The article presents research results on the current trends of extremism in Russia over the period from 2017 to 2021. It is noted that extremism is one of the most challenging issues confronting not only modern Russian society, but also almost the whole world, arising primarily from the diversity of its manifestations. Countering extremism is one of the priority tasks that the absolute majority of countries in the world have to solve, both at the national and interstate levels, in order to ensure state and public security. Despite the increasing joint efforts in countering extremism, the following main trends are relevant: since 2020, there has been an increase in extremist crimes, the structure of which is dominated by such offenses as public appeals to extremist activity, organizing activities of an extremist organization, incitement of hatred or hostility, as well as abasement of human dignity; an increase in the scale of destructive impact of extremist organizations on minors; widespread use of information and telecommunication networks, including the Internet, to legalize (launder) money, spread the ideology of violence, distort history, revive and justify the ideas of Nazism and fascism, dilute traditional spiritual and moral values, engage in the activities of extremist organizations; spread radicalism in the sports sector; cultivation of criminal subculture and other. New forms of extremism -cyber-extremism, environmental extremism, bio-extremism and others should also be taken into account. The identified trends of extremism suggest that its consequences are manifested in all spheres of society -political, economic and social.

Currently, there is not a single state in the world that has not encountered, to one degree or another, the unlawful activity of criminal communities (criminal organizations). They are characterized by a transnational character, a clear hierarchical structure that saves leaders from direct participation in the commission of crimes, a financial base, merging with the state apparatus, diversification, and widespread use of the achievements of science, technology, information telecommunication technologies. The Russian Federation, in the organized crime hierarchy, the highest position occupied by the so-called "criminal lord", who are the ideologists of a criminal pursuits and keepers of organized crime traditions. They involve young people in unlawful activities, introduce thievish concepts into their minds, and thereby prepare fertile ground for the crime reproduction. In prisons, they try to subjugate the convicts to their will, set them negatively against the correctional administrations, oppress and discredit those who have embarked on the path of correction. "Criminal lord" also perform the functions of a kind of arbitrators, resolving conflicts that periodically arise between criminal communities and their participants. Despite the criminalization of occupying the highest position in the criminal hierarchy (Article 210¹ of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), the legislator does not disclose the most significant features of this crime. As a result, the concepts of "criminal hierarchy" and "highest position in the criminal hierarchy" are evaluative, which leads to errors in law enforcement, negatively affects the quality of compliance with the principles of legality, equality, justice, and humanism.