What is the difference between robbery and robbery and other related offenses?


How is it different from robbery?

The difference between robbery and robbery is (which article is 162 or 161 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation):

  • in the intensity of the use of violence;
  • the degree of harm caused;
  • in the victim’s subjective perception of the threat of violence.

We are talking about robbery:

  • if the victim perceives the threat as real and feasible (even if this is not the case);
  • if he perceives the weapon as real (even if it is an imitation).

To illustrate the distinction, consider an example:

The Leninsky District Court of Kemerovo accused V.I. Petrov. in robbery with the use of violence not dangerous to life and health.

The defendant took A.S. Lyubimova from the victim. laptop. And when she tried to resist, he punched her twice in the face.

These blows did not cause serious harm to health, did not lead to health problems, but caused pain to the victim, which means that we are indeed talking about violence, but not dangerous to life and health.

Such a crime will be classified as robbery.

Distinguishing robbery from banditry in accordance with the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

Distinguishing robbery from banditry in accordance with the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

The need to distinguish robbery from banditry arises when a robbery attack is committed by an organized group using weapons. The difficulty is that in both banditry and robbery there is a stable nature of the connection between members of an organized group.

The main difference between robbery and banditry is that, in accordance with paragraph 2 of the resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of January 17, 1997 No. 1 “On the practice of application by courts of legislation on liability for banditry,” a gang is an organized stable armed group of two and more than persons who have united in advance to carry out attacks on citizens or organizations, and in the case of robbery, a group of persons can agree to commit one attack on citizens or an institution. The stable nature of the connection between gang members presupposes an organization that was created to carry out criminal activity, designed for repeated criminal actions. The stability of a gang, according to the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of January 17, 1997 No. 1, presupposes the stability of its composition, the close relationship between its members, the consistency of their actions, the constancy of the forms and methods of criminal activity, the duration of its existence and the number of crimes committed1. In addition, other signs may also indicate the stability of a gang: careful planning and preparation of crimes, the presence of a group leader and organizer of specific crimes, a long or intense period of criminal activity of the group, consisting of repeated commission of crimes. However, a gang can be created to carry out one attack, requiring careful preparation. The sign of sustainability is not only objective, but also subjective. This means that an armed group cannot be a gang if its members lack the persistence of criminal intent, i.e. aspirations to constantly or at least repeatedly over a certain period of time carry out armed attacks. When deciding whether the actions of the perpetrators constitute a crime under Article 209 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, they only have connections that are due to joint criminal activity. Joint solution of everyday problems and leisure activities cannot characterize the group as a gang.

The second difference is that the legislator associates armed robbery with the mandatory use of weapons during an attack, while the presence of banditry is associated only with the presence of weapons in at least one of the gang members, even without using it, if the rest of the gang members knew about it and they were ready to use it.

The armament of a gang presupposes that its members have not only firearms, bladed weapons (including throwing weapons), gas or pneumatic weapons, factory-made or homemade, but also explosive devices2. The weapon must be in a group to carry out an attack, it must have the ability to cause harm to human health, and must be prohibited or limited in civilian circulation. This means that weapons owned by members of a stable group that are not intended for attack, but for other purposes (for example, for hunting), weapons unsuitable for their intended use or their models, aerosol devices purchased without a license, equipped with tear or irritant substances permitted for application by the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, freely purchased household items (axes, pitchforks, kitchen knives, etc.) do not form a gang’s weapons.

Robbery may also constitute an attack with the use of objects used as weapons, if they are intended or adapted by members of the group for attacks on people, imitation or unusable weapons. The use of weapons in the commission of armed robbery should be understood as: causing light, moderate or serious harm to health with its help; the use of its damaging properties when, for reasons beyond the will of the perpetrator, no real harm to health occurs for the victim; use of the specified objects for mental violence (demonstration of weapons). If the weapons the criminals had were not demonstrated at all when committing a robbery, then the elements provided for in paragraph “g” of Part 2 of Article 162 of the Criminal Code are absent.

