Capital punishment in Russia
Encyclopedia
Capital punishment in Russia is currently under question, albeit legally allowed (with the only form of shooting
). There exists both an implicit moratorium
established by the President and an explicit one, established by the nation's highest court. Russia has not executed anyone since 1996, and the regulations of the Council of Europe
prohibit it from doing so at any time in the future. However, the death penalty still remains codified.
In the recent years, former President Vladimir Putin
numerously stated that Russia will retain its moratorium at least until 2010. In November 2009, the Constitutional Court of Russia extended the ban until the abolishment of death penalty.
The Russian Empire
practiced the death penalty extensively, as did almost all countries before the 20th century. One of the first legal documents resembling a modern penal code was enacted in 1398, which mentioned a single capital crime: a theft performed after two prior convictions (an early precursor to the current Three-strikes laws existing in several U.S. state
s). The Pskov Code of 1497 extends this list significantly, mentioning three specialized theft instances (committed in a church, stealing a horse
, or, as before, with two prior "strikes"), as well as arson
and treason
. The trend to increase the number of capital crimes continued: in 1649, this list included 63 crimes, a figure that was nearly doubled during the reign of Tsar Peter I
(Peter the Great). The methods of execution were extremely cruel by modern standards (but fully consistent with the standards of the time), and included drowning
, burying alive, and forcing liquid metal into the throat.
Some executions gained considerable fame both inside the country and in the outside world. Perhaps the most famous instances are the mass execution of Streltsy
(Стрельцы) by Peter the Great, and the execution of five Decembrists
by Nicholas I
, both of which were the direct result of failed uprisings.
Elizabeth did not share her father's views on the death penalty, and officially suspended it in 1744, effectively enacting a moratorium. This lasted for 11 years, at which point the death penalty was permitted again, after considerable opposition to the moratorium from both the nobility and, in part, the Empress herself.
Perhaps the first public statement on the matter to be both serious and strong came from Catherine II
(Catherine the Great), whose liberal views were consistent with her acceptance of the Enlightenment
. In her Nakaz
, the empress expressed a disdain for the death penalty, considering it to be improper, adding: "In the usual state of the society, death penalty is neither useful nor needed." However, an explicit exception was still allowed for the case of someone who, even while convicted and incarcerated, "still has the means and the might to ignite public unrest". This certain exception was applied to mutineers of Pugachev's Rebellion
in 1775.
Consistent with Catherine's stance, the next several decades marked a shift of public perception against the death penalty. In 1824, the very existence of such a punishment was among the reasons for legislature's refusal to approve a new version of the Penal Code. Just one year later, the Decembrist revolt
failed, and a court sentenced 36 of the rebels to death. Nicholas I's
decision to commute
all but five of the sentences was highly unusual for the time, especially taking into account that revolts against the monarchy had almost universally resulted in an automatic death sentence, and was perhaps due to society's changing views of the death penalty. By the late 1890s, capital punishment for murder was virtually never carried out, substituted with 10–15 years imprisonment with hard labor, although it still was carried out for treason (for example the brother of Vladimir Lenin
was hanged in 1889). However, in 1910, it was reintroduced and expanded, although it was still used very little.
of 1917. The provisional government enacted the prohibition on 12 March, but (exactly two months later) somewhat weakened it by allowing the death penalty for soldiers on the front. The government itself lasted less than a year, however.
The Soviet government
confirmed the abolition almost immediately after assuming power, but restored it for some crimes very soon. Most notably, Fanny Kaplan
was executed on 4 September 1918 for her attempt to assassinate Lenin the preceding August 30. Over the next several decades, the death penalty was alternately permitted and prohibited, sometimes in very quick succession. The list of capital crimes likewise underwent several changes.
Under the rule of Joseph Stalin
, many were executed during the Great Purge
, sometimes without a trial and in many instances after a speedy trial. Many of the death sentences were pronounced by a specially appointed triple-person commission of officials, the NKVD troika
this was done in the majority of the cases. The exact number of executions is debated, with archival research suggesting it to be around 700-800 thousand (See also: Stalin#Calculating the number of victims). The verdict of capital punishment in the Soviet Union was called the Supreme Degree of Punishment and usually was simply abbreviated as VMN (Vysshaya Mera Nakazaniya). Every verdict by the Article 58 usually ended up with, what was abbreviated as, VMN and usually followed by executions through shooting.
