In everyday life, by especially serious crimes we understand, as a rule, the most cruel and bloody acts, for example, murders, hostage-taking, terrorist attacks, etc.
However, from a legal point of view, the classification of crimes according to their severity does not depend on the actual content of the act, but on such a criterion as the size of the maximum punishment provided for by the relevant article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
In our article today, we will tell you which crimes are considered particularly serious from the point of view of criminal law, and perhaps, after reading this material, you will learn to define crimes yourself according to their severity.
Particularly serious crimes: what are they and why are they recognized as such
The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation contains categories of crimes:
- slight heaviness;
- moderate severity;
- heavy;
- especially severe.
More details:
Categories of crimes in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation by severity Read more
Particularly serious crimes are only intentional crimes, the maximum punishment for which, according to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, exceeds 10 years of imprisonment.
We wrote about what an intentional crime is in the article on the elements of the crime in the “Subjective side” section:
The concept and meaning of the crime Read more
Legal meaning
From a legal point of view, the classification of crimes according to their severity is important not only in the context of the severity of punishment, but also in some other legal aspects. For example, men sentenced to imprisonment for committing serious crimes, who have not previously served imprisonment, are assigned a general regime penal colony as a correctional institution, and men who have committed a particularly serious crime (even for the first time) are sent by the court to serve their sentence in a maximum security colony (Art. 58 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
Also, for especially serious crimes, the law establishes a longer period for expunging a criminal record after serving the sentence. In accordance with Art. 56 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation it is 10 years.
Differences between especially serious crimes and other crimes
Particularly serious crimes according to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:
- solely intentional
- encroach on the most important and carefully protected goods: life, health, sexual integrity of a person, as well as world security.
The high degree of danger of this category of crimes is emphasized by the fact that liability for them is possible already at the preparation stage (Parts 1, 2 of Article 30 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). However, this does not invalidate Art. 31 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation on voluntary refusal, entailing release from liability, which applies to particularly serious crimes in full .
You may also be interested in the article on the ConsultantPlus website “Is it advisable to exclude crimes of a grave category from the special procedure for judicial proceedings provided for by Chapter 40 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation?” If you do not yet have access to the ConsultantPlus system, you can obtain it free of charge for 2 days.
Commentary to Art. 15 Criminal Code
1. The article provides a categorization of crimes - dividing them into groups depending on the nature and degree of public danger. The division of crimes into categories is a novelty of the Criminal Code. This division is based on the following criteria: forms of guilt, type and amount of punishment.
2. If the conditions provided for in Part 6 of the article are present, the court has the right to change the category of the crime to a less serious one, but not more than one category, which may influence the resolution of issues of imposing a sentence, assigning a suspended sentence, exemption from criminal liability and punishment, and etc.
Is murder a particularly serious crime or not?
Yes, murder is a particularly serious crime, since the maximum penalty for it clearly exceeds 10 years in prison. The maximum for murder without aggravating circumstances is 15 years (Part 1 of Article 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation):
And for aggravated murder the punishment generally reaches life imprisonment.
But Article 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation is not the only rule providing for liability for murder!
The Criminal Code has 3 more types of murders, which are not particularly serious. These are the so-called privileged crimes, that is, murders committed under significant mitigating circumstances:
And these “mitigated” murders are not particularly serious; they fall into the categories of moderate or even slight severity.
Types of murders and their severity - table
| Type of murder | Norm of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation | Maximum penalty | Category (severity) |
| Simple (without mitigating or aggravating circumstances) | Part 1 Art. 105 Criminal Code of the Russian Federation | 15 years imprisonment | Particularly serious |
| Qualified (with aggravating circumstances) | Part 2 Art. 105 Criminal Code of the Russian Federation | 20 years imprisonment or life imprisonment | Particularly serious |
| Murder of a newborn child by a mother | Art. 106 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation | 4 years imprisonment | Moderate |
| Murder of one person in a state of passion | Part 1 Art. 107 Criminal Code of the Russian Federation | 3 years imprisonment | Light weight |
| Murder of two or more people in a state of passion | Part 2 Art. 107 Criminal Code of the Russian Federation | 5 years imprisonment | Moderate |
| Killing beyond the limits of necessary defense | Part 1 Art. 108 Criminal Code of the Russian Federation | 2 years imprisonment | Light weight |
| Murder by exceeding the measures necessary to apprehend the criminal | Part 2 Art. 108 Criminal Code of the Russian Federation | 3 years imprisonment | Light weight |
Please note: murder is not the only way to cause death to a person. There are many other articles in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation that provide for liability for crimes resulting in the death of the victim.
