Vol 26, No 4 (2022): MONUMENTS OF SOVIET LAW

This article is devoted to a critical comparative-legal analysis of the process of formation, development, transformation and disintegration of the first multinational political-territorial entity with a republican form of government of the “Soviet” type, which over time has become a clear example for such complex European states as Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia. This theme is unique not only in terms of solving the ethnic issue, but also as the “model” of territorial structure since the basis of one federation, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, formed another federation, the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, which integrated, along with traditional administrative units, national political-territorial entities in the form of autonomous republics, regions, and districts. The article emphasizes the fact that one of the consequences of the appearance on the political map of the Soviet Union, which defeated Nazi Germany and its numerous satellites in World War II, was not only the formation of “popular democracy” countries and the so-called “socialist camp” that existed for over forty years and represented a civilizational alternative to the capitalist path of social development, but also the collapse of the colonial system and acquisition of independence and sovereignty by the peoples inhabiting the regions of Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. The Soviet model of the state structure and democracy institutions as antipodes to bourgeois populism and liberal demagogy facilitated an accelerated transition from declarations of constituent and constitutional documents proclaiming human and civil rights and freedoms to their practical implementation in the economic and political sphere in countries that had associated themselves with Western-style democracy; it resulted in a more socially oriented role of state and its structures. The Soviet experience clearly demonstrates what real results the state and society can achieve in solving the women's issue, elimination of total illiteracy, and growth of the well-being of citizens. At the same time, manifestations of authoritarianism and totalitarianism that took place at certain stages reveal that the power mechanism was subject not only to voluntaristic tendencies or official personification, but also to relapses into a personality cult, one of the most negative consequences of state disintegration and local civil wars within its former territory.

Is dedicated to identifying conceptual legal problems related to the conditions and prospects of “revolutionary expediency” in the process of developing the provisions of the Civil Code of the RSFSR of 1922. The legal paradigm of that time was subjected to a profound transformation based on the ideas of “national property”, “class interest”, “Soviet power”, etc. Understanding the historical, socio-political and cultural processes allows to analyze the norms of the so-called proletarian law. It is established that the adoption of the Civil Code of 1922 was preceded by many years of titanic work of a huge number of highly professional pre-revolutionary lawyers who had drafted the Civil Code of Russia by 1914; later, the norms were lightly powdered with the class proletarian consciousness and taken as the basis (more than 400 of them in total) for the Civil Code of the RSFSR of 1922. The provisions of this code effectively operated until 1964, when the new Civil Code of the RSFSR was adopted. It was the code of “victorious socialism”, that have survived the abolition of the NEP (the New Economic Policy), industrialization and collectivization of the country, Constitution of 1936, Great Patriotic War and, finally, building of socialism in a single country. Thus, the adoption of the Civil Code of the RSFSR in 1922 became an epochal event in the life of the peoples of the multinational country, which, in terms of significance of its impact on Russian civilization and the entire world, can be compared with “Corpus iuris Romani”.

This article outlines a number of sources of law of various legal force that determine the legal status of non-governmental organizations in Soviet Russia in the 1917-1930s. Primarily, these are the Constitutions of the RSFSR and the USSR and Resolutions of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and the Council of People’s Commissars on societies and unions. The authors examine doctrinal documents (resolutions of party congresses, excerpts from speeches by party leaders, etc.) that characterize self-organization of Soviet society and legal framework for the activities of mass voluntary associations. The legal foundations for voluntary associations operation in Soviet Russia, as well as specifics of legislative acts regulating their formation and activities, and the forms of control over them by the authorities, have not been fully studied in academic literature. This research aims to bridge this gap. Based on the analysis of a wide range of published sources, as well as the standpoint of modern methodology of critical legal research, the article investigates legal policy of the Soviet government aimed at developing a new legal framework for the activities of societies and unions including the principles of their relationship with the state in terms of formation, re-registration and termination of activities of mass voluntary organizations.

The article examines experience and practices of the formation of the Soviet criminal legislation of the post-revolutionary period of Russia at the beginning of the 20th century and their significance for the development of domestic system of law. Attention is focused on the analysis of the norms of the General Part of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR of 1922, for the first time in the national history of state and law, which meaningfully fix social and humanistic patterns that were not previously characteristic of the criminal law normative sphere. The complexity of generating ideas and foundations of Soviet criminal law in conditions of uncertainty, multiplied by many problems of a political, socio-economic, legal, cultural, and other nature, determined the dominance of the ideological content of the introduced restrictions and penalties. On the other hand, the peculiarities of punishment system formation of the period under review should include the innovative social and humanistic orientation, which later became the basis for democratization and humanization of criminal, penitentiary, and criminal procedural law in Russia.

