Initiation of criminal proceedings and "pre-investigation" checks in Russian criminal proceedings

Purpose: To study the institutions of initiation of criminal proceedings and «pre-investigation» checks in Russian criminal proceedings. Methodology: General, general scientific and private scientific methods were used. Results: The article is devoted to topical issues of the organization of Russian criminal justice - institutions of initiation of criminal cases and «pre-investigation» checks. The author considers the Russian criminal procedure from a certain angle: from the point of view of its fundamental importance for the organization of criminal procedural activity as the main one, to which all stages of the criminal process can be reduced. The «artificial» differentiation of criminal procedure activities at the stage (initiation of a criminal case and preliminary investigation, etc.) has quite definite reasons: it is aimed at constructing such a control mechanism implanted in the criminal process itself (in the absence of an alternative, located outside the criminal proceedings), which would ensure that the decisions taken in the criminal case correspond to the actual circumstances and the requirements of the current legislation (primarily sectoral, criminal and criminal procedure). In such a situation, the hierarchical structure of law enforcement agencies and the judicial system should create additional «vertical» mechanisms for monitoring the «quality» of decisions taken in criminal proceedings. The assessment of the «correctness» of the decisions of law enforcement agencies-participants in criminal proceedings on the part of the prosecution, due to the lack of any formalized criteria, relies entirely on them-the heads of the investigative bodies (heads of the body of inquiry), the prosecutor and their higher-level managers. Novelty/originality/value: The article has a high degree of scientific value, since it is an original attempt to study the impact of the key stage of pre-trial proceedings - the initiation of a criminal case - on the organization of Russian criminal proceedings.