Crime and Punishment in Russia: A Comparative History from Peter the Great to Vladimir Putin

Description

Crime and Punishment in Russia surveys the evolution of criminal justice in Russia during a span of more than 300 years, from the early modern era to the present day. Maps, organizational charts, a list of important dates, and a glossary help the reader to navigate key institutional, legal, political, and cultural developments in this evolution. The book approaches Russia both on its own terms and in light of changes in Europe and the wider West, to which Russia's rulers and educated elites continuously looked for legal models and inspiration. It examines the weak advancement of the rule of the law over the period and analyzes the contrasts and seeming contradictions of a society in which capital punishment was sharply restricted in the mid-1700s, while penal and administrative exile remained heavily applied until 1917 and even beyond. Daly also provides concise political, social, and economic contextual detail, showing how the story of crime and punishment fits into the broader narrative of modern Russian history. This is an important and useful book for all students of modern Russian history as well as of the history of crime and punishment in modern Europe.

Jonathan Daly is Professor of History at the University of Illinois, Chicago, USA. He is the author of several books, including Autocracy under Siege: Security Police and Opposition in Russia, 1866-1905 (1998), The Watchful State: Security Police and Opposition in Russia, 1906-1917 (2004), and Hammer, Sickle, and Soil: The Soviet Drive to Collectivize Agriculture (2017).

[Crime and Punishment in Russia] provides a wealth of information about the Russian, Soviet, and post-Soviet criminal justice system. * Canadian Journal of History / Annales canadiennes d'histoire * Anyone looking for an inroad into teaching or research on Russian and Soviet criminal justice would benefit from reading Jonathan Daly's new synthesis, Crime and Punishment in Russia: A Comparative History from Peter the Great to Vladimir Putin. * Kritika: Explorations in Russian and Eurasian History * This rich, well-paced, and systematic book will be helpful to many students and teachers of Russian history. * International Institute of Social History * [This] study is a solid discussion of the past three centuries of Russia's criminal justice system. * Ab Imperio Quarterly * Daly's book provides a comprehensive overview of the organisation of the judiciary and key changes in approaches to criminal justice. The breadth of coverage makes it a useful text for students of modern Russian history and legal history. * The English Historical Review * One of its most important contributions is its distillation and explanation of the changing bureaucratic structure of the courts and judicial institutions under the various administrations it discusses ... [A] useful starting point for students of criminal justice looking to understand the basic nature of the Russian system and as a jumping-off point for further research. * History: Reviews of New Books * Crime and Punishment in Russia provides a clear, concise, and informative historical look at the evolution of criminal justice in Russia. * Europe Now * An admirable overview of Russian approaches to crime over the centuries demonstrating not only continuity but also cycles of change. Relying on the best scholarship for each period, Daly succeeds in weaving together strands of history that might seem incompatible, and giving his tale logic and drive. In short, a good read. * Peter H. Solomon Jr., Professor Emeritus of History, University of Toronto, Canada * Jonathan Daly brings together an immense amount of research to produce the first comprehensive account of crime and punishment in modern Russia. The result is impressive, a detailed chronological survey of the major issues, from legal reforms to prison conditions, providing concise analysis of areas of continuity and change. A valuable volume for students and scholars alike, and not just those of Russian history, but anyone interested in legal history. * Matt Rendle, Senior Lecturer in Russian History, University of Exeter, UK * Daly's book will find a place of choice in syllabi and bibliographies on Russian judicial history.... [T]he book provides a valuable resource to navigate readers into the changing administrative and legal landscape of Russian and Soviet justice. It is not an understatement to say that the discipline finally has a valuable handbook of Russian and Soviet state judicial history. * European Review of History *