W O R L D F A C T B O O K OF C R I M I N A L J U S T I C E S Y S T E M S

Russia

Ilya V. N i k i f o r o v

This c o u n t r y report is one of m a n y p r e p a r e d for the W o r l d F a c t b o o k

of Criminal Justice Systems under Grant No. 9 0 - B J - C X - 0 0 0 2 f r o m the B u r e a u
of Justice S t a t i s t i c s to the State U n i v e r s i t y of N e w York at
Albany. The p r o j e c t d i r e c t o r for the W o r l d F a c t b o o k of C r i m i n a l J u s t i c e
was Graeme R. Newman, but r e s p o n s i b i l i t y for the a c c u r a c y of the
i n f o r m a t i o n c o n t a i n e d in each report is that of the i n d i v i d u a l
author. The contents of these reports do not n e c e s s a r i l y r e f l e c t the
views or policies of the Bureau of J u s t i c e S t a t i s t i c s or the U.S. D e p a r t m e n t
of Justice.

GENERAL OVERVIEW

i. Political System.
Russia is a f e d e r a t i v e state. The sources of
law in Russia include the Russian constitution,
Federal c o n s t i t u t i o n a l law, Federal laws, and laws
of subjects of federation. Administrative bodies
issue the acts that must comply with the laws.
The C o n s t i t u t i o n has the p r e e m i n e n t force and
Federal laws cannot c o n t r a d i c t Federal
c o n s t i t u t i o n a l law. A l t h o u g h court d e c i s i o n s are
not o f f i c i a l l y a c c e p t e d as the sources of law in
Russia, the e x p l a n a t o r y rulings of the S u p r e m e
Court of Russia u s u a l l y not only c l a r i f y the
a p p l i c a t i o n of e x i s t i n g law but also create new
legal rules. Lower courts u s u a l l y comply in their
p r a c t i c e with the Supreme Court rulings.
The p e n i t e n t i a r y s y s t e m and the
l a w - e n f o r c e m e n t bodies of Russia are h e a d e d by the
M i n i s t r y of Internal affairs.

2. Legal System.
Russia is a f e d e r a t i v e state. A c c o r d i n g to
Section 71 of the C o n s t i t u t i o n of Russia, c r i m i n a l
and c r i m i n a l - p r o c e d u r e law are under the e x c l u s i v e
j u r i s d i c t i o n of Federal bodies. The a s s u r a n c e of
p u b l i c order and safety is a joint duty of the
federation and its parts. It s h o u l d be n o t e d that
acts issued by a u t h o r i t i e s of the regions and
republics forming Russia cannot c o n t r a d i c t the
laws issued by Federal bodies.
The s y s t e m of courts is g o v e r n e d by the
Justice M i n i s t r y of Russia, w h i c h has t e r r i t o r i a l
b r a n c h e s in the federation. This m i n i s t r y
p r i m a r i l y p e r f o r m s financial and a d m i n i s t r a t i v e
functions. Judges are i n d e p e n d e n t and make their
d e c i s i o n s a c c o r d i n g to the rule of law. Higher
courts may a f f i r m or repeal the d e c i s i o n s of the
lower courts a c c o r d i n g to criminal p r o c e d u r e rules
and may also grant writs of certiorari.
The most important laws o r i g i n a t e from: the
C r i m i n a l Code, the Criminal P r o c e d u r e Code, the
C r i m i n a l P u n i s h m e n t E x e c u t i o n Code (in R u s s i a n it
is c a l l e d the R e f o r m i n g Labour Code), Law on the
Justice System, Law on the Militia, and Law on the
Status of Judges.

3. H i s t o r y of the C r i m i n a l J u s t i c e System.
The criminal l e g i s l a t i o n of Russia has its
d e e p e s t roots in the first known act, R u s s k a y a
pravda, i s s u e d in llth century. The great
c o d i f i c a t i o n of R u s s i a n criminal l e g i s l a t i o n
c a l l e d S o b o r n o e U l o z h e n i e o c c u r r e d in 1649.
Before the r e v o l u t i o n the U l o z h e n i e o n a k a z a n i y a h
u g o l o v n i c h i i s p r a v i t e l n i c h was effective. Texts
of these statutes can be found in R u s s i a n
l e g i s l a t i o n of X-XX centuries. (See source 12).
The Soviet p e r i o d had a great effect on the
judicial s y s t e m and up to the p r e s e n t day there
are a number of major laws, i n c l u d i n g the C r i m i n a l
Code and Criminal P r o c e d u r e Code, that remain in
force. In the summer of 1994, P r e s i d e n t Y e l t z i n
a p p r o v e d a draft of the C r i m i n a l Code was p a s s e d
in 1995.
A l t h o u g h the Criminal Code has been a m e n d e d
seven times since 1990, reforms in p o s t - S o v i e t
criminal l e g i s l a t i o n go rather slowly. For
example, the d i s t i n c t i o n b e t w e e n State and p r i v a t e
p r o p e r t y was removed from the C r i m i n a l Code only
in the summer of 1994. Prior to that, the Code
called for more serious p u n i s h m e n t s for crimes
against State property.