Particularly serious crimes - examples and list
The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation contains more than 30 articles containing especially serious crimes. Here are the most common ones.
Particularly serious crimes against life
Among the crimes against life, the most serious are:
| Crime | Norm of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation | Maximum penalty |
| Murder | Art. 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation | Life imprisonment or death penalty (not imposed since 1999 due to a moratorium) |
| Incitement to suicide committed: · in relation to a minor or a dependent person; · in relation to a pregnant woman; · in relation to 2 or more persons; · in public speaking, including via the Internet; · group of persons | Part 2 Art. 110 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation | 15 years imprisonment |
| Inducement to suicide or assistance in it, committed, resulting in suicide or attempted suicide, committed in relation to: · minor; · helpless; · dependent on the perpetrator; · pregnant | Part 5 Art. 110.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation | 12 years imprisonment |
| Inducement to suicide or assistance in it, committed, resulting in suicide or attempted suicide of 2 or more persons | part 6 art. 110.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation | 15 years imprisonment |
Particularly serious crimes against health
Among crimes against health, there are only 2 particularly serious crimes:
| Crime | Norm of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation | Maximum penalty |
| Intentional infliction of grievous bodily harm committed: · a group of persons; against 2 or more persons | Part 3 Art. 111 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation | 12 years imprisonment |
| Intentional infliction of grievous bodily harm resulting in the death of the victim | Part 4 Art. 111 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation | 15 years imprisonment |
Particularly serious crimes against sexual integrity and sexual freedom
Among the “sexual” crimes, there are many more particularly serious ones. Let's list the most common ones:
| Crime | Norm of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation | Maximum penalty |
| Rape/other sexual assault: · minor/him from 14 to 18 years old; resulting in HIV infection or serious harm to health | Part 3 Art. 131 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation/ Part 3 Art. 132 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation | 15 years imprisonment |
| Rape/other sexual assault: · a minor under 14 years of age; · causing death | Part 4 Art. 131 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation/ Part 4 Art. 132 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation | 20 years imprisonment |
| Rape/other violent acts of a sexual nature against a minor/person under 14 years of age by a person previously convicted of similar crimes | Part 5 Art. 131 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation/ Part 5 Art. 132 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation | 20 years imprisonment or life imprisonment |
Particularly serious crimes against property
The most common particularly serious crimes against property:
| Crime | Norm of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation | Maximum penalty |
| Robbery committed: · organized group; · on an especially large scale (amounting to more than 1 million rubles) | Part 3 Art. 161 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation | 12 years imprisonment |
| Robbery committed: · with illegal entry into a home or other premises; · on a large scale (amounting to more than RUB 250,000) | Part 3 Art. 162 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation | 12 years imprisonment |
| Robbery committed: · organized group; · on a particularly large scale; causing serious harm to health | Part 4 Art. 162 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation | 15 years imprisonment |
| Extortion committed: · organized group; · on a large scale; causing serious harm to health | Part 3 Art. 163 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation | 15 years imprisonment |
| Theft of a vehicle committed with the use of violence dangerous to life or health or the threat of its use | Part 4 Art. 166 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation | 12 years imprisonment |
Concept and types of crimes
Theoretical foundations of criminal law
Lecture outline:
1. General characteristics of the branch of criminal law: concept, subject, method, objectives. System, sources
2. Concept and types of crimes
3. Criminal liability for committing crimes
4. Criminal penalties in the Russian Federation
5. Criminal record and its legal consequences
General characteristics of the branch of criminal law: concept, subject, method, tasks. System, sources
Criminal law is a branch of law that determines what acts are dangerous to society (are crimes) and what penalties the state establishes for their commission (the branch of crimes and punishments).
