Property search regulation in the legislation of the period of the formation and strengthening of the Russian centralized state

Purpose of the article: to analyze historical legal acts and law enforcement acts regulating the search for stolen property in the period of the formation and strengthening of the Russian centralized state. Methods: specific scientific methods - historical-legal and the method of legal norms interpretation are applied. Results: the study reveals features of the search for property and related legal actions. There are sufficient grounds to believe that, during the formation and strengthening of the Russian centralized state, matters relating to the search for stolen property in criminal proceedings continued to be regulated by the rules of the Russkaya Pravda (Russian Truth). The search was carried out both by the victims themselves (complainants) together with members of their community and by the authorities acting as bailiffs, as confirmed by the case file of 1503, which reproduced the procedure of tracing, known since the times of the Russkaya Pravda (Russian Truth). Considering that the role of bailiffs was also performed by weekly bailiffs, there is a well-founded claim that these officials were able to conduct searches both to apprehend the perpetrator and to search for stolen property (red-handed).