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Criminal penalties in Russia

Checked in October 2026 against the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (as amended to 4 August 2026, ConsultantPlus text).

These are statutory ranges for a first offence, from the least to the most the law allows. A court decides the actual sentence in each case. We read the code in its original language and give the offences in plain English, with the legal term where it helps. For anything that matters, rely on the code itself. Not legal advice.

How Russia sets penalties

  • The Code sorts crimes by the maximum prison term (Art. 15): small gravity (up to 3 years), medium gravity (up to 5 years for deliberate acts), grave (up to 10 years) and especially grave (more than 10 years, life or death).
  • A sentence of deprivation of liberty runs from 2 months to 20 years (Art. 56), or for life for the gravest crimes against life (Art. 57). Where an article says 'up to' a number of years, the lower limit is therefore 2 months.
  • For many offences the Code lists alternatives to prison, such as a fine, compulsory work, corrective labour, restriction of freedom or arrest. The tables show the prison term, and the notes say where the court may choose something else.
  • Where there are exceptional mitigating circumstances, the court may impose a penalty below the lower limit in the article, or a milder kind of penalty (Art. 64). The figures here are the limits in the articles.
  • Fines in this Code are in roubles. They are not shown in these tables, because the amounts have been changed several times.

Death penalty: The Code still lists the death penalty as an exceptional penalty for especially grave crimes against life (Arts. 59 and 105(2)), but Russia has had a moratorium since 1996: no one has been executed since then, and the Constitutional Court's rulings have kept the moratorium in place. A life sentence is not given to women, to people who committed the crime under 18, or to men over 65 (Art. 57).

Read the Russia legal-system profile in the Legal Families Atlas →

First-degree murder

8 to 20 years, or life imprisonment (death is still listed in the Code, but is not imposed)

  • Aggravated murder (killing two or more people, with special cruelty, for gain or by hire, to conceal another crime, and other listed cases) (Especially grave crime)

    Least
    8 years
    Most
    20 years' imprisonment, life imprisonment, or death (not imposed in practice)

    The term may come with restriction of freedom for 1 to 2 years afterwards. Life imprisonment is not given to women, to people under 18 at the time of the crime, or to men over 65.

    Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, Art. 105(2)

Russia has no 'degrees' of murder. Aggravated murder (Art. 105, part 2) is the closest to first-degree murder. It covers killing two or more people, killing with special cruelty, for hire or gain, in a way dangerous to many people, to hide another crime, and other listed cases.

Second-degree murder

6 to 15 years

Simple murder, an intentional killing with none of the listed aggravating circumstances, is the closest to second-degree murder.

Voluntary manslaughter

Up to 2 or 3 years for one death in passion, in excess of self-defence, or by negligence; up to 5 years for two or more deaths in passion

Russian law has separate, lightly punished offences for killing in a sudden state of intense emotion (affect), for killing in excess of self-defence, and for killing by negligence. The court may choose a non-custodial penalty in each.

Robbery

Up to 4 years (open theft) up to 15 years (robbery in an aggravated form)

Russian law has two offences. 'Grabezh' is open theft, and 'razboi' is an attack to steal with violence dangerous to life or health, or the threat of it.

Burglary

Up to 5 years (entering premises) up to 6 years (entering a dwelling)

  • Theft with unlawful entry into premises or another storage place (Crime of medium gravity)

    Least
    No minimum term set by the statute
    Most
    5 years' imprisonment (the court may choose a fine, compulsory work, corrective labour or forced labour instead)

    Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, Art. 158(2)

  • Theft with unlawful entry into a dwelling (Grave crime)

    Least
    No minimum term set by the statute
    Most
    6 years' imprisonment (the court may choose a fine or forced labour for up to 5 years instead)

    Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, Art. 158(3)

Russia has no offence named 'burglary'. Theft with unlawful entry into a dwelling or other premises is an aggravated form of theft.

Arson

Up to 2 years (destruction of property) up to 5 years (by arson or another dangerous means)

  • Intentional destruction or damage of another's property causing significant damage (Crime of small gravity)

    Least
    No minimum term set by the statute
    Most
    2 years' imprisonment (the court may choose a fine, compulsory work, corrective labour, forced labour or arrest instead)

    Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, Art. 167(1)

  • The same, by arson, explosion or another generally dangerous means, or causing death or other grave consequences by negligence (Crime of medium gravity)

    Least
    No minimum term set by the statute
    Most
    5 years' imprisonment (or forced labour for up to 5 years)

    Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, Art. 167(2)

Russia has no separate offence of arson. Setting a fire is punished as intentional destruction of property, with a higher maximum when it is done by arson or another means dangerous to many people. A fire set on purpose to kill is murder (Art. 105(2)).

Aggravated assault

Up to 3 years (medium-severity harm) up to 15 years (grievous harm causing death by negligence)

Russia grades assault by the harm done: slight, medium or grievous (Arts. 112 and 111). There is no offence called 'aggravated assault'.

Rape and sexual assault

3 to 6 years (rape) up to 15 to 20 years or life (the gravest forms)

Article 132 (violent acts of a sexual nature) has the same penalties for acts other than intercourse.

Kidnapping

Up to 5 years up to 15 years

A person who frees the victim voluntarily is released from criminal liability for the kidnapping itself, unless the acts contain another crime (note to Art. 126).

Embezzlement

Up to 2 years up to 10 years

Russian law calls it 'appropriation or embezzlement' (prisvoyeniye ili rastrata): theft of property entrusted to the person. The grade rises with the amount, the position of the offender and group participation.

Forgery

Up to 2 years up to 6 years

  • Forging an official document that grants rights or releases from duties, to use or sell it (Crime of small gravity)

    Least
    No minimum term set by the statute
    Most
    2 years' imprisonment (the court may choose restriction of freedom, forced labour or arrest instead)

    Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, Art. 327(1)

  • Forging a passport or an identity document that grants rights or releases from duties (Crime of small gravity)

    Least
    No minimum term set by the statute
    Most
    3 years' imprisonment (or restriction of freedom or forced labour for up to 3 years)

    Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, Art. 327(2)

  • Forgery of the kinds above, by a group or an organised group, or by a person using their official position (Grave crime)

    Least
    2 years
    Most
    6 years' imprisonment

    Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, Art. 327(4)

Drunk driving, first offence

A first offence is not a crime: fine of 45,000 roubles and loss of licence for 1.5 to 2 years

  • Driving while intoxicated, first offence (administrative offence) (Administrative offence, not a crime)

    Least
    No prison or arrest for the basic offence
    Most
    Loss of the right to drive for 1.5 to 2 years
    Fine
    Administrative fine of 45,000 roubles

    Where the driver has no licence or has been deprived of it, the penalty is administrative arrest for 10 to 15 days, or the fine where arrest cannot be used (Art. 12.8(3)).

    Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation, Art. 12.8(1)

  • Driving while intoxicated by a person already punished administratively for it, or convicted (Crime of small gravity)

    Least
    No minimum term set by the statute
    Most
    2 years' imprisonment (or a fine of 200,000 to 300,000 roubles, compulsory work or forced labour), with a ban on certain posts or activities of up to 3 years

    Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, Art. 264.1(1)

Driving drunk is a criminal offence in Russia only for a person who has already been punished for it administratively or been convicted (Art. 264.1). A first offence is an administrative offence under the Code of Administrative Offences, Art. 12.8.

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