CRIME

I. C l a s s i f i c a t i o n s of Crimes.

*Legal c l a s s i f i c a t i o n . T h e r e is no crime that is

not i n d i c a t e d in the criminal code. This is the
sole source of criminal legislation. The Code
c l a s s i f i e s crimes into two categories: m a j o r
offenses, such as rape, kidnapping, treason,
espionage, crimes a g a i n s t the justice system,
serious violent crimes, and murder; m i n o r offenses
such as offenses against property, hooliganism,
and offenses against the p u b l i c order. This
d i s t i n c t i o n is used to d e t e r m i n e s e n t e n c i n g of
offenders' and the type of c o r r e c t i o n a l
i n s t i t u t i o n s to which they are sent.

*Age of criminal responsibility. The age of

criminal r e s p o n s i b i l i t y is 16 years. Persons over
14 years old will bear r e s p o n s i b i l i t y only for
murder, major b o d i l y injury, rape, kidnapping,
larceny, robbery, burglary, s t e a l i n g of firearms
and drugs, m a l i c i o u s hooliganism, and train
catastrophe. The court may impose e d u c a t i o n a l
or r e f o r m m e a s u r e s instead of criminal p u n i s h m e n t
on persons under the age of 18 who c o m m i t t e d a
crime.

*Drug offenses. The Criminal code includes a

number of drug statutes which make illegal:
l)unlawful production, transportation, storage,
m a i l i n g or d i s t r i b u t i o n of drugs; 2 ) s t e a l i n g
drugs; 3 ) i n c l i n a t i o n to consume drugs; 4)unlawful
obtaining and storage of a small q u a n t i t y of
drugs; 5 ) c u l t i v a t i o n of poppy or hemp;
6 ) o r g a n i z a t i o n of haunts for c o n s u m m a t i o n of
drugs.
The list of illegal drugs was c r e a t e d by the
Constant C o m m i t t e e for Drug Control of the H e a l t h
Care M i n i s t r y of Russia in c o m p l i a n c e with the
U n i f o r m I n t e r n a t i o n a l C o n v e n t i o n on Drugs 1961. It
contains more than 400 substances i n c l u d i n g opium,
morphine, hemp, heroin, cocaine, and codeine. In
addition, there is a list of drastic remedies and
poisons that are illegal to produce, transport,
store, or distribute.

2. Crime Statistics.
The following data were compiled by the
M i n i s t r y of Internal Affairs for the years
1989-1993 on the basis of police reports. In 1993
2,799,614 crimes were reported; only 1,395,000 of
them (50.6%) were i n v e s t i g a t e d successfully.
Major crimes constitute 17% of all reported
crimes; crimes against property, more than 50%.
The definitions of crimes comply with the
Criminal Code but are not available in this
document.

1989 1990 1991 1992 1993

Total number of crimes reported
1,620,000 1,890,000 2,200,000 2,700,000 2,800,000
Murder
13,543 15,566 16,122 23,006 29,213
Major b o d i l y injury
36,872 40,962 41,195 53,873 66,902
Rape
14,597 15,010 14,073 13,663 14,400

*Drug offenses. There were 53,200 drug crimes

reported in 1993, 1.8 times greater than in 1992.

*Crime Regions. No i n f o r m a t i o n available.

VICTIMS

i) Groups Most V i c t i m i z e d by Crime.

Russian researchers indicate that certain
segments of the p o p u l a t i o n are more v i c t i m i z e d by
crime than others. For example, youth and senior
citizens are v i c t i m i z e d more often than other
groups. Men are more often the victims of
h o o l i g a n i s m and women, more often v i c t i m s of
fraud. In 81% of all crime and in 63.2% of m a j o r
b o d i l y injuries, the victims were r e l a t i v e s or
friends of the offenders.
The o c c u p a t i o n s of i n d i v i d u a l s also e f f e c t
w h e t h e r or not they be a v i c t i m of crime. Taxi
drivers, b u s i n e s s p e r s o n s or bank employees,
m i l i t i a officers, and cashiers are c o n s i d e r e d at
risk in Russia.
In certain cases, some c u l p a b i l i t y b e l o n g s to
the victim. For example, in 40% of all rape cases
and 41% of all m a n s l a u g h t e r cases a l c o h o l was
p r e s e n t in the victim's b l o o d s t r e a m .

2. Victims' A s s i s t a n c e Agencies. No i n f o r m a t i o n
available.

3. Role of V i c t i m in P r o s e c u t i o n and Sentencing.

A v i c t i m may p a r t i c i p a t e in the trial. In
certain cases, for example, in rape cases or in
breach of author's rights cases, the p r o s e c u t i o n
can p r o c e e d only after a w r i t t e n d e c l a r a t i o n by
the victim. There are, however, a few e x c e p t i o n s
in which a p r o s e c u t o r can i n i t i a t e p r o c e e d i n g s . In
these cases a v i c t i m cannot stop the p r o c e e d i n g
after the c o m p l a i n t is filed. In contrast,
p r o s e c u t i o n in slander and b e a t i n g cases can be
i n i t i a t e d and s t o p p e d by the victim.

