Zoran Cvorovic

Prison in Moscow Empire

(XVI and XVII century)

Summary

There was mentioning of prisons in Russian law sources as early as during the period of Kyevian Russia. However, prison had no character of a sanction, but served as a preventive security measure of a temporary detention of an accused. The prison got a character of a sanction in Sudebnik of the Tsar Ivan IV in 1550 for the first time. According to Sudebnik, deprivation of freedom was intended for crimes that were directed against the judicial system. Codification of the Tsar Aleksey Mihailovich, Ulozenije of 1649, gave key contribution to further development of the prison as a law institute, where this sanction was provided for about forty crimes.

Key words: Moscow Empire, prison, prison administration, status of an imprisoned person, Sudebnik 1550, Saborno Ulozenije 1649