Moscow, November 9, 1994

Dear Mr. Fedorov:

I decided to react - even with some delay - to the publication in "Izvestija" on October 1 the program principles of Liberal Democratic Foundation, which you are president of. The more so you asked the readers to send their observations and proposals.

I discovered, that the first paragraph in this publication which was dedicated to the proposal of your Foundation concerning struggle against delinquency and corruption, reads as follows: "Reinforcement of punishment for crimes against personality and property. Application of capital punishment for assassinations and other heavy crimes; its abolishing for any other crimes".

I apologize in advance for the bulky quotation below, but one can wonder, to look at the complete list of crimes which you propose to punish by death penalty.

Well, according Article 7-1 of the Criminal Code of Russian Federation, "following crimes belong to the heavy ones: the most dangerous state crimes (Articles 64 - 73); violation of citizen's equality on feature of race, nationality or religion with overburdening circumstances (Article 74, Parts Two and Three); gangsterism (Article 77); actions to disorganize work of penitentiaries (Article 77-1); contraband (Article 78); mass disorders (Article 79); damage of railways and vehicles (Article 86); damage of pipe lines (Article 86-1, Part Three); fabrication or sale of false money or securities (Article 87); violation of rules on currency operations and speculation with currency values or securities with overburdening circumstances (Article 88, Part Two); embezzlement of state or public property in large amount (Articles 89, Part Four; 92, Part Three; 93, Part Three) or in especially large amount (Article 93-1); robbery with overburdening circumstances (Articles 90, Parts Two, Three and Four; 145, Parts Two, Thr

ee and Four); brigandage (Articles 91 and 146); intentional annihilation or damage of state or public property or personal property of citizens (Articles 98, Part Two; 149, Part Two); intentional assassination (Articles 102 and 103); intentional heavy corporal damage (Article 108); rape (Article 117); kidnaping (Article 125-1); seizure hostages (Article 126-1); illegal increasing or upholding prises with overburdening circumstances (Article 154-3, Parts Three and Four); deception of consumers with overburdening circumstances (Article 156, Part Three); output and sale of goods, which do not suit to the security requirements, with overburdening circumstances (Article 157, Part Two); illegal business on trading field with overburdening circumstances (Article 162-5, Part Two); excess of official full power with overburdening circumstances (Article 171, Part Two); receipt of bribe (Article 173); giving bribe or bribery mediation with overburdening circumstances (Articles 174, Part Two; 174-1, Part Two); calling a

n admittedly innocent to the criminal responsibility with overburdening circumstances (Article 176, Part Two); passing an admittedly unjust sentence, decision, designation or resolution, caused heavy consequences (Article 177, Part Two); forcing to evidence with overburdening circumstances (Article 179, Part Two); encroachment on life of a militia officer or public retinue (Article 191-2); malicious or especially malicious hooliganism (Article 206, Parts Two and Three); seizure of aircraft (Article 213-2); embezzlement of firearms, ammunition or explosive materials (Article 218-1); embezzlement of radio-active materials (Article 223-2); embezzlement of drugs for purpose of sale, as well as its embezzlement with overburdening circumstances (Article 224-1); illegal production, purchase, storage, transportation or consignment of drugs for purpose of sale or its sale (Article 224, Parts One and Two); insubordination with overburdening circumstances (Article 238, items "b" and "c"); resistance to commander or for

cing him to violation of his official duties (Article 240); violent actions against commander (Article 242); violation of statutory regulations of relations between military men in absence any subordination between them, with overburdening circumstances (Article 244, items "b" and "c"); desertion (Article 247); intentional annihilation or damage of military property with overburdening circumstances (Article 251, items "b" and "c"); violations of rules of battle watch with overburdening circumstances (Article 257, items "c" and "d")." By other words, just in one paragraph you propose to punish by death penalty all the 62 crimes, which fall under definition of "heavy crimes".

Mr. Fedorov, theoretically I can imagine a compatriot of mine (which should have a definite level of mentality), demanding capital punishment for corrupt officials, sadist sergeants or drug traffickers (the more so, this barbarism is practiced in some countries, in Singapore, for instance). But to shoot for damage of pipe lines, black market currency exchange and illegal increasing of prises... I cannot believe, that you really want it. But from the other hand, for me it is not less difficult to imagine, that preparing the program materials of your Foundation on struggle against criminality for publication in a greatest Russian language newspaper of the world, you could not find a minute to have a look inside of Criminal Code.

Let's seek now to compare, what for crimes could be capitally punished according to nowadays active legislation (the same Criminal Code, patched up and down). Here they are, all the 28:

- treason to Fatherland (Article 64);

- espionage (Article 65);

- act of terrorism (Article 66);

- act of terrorism against a foreign representative (Article 67);

- sabotage (Article 68);

- gangsterism (Article 77);

- actions to disorganize work of penitentiaries (Article 77-1, Part Two);

- evasion from draft on mobilization (Article 81);

- fabrication or sale of false money or securities as a business (Article 87, Part Two);

- intentional assassination with overburdening circumstances (Article 102);

- rape, committed by especially dangerous recidivist or caused especially heavy consequences, as well as rape of a minor (Article 117, Part Four);

- encroachment to life of militia officer or public retinue with overburdening circumstances (Article 191-2);

- seizure of aircraft, if this action caused death of people or causing heavy corporal damage (Article 213-2);

from the Chapter "Military Crimes":

