws in force within the Russian Federation or by the rules established through international agreements on legal assistance in civil, family and criminal matters. In 1991 and the first half of 1992, over 250 children from Russia were adopted by foreign citizens. Most of the children were in some way disabled, had a problematic hereditary background or were suffering from some other condition making it impossible to ensure that they would receive proper care in their own country.

111. This article is not covered by current legislation. To a certain extent, this is because cases of illicit transfer and non-return of Russian children abroad were extremely rare at the time when the Convention was ratified. The problem has now become more serious. With the break-up of the USSR and the establishment of a number of independent States on its territory, and also with the intensification of ethnic conflicts and the outbreak of armed hostilities in a number of places, preventing the illicit transfer and non-return of children abroad (including Russia's new immediate neighbours) has become a top priority for Russia's legislative organs. The bilateral and multilateral agreements on cooperation in legal matters that have recently been concluded by CIS countries refer to this problem.

112. The legislation of the Russian Federation provides for measures to protect children after placement, guardians or curators and the staff of child care institutions being held liable under criminal law for violence towards children. The law on marriage and the family enables guardians (curators), the administrators of child care institutions, child welfare authorities and public prosecutors' offices to request the courts to examine property and accommodation questions relating to children in care.

113. The courts may decide to restore a child to its parents, whether previously stripped of parental rights or not.

114. Protecting the interests of children placed in care and periodically reviewing the conditions under which such children live are required under the regulations issued by the education, health care and social welfare authorities. The law provides for regular State inspections of the conditions under which children in care are brought up and maintained, and requires assistance in legal, educational, medical and social welfare matters to be rendered to the children and to those caring for them. If investigations reveal that a child's guardians (curators) are unable for any reason to fulfil their obligations, they are relieved of those obligations by order of a child welfare authority. If it is established that a child's guardian has been exploiting his or her position for personal gain or leaving the child unsupervised and not providing proper care, proceedings are brought against the culprit in accordance with the law. Responsibility for checking on the health of children placed in care and arranging treatment lies with health care institutions. When treatment is indicted, children in family and institutional care are given priority admission to hospitals, children's clinics, sanatoria etc.

116. The RSFSR Health Insurance Act, passed in 1991, provides for the financing of health care from the national budget and other sources. The range of medical services that have to be paid for has increased, family doctors have been integrated into the primary health care system, and there is now both obligatory and voluntary health insurance. With the reduced budgetary funding of health care, the gradual transition to self-financing and the spread of voluntary health insurance, a number of institutions are now requiring payment for children's health care services.

117. Children receive primary health care at 7,255 out-patient clinics (polyclinics) for children. In-patients are treated at 59 regional, territorial and republic-level hospitals with a total capacity of 24,251 beds; at 368 municipal children's hospitals; at 77 children's hospitals for infectious diseases; and at 9 children's hospitals for tubercular diseases. There are 89.8 hospital beds per 10,000 children aged 0-14 years; of that number, 37.7 are earmarked for patients with bodily disorders, 21.2 for infectious diseases and 25.5 for special cases. In recent years, there has been increased emphasis on the development of children's health care centres specializing in haematology, neurosurgery and micro-surgery, the surgical treatment of children, neurology, extrarenal cleansing of the blood, gastroenterology, etc.

118. A regional approach has been adopted in Russia to the treatment of mothers and children, account being taken of the many differences between administrative territories in economic conditions, demographic, medical and other characteristics.

119. In view of the fact that perinatal conditions and birth defects are major causes of infant mortality, steps are being taken to establish a perinatology service. About 10,000 beds have been set aside for sick new-borns and premature infants in intensive care. Some 20 perinatal and neonatal centres and 17 resuscitation and intensive care units have been established for children in their first month of life. Mobile neonatal resuscitation teams and emergency paediatric groups have been set up. Antenatal foetal checks are becoming more widespread, and 65 advisory centres for genetic problems have been established. The development and improvement of these facilities and services is being held up by difficulties with financing and obtaining essential medical equipment.

120. Physicians train in paediatrics in the paediatric faculties of 38 medical institutes. There are institutes and faculties for advanced studies where physicians can extend their knowledge and improve their skills. The system of medical education and training is at present being reformed to provide five years of basic training followed by a period of 3-4 years specialization. Changes are also planned in the training of nurses, to raise their professional level and broaden the range of their activities.

121. The health of the mother has a decisive influence on the condition of the foetus and the newly born child. The Russian Federation has passed legislation on health care for women and antenatal care of the foetus. The following rules on the duration of maternity leave apply throughout the country: 140 days in the case of a normal birth, 156 if there are complications and 180 in the case of multiple births. A women is entitled to maternity leave of the relevant duration regardless of how many days she takes before she gives birth. In order to ensure that pregnant women undergo timely medical examination, which helps to avert complications during pregnancy and at the time of birth, an arrangement is being introduced whereby all women who register at an antenatal clinic during the early stages of pregnancy (the first 12 weeks) receive a one-time lump-sum allowance equal to 50 per cent of the minimum wage (in addition to the statutory leave).

122. The maternal health care measures taken so far are inadequate. Medical surveys indicate that at any given time 50-70 per cent of pregnant women are suffering from some ailment. During the period 1981-1990, the number of recorded cases of anaemia in pregnant women increased by a factor of three; the figure for kidney disease was 2.5, for cardiovascular diseases 1.5 and for toxicosis 1.3. Working conditions have a significant effect on women's health. Russia is one of the world's leading countries as regards the proportion of women in productive employment (90 per cent). It has 3.6 million women working in industry under adverse conditions.

123. The artificial interruption of pregnancy (abortion) remains the principal method of family planning. As a result of the measures taken, 17 per cent fewer abortions were carried out in 1991 than in 1988, but the number is still high - 100 per 1,000 women of child-bearing age. The proportion of women of child-bearing age using modern methods of contraception (intra-uterine, oral) is relatively low - 20.3 per cent in 1990 (16.5 per cent in 1989).

124. The adverse influence of environmental factors on public health -especially among young people, pregnant women and children - is a serious problem in the Russian Federation. The question of legal recourse for children against breaches of environmental regulations is being addressed. The regulations concerned are to be found in the RSFSR Environmental Protection Act, and state, firstly, that compensation is payable for damage to people's (including children's) health caused by adverse environmental effects and, secondly, that full reparation must be made for harm resulting from breaches of environmental regulations - including inability to have children and the risk of giving birth to children with congenital defects. However, the mechanism for implementing these provisions, so important for mothers and children, has not yet been put into operation, owing to lack of experience of instituting and conducting legal proceedings in this field.