The death penalty was again abolished on 26 May 1947 (the strictest sentence becoming 25 years imprisonment) but was restored in 1950: first for treason
and espionage
, and then for aggravated murder. The Penal Code of 1960 significantly extended the list of capital crimes. Although the Soviets claimed that an average of 30 were executed a year, lawyers who defected to the west described that the execution rate was much higher. It was estimated that 2000 people were executed in 1961. In 1983, it was estimated that 740 people were executed. Under Gorbachev, the list was reduced, the list of executed dropped to about 200-300 a year, almost entirely for murder. According to 1985-1989 statistics, the death penalty accounted for less than 1 in 2000 sentences. After the fall of the Soviet Union, the Russian Federation carried out the death penalty intermittently, with up to 10 or so officially a year. In 1996, pending Russia's entry into the Council of Europe, a moratorium was placed on the death penalty, which is still in place as of 2010.
states that everyone has the right to life, and that "until its abolition, death penalty may only be passed for the most serious crimes against human life." Additionally, all such sentences require jury trial
. The inclusion of the abolition wording has been interpreted by some as a requirement that the death penalty be abolished at some point in the future.
The current Penal Code permits death penalty for five crimes:
No crime has a mandatory death sentence; each of the five sections mentioned above also permit a sentence of life imprisonment
as well as a prison term of not less than eight or 12 (depending on crime) nor more than twenty, years. Moreover, men under the age of 18 or above the age of 65 as of the time crime was committed, and all women, are not eligible for a death sentence. However, there were a few cases of women executed anyway, such as Antonina Makarova in 1978.
The current form of execution in Russia is by shooting
. The Penal Execution Code doesn't mandate how exactly the convicted should be shot. Because of the intense secrecy surrounding executions, little was known of the process, but though recorded executions in former Soviet republics, an idea of the process is given. The condemned is led unaware into the soundproofed execution chamber and informed that his appeal failed and he is to be shot immediately. He is then blindfolded, and forced to kneel in front of sandbags, then without delay shot with a single bullet to the nape of the neck by a pistol. The family is informed after the fact, and the body is buried in an unmarked grave. No one may witness the execution except prison officials.
on the taxpayers. Slightly less common arguments have been offered by minorities of those in favor of the death penalty as well. 4 percent of them "see no sense in long imprisonment
", whereas 3 percent are convinced that the death penalty is the only meaningful punishment so long as corruption results in the possibility of freedom for bribes, and 1 percent believe that the death penalty is ultimately more humane than continuous imprisonment.
Ironically, the latter is also the single most cited reason by those opposing death penalty, a view expressed by a quarter of poll participants. Four percent of them believe that death is too easy a punishment, evidently expressing their conviction in very low standards of life in current prisons. Three percent believe that human life cannot be touched but by God
, and about 1 percent responded "there are already too few people", reflecting Russia's falling population. Others said that everyone deserves a chance, or "let them live, they are humans".
The current moratorium, which has been in force for ten years, is opposed by 55 percent and supported by 28 percent.
Several prominent politicians and administration leaders have publicly called to end the moratorium and resume the practice of the death penalty in the nation. Several others have at least expressed their views that the moratorium may legally be removed in the near future; included among them is Vladimir Kolesnikov
, a former Deputy Prosecutor General of Russia
.
On the other hand, many prominent political and public figures argue for the complete abolition of the death penalty, primarily on moral grounds. Such arguments have diverse supporters, from human rights activists (such as Anatoliy Pristavkin) to former federal judge Sergey Pashin.
for all members is that the death penalty cannot be carried out for any crime. While the preferred method is abolition, the Council has demonstrated that it would accept a moratorium, at least temporarily. Consistent with this rule, on 25 January 1996, the Council required Russia to implement a moratorium immediately and fully abolish death penalty within three years, in order for its bid for inclusion in the organization be to be approved. In a little over a month, Russia agreed and became a member of the Council. Whether the moratorium has actually happened as a matter of legal right is the subject of some controversy.
