Sodomy or others. Criminal prosecution of sodomy in the Russian Federation. Punishment for sodomy in old Russia

26.10.2021 Diagnostics

Which set the following:

Article 121. Sodomy

Sexual intercourse between a man and a man (sodomy)
Punishable by imprisonment for a term of up to five years.
Sodomy committed with the use of physical violence, threats, or against a minor, or taking advantage of the dependent position of the victim,
Punishable by imprisonment for a term of up to eight years.

Before this, criminal liability for sodomy was established by Art. 154a of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR of 1926:

154-a. Sexual intercourse between a man and a man (sodomy) - imprisonment for a term of three to five years.

Sodomy committed with the use of violence or taking advantage of the dependent position of the victim - imprisonment for a term of three to eight years

Story

Acceptance of the article

In the first versions of the criminal legislation of the RSFSR, there was no liability for homosexuality.

As the latest archival research shows, the initiator of the introduction of criminal prosecution for sodomy was the OGPU. In September 1933, the first raid on persons suspected of sodomy was carried out, as a result of which 130 people were arrested for suspected homosexual relations. In a memo from the Deputy Chairman of the OGPU, Genrikh Yagoda, Stalin was informed about the disclosure of several groups in Moscow and Leningrad that were engaged in “by creating a network of salons, hearths, dens, groups and other organized formations of pederasts with the further transformation of these associations into direct spy cells... the active pederasts, using the caste isolation of pederast circles for directly counter-revolutionary purposes, politically corrupted various social strata of youth, in particular working youth, and also tried to infiltrate the army and navy.”. On the document, Joseph Stalin noted: “The scoundrels must be roughly punished, and the corresponding governing decree must be introduced into legislation.”

Number of convicts

The total number of people convicted under this article is unknown. In the 1980s, about 1,000 men were convicted annually and sent to prisons and camps. In the late 1980s, their number began to decrease. According to the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation, in 1989, 538 people were sentenced under Article 121 in Russia, 497 - 497, 462 - 462, in the first half of 1992 - 227 people. According to Dan Healy, current maximum estimates of the number of people convicted under this article reach 250,000. Referring to data from participants in the anti-homophobia movement in Russia, he cites the number 60,000 as more realistic, based on conviction data by year (approximately 1,000 people per year, data GARF and CMAM). However, he also agrees with the opinion of Neil McKenna, who claims that it is hardly possible to find out the exact figure due to the lack of access to the necessary archives. The same figures are indicated by Valery Chalidze (magazine “The Advocate” December 3, 1991) and Sergey Shcherbakov (Collection of materials from the Conference on Sexual Cultures of Europe, Sexual Cultures in Europe, Amsterdam, 1992).

Movement to repeal the article

Cancellation of the article and consequences

Part 1 of Article 121 was excluded from the Criminal Code of the RSFSR on May 27, 1993; sodomy, as such, ceased to be a crime in Russia; but was preserved as a sign of composition in art. 132, 133, 134 of the new Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, adopted in

These articles establish liability for violent acts of a sexual nature (Article 132), coercion to acts of a sexual nature (Article 133) and sexual intercourse and other actions of a sexual nature with a person under sixteen years of age (Article 134).

According to the resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated June 15, 2004, explaining to the courts the specifics of the application of Articles 131 and 132 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, sodomy refers to sexual contacts between men.

It should be noted that the sanction for the above crimes is identical to the sanction for similar crimes associated with ordinary heterosexual sexual intercourse, therefore we cannot talk about any discrimination here. The differences are of a formal nature: the legislator considered it fundamental to separate the concepts of “sexual intercourse” - sexual intercourse between a man and a woman (one of the possible consequences of which is the conception of a child), and “other actions of a sexual nature.”

The victims of Article 121 were not officially recognized as victims of political repression, which is what a number of human rights organizations are seeking. The Russian Network of LGBT Organizations declared 2009 the “Year of Remembrance of Gays and Lesbians - Victims of Political Repression.”