125. The Russian Federation engages in international cooperation on health care for children and mothers through the United Nations system (WHO, UNICEF, ILO, etc.) and non-governmental organizations. Such cooperation takes various forms, including the establishment of WHO collaborating centres in Russia, information exchange, international congresses and symposia, and exchanges of experts. There is scope for much more to be done in this area.

126. Matters relating to the provision of properconditions for the upbringing and education of children with mental and physical disabilities are regulated by the Education Act, which provides for special remedial educational institutions (classes, groups) where such children can be treated, brought up, taught and prepared for their integration into society. These institutions are more generously financed than ordinary educational institutions. Children and adolescents are sent to them only with the consent of their parents (or of the persons acting in place of their parents), given in the light of the findings of a commission consisting of psychologists and educational specialists.

127. When it has been fully worked out, the federal programme "Children of Russia" will include a special sub-programme entitled "Urgent measures to improve the social and economic situation of disabled children and their families". The federal Bill on the protection of the family, mothers, fathers and children guarantees the right of disabled children to participate fully and with dignity in the life of society.

128. According to official statistics, during the academic year 1991/92, 295,300 disabled children attended special schools and boarding institutions and 77,400 attended special classes at ordinary schools. Children of pre-school age with mental or physical disabilities (206,900) are looked after in special groups at pre-school facilities.

129. Steps are being taken to enable disabled children to receive their education at normal educational institutions. Schemes for the integration of such children into normal teaching programmes are to be developed over the next few years. For mentally very retarded children and for children with congenital or acquired physical disabilities that prevent them from attending the public school system, the Ministry of Social Welfare has established a network of special boarding institutions. There the children are looked after, cared for and given tuition entirely at the State's expense. To the extent permitted by their level of development, they learn to look after themselves and how to cope in the outside world and are trained to do a job of work.

130. The difficulties encountered in giving full effect to the Convention stem from the lack of a proper system for identifying and keeping track of mentally and physically disabled children and the inadequacy of the services established to preclude disabilities at the outset (antenatal medical and genetic tests, resuscitation and intensive care units at maternity hospitals) and promote the recovery and the medical, psychological and social rehabilitation of disabled children with different kinds of disabilities.

131. At the present stage of the crisis that Russia is going through, social welfare support is planned for the most exposed segments of the population, including children from poor families, disabled children and children deprived of parental care. During this period the Government intends to depart from the principle of equal entitlement to State support for all children and go over to a system of differentiated support related to the material circumstances of the parents. There are plans for a considerable reduction and simplification of the present catalogue of benefits and payments for families with children, which will become more purpose-oriented, will vary according to the age of the child and the class of beneficiary, and - the principal feature - will be subject to an upper limit related to mean annual income. The formulation of measures to ensure that the benefits for families with children are really tailored to individual circumstances is due to be completed by the end of 1992. Starting in 1993, the level of benefits for families with children will be linked to a properly researched minimum subsistence level for children of different age groups and to family income, a system being introduced at that time to check income levels by means of statements of earnings. For the poorer segments of the population, benefits in kind (free housing, schooling and hospital care) or in the form of cash reimbursements are envisaged. In the latter case, a system of vouchers to be used for specific purposes is regarded as an attractive option.

132. This new approach, where economic criteria will apply, will vary somewhat between one part of the education system and another: in the case of pre-school education, the nominal value of a voucher will represent only part of the requisite outlay for which the State will set a minimum level; in the case of general schooling, the voucher will secure educational services corresponding to the national standard.

133. The nominal cost of vocational training will vary according to wher the training establishment is situated and vocation being trained for. If the cost of the complete course, including any additional educational services provided, exceeds the nominal value of the voucher or if the student makes use of more than the basic standard of board and accommodations provided, the difference in costs will have to be met by the student out of his own money from other sources: The enterprise for which he is being trained on contract; sponsors; the recently created regional funds for education and vocational training; income-generating activities by the establishment itself. Income from the latter source will also be used to improve facilities at the training establishment.

134. The right of every child to a standard of living adequate for its all-round development and the responsibility of the child's parents (or the persons acting in their place) and the State to ensure the enjoyment of that right are established in numerous legal instruments, among them the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the RSFSR Code on Marriage and the Family, the RSFSR Housing Code and the RSFSR Penal Code. Additional guarantees are provided for in the federal Bill on the protection of the family, mothers, fathers and children.

135. With the liberalization of prices and the move towards a market economy, measures to protect poor families with children are acquiring particular importance. The Supreme Council of the Russian Federation and the government ministries and departments concerned have drafted a Bill on reforming the system of child benefits. The proposed new system would even out to some extent the living conditions of different types of family and stabilize the support provided by the State at a guaranteed minimum level. It is envisaged that the benefits to be provided at the national level might be supplemented by the regions and individual enterprises where broader criteria for the granting of benefits might also be applied.

136. Parents are responsible for the upkeep of their children as long as these are minors. If children have no parents or cannot obtain their upkeep from their parents, the legislation on marriage and the family holds their step-fathers, step-mothers, brothers, sisters, grandmothers and grandfathers responsible for maintaining them. Others who take children in, bring them up and maintain them on a permanent basis may, even if they refuse to provide further maintenance, be compelled to do so if the children have no parents or cannot obtain their upkeep from their parents.

137. In order to restore and secure a child's essential physical upkeep, the legislation on marriage and the family specifies the amounts of maintenance payable for minor children and the procedures for recovering such amounts from the children's parents. The amounts, recoverable by court order, are as follows: a quarter of the parents' earnings (income) in the case of one child; a third in the case of two children; and a half if there are three or more children. The Supreme Council of the Russian Federation is considering a bill on the recovery of maintenance payments for minors, which proposes that the minimum amount payable per child should be no less than one-third of the minimum wage and no more than half of the average monthly wage in the area where the child is resident.

138. The Constitution and other laws of the Russian Federation spell out the legal principles relating to education. Generally speaking, Russian legislation meets international standards, including those of the Convention on the Rights of the Child - especially since the passage, in May 1992, of the Education Act, which declares education to be a paramount aspect of social welfare. Under the Education Act, basic education (nine grades of normal schooling) is compulsory; normal schools provide a total of 11 grades. At the same time, the Act has made it possible to establish non-State (private) educational institutions, including ones for which fees have to be paid. However, the present financing arrangements for such institutions put them beyond the reach of most families.

