Criminal penalty in the form of imprisonment in the legislative acts of initial period of the Soviet power

The article studies specific features of legislative acts, which were adopted by the Soviet power during the early period of its existence (1918-1922) regarding criminal penalty in the form of imprisonment. It is noted that the relevant directives and regulations did not have any system character, which can be explained by the lack of a new criminal law. The Forced Labour Camps Regulation of 1921 that regulated imprisonment of both "counter-revolutionaries" and "ordinary" criminals had essential meaning. This and other acts collectively became the legal basis for following criminal and correctional labour codes.