Famous people convicted under Articles 121 or 154a

Notes

Vladimir Tolts, 2002
Maxim Gorky, 1953, p.238
Vladimir Kozlovsky, 1986, p.154
Healy D. Homosexual attraction in revolutionary Russia. M., 2008. P.297
"The rights of gays and lesbians in Russian Federation. Report of the International Commission on Human Rights for Gays and Lesbians” prepared by Masha Gessen. Introduction L.I. Bogoraz. San Francisco. IGLHRC, 1993

Which set the following:

Previously, criminal liability for sodomy was established by Art. 154a of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR of 1926:

Story

In the post-revolutionary legislative reform, the prosecution of homosexual behavior, which was present in the Criminal Code of Tsarist Russia, was abolished: in the Criminal Code of the RSFSR of 1922, the corresponding article was absent; in the 1920s, articles on liability for sodomy were removed from the Criminal Code of the Caucasian and Central Asian republics.

In 1926, at the invitation of the Soviet government, the USSR was visited by Magnus Hirschfeld, a gay emancipator and founder of the World League for Sexual Reform - and as a result, in 1928, at the Copenhagen congress of the Institut für Sexualwissenschaft, at which the founding of the League was announced, the USSR was cited as a model of sex -tolerance.

Acceptance of the article

As the latest archival research shows, the initiator of the introduction of criminal prosecution for sodomy was the OGPU. In September 1933, the first raid on persons suspected of sodomy was carried out, as a result of which 130 people were arrested for suspected homosexual relations. In a memo from the deputy chairman of the OGPU, Genrikh Yagoda, Stalin was informed about the disclosure of several groups in Moscow and Leningrad that were engaged in “by creating a network of salons, hearths, dens, groups and other organized formations of pederasts with the further transformation of these associations into direct spy cells... the active pederasts, using the caste isolation of pederast circles for directly counter-revolutionary purposes, politically corrupted various social strata of youth, in particular working youth, and also tried to infiltrate the army and navy.”. On the document, Joseph Stalin noted: “The scoundrels must be roughly punished, and the corresponding governing decree must be introduced into legislation.”

Number of convicts

The total number of people convicted under this article is unknown. In the 1980s, about 1,000 men were convicted and sent to prisons and camps every year. In the late 1980s, their number began to decrease. According to the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation, in 1989, 538 people were sentenced under Article 121 in Russia, 497 - 497, 462 - 462, in the first half of 1992 - 227 people. According to Dan Healy, current maximum estimates of the number of people convicted under this article reach 250,000. Referring to data from participants in the anti-homophobia movement in Russia, he cites the number 60,000 as more realistic, based on conviction data by year (approximately 1,000 people per year, data GARF and CMAM). However, he also agrees with the opinion of Neil McKenna, who claims that it is hardly possible to find out the exact figure due to the lack of access to the necessary archives. The same figures are indicated by Valery Chalidze (magazine “The Advocate” December 3, 1991) and Sergey Shcherbakov (Collected materials of the Conference on Sexual Cultures of Europe, Sexual Cultures in Europe, Amsterdam, 1992).

Cancellation of article

Movement to repeal the article

Cancellation of the article and consequences

Part 1 of Article 121 was excluded from the Criminal Code of the RSFSR on May 27, 1993.

Article 121. Sodomy.
Sexual intercourse between a man and a man (sodomy), committed with the use of physical violence, threats, or against a minor, or taking advantage of the dependent position or helpless state of the victim, -
is punishable by imprisonment for a term of up to seven years.
(as amended by the Law of the Russian Federation dated April 29, 1993 N 4901-1 - Gazette of the SND of the Russian Federation and the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, 1993, N 22, Art. 789)

Criminal Code of the RSFSR 1960

Sodomy in the modern Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

Sodomy, as such, has ceased to be a crime in Russia; but was preserved as a sign of composition in Art. 132, 133, 134 of the new Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, adopted in the city. These articles establish liability for violent acts of a sexual nature (Article 132), compulsion to acts of a sexual nature (Article 133) and sexual intercourse and other actions of a sexual nature with a person not who have reached the age of sixteen (Article 134).

According to the resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated June 15, 2004, explaining to the courts the peculiarities of the application of Articles 131 and 132 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, sodomy refers to sexual contacts between men.