139. Various forms of general secondary education and vocational training to respond to children's abilities and needs exist and are being developed: attendance at State or non-State educational institutions; external studies, study at home or a combination of the two; and - in the case of adolescents already at work - evening classes and correspondence courses.

140. Accessible education is a principle of State educational policy and is achieved by providing education free of charge and offering various forms of financial support (including grants, payments from educational institutions' own resources and the complete or partial State mainenance of boarding institutions). Financial support in the form of grants is falling behind inflation, and this is creating tensions over the welfare of pupils and students.

141. Compulsory basic education presupposes regular attendance at school (unless the child is being taught at home). Teachers are responsible for monitoring school attendance and taking any appropriate action in consultation with parents. Educational institutions are responsible to the education authorities, to parents and to teachers for ensuring that children exercise their Constitutional right to education and properly assimilate what they are taught.

142. State educational policy as spelled out in the relevant legislation includes the following principles: the humane nature of education; the primacy of common human values, human life and health and free development of the personality. The development of a child's distinctive personality and the protection of its rights presupposes individualized instruction using a variety of alternative curricula, text books, optional courses and non-traditional educational institutions designed to achieve the fullest possible expression of the child's inclinations and interests. The Education Act contains completely revised provisions based on respect for the child's human dignity and precluding all interference in the formation and development of the child's personality.

143. The Education Act establishes guidance in the nurturing of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms through a number of basic principles of State educational policy. A school course entitled "You and the law" that goes into questions of human rights (including children's rights) is being set up; educational approaches designed to inculcate in children a respect for different points of view, including religious beliefs, and the distinctive ethnic and cultural features of other peoples and nationalities, are being devised.

144. The inculcation of respect for the environment is an integral part of children's ecological education, the aim of which is to impart basic environmental knowledge and foster a responsible attitude towards the natural and man-made environment. The legal basis for the teaching of ecological subjects is provided by the principles - enshrined in the federal Environmental Protection Act - that ecological education should be obligatory, universal, interdisciplinary and continuing. Ways are being devised to achieve the strategic aims of environmental education - ecological awareness as an integral part of the child's general outlook and a caring attitude towards nature.

145. The Russian Federation has no laws dealing specifically with the right of children to leisure and to engage in recreational and cultural activities. This right is governed by the educational regulations, policy on youth matters, etc.

146. There is in Russia a system whereby professional establishments concerned with culture and the arts participate in children's aesthetic education and leisure activities. Recently, this has been happening less, owing to the country's economic difficulties. Last year 462 children's art schools were closed down for economic reasons. The number of fully subsidized sports schools, clubs and groups is declining and the charges are increasing at those which are self-supporting.

147. A pressing but unresolved problem is how to arrange for the manufacture of attractive toys and games that are reasonably priced and promote children's development, and the production of sports equipment for children.

148. Organizing children's summer holidays has become an increasing problem owing to the high cost of travel and accommodation and to a decline in the number of children's camps. Some 5.8 million school children stayed at such camps in 1991 - one-third less than in 1988. The Russian Government made special emergency arrangements for children's summer holidays in 1991 and 1992, and plans were drawn up for State social and economic support of camps and similar recreational establishments. Parents working for publicly funded organizations are reimbursed from local government budgets in part or in full for the cost of travel and accommodation vouchers for their children. Large families, poor families and children deprived of parental care are given similar assistance.

149. On 3 March 1992, the Government of the Russian Federation approved measures for the provision of assistance to refugees and displaced persons, which specified general measures for protecting the rights and interests of Russian citizens living in other States formerly belonging to the USSR, and for assisting receiving and accommodating people forced to move to Russia. A bill on refugees and displaced persons has been prepared; it will provide a legal basis for the status of refugees, thereby establishing the respective obligations of citizens and State institutions at all levels in the exceptional conditions created by forced migration.

150. There are about 25 million Russians and 3 million persons belonging to other indigenous nationalities of the Russian Federation living beyond the frontiers of Russia. As a result of the disintegration of the USSR, the passage by former Union Republics of legislation on linguistic and citizenship matters, and the outbreak of armed conflicts, the lack of legal and social protection for hundreds of thousands of people is becoming an increasingly serious problem, and is forcing many of these people to migrate to Russia. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, there are at present over 332,000 refugees and displaced persons in Russia, including 55,000 children. In a recent sociological survey, 5.6 per cent of the forced migrants questioned gave as their main reason for leaving their homes the fear of physical violence against them and their children, and 4.8 per cent referred to persecution on ethnic grounds, difficulties at work (at school, in the case of their children) because they did not know the national language, and discrimination against the non-indigenous population in every-day matters allocation of housing, kindergarten places, etc.).

151. On arrival in Russia, refugee families are faced with the problems of finding housing and pre-school facilities for their children. As a result of the social measures being introduced, in 1992-1993 it is planned to provide comfortable homes for the refugee families with children temporarily accommodated in hotels and guest houses in the Moscow region (Podmoskovye) and 15 other regions within the Russian Federation. The construction of special apartment houses is envisaged. In helping refugees to settle, it will be essential to encourage a spirit of initiative and self-dependence, though the State may offer some assistance.

152. Forced migration is having a serious effect on the labour market, making it difficult to ensure a high level of employment. Taking Russia as a whole, only 76.4 per cent of forced migrants have a regular job; 4.6 per cent have temporary jobs and 16.4 per cent are unemployed. Most refugee families are subsisting on wages earned at enterprises operating under various forms of ownership, but there are also many - especially single mothers with small children - that are dependent on allowances of different kinds owing to difficulties in finding work. In addition to the State, charitable organizations are helping refugee families.

153. A long-term programme entitled "Migration" has been prepared for submission to the Government of the Russian Federation; it seeks to protect the rights and interests of citizens of the Russian Federation inside and outside Russia, to regulate migratory flows in Russia and facilitate migrants' social and economic adaptation and integration.

154. The Russian Federation is guided by the standards of international humanitarian law that apply to situations of armed conflict and concern children. The legislation in force provides that persons under 18 years of age shall not be recruited into the armed forces. Persons under 15 years of age are completely in the care of their parents or those acting in their parents' place, or are brought up at State boarding institutions.

155. In accordance with the Penal Code in force in the Russian Federation, individuals who commit a crime after reaching the age of 16 are criminally liable. For the most dangerous crimes, criminal liability begins at the age of 14.