On 16 May 1996, then-President
Boris Yeltsin
issued a decree
"for the stepwise reduction in application of the death penalty in conjunction with Russia's entry into the Council of Europe
", which is widely cited as de-facto establishing such a moratorium. The decree called on the legislature to prepare a law
which would abolish the death penalty, as well as a recommendation to decrease the number of capital crimes and require the authorities to treat those on the death row in a humane manner. Although the order may be read as not specifically outlawing the death penalty, this was eventually the practical effect, and it was accepted as such by the Council of Europe as Russia was granted membership in the organization. However, since the executions continued in the first half of 1996 - that is, after Russia signed the agreement - the Council was not satisfied and presented Russia with several ultimatums, threatening to expel the country if the death penalty continues to be carried out. In response, several more laws and orders have been enacted, and Russia has not executed anyone since August 1996. The last person to be executed in Russia was a serial killer
named Sergey Golovkin
, who was convicted in 1994 and shot on 2 August 1996.
On 2 February 1999, the Constitutional Court of Russia has issued a temporary stay on any executions for a rather technical reason, but nevertheless granting the moratorium an unquestionable legal status for the first time. According to the Constitution as quoted above, a death sentence may be pronounced only by a jury trial, which are not yet implemented in some regions of the country. The court found that such disparity makes death sentences illegal in any part of the country, even those that do have the process of trial by jury implemented. According to the ruling, no death sentence may be passed until all regions of country have jury trials, which may happen as early as 2007, at which point the legal status of the death penalty may again become questionable.
On 15 November 2006, the Duma
extended both the implementation of jury trials in the sole remaining region (Chechnya
) and the moratorium on the death penalty by three years, until early 2010.
Shortly before the end of this moratorium, on 19 November 2009, the Constitutional Court of Russia extended the national moratorium "until the ratification of 6th Protocol to the European Convention of Human Rights", of which Russia is already a signatory, effectively banning capital punishment during peacetime. The court also ruled that the introduction of jury trials in Chechnya is not a valid precept for lifting the moratorium.
Execution by shooting
Execution by shooting is a form of capital punishment whereby an executed person is shot by one or more firearms. It is the most common method of execution worldwide, used in about 70 countries, with execution by firing squad being one particular form...
). There exists both an implicit moratorium
Moratorium (law)
A moratorium is a delay or suspension of an activity or a law. In a legal context, it may refer to the temporary suspension of a law to allow a legal challenge to be carried out....
established by the President and an explicit one, established by the nation's highest court. Russia has not executed anyone since 1996, and the regulations of the Council of Europe
Council of Europe
The Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...
prohibit it from doing so at any time in the future. However, the death penalty still remains codified.
In the recent years, former President Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
numerously stated that Russia will retain its moratorium at least until 2010. In November 2009, the Constitutional Court of Russia extended the ban until the abolishment of death penalty.
Russian Empire
In medieval Russia, capital punishment was extremely rare, and was even banned in many, if not most principalities. The Law of Yaroslav put restrictions on what crimes warranted execution. Later, the law was amended in much of the country to completely ban capital punishment.The Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
practiced the death penalty extensively, as did almost all countries before the 20th century. One of the first legal documents resembling a modern penal code was enacted in 1398, which mentioned a single capital crime: a theft performed after two prior convictions (an early precursor to the current Three-strikes laws existing in several U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
s). The Pskov Code of 1497 extends this list significantly, mentioning three specialized theft instances (committed in a church, stealing a horse
Horse thief
-United States:The term horse thief came into great popularity in the U.S. during the 19th century. During that time the Great Plains states, Texas, and other western states were sparsely populated and negligibly policed. As farmers tilled the land and migrants headed west through the Great...
