Russian Investigative Committee chief calls for raising drinking age to 21 and lowering criminal liability age for drug dealing to 14

Alexander Bastrykin, the head of Russia’s Federal Investigative Committee, has called for a ban on alcohol sales to Russians under 21, according to Interfax. He also proposed lowering the age of criminal liability for drug dealing from 16 to 14.

“In the interest of preventing alcohol abuse among young people, it’s imperative that we ban sales of alcohol products (including low-alcohol drinks and beer) to anyone under 21,” Bastrykin said at a Wednesday meeting to review the agency’s work in 2024. Russia’s current legal drinking age is 18.

Meanwhileowering the age of liability for drug dealing, he argued, “would help combat criminal groups that draw teenagers into the drug trade.”

According to Bastrykin, the number of severe and especially severe crimes committed by minors has risen by 11 percent over the past year. “A significant share of these cases — 14 percent — involve drug-related offenses. In 2024, Investigative Committee officers sent criminal cases against 949 teenagers accused of drug dealing to court,” he said.

In total, the agency reported handling more than 17,000 criminal cases involving minors last year, with over 7,600 cases brought to court against 9,000 teenagers.