156. A court, the prosecutor and, where the prosecutor so agrees, the investigator, may drop criminal proceedings against an individual under 18 who has committed an act prima facie constituting a crime but representing no great social danger, and refer the matter to a commission on minors, if the circumstances of the case and the personal characteristics of the offender are such that correction is possible without resorting to criminal punishment. The court can order compulsory non-penal educational measures.

157. In addition to a lawyer, a parent or teacher may be present during the interrogation of a minor accused of a crime. Proceedings in cases involving minors are governed both by the general rules of criminal procedure and by special provisions relating only to minors which are set forth in the Code of Criminal Procedure now in force. The age of the minor, his domestic circumstances and upbringing, motives and circumstances contributing to the commission of the crime and the possible involvement of adult instigators must be established in criminal cases.

158. As part of the judicial reform now being carr_ed out in the Russian Federation, the Convention's provisions on protecting the best interests of the child are to be applied in the administration of juvenile justice. Drafts of a penal code, a code of penal administration and a code of criminal procedure are currently being discussed in the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation. The criminal liability of individuals committing crimes before the age of 16 has been significantly reduced. The court must take account of the accused's age as a mitigating circumstance. At the same time, it is entitled to consider as an exacerbating circumstance the commission of a crime against a minor or with a minor as accomplice. An individual who commits a crime before reaching the age of 18 may not be sentenced to more than 10 years' imprisonment.

Children deprived of their liberty, including any form of detention, imprisonment or placement in custodial settings

159. In the Russian Federation, no one may be arrested other than by court order or with the approval of the public prosecutor. Arrest consists in detention in custody. Arrest and detention in custody may be used against minors only in exceptional circumstances, when justified by the seriousness of the offence committed.

160. The draft code of criminal procedure now being discussed by the Supreme Council would for the first time permit an appeal against arrest to be lodged with the courts, and would permit detention in custody and imprisonment exclusively on the basis of a court order. A lawyer would be allowed to become involved in judicial proceedings from the moment an individual was detained or arrested. The assistance of an interpreter in cases involving minors would be provided free of charge. The intention is also to establish that the legal representative of a minor is entitled to be informed of the charges against the accused, to submit petitions and challenges, present evidence and look over all the case documents upon completion of the preliminary investigation. At the same time, the investigator retains the right to prohibit the involvement in the case of a child's legal guardian if there are grounds for supposing that this might harm the child's interests.

The sentencing of juveniles, including in particular the prohibition of capital punishment and life imprisonment

161. Under the existing criminal legislation, deprivation of liberty in the form of incarceration is not to be used against minors. The draft penal code now before the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation likewise does not provide for the application to minors of deprivation of liberty in the form of incarceration. A minor sentenced to deprivation of liberty may remain in a prison with the approval of the public prosecutor of a region, territory or autonomous republic only if an offence committed by another individual must be investigated. The period of incarceration must not exceed two months, or with the approval of the Prosecutor-General of Russia, four months.

162. Individuals who at the time of the crime were under 18 years of age may not be sentenced to capital punishment.

163. Russia's criminal legislation indicates that the purpose of punishment is not to inflict physical suffering or to undermine human dignity. To protect the life and dignity of children, it makes ill-treatment of minors a punishable offence.

164. Contrary to the requirements of the Convention, the regulations concerning commissions on minors that are in effect in the Russian Federation to this day enable such commissions to declare children and adolescents guilty without a sufficiently thorough analysis of the evidence and to assign them to special educational and correctional institutions: in other words, to deprive them of their liberty. A Bill on family and juvenile courts has been prepared in order to end such anomalies. Once it is adopted, only the courts will have the right to make such rulings.

165. Experts have likewise developed proposals on new ways of working with children who have broken the law. Centres for the correction of personal development and behaviour, for pedagogical rehabilitation and for readaptation are being established. They have already begun to function in many parts of the Russian Federation. There are in the country 59 educational labour colonies spread out over 47 regions. As of 1 January 1992 they housed 20,500 convicted minors, of whom 1,020 were female. Over 19,000 offenders enter the colonies every year. The absence of educational labour colonies in 9 republics and 16 regions of the Federation means that large numbers of minors sentenced to deprivation of liberty (13,000 adolescents every year) have to be transported to colonies further away. They are thus deprived of the opportunity to see their families, pursue their studies in their native language, and maintain their accustomed ways and national and religious traditions.

166. A new operational profile for educational colonies for minrs, developed and now being applied by the Ministry of Internal Affairs together with the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office, and with the active support of the legislature, includes:

- Areas for housing minors during the conduct of the inquiry and the preliminary investigation (holding cells for minors) in region-, territory- and republic-level centres;

- The educational colonies themselves, with regulated procedures for modifying the conditions of detention on the basis of inmates' behaviour and the results of the correctional process;

- Areas for readaptation to conditions of life in the outside world, with a relaxation of restrictions;

- Training-cum-production units providing general education, vocational and technical training and work experience;

- Psychological services, including offices for diagnostic work, vocational guidance and psychological counselling.

The establishment of educational colonies along these lines should contribute to the full application of the basic principles for treatment of detainees set out in the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners and in the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice ("The Beijing Rules").

Children in situations of exploitation including physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration

167. In recent years, various methods and forms of social, medical and other work to achieve the physical and psychological recovery, social reintegration and social protection of children have taken on special importance as a result of worsening socio-economic and other problems in Russia. A comprehensive approach to the task is reflected, first and foremost, in the legislation on refugees and displaced persons, but also in the regulations on social protection for orphans and children deprived of parental support. Since the ratification of the Convention, the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR has adopted an order entitled "Measures for providing assistance to refugees and displaced persons on 22 November 1990, and the Government of the Russian Federation has also adopted one entitled "Measures for providing assistance to refugees and displaced persons on 3 March 1992.

168. In 1990-1991, a number of regions began to set up voluntary, temporary shelters for adolescents without parental, vocational or other social ties, without parental support or means of subsistence, and with nowhere to live. In the shelters, the adolescents are provided with food, bedding and medical care. They are helped to find school places or jobs and foster care (guardians or curators), and to resolve other problems.

169. Social and psychological centres for children and adolescents, helping to solve the socio-psychological, pedagogical, legal and moral problems connected with their education and upbringing and improve the situation in problem families, are being organized in Russia. These help the government education, health care and internal affairs authorities and other State and public organizations in their preventive work with adolescents. A decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated on 1 June 1992, entitled "Initial measures to give effect to the World Declaration on Ensuring the Survival, Protection and Development of Children in the 1990s", instructs the executive bodies of the republics, territories and regions to facilitate the creation and expansion of a territorial network of such institutions to provide social assistance to families and children.

