Economic factor in the penitentiary system of Russia: a brief historical overview

The influence of the economic factor in relation to the penitentiary institutions of Russia is considered in the historical context. It is noted that, starting with the Moscow state, prisoners were actively used by the authorities as a cheap labor force to solve state economic problems. This was most actively manifested during the reign of Peter I and during the functioning of the GULAG, which was often accompanied by human rights violations. At present, the problem of rational use of the labor of convicts as the most important means of correcting them does not have an optimal solution, options for its solution are proposed.