4) Victims' Rights Legislation.

A r t i c l e 30 of the Law on Property, a d o p t e d
D e c e m b e r 25th, 1990, p r o v i d e s that the state shall
c o m p e n s a t e m a t e r i a l damage s u s t a i n e d by a v i c t i m
from a crime. But in 1993 and 1994, the a c t i o n of
this p r o v i s i o n was s u s p e n d e d b e c a u s e the b u d g e t
did not a l l o w for it. L e g i s l a t i o n on the d e f e n s e
of p e r s o n s p a r t i c i p a t i n g in criminal p r o c e d u r e is
p e n d i n g in the Parliament.

POLICE

I. A d m i n i s t r a t i o n .
The M i l i t i a is a p u b l i c agency, a part of the
e x e c u t i v e branch of government. Its tasks are
p r o t e c t i n g life, p h y s i c a l health, rights and
freedoms of citizens; p r o t e c t i n g property, and
the i n t e r e s t s of the state and s o c i e t y from
criminal and other unlawful i n f r i n g e m e n t s . The
M i l i t i a is a u t h o r i z e d to use force to p e r f o r m its
functions.
The M i l i t i a forms a part of the s t r u c t u r e of
the M i n i s t r y of Internal Affairs. It is s u b d i v i d e d
into the C r i m i n a l M i l i t i a and the Public S e c u r i t y
Militia. The C r i m i n a l M i l i t i a is s u b o r d i n a t e d to
the M i n i s t r y of Internal A f f a i r s of Russia and the
m i n i s t r i e s of internal affairs of the republics
c o m p r i s i n g the Russian federation. The Public
Security Militia is also s u b o r d i n a t e d to local
authorities.
The Criminal M i l i t i a has the task of
prevention, suppression, and exposure of criminal
offenses that require a p r e l i m i n a r y investigation;
the o r g a n i z a t i o n of searches for persons who have
escaped from bodies of inquiry; i n v e s t i g a t i o n s
under judicial bodies involving persons who avoid
the execution of criminal punishment;
i n v e s t i g a t i o n of m i s s i n g persons and of other
persons as the law prescribes.
The Public Security M i l i t i a or local m i l i t i a
has the task of ensuring the personal s e c u r i t y of
citizens; ensuring the p u b l i c security; p r o t e c t i o n
of public order; p r e v e n t i o n and s u p p r e s s i o n of
criminal offenses and minor delinquencies; the
d i s c l o s u r e of criminal offenses that do not
require a p r e l i m i n a r y investigation; i n v e s t i g a t i o n
of criminal offenses in the form of inquiry; the
rendering of a s s i s t a n c e to citizens, officials,
businesses, establishments, o r g a n i z a t i o n s and
public associations.
An independent police structure is the
Department of T a x a t i o n Police. The T a x a t i o n
Police are charged with the prevention,
suppression, and exposure of taxation crimes and
infringements; s a f e g u a r d i n g taxation inspection,
and p r o t e c t i o n of the d e p a r t m e n t ' s officers.

2. Resources.

*Expenditures. Annual e x p e n d i t u r e on the law

e n f o r c e m e n t system in 1994 was a p p r o x i m a t e l y
1 6 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 rubles (US$7,000,000,000).

*Number of police, a) A Special D e t a c h m e n t of

Militia is created for a city with a p o p u l a t i o n
exceeding 300,000 persons, b) A "Watching unit"
with 8-12 officers is created for a town with a
p o p u l a t i o n exceeding 50,000 persons. The average
size for a "watching unit" of a water or a r a i l w a y
transport internal affairs d e p a r t m e n t is also 8-12
officers, c) The number of corrections officers
employed in a p e n i t e n t i a r y that houses people
during pre-trial i n c a r c e r a t i o n depends on the
number of persons incarcerated:
Persons Number of
Incarcerated Officers
<25 8-11
26-50 13-16
51-75 17-20
76-100 21-25
d) There is one officer of inquiry for every 165
p r i m a r y materials (or for approx. 50 cases)
brought before the court, e) There is one juvenile
d e l i n q u e n c y inspector for every 4,000-5,000
persons under 16. f) There is one inspector per
3,000 v e h i c l e s in the a u t o m o b i l e i n s p e c t i o n unit.

3. Technology.

* A v a i l a b i l i t y of p o l i c e automobiles. Information
not available.

*Electronic equipment. I n f o r m a t i o n not available.

*Weapons The m i l i t i a is a u t h o r i z e d to use

firearms, rubber batons, tear-gas, and firehoses.
There is no i n f o r m a t i o n on the a v a i l a b i l i t y of
b u l l e t proof vests.

