Capital punishment in Russia

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.

History

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 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. states). 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.

"The morning of the Streltsy execution" by Vasily Ivanovich Surikov.

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.

We hated the kind of people and laughed at their vile anger... Not the freedom they have deserved, but volleys and executions... The machine guns - that's for what I wished. As I felt that only the language of the machine guns is understood by the street mob and that only that, the lead, may drive them back into the den, that beast that busted out to the freedom... Alas, this beast was... His Majesty the Russian People. Ah, to here the guns, the machine guns!

Vasily Shulgin, during February Revolution, 1917

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.

Soviet Union

The death penalty was officially outlawed shortly after the February Revolution 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#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.

Current status

Statute limitations

Article 20 of the Russian Constitution 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:

• murder, with certain aggravating circumstances (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)
• genocide (section 357).

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.

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 imprisonment 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.

Moratorium

One of the absolute requirements of the Council of Europe 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.

References

Among the entries above

• [1]: Criminal Code of The Russian Federation (in English)
• [2]: A newspaper article discussing the current situation with death penalty status and moratorium (in Russian).