The third difference is in composition. The composition of banditry is formal, because does not include the onset of socially dangerous consequences arising from the commission of specific attacks by a gang, which are subject to independent classification under the relevant articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation in combination with banditry3. In addition, such qualification involves reflecting the increased danger of an attack committed by a gang, through the qualifying feature of an organized group if it is present in the relevant corpus delicti or by taking into account an organized group as an aggravating circumstance (clause “c” of Part 1 of Article 63 of the Criminal Code RF), in the absence of such a qualifying feature. The composition of banditry is complete from the moment the gang is created, regardless of whether it has committed at least one attack or not. Actions aimed at creating a gang, which did not lead to the emergence of a stable armed group due to circumstances beyond the control of the perpetrators, are classified as an attempt to create a gang. The hallmark of a gang is participation, which is presented in the form of two actions: participation in a gang and participation in crimes committed by the gang. Participation in a gang qualifies as complete banditry. In contrast, participation in a robbery group, which has the goal of taking possession of other people's property using weapons, should be qualified as preparation for robbery.

The elements of robbery are truncated, robbery is completed from the moment of the attack with the aim of stealing someone else's property, committed with the use of violence dangerous to life or health, or with the threat of using such violence.

The fourth difference is the motive of the crime. In banditry, the criminal must realize that he is a member of a gang created for the purpose of attacking organizations and citizens. In case of robbery committed by an organized group, this intent is also present, but the motive for committing the crime for these groups may be different. The motive of robbery is always only self-interest; with banditry, other base motives are also possible: revenge, creating mass unrest.

The fifth difference is based on the subject of the crime. The subject of banditry is general; criminal liability for its commission begins at the age of 16. Actual members of the gang who committed crimes as part of it at the age of 14 to 16 years are subject to liability only for specific crimes, liability for which in accordance with Part 2 of Art. 20 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation begins at the age of 144. Part 3 of Article 209 of the Criminal Code establishes liability for persons who are organizers, leaders, members of a gang or participants in attacks committed by it, if this involved the use of their official position. A special subject appeared in Article 209 of the Criminal Code. The subject of robbery is general; it includes a legally capable person who has reached the age of 14 years.

Kondrusov E.V. also highlights the difference in the object of the criminal attack. In robbery, property acts as the main direct object, human health as an additional one, and in banditry, all of the above objects are additional. The main direct object of banditry is the fundamentals of public administration in the field of ensuring public safety. It is believed that a feature of crimes against public safety, including banditry, is that they are objectively harmful to a wide range of social relations (personal security, normal activities of enterprises, institutions, organizations and other social institutions). When crimes against public safety are committed, harm is caused not to the interests of a specific person, but to socially significant interests—the safe living conditions of society as a whole5.

Thus, the greatest difficulty is caused by cases of distinguishing from banditry violent and mercenary attacks and, above all, armed group robbery. The difficulty is that both banditry and this type of robbery have many similar characteristics. In the case where robbery attacks are committed by an organized group with the use of weapons, it is difficult to correctly qualify due to the fact that both elements of the crime are truncated, so there is a need to accurately determine which characteristics of the elements of the composition relate to banditry and which to robbery.

This chapter examined the concept, qualifying features and elements of a crime such as robbery.

As a result of considering these issues, the following conclusions were made:

1) Robbery - an attack for the purpose of stealing someone else’s property, committed with the use of violence dangerous to life or health, or with the threat of such violence.

The object of robbery is property relations, and the additional one is personal health.

The objective side is characterized only by the act: attack, violence dangerous to the life or health of the victim, threat of violence dangerous to life or health.

Mandatory signs of the objective side: attack; use of violence dangerous to life or health.

The elements of robbery are truncated, that is, the moment of the end of the crime is moved to the stage of the attempt. The robbery is considered completed from the moment of the attack, combined with violence of varying degrees of intensity.

The subjective side of robbery is characterized by direct intent and the purpose of stealing someone else's property.

The subject of the crime is a physically sane person who has reached the age of 14 years.

2) Qualifying signs of robbery:

- robbery committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy;

— robbery with the use of weapons;

- robbery committed with illegal entry into a home, premises or other storage;

- robbery committed on a large scale;

- robbery committed with infliction of grievous harm to the health of the victim.