4. T r a i n i n g and Q u a l i f i c a t i o n s .
To join the militia, a p e r s o n is r e q u i r e d to
pass p r o f e s s i o n a l t r a i n i n g in s p e c i a l i z e d h i g h e r
or s e c o n d a r y e d u c a t i o n a l e s t a b l i s h m e n t s of the
M i n i s t r y of Internal A f f a i r s or other state
departments. To enter these e s t a b l i s h m e n t s , a
person must be 18-35 years old, have a s e c o n d a r y
e d u c a t i o n a n d no previous convictions. An o f f i c e r
serves a p r o b a t i o n period lasting from 3 months to
1 year.

5. D i s c r e t i o n

*Use of force. O f f i c e r s of the m i l i t i a are

a l l o w e d to use p h y s i c a l force, special means, and
weapons. Physical force, i n c l u d i n g special combat
methods, can be used for p r e v e n t i o n of o f f e n s e s
and d e l i n q u e n c i e s , d e t e n t i o n of offenders, and
o v e r c o m i n g r e s i s t a n c e to lawful orders.
Special means include rubber batons,
tear-gas, manacles, special light and sound
d i v e r t i n g means, firehoses, special means for
s t o p p i n g transport, a r m o u r e d cars, and p a t r o l
dogs.
The M i l i t i a can use firearms for d e f e n s e of
citizens, for self-defense, to gain the release of
hostages, to d e t a i n offenders, and to suppress
escapes. An o f f i c e r must i n f o r m the chief of the
m i l i t i a d e p a r t m e n t of every i n c i d e n t i n v o l v i n g the
use of firearms no more than 24 hours after the
incident. In 1993, firearms were used by p o l i c e
officers 2,200 times and 376 c r i m i n a l s were
killed.
The use of firearms and special means is
forbidden against women, persons who are o b v i o u s l y
disabled, and persons under the age of 18.

*Stop/apprehend a suspect. A body p r o s e c u t i n g an

i n q u i r y has the right to arrest an a l l e g e d
offender if the relevant offense may be p u n i s h e d
by imprisonment, p r o v i d e d that: i) the p e r s o n is
detained during the crime or i m m e d i a t e l y after, or
2) e y e - w i t n e s s e s , including victims, indicate that
the p e r s o n is the o f f e n d e r , or 3) t h e s u s p e c t or
his c l o t h e s b e a r the o b v i o u s s i g n s of the crime,
or s u c h signs can be f o u n d w i t h h i m or in his
home, or 4) w h e n r e a s o n s e x i s t to s u s p e c t t h e
p e r s o n of c o m m i t t i n g the crime, p r o v i d e d that: (a)
the p e r s o n t r i e d to escape, or (b) h a s no
p e r m a n e n t d o m i c i l e , or (c) c a n n o t b e i d e n t i f i e d .

*Decision to arrest. No i n f o r m a t i o n available.

* S e a r c h a n d seizure. If c e r t a i n d o c u m e n t s or
i t e m s w h i c h are i m p o r t a n t for f u r t h e r
investigation are k n o w n to be at a c e r t a i n
l o c a t i o n or at the d i s p o s a l of a c e r t a i n p e r s o n ,
investigators h a v e the r i g h t to s e i z e t h e s e i t e m s
or d o c u m e n t s .
An investigator can p e r f o r m a s e a r c h to f i n d
tools u s e d for c o m m i t t i n g a crime, d o c u m e n t s ,
v a l u a b l e s , p e r s o n s , or d e a d b o d i e s .
A p p r o v a l b y the p r o s e c u t o r is r e q u i r e d to
p e r f o r m a search, to s e i z e d o c u m e n t s w h i c h c o n t a i n
S t a t e s e c r e t s , or to s e i z e p o s t a l a n d t e l e g r a p h
correspondence.

*Confessions. No information available.

6. A c c o u n t a b i l i t y .
A p e r s o n can a p p e a l a g a i n s t the a c t i o n s of a
m i l i t i a o f f i c e r to h i g h e r o f f i c e r s or m i l i t i a
b o d i e s , to the p r o s e c u t o r , or to the court.

