Article 212 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

Article 212, mass riots, punishes organizing (Part 1: eight to fifteen years), participating in (Part 2: three to eight years) and calling for (Part 3: up to two years) riots "accompanied by violence, pogroms, arson, destruction of property, the use of weapons or armed resistance to the authorities". Part 1.1, added in 2014, covers recruiting others to take part.

The article is the state's instrument for a street protest it wants to call a riot. It was used for the Bolotnaya Square case in 2012, for the summer 2019 Moscow protests, and for protest episodes in the regions, in each instance against people who attended a demonstration at which no pogrom or arson took place. Part 3, the call, is charged for a post or a Telegram message inviting people to come out. In the documented caseload the article often appears together with Article 318 (violence against a representative of authority) for the same event.