Russia’s new ad campaign uses teen slang to urge teens to back out of arson and sabotage jobs
Public service ads discouraging teenagers from committing arson and sabotage have appeared in St. Petersburg. Facebook users noticed one such banner, a rotating digital display.
The banners feature portraits of smiling teenagers alongside captions: “Coolly bailed on torching a relay cabinet and didn’t get 10 years for arson,” “Fearlessly ditched torching a cell tower and didn’t get 10 years for sabotage,” and “Quietly slipped off a handler’s hook and didn’t get 15 years for a bombing.”
The images are all advertisements for Vykhod31 (“Exit 31”), a project recently launched under the government’s Obyasnyaem.rf initiative. According to the project’s website, Vykhod31 was created “in response to increasingly frequent attempts to lure young Russians into committing arson, bombings, and other acts of terrorism.”
The project takes its name from Article 31 of Russia’s Criminal Code, which covers voluntary abandonment of a crime. State media, senators (1, 2), and lawmakers from the outgoing State Duma and from regional legislatures (1, 2, 3) are already promoting it.
Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti said the project “combined outdoor advertising, posters, TV commercials, and social media content.” Among other things, the materials are meant to teach teenagers that “real law enforcement officers will never contact you on messaging apps from an unknown number.” The project’s website also publishes recommendations for teenagers and their parents, along with the stories of children who were sent to prison in arson and sabotage cases.
Arson attacks on railroad relay cabinets, cell towers, and other infrastructure have occurred regularly across Russia since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Teenagers are often implicated in these cases: the youngest detainee was 11. Criminal liability for terrorism and sabotage offenses begins at age 14.
As of May 2026, the independent Russian news outlet Mediazona had counted at least 240 teenagers detained in Russia on terrorism or sabotage charges since the war began. In most cases — 205 of them — the teenagers’ actions were attributed to a desire for easy money from side jobs. Six were duped into committing arson by scammers, and five said they opposed the war. The motive was unclear in the remaining cases.
In an extensive review of these cases, the outlet said teenagers find arson jobs advertised online. The postings are often framed as insurance fraud or other “shady” schemes, but they are placed by Ukrainian and Russian security services. Human rights activists have also said that provocateurs from the security services may be involved in these cases.
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