170. The labour legislation guarantees each child the right to protection from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous, to interfere with the child's education or to be harmful to the child's health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development. The hiring of individuals aged under 15 is not permitted; employment of individuals under 18 for heavy work, jobs in dangerous or harmful working conditions or underground work is prohibited; limits on the work week are imposed for manual labourers and employees aged under 18 (from 16 to 18 years - 36 hours per week, from 15 to 16 years - 24 hours per week) and the use of minors for night work or overtime or on rest days is prohibited. Workers under 18 whose work day is limited are paid the same as those in the same wage category who work a full day.

171. Compliance with labour legislation and with occupational safety regulations is monitored by specially empowered State education, health bodies etc., trade unions and the technical and legal labour inspectorates connected with them. Ministries, government committees and departments concerned with particular industries monitor compliance with legislation on working minors by the enterprises, institutions and organizations under their authority. Scrupulous and universal observance of labour legislation within Russia is verified by the federal Prosecutor-General and the prosecutors under his authority. To ensure the effective implementation of measures to protect children from economic exploitation, the necessary disciplinary and administrative penalties and penal measures are specified in the legislation and other regulatory instruments of the Russian Federation.

172. Nineteen of every 100,000 adolescents aged 15 to 17 in the Russian Federation are registered alcoholics or alcohol-disturbed and 40 are registered drug addicts or substance-abusers. From 1985 to 1991, the number of adolescents put on probation for drug use rose from 5,600 to 7,000. Adolescents constitute 6 per cent of all known users of narcotics, but the proportion of minors among individuals abusing toxic substances for their psychotropic effects is much higher: 49 per cent. Drug addiction is very closely linked to crimes against property: 60 per cent of all break-ins, thefts and robberies are committed to get the money for drugs, or involve drug addicts.

173. The Ministry of Health and other organizations are taking steps to identify drug addicts early on, so that they can be given prompt treatment. The Ministry of Internal Affairs has special units to deal with illicit traffic in narcotics. Measures are being taken to eliminate the raw materials used for illicit production of narcotic substances.

174. An information campaign is being waged against alcoholism, and anonymous treatment is becoming possible; advisory services and treatment centres for adolescents are being opened up and new efforts are being made to identify individuals who encourage adolescent drunkenness and help adolescents to acquire alcohol. Measures to identify and bring to justice adults who promote narcotic use among adolescents are being updated. The Penal Code of the RSFSR now includes an article making it an offence for an adult to induce minors to use medical and other psychotropic products for non-medicinal purposes.

175. The major emphasis in the prevention of drug addiction among minors is on voluntary not enforced, treatment in outpatient clinics not entailing isolation from society. Such treatment is permitted only if an adolescent diagnosed as a drug addict does not refuse it.

176. A decision of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated 12 April 1991 on immediate measures to halt the promotion of pornography and the glorification of violence and cruelty outlines a series of measures to protect children from sexual abuse: restrictions on the admission of children to video clubs/shops; special Ministry of Internal Affairs services to prevent and curtail violations of public morals; measures to prevent the transfer across national borders of products with pornographic content and works glorifying violence and cruelty. Measures to preclude the involvement of minors in the preparation, dissemination, advertising and sale of products with erotic content are planned. The penal legislation now in force contains measures to protect children from sexual exploitation. The draft penal code before the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation seeks to change criminal justice policy on this matter, taking into account current social processes and the state of society as well as difficulties in enforcement.

177. The RSFSR Mass Media Act, in which the concept of erotic publications was defined, was adopted on 27 December 1991. It establishes procedures for the sale of erotic material by the mass media so as to prevent children from acquiring it.

178. The Penal Code makes abducting another person's child or exchanging a child for gain or other base motives punishable by up to one year's imprisonment or corrective labour. The draft penal code before the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation would increase the penalty (3 to 10 years' imprisonment) for unlawful detention of a minor combined with removal against his will from his permanent or temporary place of residence. The legislation envisages no special punitive measures for the sale of, traffic in or abduction of children.

179. A number of legislative instruments of the Russian Federation establish the legal basis for protection of children belonging to minorities or indigenous groups. An example of the special measures adopted to protect such children is the State policy towards the small population groups in the North, being carried out in accordance with the 1991 decision of the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR on a State programme of economic and cultural development for the smaller ethnic groups of the North from 1991 to 1995. The teaching of the region's ethnic languages, cultures and history is being revived and the question of opening small-scale schools in isolated settlements is being addressed. Various models for schools and educational structures are being developed.

180. Although a number of advances had been made in ensuring the rights of children, unresolved problems remain. Health care is inadequate. Children in the northern regions still suffer a high incidence of severe respiratory and gastric infections and diseases. In 1991, infant mortality in the North was 17.6 per 1,000 live births. The problems of providing children with places in pre-school institutions (1,300 indigenous children still need to be accommodated in nursery schools) and schools (22 per cent of pupils attend school on an afternoon or evening shift), remain serious. The "Children of the North" programme sets out measures to protect the health of these children and to meet their needs in the spheres of education, vocational training, culture, etc.

182. Further changes on the road to a market economy require an active social policy as a major thrust of federal Government activity. The major tasks are enabling the population to adjust to the new conditions and protecting the most vulnerable population groups from the adverse effects of the transitional process. To this end, a number of legislative, administrative and other measures to protect the interests of children have been adopted. The Supreme Council, the President and the Government of the Russian Federation are fully aware of their responsibility to ensure the survival and health development of every young citizen of the country.