, or, as before, with two prior "strikes"), as well as arson
Arson
Arson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...
and treason
Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
. The trend to increase the number of capital crimes continued: in 1649, this list included 63 crimes, a figure that was nearly doubled during the reign of Tsar Peter I
Peter I of Russia
Peter the Great, Peter I or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov Dates indicated by the letters "O.S." are Old Style. All other dates in this article are New Style. ruled the Tsardom of Russia and later the Russian Empire from until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his half-brother, Ivan V...
(Peter the Great). The methods of execution were extremely cruel by modern standards (but fully consistent with the standards of the time), and included drowning
Drowning
Drowning is death from asphyxia due to suffocation caused by water entering the lungs and preventing the absorption of oxygen leading to cerebral hypoxia....
, burying alive, and forcing liquid metal into the throat.
Streltsy
Streltsy were the units of Russian guardsmen in the 16th - early 18th centuries, armed with firearms. They are also collectively known as Marksman Troops .- Origins and organization :...
(Стрельцы) by Peter the Great, and the execution of five Decembrists
Decembrist revolt
The Decembrist revolt or the Decembrist uprising took place in Imperial Russia on 14 December , 1825. Russian army officers led about 3,000 soldiers in a protest against Nicholas I's assumption of the throne after his elder brother Constantine removed himself from the line of succession...
by Nicholas I
Nicholas I of Russia
Nicholas I , was the Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855, known as one of the most reactionary of the Russian monarchs. On the eve of his death, the Russian Empire reached its historical zenith spanning over 20 million square kilometers...
, both of which were the direct result of failed uprisings.
Elizabeth did not share her father's views on the death penalty, and officially suspended it in 1744, effectively enacting a moratorium. This lasted for 11 years, at which point the death penalty was permitted again, after considerable opposition to the moratorium from both the nobility and, in part, the Empress herself.
Perhaps the first public statement on the matter to be both serious and strong came from Catherine II
Catherine II of Russia
Catherine II, also known as Catherine the Great , Empress of Russia, was born in Stettin, Pomerania, Prussia on as Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg...
(Catherine the Great), whose liberal views were consistent with her acceptance of the Enlightenment
Age of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state...
. In her Nakaz
Nakaz
Nakaz, or Instruction, of Catherine the Great was a statement of legal principles authored by Catherine II of Russia, and permeated with the ideas of the French Enlightenment. It was compiled as a guide for the All-Russian Legislative Commission convened in 1767 for the purpose of replacing the...
, the empress expressed a disdain for the death penalty, considering it to be improper, adding: "In the usual state of the society, death penalty is neither useful nor needed." However, an explicit exception was still allowed for the case of someone who, even while convicted and incarcerated, "still has the means and the might to ignite public unrest". This certain exception was applied to mutineers of Pugachev's Rebellion
Pugachev's Rebellion
Pugachev's Rebellion of 1774-75 was the principal revolt in a series of popular rebellions that took place in Russia after Catherine II seized power in 1762...
in 1775.
Consistent with Catherine's stance, the next several decades marked a shift of public perception against the death penalty. In 1824, the very existence of such a punishment was among the reasons for legislature's refusal to approve a new version of the Penal Code. Just one year later, the Decembrist revolt
Decembrist revolt
The Decembrist revolt or the Decembrist uprising took place in Imperial Russia on 14 December , 1825. Russian army officers led about 3,000 soldiers in a protest against Nicholas I's assumption of the throne after his elder brother Constantine removed himself from the line of succession...
failed, and a court sentenced 36 of the rebels to death. Nicholas I's
Nicholas I of Russia
Nicholas I , was the Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855, known as one of the most reactionary of the Russian monarchs. On the eve of his death, the Russian Empire reached its historical zenith spanning over 20 million square kilometers...
decision to commute
Commutation of sentence
Commutation of sentence involves the reduction of legal penalties, especially in terms of imprisonment. Unlike a pardon, a commutation does not nullify the conviction and is often conditional. Clemency is a similar term, meaning the lessening of the penalty of the crime without forgiving the crime...
all but five of the sentences was highly unusual for the time, especially taking into account that revolts against the monarchy had almost universally resulted in an automatic death sentence, and was perhaps due to society's changing views of the death penalty. By the late 1890s, capital punishment for murder was virtually never carried out, substituted with 10–15 years imprisonment with hard labor, although it still was carried out for treason (for example the brother of Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a...
was hanged in 1889). However, in 1910, it was reintroduced and expanded, although it was still used very little.
