Counteraction to High Treason in Russian Legislation of the Second Half of the 19th — Early 20th Centuries

Abstract

The problem of improving the criminal liability of the subjects of the Russian Empire at the end of the nineteenth century for espionage and spilling state secrets to a foreign state is considered. The relevance of the study is due to the importance of the problem under study for the effective functioning of the Russian state. The study is based on historical sources of a regulatory and legal nature and is interdisciplinary in nature. Particular attention is paid to the study of legal norms, the identification of the type and amount of punishments for the commission of espionage by Russian citizens and spilling the state secrets to a foreign state. It is indicated that in the second half of the 19th century, the intensity of intelligence of foreign secret services in the territory of the Russian Empire increased. It is noted that more and more often foreign powers involved Russian subjects in the process of obtaining Russian secrets. At the same time, the analysis of the sources made it possible to reveal a sufficient limitation of the institution of counteracting espionage and disclosure of state secrets to foreign states in the Russian Empire at the end of the 19th century. It is proved that it was precisely these phenomena at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries that determined the authorities’ desire to progressively improve legal mechanisms that counteract threats and challenges to national security.