The evolution of the ideas of freedom of conscience and their impact on the development of criminal law in the Russian empire in the latter half of the XIX century

One of the most discussed issues in the Russian polemic in the late nineteenth century was the question of freedom of religion, and therefore, the change of criminal law doctrine in relation to crimes related to religion. Polar opinions among the educated part of the population and conservative sentiments of the bureaucracy and the Russian Orthodox Church made this topic a point of conflicts of political positions and personal ambitions. The paper presents the materials of discussions about freedom of religion, examples from Western European history of changing criminal law as a result of the development of philosophical and political views of society.