PROSECUTORIAL AND JUDICIAL PROCESS

I. Rights of A c c u s e d .

* R i g h t s of the a c c u s e d at trial. T h e a c c u s e d has

the right: i) to be i n f o r m e d of the n a t u r e a n d
c o u r s e of the a c c u s a t i o n ; 2) to g i v e e x p l a n a t i o n s
in the c o u r s e of a c c u s a t i o n ; to p r e s e n t e v i d e n c e ;
s u b m i t p e t i t i o n s and a p p e a l s to the court; 3) to
k n o w the r e a s o n s and g r o u n d s for a r r e s t ; 4) to
e x a m i n e the m a t e r i a l s i n t r o d u c e d to the c o u r t to
v a l i d a t e the c h a r g e s ; 5) to k n o w the r e a s o n s a n d
g r o u n d s for the e x t e n s i o n of his i n c a r c e r a t i o n ; 6)
to e x a m i n e the r e c o r d s of p r e - t r i a l i n v e s t i g a t i o n ;
7) to h a v e a C o u n s e l o r ; 8) to r e j e c t i n d i v i d u a l
j u d g e s or o t h e r trial p a r t i c i p a n t s a n d 9) at the
e n d of i n v e s t i g a t i o n , to e x a m i n e all m a t e r i a l s
p e r t a i n n g the c a s e a n d I0) to a p p e a l the a c t i o n s
a n d d e c i s i o n s of an i n v e s t i g a t o r , a prosecutor and
or a judge.
A c a s e can be e x a m i n e d b y a c o u r t
c o n s i s t i n g of: i) a J u d g e a n d two A s s e s s o r s , 2)
t h r e e Judges, 3) a Jury, or 4) a J u d g e alone.
T h e j u r y s y s t e m was just i n t r o d u c e d i n t o
R u s s i a n c r i m i n a l p r o c e d u r e a n d the c h a n g e s h a v e
not yet taken effect. The jury will p a r t i c i p a t e
in the trial at the d i s c r e t i o n of the o f f e n d e r if
he is a c c u s e d of serious crimes (malicious murder,
treason, acts of terrorism, or offenses a g a i n s t
justice). They will d e c i d e only questions of fact,
not q u e s t i o n s of a p p l i c a b l e law or the sentence.
With a few exceptions, every c i t i z e n from 25 to 70
years old can be a juror (Law of July 16th, 1993).

* A s s i s t a n c e to the accused. A f t e r the a c c u s a t i o n

against h i m is brought, an a c c u s e d gains the right
to have a C o u n s e l o r who must be a m e m b e r of the
bar association. At the trial the a c c u s e d can also
have a Public C o u n s e l o r who is a r e p r e s e n t a t i v e of
the p u b l i c a s s o c i a t i o n or labor c o l l e c t i v e w h e r e
he has worked. A n y p e r s o n can act as Counsel for
the defense, whose duty it is to p r o t e c t the
interests of the d e f e n d a n t in the court.
An a c c u s e d can be r e l e a s e d from p a y i n g
c o u n s e l o r fees by the d e c i s i o n of the court or an
investigator.

2. Procedures.

* P r e p a r a t o r y p r o c e d u r e s for b r i n g i n g a suspect to
trial. There are two p r e - t r i a l stages: the
i n s t i t u t i o n of p r o c e e d i n g s and the p r e l i m i n a r y
i n v e s t i g a t i o n , i) The p r e l i m i n a r y i n v e s t i g a t i o n
consists of a) p r o m u l g a t i o n of court members; b)
i d e n t i f i c a t i o n of the accused; c) control of
a t t e n d a n c e of p a r t i c i p a n t s in the trial; d)
e x p l a n a t i o n of rights to p a r t i c i p a n t s in the
trial; e) removing w i t n e s s e s from the hall and f)
e x a m i n a t i o n of petitions. 2) Court i n v e s t i g a t i o n :
a) e v i d e n c e examination; 3) p l e a d i n g s w h i c h
consist of speeches d e l i v e r e d by the prosecutor,
civil plaintiff, civil respondent, their
representatives, counselors, and the a c c u s e d
d e f e n d a n t if he does not have a counselor. 4)
Short second pleadings: all p a r t i c i p a n t s of the
trial have the right to plea once more. 5) The
final word of the defendant. 6) The p a r t i c i p a n t s
in the trial p r e s e n t to the court their
s u g g e s t i o n s c o n c e r n i n g the sentence. 7) P a s s i n g a
sentence.

*Official who conducts prosecution. An a c c u s a t i o n

b e f o r e the court is i n i t i a t e d by a p r o s e c u t o r or a
p u b l i c p r o s e c u t o r who is a r e p r e s e n t a t i v e of a
p u b l i c a s s o c i a t i o n or labor c o l l e c t i v e where the
a c c u s e d had worked.

* A l t e r n a t i v e s to trial. A l t e r n a t i v e s to going to
trial include t r a n s f e r r i n g the case to the
juvenile commission, t r a n s f e r i n g it to comrades'
court, use of an official reprimand, and r e l e a s e
on bail.
 If an a c c u s e d is not m e n t a l l y fit, a court
can d e c i d e to use c o m p u l s o r y m e d i c a l t r e a t m e n t
i n s t e a d of penal p u n i s h m e n t ; c o m p u l s o r y
r e f o r m a t o r y m e a s u r e s can be a p p l i e d if an a c c u s e d
is u n d e r 18.

* P r o p o r t i o n of p r o s e c u t e d cases going to trial.

No i n f o r m a t i o n available.

*Pre-trial i n c a r c e r a t i o n conditions. Pre-trial

i n c a r c e r a t i o n can be used if the p u n i s h m e n t for
the a l l e g e d o f f e n s e includes i m p r i s o n m e n t of 1
year or m o r e or b e c a u s e of the p u b l i c d a n g e r of
the offense. A p p r o v a l of the p r o s e c u t o r is
r e q u i r e d for p r e - t r i a l i n c a r c e r a t i o n .