Soviet Union
The death penalty was officially outlawed shortly after the February RevolutionFebruary Revolution
The February Revolution of 1917 was the first of two revolutions in Russia in 1917. Centered around the then capital Petrograd in March . Its immediate result was the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II, the end of the Romanov dynasty, and the end of the Russian Empire...
of 1917. The provisional government enacted the prohibition on 12 March, but (exactly two months later) somewhat weakened it by allowing the death penalty for soldiers on the front. The government itself lasted less than a year, however.
The Soviet government
Government of the Soviet Union
The Council of Ministers of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was the de jure government comprising the highest executive and administrative body of the Soviet Union from 1946 until 1991....
confirmed the abolition almost immediately after assuming power, but restored it for some crimes very soon. Most notably, Fanny Kaplan
Fanny Kaplan
Fanny Yefimovna Kaplan , also known as Fanya Kaplan and as Dora Kaplan), was a Russian political revolutionary and an attempted assassin of Vladimir Lenin.-Biography:...
was executed on 4 September 1918 for her attempt to assassinate Lenin the preceding August 30. Over the next several decades, the death penalty was alternately permitted and prohibited, sometimes in very quick succession. The list of capital crimes likewise underwent several changes.
Under the rule of Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
, many were executed during the Great Purge
Great Purge
The Great Purge was a series of campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union orchestrated by Joseph Stalin from 1936 to 1938...
, sometimes without a trial and in many instances after a speedy trial. Many of the death sentences were pronounced by a specially appointed triple-person commission of officials, the NKVD troika
NKVD troika
NKVD troika or Troika, in Soviet Union history, were commissions of three persons who convicted people without trial. These commissions were employed as an instrument of extrajudicial punishment introduced to circumvent the legal system with a means for quick execution or imprisonment...
this was done in the majority of the cases. The exact number of executions is debated, with archival research suggesting it to be around 700-800 thousand (See also: Stalin#Calculating the number of victims). The verdict of capital punishment in the Soviet Union was called the Supreme Degree of Punishment and usually was simply abbreviated as VMN (Vysshaya Mera Nakazaniya). Every verdict by the Article 58 usually ended up with, what was abbreviated as, VMN and usually followed by executions through shooting.
The death penalty was again abolished on 26 May 1947 (the strictest sentence becoming 25 years imprisonment) but was restored in 1950: first for treason
Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
and espionage
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
, and then for aggravated murder. The Penal Code of 1960 significantly extended the list of capital crimes. Although the Soviets claimed that an average of 30 were executed a year, lawyers who defected to the west described that the execution rate was much higher. It was estimated that 2000 people were executed in 1961. In 1983, it was estimated that 740 people were executed. Under Gorbachev, the list was reduced, the list of executed dropped to about 200-300 a year, almost entirely for murder. According to 1985-1989 statistics, the death penalty accounted for less than 1 in 2000 sentences. After the fall of the Soviet Union, the Russian Federation carried out the death penalty intermittently, with up to 10 or so officially a year. In 1996, pending Russia's entry into the Council of Europe, a moratorium was placed on the death penalty, which is still in place as of 2010.
Statute limitations
Article 20 of the Russian ConstitutionConstitution of Russia
The current Constitution of the Russian Federation was adopted by national referendum on 12 December 1993. Russia's constitution came into force on 25 December 1993, at the moment of its official publication...
states that everyone has the right to life, and that "until its abolition, death penalty may only be passed for the most serious crimes against human life." Additionally, all such sentences require jury trial
Jury trial
A jury trial is a legal proceeding in which a jury either makes a decision or makes findings of fact which are then applied by a judge...
. The inclusion of the abolition wording has been interpreted by some as a requirement that the death penalty be abolished at some point in the future.