It should be noted that the sanction for crimes provided for in Articles 131 and 132 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation is identical to the sanction for similar crimes associated with ordinary heterosexual sexual intercourse, therefore it cannot be said here that the law distinguishes between these types of crimes. The differences are formal: the legislator considered it important to separate the concepts of “sexual intercourse” - sexual intercourse between a man and a woman (one of the possible consequences of which is the conception of a child), and “other actions of a sexual nature.”

However, there are differences within the framework of Art. 134 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation: while the maximum punishment for voluntary heterosexual contact with a person from 14 to 16 years of age is four years of imprisonment (Part 1 of Article 134 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), such homosexual contacts are punishable by imprisonment for up to six years (Part 1 of Article 134 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). 2 Art. 134 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). In addition, if the age difference between the victim (victim) and the defendant (defendant) is less than four years, then for the act under Part 1 of Art. 134 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, punishment in the form of imprisonment is not applied. This rule does not apply to Part 2 of Art. 134 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, that is, for homosexual contacts.

A number of human rights organizations are seeking the status of victims of political repression for those convicted under Article 121. The Russian Network of LGBT Organizations declared 2009 the “Year of Remembrance of Gays and Lesbians - Victims of Political Repression.”

Famous people convicted under Articles 121 or 154a

Sergei Parajanov is a film director. He was convicted twice under the same article with a difference of 16 years.
Vadim Kozin - Russian pop singer, convicted in 1944.
Nikolai Klyuev is a peasant poet. In 1934, Klyuev was arrested, at that time he was almost the only person, who was persecuted for cohabiting with men. In 1937, he was shot on other charges.
Nikolai Yezhov - People's Commissar of Internal Affairs of the USSR during the period of mass repressions. There is a version that Yezhov confessed to sodomy in order to avoid a more severe punishment, but his calculation did not come true, and he was shot in 1940.
Gennady Trifonov is a writer, poet and dissident, known for his novel “The Grid” about the love of two prisoners. He was arrested, as he himself claims, for supporting Alexander Solzhenitsyn, who was expelled from the USSR, although he never hid his orientation, and was sentenced to 4 years.
Klein, Lev Samuilovich - Soviet and Russian scientist, historian, anthropologist, archaeologist, philologist, Doctor of Historical Sciences.
Korogodsky, Zinoviy Yakovlevich - theater director, professor, People's Artist of the RSFSR.
Panchenko, Nikolai Dmitrievich - public figure, one of the founders of the “Society of HIV-Infected and AIDS Patients”. [ ]
Shtarkman, Naum Lvovich - Russian pianist and music teacher, professor at the Moscow Conservatory (1987), Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1990), People's Artist of the Russian Federation (1996).
Lvov-Anokhin, Boris Alexandrovich - Soviet and Russian theater director, theater critic, ballet specialist, People's Artist of Russia. [ ]

Which set the following:

Article 121. Sodomy

Sexual intercourse between a man and a man (sodomy)

is punishable by imprisonment for a term of up to five years.

Sodomy committed with the use of physical violence, threats, or against a minor, or taking advantage of the dependent position of the victim,

is punishable by imprisonment for a term of up to eight years.

Before this, criminal liability for sodomy was established by Art. 154a Criminal Code of the RSFSR 1926:

154-a. Sexual intercourse between a man and a man (sodomy) - imprisonment for a term of three to five years.

Sodomy committed with the use of violence or taking advantage of the dependent position of the victim - imprisonment for a term of three to eight years

In the first versions of the criminal legislation of the RSFSR, there was no liability for homosexuality.

Number of convicts

Movement to repeal the article

Cancellation of the article and consequences

According to Dan Healy, current maximum estimates of the number of people convicted under this article reach 250,000. Referring to data from participants in the anti-homophobia movement in Russia, he cites the number 60,000 as more realistic, based on conviction data by year (approximately 1,000 people per year, data GARF and CMAM). However, he also agrees with the opinion of Neil McKenna, who claims that it is hardly possible to find out the exact figure due to the lack of access to the necessary archives. The same figures are indicated by Valery Chalidze (magazine “The Advocate” December 3, 1991) and Sergey Shcherbakov (Collection of materials from the Conference on Sexual Cultures of Europe, Sexual Cultures in Europe, Amsterdam, 1992).

