July 08, 2022

Soviet Law Against Sabotage May Return


Soviet Law Against Sabotage May Return
Ammar Sabaa

According to Meduza, the National Anti-Corruption Committee (NAC) has proposed resurrecting the Soviet-era law against “wrecking” (or “sabotage”), adding back an article to the Criminal Code.

The head of NAK, Kirill Kabanov, wrote a letter to Senator Andrei Klishas, in which he said that the criminal code does not contain “the concept of harm and material damage as it relates to defense capability, national and economic security.” Therefore, he said, he believes that people responsible for “a decrease in the country's defense capability, for a negative impact on domestic industrial and financial markets, for disruption of the state order" cannot be held accountable if there is no direct material damage.

Kabanov proposed that Klishas evaluate the possibility of returning a sabotage statute to the criminal code, “considering modern realities and the law of the Russian Federation.”

Klishas said that Kabanov's proposal “at a minimum is worthy of serious discussion… when you consider the successes of our institutions at ‘import substitution’ and in other areas, one would really like to return an article on wrecking to the criminal code."

The USSR’s 1930 criminal code did not have a separate article about wrecking per se, but several points in the section on “counterrevolutionary activity” dealt with wrecking, and several million persons were repressed (imprisoned and/or killed) in the Soviet era as “saboteurs.” Most cases against “saboteurs,” according to Mediazona, were initiated under Article 58.7 – “Obstruction of the Normal Activities of State Institutions and Enterprises… for Counter-revolutionary Purposes.”

In 1960, sabotage appeared as a separate offense in the Criminal Code of the USSR. It was described by Article 69, in the section "Especially Dangerous State Crimes." The article provided for up to 15 years in prison with confiscation of property. The RSFSR Criminal Code article "Sabotage" remained in effect until 1996, when a new Russian Criminal Code came into force.

In 2015, Valery Rashkin, at that time a member of the State Duma from the Communist Party, suggested that the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the FSB, and the Investigative Committee and the Prosecutor General’s Office, return the “Sabotage” article to the Russian Criminal Code. No law enforcement response to his proposal was reported.

 

Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Steppe / Степь

Steppe / Степь

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.
Jews in Service to the Tsar

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.
Russian Rules

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.
Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.
At the Circus

At the Circus

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.
Murder at the Dacha

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.
Murder and the Muse

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.
The Samovar Murders

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.
The Little Golden Calf

The Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955