The current Penal Code permits death penalty for five crimes:
- murderMurderMurder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
, with certain aggravating circumstancesAggravation (legal concept)Aggravation, in law, is "any circumstance attending the commission of a crime or tort which increases its guilt or enormity or adds to its injurious consequences, but which is above and beyond the essential constituents of the crime or tort itself."...
(article 105.2) - encroachment on the Life of a Person Administering Justice or Engaged in a Preliminary Investigation (article 295)
- encroachment on the Life of an Officer of a Law-enforcement Agency (article 317)
- encroachment on the Life of a Statesman or a Public Figure (article 277)
- genocideGenocideGenocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
(section 357).
No crime has a mandatory death sentence; each of the five sections mentioned above also permit a sentence of life imprisonment
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
as well as a prison term of not less than eight or 12 (depending on crime) nor more than twenty, years. Moreover, men under the age of 18 or above the age of 65 as of the time crime was committed, and all women, are not eligible for a death sentence. However, there were a few cases of women executed anyway, such as Antonina Makarova in 1978.
The current form of execution in Russia is by shooting
Execution by shooting
Execution by shooting is a form of capital punishment whereby an executed person is shot by one or more firearms. It is the most common method of execution worldwide, used in about 70 countries, with execution by firing squad being one particular form...
. The Penal Execution Code doesn't mandate how exactly the convicted should be shot. Because of the intense secrecy surrounding executions, little was known of the process, but though recorded executions in former Soviet republics, an idea of the process is given. The condemned is led unaware into the soundproofed execution chamber and informed that his appeal failed and he is to be shot immediately. He is then blindfolded, and forced to kneel in front of sandbags, then without delay shot with a single bullet to the nape of the neck by a pistol. The family is informed after the fact, and the body is buried in an unmarked grave. No one may witness the execution except prison officials.
Popular view
One of the latest polls reported that around three-quarters of those participating "do not mind" the death penalty, and only 4 percent strongly feel against it. Those supporting the death penalty offer fairly common arguments in favor of their view: 44 percent argue that "death penalty is fair" and that "death should be caused for death," 9 percent believe that the death penalty will decrease the crime rate, and 5 percent oppose the economic impact of life imprisonmentLife imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
on the taxpayers. Slightly less common arguments have been offered by minorities of those in favor of the death penalty as well. 4 percent of them "see no sense in long imprisonment
Imprisonment
Imprisonment is a legal term.The book Termes de la Ley contains the following definition:This passage was approved by Atkin and Duke LJJ in Meering v Grahame White Aviation Co....
", whereas 3 percent are convinced that the death penalty is the only meaningful punishment so long as corruption results in the possibility of freedom for bribes, and 1 percent believe that the death penalty is ultimately more humane than continuous imprisonment.
Ironically, the latter is also the single most cited reason by those opposing death penalty, a view expressed by a quarter of poll participants. Four percent of them believe that death is too easy a punishment, evidently expressing their conviction in very low standards of life in current prisons. Three percent believe that human life cannot be touched but by God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
, and about 1 percent responded "there are already too few people", reflecting Russia's falling population. Others said that everyone deserves a chance, or "let them live, they are humans".
The current moratorium, which has been in force for ten years, is opposed by 55 percent and supported by 28 percent.
Several prominent politicians and administration leaders have publicly called to end the moratorium and resume the practice of the death penalty in the nation. Several others have at least expressed their views that the moratorium may legally be removed in the near future; included among them is Vladimir Kolesnikov
Vladimir Kolesnikov
Vladimir Ilyich Kolesnikov is a Russian lawyer and politician.In 1995–2000 he was a First Deputy Interior Minister of Russia...
, a former Deputy Prosecutor General of Russia
Prosecutor General of Russia
The Prosecutor General of Russia heads the system of official prosecution in courts known as the Office of the Prosecutor General of Russian Federation ....
.
On the other hand, many prominent political and public figures argue for the complete abolition of the death penalty, primarily on moral grounds. Such arguments have diverse supporters, from human rights activists (such as Anatoliy Pristavkin) to former federal judge Sergey Pashin.