3) The difference between robbery and banditry is that:

- a gang is an organized, stable armed group of two or more persons who have united in advance to carry out attacks on citizens or organizations, and in case of robbery, a group of persons can agree to commit one attack on citizens or an institution;

- the legislator associates armed robbery with the mandatory use of weapons during an attack, while the presence of banditry is associated only with the presence of weapons in at least one of the gang members, even without using it, if the rest of the gang members knew about it and they were ready to use it;

- difference in composition. The composition of banditry is formal, because does not include the onset of socially dangerous consequences arising from the commission of specific attacks by a gang, which are subject to independent classification under the relevant articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation in combination with banditry;

- difference based on the motive of the crime. The motive of robbery is always only self-interest; with banditry, other base motives are also possible: revenge, creating mass unrest;

- difference in the subject of the crime. The subject of banditry is general; criminal liability for its commission begins at the age of 16. The subject of robbery is general; it includes a legally capable person who has reached the age of 14 years.

Resolution of the Plenum No. 1 of Moscow January 17, 1997 / Supreme Court of the Russian Federation [Electronic resource] – Access mode: https://supcourt.ru/vscourt_detale.php?id=956

Resolution of the Plenum No. 1 of Moscow January 17, 1997 / Supreme Court of the Russian Federation [Electronic resource] – Access mode: https://supcourt.ru/vscourt_detale.php?id=956

Resolution of the Plenum No. 1 of Moscow January 17, 1997 / Supreme Court of the Russian Federation [Electronic resource] – Access mode: https://supcourt.ru/vscourt_detale.php?id=956

Resolution of the Plenum No. 1 of Moscow January 17, 1997 / Supreme Court of the Russian Federation [Electronic resource] – Access mode: https://supcourt.ru/vscourt_detale.php?id=956

Kondrusov E.V. Features of the distinction between armed group robbery and banditry / E.V. Kondrusov // Legal sciences. - 2007. - No. 6. - P. 103-107.

5

From extortion?

In practice, it is difficult to distinguish between extortion and robbery. There are 3 points on which it is advisable to make a distinction.

  1. The moment of receipt or seizure of property.

The act will be robbery if, simultaneously with causing violence or uttering a threat to cause it, property is confiscated.

An action should be qualified as extortion if the moment of transfer of property is delayed and occurs after the threat is made.

  1. The subject of robbery can only be movable property.

In contrast to extortion, where the subject of the crime can be not only movable property, but also rights to movable and immovable property, as well as the gratuitous performance of work or services.

  1. Use of weapons.

For robbery, the use of weapons is one of the qualifying criteria, while for extortion it is not used.

Recommended reading:

The concept of robbery, signs and assigned punishments

Robbery: corpus delicti

Forms of complicity in robbery

Banditry. Concept, characteristics, difference from related compounds

Banditry is a crime against public safety under Art. 209 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, consisting in:

a) creating a stable armed group (gang) for the purpose of attacking citizens or organizations, as well as leading such a group (gang);

b) participation in a stable armed group (gang) or in attacks carried out by it.

The main object is social relations ensuring public safety. An additional object of crime can be life, health, property relations, normal functioning of enterprises, organizations, institutions, and transport.

The objective side of banditry is expressed in the commission of one of the following actions:

1) creation of a stable armed group (gang), as well as leadership of such a group (gang) (Part 1 of Article 209 of the Criminal Code);

2) participation in a stable armed group (gang) or in attacks committed by it (Part 2 of Article 209 of the Criminal Code). For the actions of the guilty person to contain the elements of a crime, one of the specified actions is sufficient.

The gang must have the following mandatory characteristics:

a) group, i.e. the presence of two or more persons (Part 1 of Article 35 of the Criminal Code);

b) stability;

c) armament;

d) the goal is to carry out an attack on citizens or organizations.

A gang should be understood as an organized, stable armed group of two or more individuals who have united in advance to carry out attacks on citizens or organizations. A gang can also be created to commit one attack, but one that requires careful preparation. The stability of a gang can be evidenced by such signs as the stability of its composition, the close relationship between its members, the consistency of their actions, the constancy of the forms and methods of criminal activity, the duration of its existence and the number of crimes committed.

A mandatory feature of a gang is its armament, which presupposes the presence of weapons in at least one of its members and the awareness of other gang members about this. Weapons can be any - firearms, cold steel, throwing weapons, gas weapons (for the purchase of which a permit is required), pneumatic weapons (of a certain muzzle energy and caliber, the turnover of which in the Russian Federation is limited to sporting volumes), industrial domestic and foreign production or homemade, various explosives and explosive devices.

Various devices equipped with tear or irritant substances, electroshock and other devices that are not subject to registration and the acquisition of which does not require a special permit (license) cannot be considered as weapons. The use of weapons or their mock-ups that are unsuitable for their intended use cannot be considered as a sign of armament.

