Developing the Conceptual Foundations for the Science of Penitentiary (Prison) Law — Prison Studies — as an Independent Branch of Russian Criminal Law (Second Half of the XIX — Beginning of the XX Century)

Abstract

The authors analyze the historical experience of the emergence and development of the science of penitentiary (prison) law — prison studies — as an independent branch of Russian criminal law that was formed in the second half of the 19th — beginning of the 20th centuries. They pay special attention to the institutionalization of the punishment of incarceration whose theoretical foundation was laid by outstanding representatives of Russian pre-revolutionary prison studies. In this historical period, famous legal scholars, practitioners, public figures, political and fiction writers studied problems of the organization and functioning of the Russian prison service, they offered suggestions on its optimization, on improving the effectiveness of its functioning regarding the implementation of the basic principles of punishment for persons who committed illegal actions. It is noted that in the history of Russian criminal law, the institute of punishment was studied by many representatives of legal science and practice who were not only outstanding scholars, but also highly effective organizers of prison work. However even today, in the process of establishing a civilized, humane, international law- and norm-based penitentiary system in Russia, there is an acute lack of complex research which would offer a comprehensive description and characteristic of the contemporary science of penitentiary law that became unofficially known as prison studies in the second half of the 19th — first half of the 20th centuries. Taking into account the historical past of our country, it is evident that a complex approach to researching the fundamental principles of the punishment of incarceration contributes to the further development of Russia legal science, to the objective assessment of the role and place of penitentiary institutions in the system of especially authorized state bodies that possess an exclusive right to counteracting crime. The studied empirical materials allowed the authors to conclude that it is necessary to analyze and widely use this rich historical legacy, which would help contemporary legal research and practice gain new knowledge in a dynamic and consistent way.