Moratorium
One of the absolute requirements of the Council of EuropeCouncil of Europe
The Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...
for all members is that the death penalty cannot be carried out for any crime. While the preferred method is abolition, the Council has demonstrated that it would accept a moratorium, at least temporarily. Consistent with this rule, on 25 January 1996, the Council required Russia to implement a moratorium immediately and fully abolish death penalty within three years, in order for its bid for inclusion in the organization be to be approved. In a little over a month, Russia agreed and became a member of the Council. Whether the moratorium has actually happened as a matter of legal right is the subject of some controversy.
On 16 May 1996, then-President
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
Boris Yeltsin
Boris Yeltsin
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin was the first President of the Russian Federation, serving from 1991 to 1999.Originally a supporter of Mikhail Gorbachev, Yeltsin emerged under the perestroika reforms as one of Gorbachev's most powerful political opponents. On 29 May 1990 he was elected the chairman of...
issued a decree
Decree
A decree is a rule of law issued by a head of state , according to certain procedures . It has the force of law...
"for the stepwise reduction in application of the death penalty in conjunction with Russia's entry into the Council of Europe
Council of Europe
The Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...
", which is widely cited as de-facto establishing such a moratorium. The decree called on the legislature to prepare a law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
which would abolish the death penalty, as well as a recommendation to decrease the number of capital crimes and require the authorities to treat those on the death row in a humane manner. Although the order may be read as not specifically outlawing the death penalty, this was eventually the practical effect, and it was accepted as such by the Council of Europe as Russia was granted membership in the organization. However, since the executions continued in the first half of 1996 - that is, after Russia signed the agreement - the Council was not satisfied and presented Russia with several ultimatums, threatening to expel the country if the death penalty continues to be carried out. In response, several more laws and orders have been enacted, and Russia has not executed anyone since August 1996. The last person to be executed in Russia was a serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
named Sergey Golovkin
Sergey Golovkin
Sergey Golovkin was a Soviet serial killer known as "The Fisher" or "The Udav" who killed and butchered 11 boys in the Moscow area between 1986 and 1992....
, who was convicted in 1994 and shot on 2 August 1996.
On 2 February 1999, the Constitutional Court of Russia has issued a temporary stay on any executions for a rather technical reason, but nevertheless granting the moratorium an unquestionable legal status for the first time. According to the Constitution as quoted above, a death sentence may be pronounced only by a jury trial, which are not yet implemented in some regions of the country. The court found that such disparity makes death sentences illegal in any part of the country, even those that do have the process of trial by jury implemented. According to the ruling, no death sentence may be passed until all regions of country have jury trials, which may happen as early as 2007, at which point the legal status of the death penalty may again become questionable.
On 15 November 2006, the Duma
Duma
A Duma is any of various representative assemblies in modern Russia and Russian history. The State Duma in the Russian Empire and Russian Federation corresponds to the lower house of the parliament. Simply it is a form of Russian governmental institution, that was formed during the reign of the...
extended both the implementation of jury trials in the sole remaining region (Chechnya
Chechnya
The Chechen Republic , commonly referred to as Chechnya , also spelled Chechnia or Chechenia, sometimes referred to as Ichkeria , is a federal subject of Russia . It is located in the southeastern part of Europe in the Northern Caucasus mountains. The capital of the republic is the city of Grozny...
) and the moratorium on the death penalty by three years, until early 2010.
Shortly before the end of this moratorium, on 19 November 2009, the Constitutional Court of Russia extended the national moratorium "until the ratification of 6th Protocol to the European Convention of Human Rights", of which Russia is already a signatory, effectively banning capital punishment during peacetime. The court also ruled that the introduction of jury trials in Chechnya is not a valid precept for lifting the moratorium.
Among the entries above
- http://www.russian-criminal-code.com/: Criminal Code of The Russian Federation (in English)
- http://2006.novayagazeta.ru/nomer/2006/39n/n39n-s13.shtml: A newspaper article discussing the current situation with death penalty status and moratorium (in Russian).