The description of the history of early Rome (VIII-IV centuries BC) in the works of ancient authors is usually perceived as a mythological legend, which shifts the focus of scientific discussion to assessing the degree of reliability of the events being told. As a result, the normative-value and legal significance of ancient legends sufficient attention of researchers. The oral and therefore naturally plastic nature of archaic law creates additional difficulties for its modern study, in contrast to numerous and well-studied legislative texts. The author proposes to refer to modern types of legal understanding and turn down strict positivism with the aim of expanding the boundaries of legal analysis, rethinking the legend (on the example of Lucius Junius Brutus), recognizing it as a source of Roman law, and reconstructing its criminal law content. For this purpose, using socio-psychological, historical-legal, formal-logical and other scientific methods, the author singles out that part of the story that was not lost, but was steadily reproduced from generation to generation. The surviving core of the legend remained in history because it carried socially significant information modeling of behavior (behavioral stereotypes) of the ancient Romans. The article shows that children`s execution by the first republican magistrate not only legitimized the right of paternal power (patria potestas), but also proclaimed the priority protection of the public interest (civitas) that became the cornerstone of the Roman legal order. The legend set a special imperative for citizens, shaped their worldview and sense of justice. From the criminal law standpoint, this precedent fixed the standard of both prohibited behavior and retribution for it, i.e., a measure of justice, broadcast the requirements of the inevitability and personal nature of responsibility, laid foundation for the requirement of legal equality of all citizens before the law. Ultimately, the legend set the vector for the development of Roman criminal law, which led to the formation of its principles, many of which are accepted and developed in modern legal systems.

The RSFSR Land Code of 1922 (LC), adopted as part of the comprehensive codification of Soviet law in the 1920s, is in the focus of this article. The Land Code is looked at as the first codified act that forms the branch of Soviet land law, defining its subject, method, and parameters of further development. The article is based on extensive historiographical material, which is systematized by periods. In the 1920s the Code of Law was in full force, therefore, a doctrinal interpretation of its norms, and authors’ comments on the Code were published. Subsequently, the Land Code of 1922 was studied with the aim of understanding and gaining historical experience in the development of new land laws. The article uses normative legal acts of the Soviet period, published documents, and archival sources. Particular attention is paid to the LC draft preparation and its further development until legislative approval. The methodology includes the dialectical method, as well as comparative legal and formal legal methods. The LC is studied as a historical source of legal content; its external criticism is given. The impact on the content of the LC of social and political conditions of previously issued acts is revealed. It is determined that the Land Code reflects consistency and novelty of the Soviet land legislation. The level of consolidation and incorporation of previously tested norms is very high. The LC most noticeable gaps and the ways to overcome them are outlined.

The purpose of this article is to trace the scientific path of the development of the views of N.G. Salischeva, a prominent administrative scientist of the Soviet and Russian periods, on the interaction of the interests of individuals and public authorities, and active participation of a citizen in such legal relations. The article examines the researcher’s works of different years and her evolving views on the issues of personality perception in administrative law and administrative process with the help of synthesis and analysis. The authors investigate the perception of Salischeva’s positions and ideas in the Russian legislation, in scientific doctrine, as well as on outlined by her issues of furthering legal regulation of public power and strengthening the role of person and citizen in the administrative process, in terms of changes in the Russian society. In conclusion, the authors note Salishcheva’s contribution to the development of codified normative legal acts on administrative offenses, both during the Soviet period and the formation of Russian legislation.

In modern conditions, historical and legal knowledge retains its relevance and topicality. This also applies to the monograph by A.D. Dyusyupova, devoted to the legal regulation of agrarian relations in the Russian Empire. The study is carried out on a large amount of factual material. The experience studied by the author is connected both with domestic legal traditions and modern searches for optimal ways of socio-economic development. In the context of modern global transformations, it is also extremely important to study different models for the development of adjacent and annexed territories, their inclusion into the united legal space and economic life. Therefore, the issues raised in the work of A.D. Dyusyupova undoubtedly contribute to the development of modern historical and legal science.

The article provides an overview of the International Scientific and Practical Conference “Energy Transition as a Factor of Influence on Energy Legislation”, held on June 20, 2022 at the Institute of State and Law of the Russian Academy of Sciences, co-organized by the Faculty of Law of Lomonosov Moscow State University, Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia, Perm State National Research University, Belgorod State National Research University, and Ulyanovsk State University. The authors describe the main areas of the sections’ activities of the conference, where a comprehensive discussion was given to the issues of rethinking the energy transition in terms of the changed realities, the role and transformation of legal regulation in the framework of the energy transition, legal challenges of ensuring relations in the energy sector, impact of relations on institutions and other branches of law in the energy sector, etc.