The creation of a gang should be understood as any actions that can be expressed in the form of conspiracy, search for accomplices, financing, acquisition of weapons, if their result is the formation of an organized stable armed group for the purpose of attacking citizens or organizations.

The leadership of a gang should be understood as any decision-making actions related to both planning, material support and organization of criminal activity, as well as the commission of specific attacks by the gang, the distribution of roles between gang members, transport, the development of methods and means of camouflage, hiding traces of a crime, section kidnapped, maintaining the gang's common cash register.

Participation in a gang is not only direct participation in the attacks it commits, but also the performance by its members of other actions in the interests of the gang, ensuring its activities, aimed at financing it, providing weapons, transport, finding targets for attack, concealing weapons, gang members, purchasing or selling property stolen by the gang, removing obstacles to facilitate attacks, etc.

Participation in the commission of an attack should also be classified as banditry by persons who, while not members of a gang, realize that they are taking part in crimes committed by a gang. If a person did not realize that he was committing an attack in a gang, then his actions are qualified as participation in the crime that was covered by his intent.

The crime has a formal composition. The creation of a gang is considered a completed crime, regardless of whether the attacks it planned were carried out. If the actions to create a gang were not completed for reasons beyond the will of the organizer, for example due to their suppression by the authorities, then they should be classified as an attempt to commit this crime.

The subjective side is expressed in direct intent : the person’s awareness of the creation of a stable armed group (gang), as well as its leadership, or the person’s awareness of participation in a stable armed group (gang) or the attacks it commits and the desire for this. A mandatory feature of the subjective side of a crime is the goal - an attack on citizens or organizations. An attack should be understood as actions aimed at achieving a criminal result by using violence against the victim or creating a real threat of its immediate use.

The subject of the crime is a person who has reached the age of 16 and is an organizer or leader of a gang. Persons aged 14 to 16 years who have committed various crimes as part of a gang are responsible only for those specific crimes for which responsibility is provided from the age of 14 (Article 20 of the Criminal Code).

Qualifying signs:

— participation in a stable armed group (gang) or in attacks carried out by it;

- creation, participation in an armed group or in attacks carried out by it using one’s official position (The subject of this crime is special.

The use of official position should be understood as the use by a person of his power or other official powers, uniforms and paraphernalia, official IDs or weapons, as well as information that he has in connection with his official position, when preparing or committing an attack by a gang or when financing its criminal activities, weapons, material support, selection of new gang members, etc.)

The difference between banditry and robbery committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy using weapons or objects used as weapons (Part 2 of Article 162 of the Criminal Code) is as follows: a gang is a close-knit, stable group of people, and in case of group robbery, criminals can agree on committing only one robbery of citizens or an institution, i.e. there should be no sign of stability;

- for banditry, at least one member of the gang must have a weapon, and robbery requires the use of a weapon, and not just its presence;

- during robbery, objects that are not actually weapons can be used as weapons, but to constitute banditry, it is necessary to have weapons in the literal sense of the word, i.e., objects socially intended to defeat a living target;

- the composition of banditry is complete from the moment the gang is created, while robbery is considered complete from the moment of an attack with the aim of stealing someone else’s property, committed with the use of violence dangerous to life or health, or with the threat of such violence.

from the organization of an illegal armed group or participation in it in terms of goals and focus of activity. An illegal armed group does not pursue the goal of attacking citizens or organizations. The goals of this formation are either the protection of individuals and objects, or the military-sports training of people for future use in political, social, national or religious conflicts.

from extortion committed by an organized group with the infliction of grievous harm to the health of the victim (clauses “a” and “c” of Part 3 of Article 163 of the Criminal Code) by the presence of weapons.

Banditry is a crime against public safety under Art. 209 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, consisting in:

a) creating a stable armed group (gang) for the purpose of attacking citizens or organizations, as well as leading such a group (gang);

b) participation in a stable armed group (gang) or in attacks carried out by it.

The main object is social relations ensuring public safety. An additional object of crime can be life, health, property relations, normal functioning of enterprises, organizations, institutions, and transport.

