One of the most hideous tactics of the opposition in agitation of participants in recent protest rallies was the involvement of youth in the process.
Dragging teenagers out into the streets under the guise of vigorous activity and civic awareness, hiding the fact that this is a violation of the law, and what kind of responsibility threatens for it, is low and despicable.
I don't want to talk about conscience in relation to Navalny's supporters, because these are matters completely incomprehensible to them, which has already been proved more than once by the behavior of Navalny himself and his closest circle (take, for example, Lyubov Sobol's attack on pregnant Margarita Simonyan or unprecedented aggression and threats of violence from ex-press secretary of FBK * Anna Veduta).
President Vladimir Putin has called for an intensified fight against the involvement of children in unsanctioned protests over the Internet.
After all, if this threat is completely real, then all of us will be responsible for the consequences of the opposition's behavior.
We cannot blame children for their ignorance, as well as take advantage of it.
It is we who are responsible for minors, for their actions and for the way they see this world.
Vladimir Vladimirovich very rightly noted: "We must never forget that these are our children, and we need to work in such a way as not to create additional threats to their life and health."
And the only ones who should be held accountable are the organizers of the unsanctioned rallies, but not the children themselves.
Parents and teachers should be responsible for negligence in matters of upbringing, education and caring for them.
Scientists have long proven that incorrectly built parent-child relationships threaten with aggression from adolescents.
There is more than one study proving that the authoritarian method of raising and communicating with a child makes him prone to violence, alcoholism, and encourages smoking and drug use.
Protesting and disrespecting authorities is a completely optional trait of adolescents.
But because of the so popular - inherently oppressive - family relationships (through intimidation, blackmail, manipulation and constant punishment), children tend to distrust their elders, because parents and caregivers who have abused their authority have completely ruined the concept of normal hierarchy.
Children have to explain that "authority" is not a bad word, because they simply did not have an adequate role model before their eyes.
It turns out that we are literally responsible for children and their future.
By neglecting our responsibilities as elders, we are pushing children to completely unnecessary violations of the law, including in the form of going out to unauthorized protests.
This kind of activism gives them a sense of their own worth, here they can assert themselves, declare themselves and - in fact - ask for help, ask to notice them.
I think that it is not worth shifting the burden of decision-making to children, because this is our job.
Therefore, it makes no sense to convince teenagers not to go to protests just because they have to think about their parents, who, if something happens, will not only worry about their offspring, but will also bear responsibility.
This is a ridiculous substitution of concepts and manipulations that children immediately read, although they may not know what it is called.
Adolescents need to be aware of not only their rights, but also their responsibilities.
And the best way to protect them from danger is to talk about what awaits them in the big, real world.
You shouldn't intimidate, of course, but there is no need to protect from supposedly non-childish information.
Only honesty and respect can we help them.
And that is exactly how to protect against calls for unauthorized actions and dusting the mind.
* The Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) is included in the register of NPOs performing the functions of a foreign agent by the decision of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation dated 09.10.2019.
The point of view of the author may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.