Delimiting a criminal act from a non-criminal act: what should be the criterion (historical context)

The issue of distinguishing a criminal act from a non-criminal one has been controversial for a long time. This is evidenced by legislative criminal law norms. The article provides a comparative analysis of the main full-fledged criminal laws in Russian legal history as it relates to the subject of this study, as well as relevant scientific works. The position is substantiated according to which it is advisable to introduce into the current Criminal Code of the Russian Federation a norm on the insignificance of an act as a criterion delimiting a crime from a non-crime.