*Bail procedure. The a c c u s e d or any o t h e r p e r s o n

can d e p o s i t m o n e y to g u a r a n t e e a t t e n d a n c e of the
a c c u s e d at the i n v e s t i g a t i o n and the trial. The
size of the bail is d e t e r m i n e d by the i n v e s t i g a t o r
and a p p r o v a l of the p r o s e c u t o r is r e q u i r e d for use
of bail. If the suspect or the a c c u s e d fails to
a t t e n d the trial, the bail is t u r n e d over to the
State.

* P r o p o r t i o n of p r e - t r i a l o f f e n d e r s i n c a r c e r a t e d .
The p r o p o r t i o n of p r e - t r i a l o f f e n d e r s who have
been i n c a r c e r a t e d by year:
1983 - 48%
1984 - 30%
1985 - 30%
1986 - 22~
1987 - 179

JUDICIAL SYSTEM

I. A d m i n i s t r a t i o n .
The h i g h e s t judicial b o d y of Russia is the
Supreme or Higher Court of Russia. On the s e c o n d
level of the court system, are the s u p r e m e courts
of the r e p u b l i c s c o m p r i s i n g the R u s s i a n
Federation; courts of t e r r i t o r i e s and regions;
M o s c o w and St. P e t e r s b u r g city courts. The t h i r d
level of courts consists of the p e o p l e ' s courts,
l o c a t e d in the d i s t r i c t s and small towns. T h e s e
courts p r o c e s s the g r e a t e s t n u m b e r of c r i m i n a l
cases.
A s e p a r a t e s y s t e m of m i l i t a r y courts or
tribunals is s u b o r d i n a t e d d i r e c t l y to the S u p r e m e
Court.

2. Judges.

*Number of judges. No i n f o r m a t i o n available.

* A p p o i n t m e n t and q u a l i f i c a t i o n s . In order to
b e c o m e a judge, a p e r s o n must be a c i t i z e n of
Russia, have a c e r t i f i c a t e of h i g h e r legal
education, pass an a p p r o p r i a t e q u a l i f i c a t i o n exam,
and have a good reputation. He is r e q u i r e d to
reach the age of 25 years to be a judge of the
People's Court; 30 years to be a judge of the
court of second level; and 35 years to be a judge
of the Supreme Court of Russia.
In order to become a judge of the court of
second level a lawyer must have 5 years of
p r a c t i c a l e x p e r i e n c e in law. To b e c o m e a judge of
the Supreme Court, p r a c t i c a l e x p e r i e n c e of I0
years is required.
A judge cannot be a m e m b e r of the p a r l i a m e n t
or other body of State power. He also cannot be a
member of any p o l i t i c a l party, engage in any
for-profit activity, or have any other p a i d job e x c e p t
for a r t i s t i c or creative work, scientific, or
lecture work. F i r s t - t i m e judges are e l e c t e d for a
5-year p e r i o d of p r o b a t i o n and after that they are
e l e c t e d to a life term.

3. Special Courts.
M i l i t a r y courts and tribunals e x a m i n e (i)
cases that i n v o l v e offenses c o m m i t t e d by m e m b e r s
of the military; by other persons d u r i n g
p e r i o d i c a l m i l i t a r y training; by officers;
n o n - c o m m i s s i o n e d officers, and other ranks of
State s e c u r i t y bodies; (2) e s p i o n a g e cases; and
(3) cases c o n c e r n i n g m a l f e a s a n c e c o m m i t t e d by
officers of the p e n i t e n t i a r y system.

PENALTIES AND S E N T E N C I N G

I. S e n t e n c i n g Process.

*Who d e t e r m i n e s the sentence? A c c o r d i n g to the

Criminal P r o c e d u r e Code, the judge alone m a y
decide a case where the p e r s o n is a c c u s e d of m i n o r
crimes, as well as cases where the p u n i s h m e n t is
not to exceed 5 years of imprisonment, as long as
the a c c u s e d agrees. Other cases are d e c i d e d by a
judge and two peoples' assessors who act as
regular judges and have the same rights to
p a r t i c i p a t e in the d e t e r m i n a t i o n of the sentence.
The d e c i s i o n s are made by a m a j o r i t y vote in these
cases. The trial may also be c o n d u c t e d by three
p r o f e s s i o n a l judges if the a c c u s e d agrees.

*Is there a special s e n t e n c i n g h e a r i n g ? The court

gives a s e n t e n c e after having retired into a
s e p a r a t e c o n s u l t i n g room. A s e n t e n c e is s e t t l e d
by a m a j o r i t y vote. If a judge has a special
opinion on the case he can file his special
opinion in writing, but is o b l i g e d to sign the
sentence. This special opinion is not p r o n o u n c e d
but is open to be read.
*Which persons have input into the s e n t e n c i n g
process? Only members of the court p a r t i c i p a t i n g
in the current trial can be present at the room
during debate.