Objectives of criminal law:
• protection of human and civil rights and freedoms, property, public order and public safety, the environment, the constitutional system of Russia from criminal attacks; • ensuring peace and security of mankind .
Criminal law is characterized mainly by an imperative method of legal regulation , based on the principles of power and subordination. The main source of criminal law of the Russian Federation is the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation , which has been in force in the Russian Federation since 01/01/97.
The Criminal Code (hereinafter referred to as the Criminal Code) consists of two parts: • General Part , which sets out concepts, types of crimes and punishments, principles of criminal law; institutions common to all criminal law are regulated;
• Special part , which provides an exhaustive list of acts recognized as crimes in the Russian Federation; the features of their qualifications (determination of severity) are explained; a list and types of punishments are given for each crime (the specific punishment is assigned by the court, taking into account all the circumstances of the case within the sanction of the article).
A crime is a socially dangerous act (action or inaction) committed guilty of guilt, prohibited by the Criminal Code under threat of punishment.
Signs of a crime, corpus delicti: see the seminar “Offenses and Legal Responsibility.”
Types of crimes:
Depending on the nature and degree of public danger, crimes are divided into four types:
• crimes of minor gravity - intentional and careless acts, for the commission of which, according to the Criminal Code, the maximum punishment does not exceed 3 years of imprisonment ;
• crimes of medium gravity : intentional acts for which the maximum penalty does not exceed 5 years of imprisonment ; reckless acts, for which the maximum punishment exceeds 3 years of imprisonment ;
• serious crimes - intentional acts, for the commission of which the maximum punishment does not exceed 10 years of imprisonment .
• especially serious crimes - intentional acts, the commission of which is punishable by imprisonment for a term of more than 10 years of imprisonment or a more severe punishment.
Depending on the type of socially protected interests, the following are distinguished:
1. Crimes against the person: • crimes against life (for example, murder, bodily harm); • crimes against freedom, honor and dignity of a person (kidnapping, human trafficking, etc.); • crimes against sexual integrity and sexual freedom of the individual (rape, etc.); • crimes against the constitutional rights and freedoms of man and citizen (violation of privacy, home; falsification of voting results; non-payment of wages; violation of copyright, etc.); • crimes against family and minors (involvement of minors in criminal activities, disclosure of the secret of adoption, etc.);
2. Crimes in the economic sphere: • crimes against property (theft, fraud, robbery, robbery, extortion, etc.); • crimes in the sphere of economic activity (illegal entrepreneurship, illegal obtaining of credit, smuggling, etc.); • crimes against the interests of the service in commercial and other organizations (abuse of powers by private notaries and auditors, commercial bribery, etc.);
3. Crimes against public safety and public order: • crimes against public safety (terrorism, banditry, organization of a criminal community (organization), hooliganism, etc.);
4. Crimes against public health and public morality (crimes in the field of drug trafficking, organization of prostitution, illegal distribution of pornographic materials and objects, etc.);
5. Environmental crimes (water pollution, air pollution, etc.);
6. Crimes in the field of traffic safety and transport operation (violation of traffic rules and operation of vehicles, etc.);
7. Crimes in the field of computer information (illegal access to computer information; creation, use and distribution of malicious computer programs, etc.);
8. Crimes against state power: • crimes against the foundations of the constitutional order and security of the state (high treason, espionage, attempt on the life of a statesman or public figure, armed rebellion, etc.); • crimes against state power, the interests of civil service and service in local governments (exceeding official authority, taking a bribe, giving a bribe, negligence, etc.); • crimes against justice (obstruction of the administration of justice and the conduct of a preliminary investigation, bringing a knowingly innocent person to criminal liability, illegal release from criminal liability, etc.; escape from a place of imprisonment, from arrest or custody, etc.);
9. Crimes against the order of government (use of violence against a government official; forgery, production or sale of counterfeit documents, state awards, stamps, seals, forms, etc.);
10. Crimes against military service (failure to comply with orders, desertion, etc.);
11. Crimes against the peace and security of mankind (planning, preparation, initiation or waging of aggressive war; genocide, mercenary activity, etc.).