Part 1 of Article 121 was excluded from the Criminal Code of the RSFSR on May 27, 1993; sodomy, as such, ceased to be a crime in Russia; but was preserved as a sign of composition in Art. 132, 133, 134 of the new Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, adopted in

It should be noted that the sanction for the above crimes is identical to the sanction for similar crimes associated with ordinary heterosexual sexual intercourse, therefore it cannot be said here that the law distinguishes between these types of crimes. The differences are of a formal nature: the legislator considered it important to separate the concepts of “sexual intercourse” - sexual intercourse between a man and a woman (one of the possible consequences of which is the conception of a child), and “other actions of a sexual nature.”

A number of human rights organizations that consider homosexuality to be the norm are seeking the status of victims of political repression for those convicted under Article 121. The Russian Network of LGBT Organizations declared 2009 the “Year of Remembrance of Gays and Lesbians - Victims of Political Repression”

1. Sodomy, lesbianism or other actions of a sexual nature with the use of violence or with the threat of its use against the victim (victim) or other persons, or taking advantage of the helpless state of the victim (victim) -

shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of three to six years.

2. The same acts:

a) committed by a group of persons, a group of persons by prior conspiracy or an organized group;

b) associated with a threat of murder or infliction of grievous bodily harm, as well as committed with particular cruelty towards the victim or other persons;

c) resulting in infection of the victim (victim) with a venereal disease, -

shall be punishable by imprisonment for a term of four to ten years, with or without restriction of freedom for a term of up to two years.

3. Acts provided for in parts one or two of this article, if they:

a) committed against a minor (minor);

b) entailed through negligence the infliction of grave harm to the health of the victim (victim), infection of him (her) with HIV infection or other grave consequences, -

shall be punishable by imprisonment for a term of eight to fifteen years with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a term of up to twenty years or without it and with restriction of freedom for a term of up to two years.

4. Acts provided for in parts one or two of this article, if they:

a) caused by negligence the death of the victim(s);

b) committed against a person under fourteen years of age, -

shall be punishable by imprisonment for a term of twelve to twenty years with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a term of up to twenty years or without it and with restriction of freedom for a term of up to two years.

5. Acts provided for in paragraph "b" of part four of this article, committed by a person who has a criminal record for a previously committed crime against the sexual integrity of a minor -

shall be punishable by imprisonment for a term of fifteen to twenty years with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a term of up to twenty years, or life imprisonment.

Commentary on Article 132 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

1. Sodomy (pederasty) is sexual contact between a man and a man, carried out by introducing the active partner’s penis into the passive partner’s anus (per anus). Other forms of satisfying sexual passion are not sodomy, but can be considered as other actions of a sexual nature, for example, insertion of the penis into the mouth. Other actions of a sexual nature include some forms of sexual contact between a man and a woman: oral, anal sex, penetration with a hand or any object into the genital organ, etc.

2. Lesbianism (sapphism) - female homosexuality, which is sexual contacts between women through imitation of sexual intercourse.

3. The main object of a criminal assault is the established way of life in the sphere of sexual relations, and in the case of committing an act of sodomy, lesbianism, or other acts of a sexual nature against a minor (minor), in addition to this, the normal sexual and moral development of the victim (victim). An additional object is the honor and dignity of the individual, in the most dangerous cases - the life or physical (mental) health of the victim.

4. The objective side consists of sexual contacts between a man and a man (sodomy), a woman and a woman (lesbianism), and the commission of other acts of a sexual nature using: a) violence; b) threats of its use; c) using the helpless state of the victim (victim).

4.1. The actions of a person who has obtained consent to commit an act of sodomy, lesbianism, or other acts of a sexual nature under the threat of disclosing disgraceful information, destruction, damage or confiscation of property, etc., cannot be considered as violent acts of a sexual nature. In some cases, such actions form a crime under Art. 133.

4.2. For the concept and content of physical (mental) violence, a helpless state, and qualifying features, see the commentary. to Art. 131.