- insubordination, committed in wartime or in combat situation (Article 238, item "c");

- resistance to commander or forcing him to violate his official duties, if it is connected with intentional assassination of commander or other person on military duty, or it was committed in wartime or in combat situation (Article 240, item "c");

- violent actions against commander, committed in wartime or in combat situation, if they caused heavy consequences (Article 242, item "b");

- desertion in wartime (Article 247, items "b" and "c");

- arbitrary leaving military unit in combat situation (Article 248);

- evasion military service by means of mutilation or by other means, committed in wartime or in combat situation (Article 249, item "b");

- intentional annihilation or damage of military property committed in wartime or in combat situation (Article 251, item "c");

- violation of statutory rules of watch service, caused harmful consequences, which should be prevented by this watch, committed in wartime or in combat situation (Article 255, item "f");

- power abuse, excess or inactivity, committed in wartime or in combat situation (Article 260, item "c");

- surrender or leaving to enemy any warfare facilities (Article 261);

- leaving a perishing war ship, committed in wartime or in combat situation (Article 262, item "b");

- arbitrary leaving battle field or refusal to act by weapon (Article 263);

- arbitrary capitulation (Article 264);

- marauding (Article 266);

- violence against population in warfare area (Article 267).

Of course, not all of this articles work. Practically, death penalty "is designated almost exceptionally for intentional assassination with overburdening circumstances - Art. 102 (about 95%), and for other especially heavy crimes, connected with killing a person" (Commentary to the Criminal Code of Russian Federation, Moscow, MIPP "Verdict", 1994, page 40). You pay a special attention to the assassinations, rightly separating them from "other heavy crimes". Obviously, you insist on death penalty not for all kinds of assassination (CC provides responsibility for assassination in five different articles), but only for that, which fall under the definition "heavy crimes": intentional assassination with overburdening circumstances (Art. 102) and intentional assassination without overburdening circumstances (Art. 103).

May I sum up: you propose to extend sphere of death penalty application at least up to 2.21 times (this even without extending of its application inside of single articles), including extension for assassinations up to twice.

Probably, you'll blame me with too literal interpretation of your program. But excuse me, judicial terms are not the same as speeches in Sokolniki public park. The Law does not know other interpretation of the term "heavy crimes" as mentioned above. There is one and only possibility: either first paragraph of the program of Liberal Democratic Foundation does not have absolutely no sense, or - vice versa - it has the most monstrous sense.

One can never know the ways of Russian liberalism. It seems, we used already to see a national socialist party, confessing a kitchen-style xenophobia, appealing to the most dark and law instincts of crowd and calling itself "Liberal Democratic Party". And now on our long-suffering political arena appears your Liberal Democratic Foundation, demanding just in the first lines of its program to shoot more people! But what's this, Mr. Fedorov, but how is it possible?..

For many our citizens your name is rightly associated with progressive reforms, you are meritously considered to be one of few consequent democratic politicians in Russia. Your contribution to the building of new Russia - both being minister of finance and member of State Duma - is very important. That's why I feel a sort of inconvenience and shame, repeating in my letter to you some things, which are considered to be self-evident by people calling themselves "liberals": that trusting in cruel punishments is nothing as dangerous illusion, diverting from the necessity to improve by a really effective way methods of struggle against delinquency; that death penalty - and it is proved by many foreign researches - at least does not make any influence on the amount of heavy crimes, or even makes a directly opposite influence, exasperating society and public morals; that State - the democratic one, at least - does not have right to decide about life and death of its citizens; that every year more and more states co

mpletely abolish death penalty de-facto and de-jure (the latest example is Italy, where one month ago capital punishment, existed only theoretically, was successfully withdrawn from the Military Criminal Code); that absolute majority of democracies abolished death penalty many years ago.

Moreover, step by step also on the international level is forming a consensus concerning death penalty, as a measure which should have no place in any national legislation. Many UN resolutions call its member states to reduce gradually number of death sentences in order to abolish completely this kind of punishment. The European Parliament passed even in 1992 a resolution, connecting the presence of capital punishment in a third country with the question of its entering the EC. And, finally, the most important thing: the UN Security Council, adopting the Statute of the Ad Hoc Tribunal on war crimes committed in former Yugoslavia - exactly that one, which begun yesterday in Hague its public hearings - has unanimously decided that capital punishment should be excluded from the punishments which can be applied by this Tribunal. But you know, here it's matter of the most heavy crimes against humanity!

Mr. Fedorov, I understand very well, that political elections 1996 are already near. However I also know and inform you: no means all the voters crave for public executions and cheep vodka. In any case, I firmly had been defined myself exactly as your voter - till the 1st of October... I also suppose, that I was not alone in my preferences. Well, let's hope, instead of me and my associates (they are not so few, by the way) you will get voters of other kind. I'm only afraid, that you loose your electoral campaign before the beginning. Because on the battle field for THAT electorate, your Foundation will meet awfully more attractive namesakes.

I could be happy to know, that I was mistaken, that I did not interpreted correct your program principles, that you - being however not an abolitionist - are nevertheless not in favour of mass shootings. But anyway, the LDF's position regarding capital punishment needs to be seriously clarified and specified.

Taking in consideration the extremely public importance of the above mentioned subject, I reserve for me the right to pass this letter to the Russian and foreign mass media for publication.

Sincerely,

Nikolaj KHRAMOV

member of General Council

of the Radical Party