Russia: Clarification or corroboration of article from Vestnik, 6 August 1992 on the death penalty for illegal flight abroad
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 August 1992 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | RUS11545 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Russia: Clarification or corroboration of article from Vestnik, 6 August 1992 on the death penalty for illegal flight abroad, 1 August 1992, RUS11545, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6abdc20.html [accessed 8 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
It would appear from the article in Vestnik that the writer confused the unanimous decision of the Legislative Committee to change the word "homeland" or "motherland" to "state", on first reading without discussion, with the amendments to the Criminal Code itself.
The article (and especially the headline: "The Committee Proposed to Execute People who Refused to Return from Abroad") makes it appear that "defection abroad or refusal to return to the Russian Federation from abroad" is a new condition which has been added to Article 64 on treason:
According to the people from the Committee, besides well-known crimes which are called "State treason"; "Defection abroad or (Attention !!! - Y.K.) refusal to return to the Russian Federation from abroad" is also State Treason. The punishment for this crime can be up to death sentence with confiscation of property.(Vestnik [Elfimova] 6 Aug. 1992).
Article 64 of The Criminal Code of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (1990) already states:
High treason, that is an act intentionally committed by a citizen of the USSR to the detriment of the sovereignty, the territorial inviolability or the state security and defensive capacity of the USSR: crossing over to the side of the enemy, espionage, turning over a state or military secret to a foreign state, flight abroad or the refusal to return to the USSR from abroad, rendering aid to a foreign state in order to carry on hostile activity against the USSR, as well as conspiracy for the purpose of seizing power - shall be punishable by deprivation of freedom for a period of two to five years, or by the death penalty with confiscation of property. (Criminal Code, 1962, 49)
The Vestnik article interprets this to mean:
. . . if the investigation proves that an accused is not a spy, he will be just put in jail. Just this! Nothing serious! Don't you [the reader] think so? (Vestnik [Elfimova] 6 Aug. 1992).
Article 83 of the Criminal Code states that illegal exit abroad or illegal entry into the USSR "shall be punishable by deprivation of freedom for a term of from one to three years" (Criminal Code, 1984, 55). However, after a review of the sources available, and in the absence of any evidence to the contrary, it appears that even this article has not been enforced for some time. Response to Information Request SUN5385 of 1 May 1990 quotes a March 1990 report from External Affairs which states that:
Under existing regulations persons who left the USSR illegally and return to the country are liable for two to four years' imprisonment. Also, persons who overstay legal visits abroad and return to the USSR are liable for a fine of approximately $15.00 Cdn for each year of unauthorized over-stay. The Soviet Embassy indicates that these penalties are not usually imposed and that the new emigration and foreign travel law is expected to abolish them. [External Affairs, "Emigration/Family Visit Regulations, Eastern Europe", 19 March 1990.]
A report in Izvestiya (RFE/RL 26 June 1992, 70) quotes the Russian Minister of Justice Nikolai Fedorov as saying that the new draft Criminal Code of the Russian Federation would retain the death penalty even though its use would be restricted to premeditated murder in aggravating circumstances and "certain military crimes".
It should also be noted that the USSR Law on Entry and Exit (6 June 1991) grants every citizen "the right to exit from the USSR and enter the USSR." Temporary restrictions may apply to several categories including those who have access to state secrets or are awaiting trial on criminal proceedings (Ibid., Article 7).
The IRBDC in Ottawa has no further information on this subject at the present time.
References
BBC Summary of World Broadcasts. 8 June 1991. "USSR Law on Entry and Exit". (NEXIS)
Immigration and Refugee Board Documentation Centre (IRBDC). 1 May 1990. Response to Information Request No. SUN5385.
Ministry of Justice of the RSFSR. 1990. The Criminal Code of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic With Amendments and Addenda to May 5, 1990. Moscow: "Legal Literature" (translated by Secretary of State, Ottawa).
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). 26 June 1992. Research Report. [Munich]. Vol. 1, No. 26. Albert Motivans and Elizabeth Teague. "Capital Punishment in the Former USSR."
Vestnik [Toronto]. 6 August 1992. Y. Kotov. "The Committee Proposed to Execute People who Refused to Return from Abroad. The Deputies Agreed." (Moscow, 5 August 1992). (Translated by Natalia Elfimova).
Attachments
Ministry of Justice of the RSFSR. 1990. The Criminal Code of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic With Amendments and Addenda to May 5, 1990. Moscow: "Legal Literature" (translated by Secretary of State, Ottawa), pp. 49, 55-56.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). 26 June 1992. Research Report. [Munich]. Vol. 1, No. 26. Albert Motivans and Elizabeth Teague. "Capital Punishment in the Former USSR", pp. 67-73.
Vestnik [Toronto]. 6 August 1992. Y. Kotov. "The Committee Proposed to Execute People who Refused to Return from Abroad. The Deputies Agreed." (Moscow, 5 August 1992). (Translated by Natalia Elfimova).