4.3. The main element of this crime - formal - is considered completed at the moment of the beginning of sexual contact between a man and a man (sodomy), a woman and a woman (lesbianism), and the commission of other acts of a sexual nature.

5. The subjective side of the crime is characterized by direct intent. The perpetrator realizes that he is committing acts of a sexual nature against the will of the victim, using violence, the threat of its use, or the helpless state of the victim, and wants to commit them.

6. The subject of a criminal attack may be a sane person of any gender who has reached the age of 14.

7. In parts 2 and 3 comments. Article provides for qualifying and specially qualifying characteristics similar to the circumstances specified in Art. 131.

8. Violent acts of a sexual nature, provided for in parts 1 and 2 of the comment. articles belong to the category of grave crimes, part 3 - especially grave crimes.

Another comment on Art. 132 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

1. Most of the legal signs of the crime provided for in the commented article coincide with the signs of rape. The norm formulated in the commented article is therefore in almost all respects an exact copy of Art. 131 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation - this concerns the structure of the crime, its design, the list of qualifying characteristics, and punishability.

I hope that this will be a whole series of posts about LGBT people, and it will begin with an excursion into history. As is known, Stalin, in his desire to destroy as much as possible more people insisted on the adoption of a special criminal article for the persecution of gays... But is this really so?

Article 121 could not be applied if sexual relations began by mutual consent - to initiate a case, a statement from the injured party was required, and if there was no victim, there was no case. This, by the way, was reflected in the Soviet textbook on criminal law. And global experience in cases of sexual harassment shows that in most cases, coercion occurs without the use of violence at all. For example, in the case of a relationship between a boss and a subordinate.

Think about it. Equating sodomy with homosexuality is a blatant homophobic cliche. Sodomy is the attraction of a man by a man to anal sex. Moreover, the majority of those brought under Article 121 are heterosexuals (!) in same-sex male groups - the army, schools, seminaries, and in places of detention. The literal wording in the text of the article (in the latest edition): "Sexual intercourse between a man and a man (sodomy), committed with the use of physical violence, threats, or against a minor, or taking advantage of the dependent position or helpless state of the victim" - does not allow the interpretation that latent homophobes from liberal parties give it. Moreover, Article 118 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR provided for criminal punishment for the same acts committed against a woman. Therefore, the demand for the repeal of Article 121 without other conditions is outrageous sexism. But in 1993, Article 121 was not repealed at all, but was combined with Article 118 as part of Article 133: “Forcing a person to have sexual intercourse, sodomy, lesbianism or commit other acts of a sexual nature by blackmail, threats of destruction, damage or confiscation of property or using the financial or other dependence of the victim” . That is, sodomy is prosecuted by both the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and the Criminal Code of the RSFSR, but the punishment is significantly mitigated. If it is possible to discern any discrimination in the text of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR, it is discrimination against women, since different terms of imprisonment were provided for the same act committed against a man or a woman. (up to 3 years according to 118 and up to 7 years according to 121). However, it is worth considering that the specificity of most crimes provided for in Article 121 are crimes committed in same-sex male groups - at secure facilities under special psychological conditions. As for other examples, such as condemnation theater director Zinovy Korogodsky for sexual harassment of his subordinate, he didn’t even serve time three years- that is, the term that would have threatened him if his subordinate turned out to be a woman. By the way, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that this guy was involved in the case precisely as a victim, and not as an “accomplice”)

Update: I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who made critical comments, argued and refuted my position, and opposed me in in social networks. No, of course, I have not abandoned my point of view; it still seems true to me. However, your comments helped me understand one simple idea that initially did not reach my mind, which was blinkered by individualism: I really don’t have enough convincing arguments to immediately reject the already established ideas about criminal liability for sodomy in the USSR. My worst mistake was quoting Article 121 as amended in 1993, shortly before its cancellation, when the most controversial first part had already been excluded from it. The example I cited of Parajanov also turned out to be unconvincing, since Parajanov was convicted under the second part of Article 121.

I believe that this will not be the last post touching on the LGBT topic and, most likely, after completing the series of posts, I will begin compiling solid material based on them - taking into account, among other things, your criticism, dear commentators.