«Политическая смерть» в узаконениях императрицы Елизаветы Петровны

Cahiers d'histoire russe, est-européenne, caucasienne et centrasiatique (ex. Cahiers du Monde Russe). 2025. Т. 66. № 1-2. С. 65–99.

Polskoy S.

The concept of political or civil death first emerged in Russian legislation during the Petrine era, with similar punitive practices already present in the 17th century. However, the legal nature and procedure of political death remained unclear until the mid-18th century. This issue called for an immediate legal resolution, particularly following Empress Elizabeth Petrovna's declaration to punish crimes subject to the death penalty “not by natural death, but by political death.” Drawing on new archival sources, this article examines the stance of the empress and her entourage regarding the practice and semiotics of criminal punishment. The formal recognition of civil death within Russian law and penal practice allowed the sovereign, by depriving criminals of their “civil life,” to preserve their biological existence. Consequently, the establishment of “political death” effectively led to the de facto abolition of the death penalty.

Keywords: history of concepts, история понятий, система наказаний, Россия в XVIII веке, Russia in XVIII century, political death, политическая смерть, criminal punishment, Civil death, mors civilis, infamia, history of punishments, Гражданская смерть, история уголовных наказаний, бесчестье

Publication based on the results of: Government and Society in Modern Russia: politics, interaction and cooperation (2024)