CJUS_701_Week_5_Russia.doc.pdf

Russia’s Criminal Justice System

Christopher Gates

CJUS 701 – Comparative Criminal Justice Systems

Liberty University

Dr. David Ojo

June 10, 2022

Russia’s Criminal Justice System

Abstract

The criminal justice system is different all over the world. This analysis or scenario

paper will discuss the issues if an individual was potentially arrested for the crime of murder in

Russia. Along with punishments of such crime, the economy, social standings, criminal justice

system, the standing with the United States, and the government structure of the country will all

be discussed in this scenario. When looking at criminal justice systems they are all a little bit

different than the one we all live in here in the United States.

Country Analysis

Introduction

The country of Russia itself is the largest in the world and to put it into perspective it is at

least twice as big as Canada. It is so large that it touches eastern Europe and goes all the way to

Asia. Russia became Russia when the Sovient Union or the U.S.S.R was abolished in the early

1990’s. The land or environments that come with this big country are everything from deserts to

even the tundra. It is covered with rivers and lakes to include some of the biggest if not the

biggest in the world.

With all these different environments comes a lot of different types of people. Not only

income or financial gain from these materials.

People and Society

When it comes to the people of Russia most of them are from the Russian ethnic

background. Although this is true Russia “is a diverse, multiethnic society. More than 120 ethnic

groups, many with their own national territories, speaking some 100 languages live within

Russia’s borders” (Britannica, 2022).

The people of Russia not only had to fight for their religious beliefs over the years

because of the communist party but began being Christians in the early 17th century. In todays

society though after all the fighting their religious beliefs are multiple but the biggest is the

Russian Orthodox Church and that is a little over half the population practice this belief.

To get a strong reading on the Russian society this quote says it all “Since the break up of

the Soviet Union, Russian society has experienced a wrenching transition from a totalitarian

structure to a protodemocracy of unknown character. Post-Soviet Russia is slowly striving to

create a civil society and restore the family and other basic institutions as functional units within

the society” (Hays, 2016).

Economy, Relationship with United States, Transnational Issues

The relationship between Russia and the United States is a very complex one. Although

the United States wants a strong relationship with Russia. Russia always seems to eventually

break agreements that they had with the United States that leads to sanctions on the Russian

government which in turn hurts not only our economy but also theirs. “The United States would

like to stabilize our relationship with Russia and cooperate where possible and when it is in the

core U.S. national security interest to do so. To achieve this, Russia must take demonstrable steps

to show it is willing to be a responsible global actor, starting with a cessation of efforts to

interfere in democratic processes. The long-term goal of the United States is to establish a stable

and predictable relationship with Russia” (U.S. Department of State, 2022).

When it comes to transnational issues between Russia and the United States when it

comes to law enforcement issues there are some. For example when Snowden stole all the

documents he fled to Russia and was protected by the Russian government and was not sent back

to the United States this caused issues between the two countries. Even today there is an WNBA

basketball player that is still in custody in Russia over a minor offence and has yet to be tried or

convicted of any potential crime and is just being held until further notice. This is believed to be

because Russia wants to hold or be able to hold some sort of power over the United States in

anyway it can and potentially use this piece as a political move for others down the road.

When it comes to the criminal justice system of Russia and the basis of law the following

quote says it all. “The Russian Federation has a civil law system. Russian law includes both

codified laws (for example, the Civil Code and the Criminal Code) and other laws which, as a

general rule, must be consistent with the relevant codes. Legislation has supreme juridical force

(compared with bylaws and other sources of law). However, the Constitutional Court can

invalidate laws that are unconstitutional” (Thomson Reuters, 2022).

When talking about the court systems three main court systems that break out into other

different types of courts. The three courts are the federal and regional courts that are supervised

by the supreme court, and then there is the constitutional court.

Committed Crime

What crime was committed

In the nature of this paper the crime that will be committed is going to be murder and

rape. While visiting Moscow an individual from the United States was staying at a hotel and was

drinking at the local bar nearby. During the night he met a woman and they went back to his

hotel room. In the room the man decided to try and have sexual relations with this woman she

said no and a fight happened rendering the young lady unconscious. While unconscious the man

Specific law of crime committed

When the discussion of specific law of the crime committed it is murder with rape or rape

and murder. In Russia there are two sections of their murder definitions and they are in short,

murder is intentionally killing another person and then there is murder with trying to cover up

another crime and with that murder with rape all in the same definition. The differences are if the

murder is more violent and has other things with it then the sentence becomes a lot harsher up to

life in prison because Russia does have the death penalty but because of certain items in place it

has not been handed out as a sentence or carried out since around August of 1996.

Process of being first contacted to arrested opinions of law enforcement

After the law enforcement have their suspect or prime suspect they must detain them and

can only do so for 48 hours. When it comes to the suspect and after he is detained he has to “be

interrogated within twenty-four hours of the time the detention period begins. The investigator is

required to notify the suspect’s relations in conformity with Article 96 (see below) of this Code.

Suspects have the right to know of what they are suspected and receive a copy of the ruling on

the application to detain them. Suspects also have the right to have a private and confidential

meeting with counsel before the first interrogation, as well as offer evidence, receive free

Once the court date has arrived the suspect is brought in front of a judge and possibly a

jury in today’s Russia but it could just be a couple of judges and no jury. Once, in the court room

the case is discussed and those judges unless it is a jury find the suspect guilty or not. Russia at

one point had over a 98 percent conviction rate because of this and they wanted to show how

good they were at getting criminals off the street regardless of the evidence. It needs to be known

that the United States cannot get you out of prison on any circumstance related to international

crimes that have been committed. They can work with the opposite government and notify

family and give updates but that is about all they can do in this scenario.

Once the judges or jury have found the suspect guilty they give punishment and in this

case because of the rape along with the murder and it is a foreign national the sentence is life in

prison.

Incarcerration process for Crime Committed

Once the trial is over and you begin your incarceration process there are three types of

prisons that you can go to. One is for the smaller crimes and there you can be housed with your

family and wear your own clothes. The worse the crime the more strict of the prison you will go

to. For the crime committed of murder and rape this prisoner is going to the maximum security

Effectiveness of Criminal Justice System in Russia

This depends on who you ask. If you ask the Russians then yes it is effective but that is

how they like it. The power of the police and judicial system is how the Russian government

likes to operate for potential scare tactics to deter people from questioning or doing anything

illegal in the country whatsoever. If you look at it from a world view the criminal justice system

in Russia is not very good at all. From being arrested all the way to the prison system the entire

system is broken and there is a lot that can be fixed to better not only the system but also the

potential inmates in the system itself.

Human Rights Perspective on how treated

When it comes to human rights of prisoners in Russia they are pretty much non-existent.

The only level of prison that has the basic human right incorporated into their system is the

lowest level where they can wear normal clothes and have the option to see and possibly live

with their families while serving their time. All other prisons have corruption issues, violence

issues, and hygiene issues. There are testimonies of people being beaten and tortured while in

prison. The work or labor that is given is just like slavery and if you do not comply then you are

punished even worse.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all

unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9, ESV). In the eyes of God once the criminal has confessed his

crime or sin then God has forgave him or her and basically wiped that sin or crime away because

they are human and we are allowed to make mistakes. It is what we do after those mistakes are

made that God sometimes has to see, to make sure you are worthy of his forgiveness.