2. Types of penalties.

*Range of penalties. The range of criminal

p u n i s h m e n t s in Russia includes capital punishment,
imprisonment, fines, reforming works w i t h o u t
imprisonment, publicity, dismissal from office,
d e p r i v a t i o n of the right to hold certain p o s i t i o n s
or p e r f o r m certain activities, r e s t i t u t i o n of
financial damage, and additional punishments, such
as c o n f i s c a t i o n of p r o p e r t y and d e p r i v a t i o n of
special m i l i t a r y or other ranks.

*Death penalty. A c c o r d i n g to the new C o n s t i t u t i o n

of 1993, a capital sentence may be imposed only
for serious violent offenses against human life.
There have been 60 executions per year over the
past few years. Execution is p e r f o r m e d by firing
squad.

PRISON

I. Description.

*Number of prisons and type. The p e n i t e n t i a r y

system consists of 764 reforming labor
institutions, i s p r a v i t e l n o - t r u d o v i c h colonii, and
13 prisons. There are 60 e d u c a t i o n a l - l a b o r
institutions for juvenile criminals. Men and
women are confined in separate institutions, as
are adult and juvenile criminals.

*Number of prison beds. Information not

available.

*Average d a i l y / n u m b e r of prisoners. At the

b e g i n n i n g of 1994 there were over 600,000 persons
in reforming labor institutions of which 21,600
were women and 19,100, juveniles. Of those in
institutions, over half have been convicted of
violent crimes and half are either alcoholics or
drug addicts.

*Number of annual admissions. No i n f o r m a t i o n

available.

*Actual or estimated p r o p o r t i o n of inmates

incarcerated. No information available.

2. A d m i n i s t r a t i o n .

*Administration. The p e n i t e n t i a r y system is

governed by the Main Department for R e f o r m a t i o n
A f f a i r s w h i c h c o n s t i t u t e s an integral p a r t of the
M i n i s t r y of Internal Affairs.

*Prison guards. No i n f o r m a t i o n available.

* T r a i n i n g and q u a l i f i c a t i o n s . The p e n i t e n t i a r y
s y s t e m is g u a r d e d by Troops of the M i n i s t r y of
Internal Affairs. The Internal Troops consist of
all m a l e p e r s o n s who are called for m i l i t a r y
service or who v o l u n t a r i l y sign c o n t r a c t s for such
service.
By 1996 the m i n i s t r y is e x p e c t e d to o r g a n i z e
special g u a r d i a n d i v i s i o n s for the p e n i t e n t i a r y
system, so that the Internal Troops will no l o n g e r
be used for this purpose.

*Expenditure on the p r i s o n system. No i n f o r m a t i o n

available.

*Number of p r i s o n e r s a w a i t i n g trial. T h e r e were

233,500 p e r s o n s in prisons who were b e i n g d e t a i n e d
while under i n v e s t i g a t i o n . In 1993, 437,700 men
were d e t a i n e d as a l l e g e d offenders in the course
of p r e l i m i n a r y i n v e s t i g a t i o n and t w o - t h i r d s of
them were incarcerated.

3. Prison Conditions.

*Remissions. For good b e h a v i o r and labor, the

convict may be e n c o u r a g e d by p r e m i u m s and given
p e r m i s s i o n to spend a d d i t i o n a l m o n e y for food and
e v e r y d a y goods, p e r m i s s i o n for a d d i t i o n a l short
visits up to 4 hours and long visits up to three
days, and p e r m i s s i o n to receive a d d i t i o n a l mail
and parcels. In 1993, over 55,000 p r i s o n e r s were
given the p r i v i l e g e of furloughs.
For e x c e l l e n t b e h a v i o r and honest labor,
p r i s o n e r s may be r e l e a s e d from part of their
p u n i s h m e n t or may be p l a c e d in less r e s t r i c t i v e
punishment.

*Work/education. Every p r i s o n e r must work.

Prisoners are paid for their labor a c c o r d i n g to
the q u a l i t y and q u a n t i t y of their w o r k and in
c o m p l i a n c e with the national e c o n o m y ' s s t a n d a r d s
and rates. Due to the e c o n o m i c s i t u a t i o n in 1993,
over 2 0 0 , 0 0 0 p r i s o n e r s were u n e m p l o y e d - there was
no job for them. The new C o n s t i t u t i o n p r o h i b i t s
forced work, but it is not clear w h e t h e r these
p r o v i s i o n s are being enforced.
J u v e n i l e p r i s o n e r s study to c o m p l e t e the
o b l i g a t o r y s e c o n d a r y e d u c a t i o n program. Other
p r i s o n e r s must study to comply with the 8-year
s e c o n d a r y e d u c a t i o n standard. T h o s e over 40 years
old may study at their own discretion.

*Amenities/privileges. There are h o s p i t a l s in the

penitentiary. The p a t i e n t s in these h o s p i t a l s are
t r e a t e d in a c c o r d a n c e with the h e a l t h care
l e g i s l a t i o n of the Russian Federation.

