Sentencing minors for multiple crimes in the Russian legislation: the historical background up to the 19th century

The study traces the development of the Russian legislation on sentencing minors for multiple crimes from the introduction of legal regulation on the liability of juveniles up to the adoption of the Decree of 1765 by Catherine II on Juvenile Criminal Proceedings and Different Punishments According to the Age of Criminals. The criminal law in Ancient Rus is described as a well-structured system of criminal law standards that is perfectly suited to the stage of state and society’s development. These standards were based on international treaties, customs, Russkaya Pravda, the ecclesiastical statutes of Russian princes, Nomocanon (Kormchaya Book). A child aged seven faced criminal liability for his acts prior to the mid-18th century. When the Senate Decree of 1742 was adopted, persons under the age of seventeen were considered to be the juvenile offenders. Juvenile punishments were individualized in the early 18th century; according to the Articles of War of 1715, juvenile theft was regarded as a circumstance mitigating or eliminating the penalty. The concept of repeated offenses committed by minors was introduced in the Senate Decree of 1742. The author proved the inadequacy of criminal law standards regulating penalties imposed on minors for multiple crimes and their progressive development. These standards were a considerable achievement of doctrine and law and were largely in line with the state of the criminal law prior to the 19th century.