“Insulting His Majesty with Insolent Words” as State Crime (St. Petersburg Archives)

Abstract

The article is devoted to the responsibility for the verbal insult of the Russian Emperor, which belonged to the category of state crimes. For the commission of such criminal acts, according to Russian laws, responsibility was due. The documents of the two largest St. Petersburg archives: the Russian State Historical Archive and the Central State Historical Archive of St. Petersburg are analyzed in the article. The evolution of the concept of “insulting His Majesty” as a type of crime in Russian legislation is studied. The application of legal norms in the practical activities of Russian courts is considered. It is concluded that the Russian authorities paid great attention to this type of state crime. The degree of responsibility for its commission was very severe — up to a reference to hard labor. This was partly due to the sacralization of the person of the monarch, and therefore it was believed that the criminals encroached not only on him, but also on the very foundations of the state system. “Insulting His Majesty” remained one of the most common types of state crimes in the Russian Empire in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Keywords

• code of laws
• state crime
• ministry of justice
• charter of criminal proceedings
• criminal code of 1903