Criminal Policy in the Russian Empire in the Field of Penalization of Traffic Violations from the Mid-18th to the Early 20th Century

A historical and comparative study of the criminal punishment system, its types, and the practice of applying the corresponding sanctions provides the foundation for further development of the key aspects of penalization for offenses violating traffic regulations and vehicle operation rules. Understanding modern penal policy is impossible without understanding preexisting legal sources and criminal law doctrines. Given that legislative and judicial penalization is in a process of evolution, further modernization of criminal liability for traffic offenses cannot be effectively implemented without a comprehensive study and analysis of the main periods of penal policy for these offenses. One such period is the emergence of traffic regulation and the formation of penal policy in Russia, which dates back to the mid-18th to early 20th centuries. Accordingly, the aim of this paper is to examine the formation and development of approaches to penalization of offenses related to traffic violations and vehicle operation rules. The primary objective was to analyze criminal penalties and the content of sanctions in the provisions stipulating liability for traffic offenses contained in the Code of Criminal and Correctional Penalties of 1845, the Charter on Penalties Imposed by Justices of the Peace of 1864, the Criminal Code of 1903, and imperial decrees. The study utilized general methods – analysis, synthesis, deduction, and a specific scientific approach – comparative analysis, which ensured objective results through historical comparison and contrast. This resulted in an explanation for the intensity of penalization associated with the partial tightening of sanctions from the mid-18th to the early 20th centuries, driven by the proliferation (accessibility) of vehicles, as well as the increase in their numbers, and the state’s need to ensure proper public order and safety.