The Legacy of Peter the Great and Modern Military Criminal Law of Russia

Abstract

The system of military crimes as acts encroaching on the military security of Russia in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation was focused exclusively on peacetime conditions. In the context of a special military operation on the territory of Ukraine, an urgent adjustment of criminal legislation was required. For this purpose, the legislative experience of not only the Soviet, but also the pre-Soviet period was used. At the same time, the importance of Peter the Great’s military criminal legislation is clearly underestimated, including ideas about the complicity of civilians in military crimes, about the active repentance of a deserter, about the composition of the surrender of fortresses, surrender and communication with the enemy, the surrender of a warship to the enemy, looting as a crime encroaching, first of all, on the interests of the civilian population. The reform of Russian military criminal legislation and legislation on crimes that infringe on Russia’s national security should not be considered complete.