The
chair of the Russian Federation Duma (Parliament) committee that deals with
civil, criminal, arbitration and procedural legislation, Pavel Krasheninnikov,
told a conference on child welfare and legal protection of children that a bill
concerning the provision of accommodation for people leaving orphanages is
under consideration there. According to the text of the bill local
authority  accommodation would be
supplied under a special agreement for a period of five years. This would be
given to each person at a discounted rate. ‘If during that time the young
person is able to find work and to become fully integrated into the community,
then the special rental agreement will be converted into a social let’, he
said. Where young people go into the army, provision of accommodation is to be
postponed. The bill was expected to become law in February.

The
president  of the charity, Voluntary Aid
for Young Orphans, Elena Alshanskaya, welcomed the initiative. ‘Considering
that previously such young people sold their 
accommodation for a song or lost it to fraudsters, it is a good thing
that they will be able to live in their own apartment with the ability to deal
with it at their own discretion being limited for a period’, she observed.

The
Moscow children’s ombudsman, Evgeny Bunimovich, told the ASI correspondent that
a similar model has been operating in the capital for ten years. Seemingly it
has been decided to extend the experience to the whole of Russia. ‘These young
people are not prepared to lead an independent life and often come under the
influence of fraudsters. In order to protect them from possible trouble, the
Moscow legislation prohibits them from making dispositions of the accommodation
during the first five years even though they own it’. he said. Once that time
has elapsed, the young person is given full ownership. He acknowledged that in
some cases the young person might still not be sufficiently able to cope at
that point in which case the agreement is extended for another five years.

Mr
Krasheninnikov noted that there were bills being considered in the Duma dealing
with the issue of accommodation for children when the parents divorce,
prohibiting persons convicted of extremism from working with minors and
increasing the sanctions for paedophilia in both civil and criminal
legislation. The latter bill proposes a ban on imposing a conditional sentence
on paedophiles and makes early conditional release impossible before 4/5 of the
term of imprisonment has expired. Furthermore, the bill makes the maximum
punishment for paedophilia life imprisonment.

http://www.asi.org.ru/ASI3%5Crws_asi.nsf/va_WebPages/AA5DB06C481BE0FB4425798F003C48F7Rus