Criminal
The 1996 code with a 48-hour detention limit and wartime offences
The Criminal Code of 1996 and the 2001 Code of Criminal Procedure apply. Detention without a court decision is limited to 48 hours, and since 2022 new offences cover discrediting the armed forces and dissemination of knowingly false information about them.
Key rules
- Detention may not exceed 48 hours without a court order extending it.
- Investigation is led by the investigator with prosecutorial supervision and judicial authorisation for intrusive measures.
- Article 207.3 criminalises false information about the armed forces, with up to fifteen years.
- A moratorium suspends the death penalty, which remains in the code but is not carried out.
Governing law
- Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (1996)
- Code of Criminal Procedure (2001)
- Federal Law No. 32-FZ (2022)Introduced Articles 207.3 and 280.3.
Penalties and consequences
- Fines, compulsory and corrective labour.
- Restriction of liberty and imprisonment, generally up to 20 years.
- Life imprisonment; the death penalty is retained in law but under moratorium.
In practice
Acquittal rates in ordinary criminal cases are below one percent, so defence work concentrates on the pre-trial stage and on the qualification of the offence rather than on trial outcomes.