Organization of penitentiary institutions for minors in the Russian empire in the second half of the XIX - early XX centuries (on the example of the Kazan Educational and Correctional Handicraft Shelter)

Introduction: the article is devoted to the creation and development of the system of penitentiary institutions for minors in the Russian Empire in the second half of the XIX - early XX centuries, as well as the formation of new methods of education of juvenile offenders. The relevance of this topic is due to the need to develop effective measures to combat and prevent deviation among minors at the present stage of development of society. Materials and methods: the author of the article has studied both published regulatory and legal materials and unpublished documents of the State Archive of the Republic of Tatarstan within the framework of the designated topic. The funds of the republican archive contain valuable information about the activities of the Kazan Society of Agricultural Colonies and Handicraft Shelters and the Kazan educational and Correctional Handicraft shelter. No less important sources are specialized periodicals of the second half of the XIX - early XX centuries. In the preparation of this article, the principles of objectivity and historicism, systematic, historical-legal and formal-legal methods of cognition were used. Results: the article analyzes the creation and functioning of new penitentiary institutions in the Russian Empire at the turn of the XIX - XX centuries on the example of the Kazan educational and correctional handicraft orphanage for boys, opened in 1875. The main distinguishing feature of the shelter is the work with juvenile offenders of different nationalities and faiths. The Kazan orphanage implemented all the basic principles of upbringing and re-education of adolescents that existed within the framework of the adopted penitentiary system. At the same time, serious problems for the shelter were the lack of centralized funding, as well as frequent escapes of pupils, which was repeatedly noted by both local and central authorities. Discussion and Conclusions: The correctional institutions for minors created during this period were not only to solve the problem of child crime, reduce homelessness and neglect, but also to create a basis for the re-education of juvenile offenders and the preparation of their future independent life. The emergence of a new type of penitentiary institutions was caused by the humanization of criminal policy towards children and adolescents.