	Entire population		Urban populationRural population
	0-15 years	Of working age	Above working age0-15 yearsOf working ageAbove working age0-15 yearsOf working ageAbove working age
Both sexes
1981	23.1	60.3	16.622.162.815.125.454.320.3
1992	24.1	56.5	19.423.258.718.126.550.722.8
Males
1981	25.4	66.3	8.324.368.07.728.162.19.8
1992	26.1	62.4	11.525.363.910.828.458.313.3
Females
1981	21.0	55.2	23.820.258.421.423.147.729.2
1992	22.3	51.4	26.321.454.124.524.743.931.4

Table 14

Information on homes for infants in the Russian Federation

19901991

Number of homes for infants265262

Number of places at homes for infants24 23723 541

Number of children at homes for infants at the end of the year indicated18 50617 783

- including

- orphans4 269X^{Not recorded.}

- and consisting of childrn

- aged 0-12 months3 2293 278

- aged 1-2 years9 2838 511

- over 2 years of age 5 9945 994

Children taken in during the year10 98710 684

- consisting of

- orphans and children deprived of parental care5 2105 101

- children placed by their parents5 7775 583

Children leaving during the year10 74110 412

- including children

- removed by their parents3 6433 644

- adopted2 0602 501

- transferred to institutions belonging to the social welfare system1 6211 675

- transferred to institutions belonging to the national education system3 0392 291

Children dying during the year1 084995

- including

- children under one year of age522502

Children found to be suffering from

- digestive disorders3 8493 945

- second- and third-degree rickets1 0351 416

- anaemia1 7182 011

Physically retarded children10 0039 803

Mentally retarded children15 49114 422

State-financed establishment of children's polyclinics

in the Russian Federation

graph inserted here

Table 19

State-financed establishment of maternity hospitals

in the Russian Federation

graph inserted here

Table 20

State-financed establishment of gynaecology clinics

in the Russian Federation

graph inserted here

Table 21

State-financed establishment of homes for infants

in the Russian Federation

graph inserted here

Table 22

Morbidity among children aged 0-13 years in the Russian Federation

(per thousand children)

1. USSR Act amending and supplementing certain USSR laws concerning women, the family and children (22 May 1990)

3. USSR law on freedom of conscience and religious organizations (1 October 1990)

4. USSR law on the basic principles of social security for disabled persons in the USSR (11 December 1990)

5. USSR law on procedures for resolving individual labour disputes (11 March 1991)

6. USSR law on general principles of private entrepreneurship in the USSR (2 April 1991)

7. USSR law on the general principles of State policy on youth in the USSR (16 April 1991)

9. Fundamental Principles of Civil Legislation of the USSR and Union Republics (31 May 1991)

10. USSR law on the basic principles for the denationalization and privatization of enterprises (1 July 1991)

11. Fundamental Principles of Criminal Legislation of the USSR and Union Republics (2 July 1991)

12. USSR law on procedures for the changing by USSR citizens of their family names, given names and patronymics (3 July 1991)

13. Order of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR regarding immediate measures to halt the promotion of pornography and the glorification of violence and cruelty (12 April 1991)

14. Order of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR regarding immediate measures to improve the situation of women, protect mothers and children and consolidate the family (10 April 1990)

15. Order of the USSR Council of Ministers regarding additional measures for the social protection of families with children during the transition to a controlled market economy (2 August 1990)

16. Order of the USSR Council of Ministers regarding measures to improve the functioning of special educational institutions for children and adolescents with physical or mental disabilities (8 December 1990)

22. RSFSR Act increasing social security guarantees for the working population (18 April 1991)

24. RSFSR Act on named privatization accounts and deposits in the RSFSR (3 July 1991)

30. RSFSR Act on the registration charges payable by individuals engaging in private entrepreneurial activities and on the procedures for registration (7 December 1991)

32. RSFSR Act on health-resort charges payable by individuals (12 December 1991)

35. Russian Federation Act on additional measures to protect mothers and children (4 April 1992)

38. Russian Federation Act on psychiatric aid and safeguards for the rights of citizens receiving such aid (2 July 1992)

39. Decree of the President of the RSFSR on priority measures to develop education in the RSFSR (11 July 1991)

40. Decree of the President of the RSFSR on increasing the salaries of persons working for publicly funded organizations and institutions (15 November 1991)

41. Instructions issued by the President of the RSFSR on arrangements for helping refugees and displaced persons (14 December 1991)

42. Decree of the President of the RSFSR on increases in compensation payments in 1991/92 and procedures for index-linking monetary incomes in 1992 (18 December 1991)

43. Decree of the President of the Russian Federation on additional measures for the legal and economic protection of the periodical press and State book publishing (20 February 1992)

44. Decree of the President of the Russian Federation on increases in the wage and salary scales of persons working for publicly funded organizations in the second quarter of 1992 (15 April 1992)

45. Decree of the President of the Russian Federation on social welfare measures to help large families (5 May 1992)

46. Decree of the President of the Russian Federation on increases in social security allowances and compensation payments in 1992 (21 May 1992)

47. Decree of the President of the Russian Federation on initial measures to give effect to the World Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children in the 1990s (1 July 1992)

48. Order of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR regarding urgent measures to improve the situation of women and the family and to protect mothers and children living in the countryside (1 November 1990)

49. Order of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR on procedures for putting the RSFSR Militia Act into effect (19 April 1991)

50. Order of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR on procedures for putting into effect the RSFSR Act increasing social security guarantees for the working population (19 April 1991)

52. Order the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Russian Federation on social protection of the population and the regularization of controls on the pricing of individual products (3 February 1992)

53. Order of the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation regarding the regularization of payments for the maintenance of children at preschool institutions and financial support of the preschool educational system (6 March 1992)

54. Order the RSFSR Council of Ministers on welfare protection for persons infected with the human immunodeficiency virus and AIDS victims (11 November 1990)

55. Order of the RSFSR Council of Ministers on measures for providing assistance to refugees and displaced persons (22 November 1990)

56. Order of the RSFSR Council of Ministers on measures for the promotion of contractual arrangements for the training of specialists with higher or secondary specialized education (8 February 1991)

57. Order of the RSFSR Council of Ministers regarding a State programme of economic and cultural development for the smaller ethnic groups of the northern regions from 1991 to 1995 (11 March 1991)

58. Order of the RSFSR Council of Ministers or retail price reforms and social protection of the population of the RSFSR (20 March 1991)

59. Order of the RSFSR Council of Ministers and the Council of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of the RSFSR regarding emergency arrangements for children's and adolescents' summer holidays in 1991 (18 April 1991)

60. Order of the RSFSR Council of Ministers regarding measures to improve the functioning of special educational institutions for children and adolescents with physical and mental disabilities (24 May 1991)

61. Order of the RSFSR Council of Ministers on additional measures to compensate the population for losses due to increases in retail prices (19 June 1991)

62. Order of the RSFSR Council of Ministers on priority measures to establish a State system of social security assistance for families in the RSFSR (31 May 1991)

63. Order of the Government of the RSFSR on the procedure for introducing a minimum wage in the RSFSR (15 November 1991)

64. Order of the Government of the RSFSR on price liberalization measures (19 December 1991)

65. Instructions issued by the Government of the RSFSR to increase the salaries of persons working in education (28 December 1991)

66. Order of the Government of the Russian Federation on additional measures for the social security protection of students (18 January 1992)

67. Order of the Government of the Russian Federation regarding emergency arrangements for children's and adolescents' summer holidays in 1992 (16 February 1992)

68. Order of the Government of the Russian Federation regarding measures for providing assistance to refugees and displaced persons (3 March 1992)

69. Order of the Government of the Russian Federation changing the procedure for pricing certain kinds of consumer goods (7 March 1992)

70. Order of the Government of the Russian Federation regarding urgent measures for the social security protection of orphans and of children deprived of parental care (20 June 1992)

71. Order of the Government of the Russian Federation on urgent measures to improve the situation of children in the Russian Federation (21 August 1992)

72. Statute on the Coordinating Committee on Questions regarding the Family, Mothers and Children, reporting to the President of the Russian Federation; confirmed in a 29 January 1992 instruction issued by the President of the Russian Federation.

