Improving the modern system of criminal penalties in the context of the discussion on the reanimation of exile in Russia: historical aspect and the modern period (comparative legal analysis with certain norms of Chinese legislation)

The original article: https://legascom.ru/notes/7390-improving-the-modern-system-of-criminal-penalties-in-the-context-of-the-discussion-on-the-reanimation-of-exile-in-russia-historical-aspect-and-the-modern-period-comparative-legal-analysis-with-certain-norms-of-chinese-legislation .
Based on archival materials and statistical data, the article presents the historical experience of applying such types of criminal punishment as exile and hard labor. Interest in this topic has been aroused by proposals made in recent years by politicians and scientists to return exile as a form of punishment to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation in order to address issues of demography and the provision of labor resources in Siberia and the Far East. The article is devoted to the history of exile and hard labor in Siberia, in particular in Transbaikalia, in the pre-revolutionary period. At one time, not only lawyers, but also representatives of other professions participated in the discussion on the abandonment or abolition of the institution of exile and hard labor as a type of punishment in Russia. The article also indicates the historical experience of using the link in China and examples of solving labor supply issues in the modern period in China. The analyzed data help to show the history of the formation of the use of such types of punishment and the expediency of returning exile as a type of punishment to the domestic Criminal Code.
Keywords: exile to Siberia, the effectiveness of punishment, economic development of regions, correction of convicts, criminal legislation of China, economic development of China.
Introduction
In recent years, some authors <1> have raised the issue of resuscitation of such a criminal punishment as exile. The argument is also the issue of settlement of marginal territories, from which in recent years there has been a wide outflow of population, especially young people.
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<1> See: Skiba A.P., Rodionov A.V. On the reanimation of exile as a criminal punishment: legal and economic aspects // Penal enforcement law. 2016. N 4. pp. 17-21.
So, in the article "On the reanimation of exile as a criminal punishment: legal and economic aspects", the authors determine the need for further development of Siberia and the Far East by the need to extract minerals, maintain industrial and economic infrastructure, etc. The authors believe that in order to provide the country with valuable resources, penal enforcement policy should be linked to long-term development programs. One of the development measures proposed is the reanimation of exile as a criminal punishment.
The problematic situation of the discourse on the return of the link to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation
According to some authors, the return of the link can solve a number of criminological, penitentiary and socio-economic problems.
The use of exile will reduce the budget costs of maintaining places of deprivation of liberty; the convict will leave the environment in which he violated the law, which will help avoid recidivism. From a penological point of view, this will help to increase the effectiveness of the correction of convicts and will serve to prevent new crimes. Thus, this will contribute to a more effective achievement of the goals of the penal enforcement legislation <2>.
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<2> See: Skiba A.P., Rodionov A.V. On the reanimation of exile as a criminal punishment: legal and economic aspects // Penal enforcement law. 2016. N 4. pp. 17-21.
Steps are already being taken to resuscitate the link. So, in May 2021, the director of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia proposed to solve the problem of shortage of builders at the expense of convicts' labor. On May 27, 2021, Deputy Prime Minister Khusnullin said that the government is working on this option. It should be noted that as of May 1, 2021, 478 thousand people were held in penitentiary institutions, of which only about 188 thousand can be involved in work. According to the Russian Interior Ministry, 1.72 million migrants worked in the country in 2020, and construction sites lack about 1.2 million workers due to their absence <3>.
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<3> On June 1, 2021, more than 70% of Russians approve of hiring prisoners for construction sites // Interfax news agency.
71% of Russians approved this proposal of the Federal Penitentiary Service. More than half of the respondents believe that this "will contribute to the return of convicts to normal life," 23% - that this will not happen, 12% noted that such a practice would be the return of the GULAG <4>.
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<4> VTSIOM: Instead of going to prison, to work? // VTsIOM news.
The issue of exile is also on the agenda of political parties. At the end of September 2021, the leader of the LDPR, at a meeting of the president with the leadership of political parties, put forward the idea of providing Siberia with labor resources at the expense of exiles. The president rejected this idea, pointing out that "at least it won't work." At the same time, he noted that modern technologies need to be developed in Siberia and the Far East and thus create conditions for people to go there <5>.
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<5> Putin rejected Zhirinovsky's idea of exile to Siberia // IA TASS.
The history of the use of exile as a type of criminal punishment (comparison of the experience of the two countries)
When reforming modern domestic legislation, the historical experience of the application of criminal penalties in the Russian Empire and in the Soviet state should be taken into account.
Exile and hard labor as a criminal punishment in the Russian Empire of the XVII - XIX centuries significantly influenced the criminal situation, especially in the outlying territories. We note the negative contribution of this type of punishment in the form of convict subculture.
In the middle of the 19th century, discussions arose in the scientific community about the need to abolish exile and hard labor. Among the supporters of the link, we note such Russian lawyers as N.S. Tagantsev, N.N. Polyansky, etc. In the group of those who advocated the abolition of exile and penal servitude there were such famous people as S.K. Gogel, L.I. Petrazhitsky, I.Ya . Foynitsky, etc. <6>.
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<6> Kharmaev Yu.V. On the issue of improving modern criminal penalties in the context of discussions on the further use or abolition of the institution of exile and hard labor in the Russian Empire // Bulletin of the Buryat State University. Humanitarian studies of Inner Asia. 2020. N 2. p. 12.
N.S. Tagantsev was a consistent supporter of exile, believing that exiles could carry out the socio-economic development of the outlying territories. He saw exile not only as punishment, but also as "important corrective moments." In the case of exemplary behavior, the convicted person may be encouraged, up to parole. The Sakhalin penal servitude project, in his opinion, failed due to the lack of professionalism of officials. Objectively, he noted the high cost of maintaining exiles.
In our opinion, the opponents of the modernization of exile and hard labor at that time had more weighty arguments. Thus, L.I. Petrazhitsky pointed out that exile should be recognized as a harmful measure from a social point of view, and from an economic point of view it is absolutely ineffective <7>.
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<7> Kharmaev Yu.V. Criminal exile as a negative factor influencing the mentality of the local population in the Russian Empire in the XIX century. // Bulletin of the Buryat State University. Jurisprudence. 2019. Issue 1. p. 38.