E X T R A D I T I O N AND T R E A T I E S

*Extradition. To d e t e r m i n e the extent of c r i m i n a l

jurisdiction, the Criminal Code of Russia uses
both the rule of t e r r i t o r y (all crimes c o m m i t t e d
on the t e r r i t o r y of Russia) and the rule of
c i t i z e n s h i p (all crimes c o m m i t t e d by citizens of
Russia). The a u t h o r i t i e s of Russia adhere to a
p o s i t i o n that a l l e g e d o f f e n d e r s should be
e x t r a d i t e d to the c o u n t r y that i n i t i a t e d the
p r o c e e d i n g s , unless the o f f e n d e r is a c i t i z e n of
Russia. The C o n s t i t u t i o n of the R u s s i a n
F e d e r a t i o n p r o v i d e s that e x t r a d i t i o n of a l l e g e d
criminals and transfer of p r i s o n e r s to other
countries is p o s s i b l e on the basis of
i n t e r n a t i o n a l a g r e e m e n t s or laws of the R u s s i a n
Federation. In no case shall Russia e x t r a d i t e a
p e r s o n who is a c c u s e d for his p o l i t i c a l views or
for actions that do not c o n s t i t u t e a crime in
Russia.
Russia has over 20 b i l a t e r a l treaties
r e g a r d i n g legal a s s i s t a n c e in civil and criminal
cases. They were c o n c l u d e d with most of the former
s o c i a l i s t countries: Albania, Hungary, Poland,
Romania, Yugoslavia, Germany, Bulgaria,
C z e c h o s l o v a k i a , N o r t h Korea, Cuba, Vietnam,
Mongolia, the Republics of M o l d o v a and A z e r b a i d g a n
as well as with Iraq, Tunisia, Cyprus, Finland,
Greece, and Algeria. Some of these treaties have
p r o v i s i o n s r e g a r d i n g extradition.
In J a n u a r y of 1993, the C o m m o n w e a l t h of
I n d e p e n d e n t States (CIS) countries s i g n e d a
" C o n v e n t i o n on legal a s s i s t a n c e in civil and
criminal cases". Russia r a t i f i e d the c o n v e n t i o n
on A u g u s t 5th, 1994. The CIS now includes the
R e p u b l i c of Armenia, the Bielarus Republic, the
R e p u b l i c of Kazakhstan, the Kirgiz Republic, the
R u s s i a n Federation, the R e p u b l i c of T a d g i k i s t a n ,
T u r k m e n i s t a n , the R e p u b l i c of Uzbekistan, Ukraine,
the R e p u b l i c of Georgia and A z e r b a i d g a n .

* E x c h a n g e of prisoners. On M a y 19th, 1978, a

group of countries c o n c l u d e d the " C o n v e n t i o n On
the t r a n s f e r of persons c o n v i c t e d for i m p r i s o n m e n t
to the c o u n t r y of their c i t i z e n s h i p . " This
c o n v e n t i o n is c u r r e n t l y in force for Russia.
C u r r e n t p o l i c y is to t r a n s f e r p r i s o n e r s to the
c o u n t r y of their c i t i z e n s h i p to serve their
sentence.

*Specific conditions. No i n f o r m a t i o n available.

SOURCES
All sources in Russian.
Criminal Code of Russia with c o m m e n t a r i e s .
St. Petersburg. Severo-Zapad publishing
house. 1994.
Criminal R e f o r m a t i o n Code of Russia. Moscow.
J u r i d i c h e s k a y a Literatura. 1986.
The report of the M i n i s t r y of Internal A f f a i r s
// R o s s i i s k a y a Gazeta, 1994, M a r c h ii.
Criminology. P u b l i s h i n g house of St. P e t e r s b u r g
University. 1992.
U S S R Supreme Court B u l l e t i n // 1991. N 8.
Criminal a c t i v i t y and criminal o f f e n c e s in
USSR. Moscow. 1990. Editor: Smirnov.
Z h a l i n s k i y A.E. M i n k o v s k y G.M. C r i m i n a l
a c t i v i t y in U S S R 1989: s t a t i s t i c s and
c o m m e n t a r i e s // Soviet State and law. 1990.
N 6.
"Convention on legal a s s i s t a n c e in civil and
criminal cases", (January 22nd, 1993) //
V e s t n i c V y s h e g o A r i b t r a z h n o g o Suda.
1994. N 3.
Kurs M e z h d u n a r o d n o g o Prava. Moscow. N a y k a
P u b l i s h i n g house. 1992. Vol. 6.
M e z h d u n a r o d n o e Pravo v documentah. Moscow.
1982.
C o l l e c t i o n of treaties on legal a s s i s t a n c e in
the civil and criminal cases. Moscow. 1988.
R o s s i s k o e z a k o n o d a t e l s t v o X-XX v e k o v (Russian
l e g i s l a t i o n of X-XX centuries). Moscow.
1990-1994. vol 1-7.

Ilya V. N i k i f o r o v
Faculty of Law, St.
Center for Legal I n f o r m a t i o n
St. Petersburg, Russia
Tel: + 7 ( 8 1 2 ) 1 5 2 - 5 0 7 6
Fax: + 7 ( 8 1 2 ) 2 7 7 - 7 1 9 7