Child practicing holding a weapon.
The Russian educational system is considering a new law that would put “Avtomat Kalashnikova 47s” (known as AK-47s) into the hands of all school-aged children. The Russian parliament, known as the Duma, is likely to pass the law, which will come into effect on Jan. 1, 2020.
“We see the situation happening in America and other places in the world. We want to be proactive” Gleb Yemelin, deputy to the State Duma, said.
So far, mass shootings are rare in Russia. But in October 2018, a student armed with an automatic rifle and an explosive device killed 17 people and injured 50 more in Russian-controlled Crimea. Russia has strict gun control laws. These limit the types of firearms available and who can own them.
“As we can see from the 2018 attack, if someone wants to find a weapon, they will find one” Artur Dolgachev, head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, said. “This law will bring us in line with the modernized world in terms of firearms and attacks prevention.”
The purpose of the law is to try to bring assault rifles and other firearms to the places where they will be most needed: schools. In the United States, there were 23 incidents in the past year, the highest recorded number.
The proposed Russian law, “Magazines in Magazines,” is a play on words in the Russian language. There a “magazine” is both a word for a component of a firearm and a store. Children 6-17 years of age will be able to bring a special voucher into a school-supplies shop and exchange it for a weapon of their choice. Pistols, rifles, automatic rifles, sub-machine guns and assault rifles are all on the table.
“The issue with the American system is that the children themselves are not sufficiently protected” Dolgachev said. “This law will increase the number of firearms in Russia drastically. It will put them in the hands of those who can do the most good. Our youths will be the ones targeted by these school attacks. By having them properly trained and armed, they will be able to assess a threat and deal with it quickly.”
The law makes special note that the proposed 563 percent increase in firearms will help the Russian Federation both domestically and internationally.
“We are demonstrating to the world that not only can we handle our own internal issues – before they even start. We will also show that we are prepared for foreign invasion.”
The Russian military has a standing army of approximately a million men, with a reserve force of two million more. There are an estimated 20 million children attending schools in Russia. Dolgachev said, “This will act as a deterrent for any potential adversary. Having 20 million fully trained gunmen will not only be practical. It will also act as a psychological deterrent. A foreign soldier will hesitate to shoot a child. But our children will not hesitate to shoot!”
There was some criticism from the Russian Communist party, which holds 15 percent of the State Duma seats. “We have such a low incidence of gun violence because they are so scarce! This will increase gun violence by leaps and bounds,” deputy Boris Tigrov said.
Proponents of the bill brushed aside the criticism. “The law says that the weapons are to be used solely for lawful purposes. It will be strictly enforced. We expect no misuse. The ‘Magazines in Magazines’ program will act as a deterrent for would-be-hooligans as well as enemies of the state,” Dolgachev said.
Funding for the new law is expected to come from the closure of 15 percent of all state schools, as well as reducing the yearly budget for state orphanages by 75 percent.
