About the responsibility of the followers of destructive religious doctrines according to the criminal code 1903

In the article some aspects of the responsibility of the members of so-called destructive religious organizations are considered. Varied issues, required a balanced approach, arise in the sphere of the relations of the state with diverse religious organizations in the modern society. In this connection, the investigation of legal policy of Russian Empire with respect to different sects, Old Believers persuasions is advisable. In particular, religious organizations, dangerous for the individual, the society and the state, are compared with atrocious sects. The above term correlates with the notion «atrocious doctrine», used in pre-revolutionary Russian law. In this case, the rules of the Criminal code 1903, dedicated to the responsibility of the followers of these doctrines, are analyzed. The issues, connected with the responsibility for the «seduction» in atrocious doctrine and for the belonging to such doctrine, are investigated. The changes in investigated rules, arising in connection with the passing of Emperor’s Nikolai II decree «On tolerance development» of April 17, 1905, are discussed. These changes were connected with including the recognition of inefficiency of punitive policy towards diverse religious sects. Finally, the changes, that were proposed to make in the rules, concerned followers of atrocious doctrines, are considered.