	At beginning of
	19901991
1. Children placed in foster care with families	31 54243 231
- receiving allowances	3 0976 104
2. Children offered for adoption	36 01234 909
- adopted by step-fathers or step-mothers	23 18421 945
3. Children placed in institutional care	1 5621 426

	In thousands of persons		1989 as % of 1979 Persons with given type of education
	1979	1989	197919791989
1	2	3	456
Entire population aged 15 years or more	107 668	113 038	105.0 1 000 1 000
Those with higher and secondary (complete or incomplete) education	75 059	91 114	121.4 697 806
Breakdown by education type:
Higher	8 312	12 740	153.377113
Incomplete higher	1 782	1 930	108.31717
Specialized secondary	13 639	21 714	159.2127192
General secondary	22 020	30 986	140.7204274
Incomplete secondary	29 306	23 744	81.0272210
Those with elementary education	19 890	14 574	73.3185129
Males aged 15 years and more	48 110	51 444	106.91 0001 000
Those with higher and secondary (complete or incomplete) education	36 355	43 936	120.9 755 854
Breakdon by education type:
Higher	4 056	6 001	148.084117
Incomplete higher	858	894	104.11817
Specialized secondary	5 419	8 514	157.1113166
General secondary	10 703	16 628	155.4222323
Incomplete secondary	15 319	11 899	77.7318231
Those with elementary education	9 176	6 116	66.6191119
Table 2 (continued)
1	2	3	456
Females aged 15 years and more	59 558	61 594	103.41 0001 000
Those with higher and secondary (complete or incomplete) education	38 704	47 178	121.9 650 766
Breakdown by education type:
Higher	4 256	6 739	158.371110
Incomplete higher	924	1 036	112.11617
Specialized secondary	8 220	13 200	160.6138214
General secondary	11 317	14 358	126.9190233
Incomplete secondary	13 987	11 845	84.7235192
Those with elementary education	10 714	8 459	79.0 180 137

	1990	1991
Total	9 964.1	10 029.0
including
- large families	452.1	444.1
- young families	658.5	616.5

	1990	1991
Total	1 296.2	1 100.1
including
- large families	60.8	49.5
- young families	99.0	91.3

	1990	1991
Knitted garments (millions)	443	343
Stockings and socks (millions of pairs)	304	270
Footwear (millions of pairs)	171	146
Overcoats, full- and half-length (millions)	12.0	8.3
Jackets (millions)	12.6	11.2
Suits (millions)	17.7	11.5
resses (millions)	74.5	61.9
Trousers (millions)	26.1	18.5
Shirts (millions)	59.2	46.1
Children's bicycles (thousands)	3 708	3 487
Perambulators (thousands)	3 229	3 087

	1990	1991
Textbooks for schools providing a general education
number of titles	597	578
print-runs (millions of copies)	182.0	163.9
including textbooks for younger children:
number of titles	216	282
print-runs (millions of copies)	58.0	67.9
Children's literature:
number of titles	1 706	1 610
print-runs (millions of copies)	99.8	365.1
fiction
number of titles	1 505	1 419
print-runs (millions of copies)	274.3	337.7
non-fiction
number of titles	201	191
print-runs (millions of copies)	25.5	27.2

	1985	1990	1991
Dried-milk compounds for very young infants (thousands of tons)	12.1	17.8	17.5
Liquid and semi-solid milk products for very young infants (thousands of tons)	28.5	53.1	58.6
Dry cereal-based products for children and other persons requiring special diets (thousands of tons)	24.7	23.5	20.1
Canned meat products for children (millions of standard-size tins)	30.1	25.2	23.9
Canned fruit and vegetables for children and other persons requiring special diets (millions of standard-size tins)	151	145	138
- consisting of canned
- vegetables	13.1	9.6	12.5
- tomatoes	4.6	1.6	2.1
- fruit	130	129	115
- fruit juices	3.5	4.8	8.3

	At the beginning of the
	1980/811991/92
	academic year
1	23
Number of pupils at day-schools providing a general education (thousands)	17 639 20 427
including: - pupils in grades 10 and 11	2 310 1 971
Number of pupils (thousands) - at vocational training establishments - at specialized secondary educational establishments	1 947 2 642 1 835 2 202
Number of teachers at day-schools providing a general education (thousands)	1 066 1 497
Number of pupils at schools and in groups with extended-day operation (thousands)	4 912 3 310
Number of pupils attending school as a "first shift" (% of total number of pupils)	83.075.7
Classroom area per "first shift" pupil (m²)	2.53.3
Day-schools providing a general education that have gymnasia (% of total number of schools) of these: - schools in urban areas - schools in rural areas	51 89 39 61 91 50
Day-schools providing a general education that have computer workshops (% of total number of schools)	- 51.1
Day-schools providing a general education that have dining-rooms/canteens (% of total number of schools)	66.8 69.0
Number of six-year-olds following the first-grade programme (thousands) of these: - at schools providing a general education - at pre-school institutions	- - - 699 479 220

	1990	1991
Number of centres ("Palaces") for Pioneers and other schoolchildren	2 925	2 838
- number of children catered for (thousands)	3 384	3 131
Number of centres for young technicians	881	878
- number of children catered for (thousands)	547	514
Number of centres for young natural historians	552	552
- number of children catered for (thousands)	326	323
Number of centres for young holidaymakers and of independent holiday centres	317	368
- number of children catered for (thousands)	285	242
Number of summer recreation camps	46 074	41 110
- number of children catered for (thousands)	7 219	5 792
Number of art and music schools for children	5 582	5 740
- number of children catered for (thousands)	948	1 062
Number of independent children's libraries	4 807	4 812
- number of children catered for (thousands)	12 175	12 012
Number of sports schools for children	4 744	4 623
- number of children catered for (thousands)	2 539	2 316
Number of film screenings for children at cinemas (thousands)	4 704	3 862
Number of theatres for children	118	126
- number of theatre visits (millions)	15.8	15.7
Number of non-itinerant circuses	45	45

