Criminal-Legal Characteristics of the Status of “Highest Position in the Criminal Hierarchy” as a Basis for Criminal Liability (Based on the Example of Russia and Post-Soviet Republics). Part 1

The article analyzes the criminal law provision established by Article 210.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, whichimposes liability for occupying the highest position in the criminal hierarchy. The authors substantiate that this legislative construction represents a particular manifestation of the theory of the dangerous state of the individual, which was developed in criminological science in the late 19th — early 20th centuries. Based on an analysis of judicial and investigative practice in Russia, including criminal case materials investigated in the Republic of Tatarstan, and employing a unique “immersion” methodology (interviewing law enforcement officers and conducting conversations withindividuals belonging to the criminal milieu), the content of criminal statuses such as “thief in law” (vor v zakone), “polozhenets”, “brodyaga”, and “smotryashchiy” is revealed. The functions performed by leaders of the criminal underworld (organizational, managerial, ideological, judicialcontrol, personnel, informational, corruptionrelated, and financial) are examined. A comparative legal analysis of approaches to the criminalization of the activities of “thieves in law” in postSoviet states (Georgia, Ukraine, Turkmenistan) is conducted. The problems of law enforcement related to proving the status position of a person, as well as contradictions within the professional criminal environment arising from the introduction of criminal liability for holding the highest status in the criminal hierarchy, are considered.