	At the beginning of the academic year
	1980/811991/92
	Number of schoolsNumber of children (thousands)Number of schoolsNumber of children (thousands)
Schools for children with mental or physical disabilities
- total,	1 576269.51 825295.3
consisting of schools for
- mentally retarded children	1 248213.11 454235.4
- blind children	264.6193.4
- children with impaired eyesight	45 7.3 52 7.6
- deaf (deaf & dumb) children	9315.18112.5
- children with impaired hearing	58 10.7 71 11.0
- children suffering from the effects of poliomyelitis and cerebral palsy	42 7.3 40 6.4
- children with serious speech defects	58 10.1 60 10.9
- late developers	41.088.1
- children with other disabilities	2 0.3 - -
Classes for children with mental or physical disabilities organized at day-schools providing a general education	3.7 77.4
Children's sanatoria with educational facilities	143 17.2 104 11.1

	1980	1991
	Number of institutions	Number of children (thousands)Number of institutionsNumber of children (thousands)
Homes for infants	283	21.326217.8
Children's homes	569	63.256939.9
Boarding schools for orphans and for children deprived of parental care	120	35.7 150 25.6
Boarding schools for children with mental or physical disabilities*	1 368	229.0 1 493 226.7
Normal boarding schools*	958**	306.6 682 162.1
Family-type children's homes	-	- 329 2.2

	1990	1991
Number of paediatricians (thousands)	83.0	78.2
Number of paediatricians per 10,000 children	24.5	23.3
Number of children's polyclinics and out-patient clinics (thousands)	7.6	7.3
Number of beds for sick children (thousands)	294.7	301.3
Number of beds for sick children per 10,000 children	87.0	89.8
Number of children's sanatoria - number of beds (thousands)	619 81.1	624 81.9
Number of beds in children's sanatoria per 10,000 children	23.9	24.4

Main groups of diseases	Number of recorded cases	Newly diagnosed cases
	1990	199119901991
Total	1 366.9	1 411.31 136.21 175.5
- including
- infectious and parasitogenic diseases	102.0	96.9 88.4 82.7
- diseases of the endocrine system, metabolic and immunodeficiency diseases	12.4	13.9 5.4 6.0
- diseases of the blood and of haematopoietic tissues	8.0	8.8 4.1 4.6
- mental diseases	26.1	26.76.16.1
- diseases of the nervous system and sensory organs	109.7	112.0 62.2 63.1
- diseases of the respiratory organs	828.1	866.8 783.6 822.0
- diseases of the digestive organs	82.0	84.5 38.8 40.7
- diseases of the urogenital system	20.5	21.4 7.7 8.1
- diseases of the osteomuscular tissue	17.1	18.5 8.4 9.1
- congenital anomalies (developmental defects)	9.5	10.3 2.7 3.1
- physical injury and poisoning	71.3	68.8 70.3 68.0

	1990	1991
Total number of such children identified	49 105	59 154
Number placed in
- homes for infants, children's homes and boarding schools for orphans and children deprived of parental care, and children's homes of the family type	11 054	10 351
- in foster care (including those adopted	37 409	48 216
- vocational training establishments, special secondary education institutions, higher education establishments and other educational institutions entirely at the State's expense	819	689
Children and adolescents placed with families
- in foster care	170 496	180 334
- in adoptive care	128 021	131 183
Children being brought up
- in homes for infants	4 269	...
- in children's homes	37 741	35 500
- in boarding schools for orphans	37 369	22 932
- in ordinary boarding schools	5 962	4 885
- in boarding schools for children with mental or physical disabilities	38 084	34 524
- among whom
- mentally retarded children	35 592	32 319
- blind children	113	99
- children with impaired eyesight	317	301
- deaf (deaf and dumb) children	182	166
- children with impaired hearing	145	130
- children suffering from the effects of poliomyelitis and cerebral palsy	443	467
- children with serious speech defects	628	556
- late developers	664	486

	1990	1991
Minors with records on the files of juvenile affairs inspectorates	347.8	347.7
Minors apprehended on the street and in other public places in a state of intoxication	56.6	52.6
Minors with drug or substance abuse records	14.8	14.0
Convicted minors	79.3	86.0
Minors handed over to the Ministry of Internal Affairs authorities for various reasons	585.8	534.2
- number of them not working or attending school	75.8	85.4
Children deprived of one parent owing to parents' divorce	466.1	522.2

	1981	1990	1991	1992
Number of disabled children (thousands)	52.9	138.1	155.2	221.7
Average monthly pension in roubles**	20.1	70.0	76.3	370.9

	1990	1991
Total number of such adolescents aged: - less than 14 years % of total	347 830 76 830 22.1	347 679 73 159 21.1
- 14-15 years % of total	111 721 32.1	114 194 32.8
- 16-17 years % of ttal	159 279 45.8	160 326 46.1

	1990	1991
Sexual relations with a person who has not attained sexual maturity	535	452
Acts of depravity	2 837	2 696
Wilful evasion of the payment of maintenance for children	19 643	21 834
Abuse of guardianship responsibilities	5	2
Disclosure of confidential information regarding adoption	11	10
Child abduction or substitution	48	51
Incitement of minors to criminal acts	8 203	9 351
Incitement of minors to drug or substance abuse	14	13
production and sale of pornographic objects	100	62
Concluding agreements of marriage with persons not yet of marriageable age	2	-

	1990	1991
Total number of minors handed over to MIA organs including:	585 752	534 184
- minors less than 14 years of age % of total	175 790 30.0	155 063 29.0
- minors aged 14-15 years % of total - minors aged 16-17 years % of total - minors attending school % of total - minors attending vocational training establishments % of total	178 733 30.5 231 229 39.5 264 078 45.1 122 522 20.9	168 022 31.5 211 099 39.5 236 479 44.3 104 636 19.6
- minors in employment % of total	89 482 15.3	80 918 15.1
- minors not in employment and not attending school or other educational institution % of total	75 823 12.9	85 405 16.0
- females % of total	56 656 9.7	51 210 9.6
- minors without one parent % of total	178 068 30.4	160 191 30.0
- minors without either parent % of total	19 273 3.3	16 483 3.1
- minors living in children's homes or other boarding institutions % of total	21 089 3.6	18 048 3.4