The objective side of banditry is expressed in the commission of one of the following actions:

1) creation of a stable armed group (gang), as well as leadership of such a group (gang) (Part 1 of Article 209 of the Criminal Code);

2) participation in a stable armed group (gang) or in attacks committed by it (Part 2 of Article 209 of the Criminal Code). For the actions of the guilty person to contain the elements of a crime, one of the specified actions is sufficient.

The gang must have the following mandatory characteristics:

a) group, i.e. the presence of two or more persons (Part 1 of Article 35 of the Criminal Code);

b) stability;

c) armament;

d) the goal is to carry out an attack on citizens or organizations.

A gang should be understood as an organized, stable armed group of two or more individuals who have united in advance to carry out attacks on citizens or organizations. A gang can also be created to commit one attack, but one that requires careful preparation. The stability of a gang can be evidenced by such signs as the stability of its composition, the close relationship between its members, the consistency of their actions, the constancy of the forms and methods of criminal activity, the duration of its existence and the number of crimes committed.

A mandatory feature of a gang is its armament, which presupposes the presence of weapons in at least one of its members and the awareness of other gang members about this. Weapons can be any - firearms, cold steel, throwing weapons, gas weapons (for the purchase of which a permit is required), pneumatic weapons (of a certain muzzle energy and caliber, the turnover of which in the Russian Federation is limited to sporting volumes), industrial domestic and foreign production or homemade, various explosives and explosive devices.

Various devices equipped with tear or irritant substances, electroshock and other devices that are not subject to registration and the acquisition of which does not require a special permit (license) cannot be considered as weapons. The use of weapons or their mock-ups that are unsuitable for their intended use cannot be considered as a sign of armament.

The creation of a gang should be understood as any actions that can be expressed in the form of conspiracy, search for accomplices, financing, acquisition of weapons, if their result is the formation of an organized stable armed group for the purpose of attacking citizens or organizations.

The leadership of a gang should be understood as any decision-making actions related to both planning, material support and organization of criminal activity, as well as the commission of specific attacks by the gang, the distribution of roles between gang members, transport, the development of methods and means of camouflage, hiding traces of a crime, section kidnapped, maintaining the gang's common cash register.

Participation in a gang is not only direct participation in the attacks it commits, but also the performance by its members of other actions in the interests of the gang, ensuring its activities, aimed at financing it, providing weapons, transport, finding targets for attack, concealing weapons, gang members, purchasing or selling property stolen by the gang, removing obstacles to facilitate attacks, etc.

Participation in the commission of an attack should also be classified as banditry by persons who, while not members of a gang, realize that they are taking part in crimes committed by a gang. If a person did not realize that he was committing an attack in a gang, then his actions are qualified as participation in the crime that was covered by his intent.

The crime has a formal composition. The creation of a gang is considered a completed crime, regardless of whether the attacks it planned were carried out. If the actions to create a gang were not completed for reasons beyond the will of the organizer, for example due to their suppression by the authorities, then they should be classified as an attempt to commit this crime.

The subjective side is expressed in direct intent : the person’s awareness of the creation of a stable armed group (gang), as well as its leadership, or the person’s awareness of participation in a stable armed group (gang) or the attacks it commits and the desire for this. A mandatory feature of the subjective side of a crime is the goal - an attack on citizens or organizations. An attack should be understood as actions aimed at achieving a criminal result by using violence against the victim or creating a real threat of its immediate use.

The subject of the crime is a person who has reached the age of 16 and is an organizer or leader of a gang. Persons aged 14 to 16 years who have committed various crimes as part of a gang are responsible only for those specific crimes for which responsibility is provided from the age of 14 (Article 20 of the Criminal Code).

Qualifying signs:

— participation in a stable armed group (gang) or in attacks carried out by it;

- creation, participation in an armed group or in attacks carried out by it using one’s official position (The subject of this crime is special.

The use of official position should be understood as the use by a person of his power or other official powers, uniforms and paraphernalia, official IDs or weapons, as well as information that he has in connection with his official position, when preparing or committing an attack by a gang or when financing its criminal activities, weapons, material support, selection of new gang members, etc.)

The difference between banditry and robbery committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy using weapons or objects used as weapons (Part 2 of Article 162 of the Criminal Code) is as follows: a gang is a close-knit, stable group of people, and in case of group robbery, criminals can agree on committing only one robbery of citizens or an institution, i.e. there should be no sign of stability;

- for banditry, at least one member of the gang must have a weapon, and robbery requires the use of a weapon, and not just its presence;

- during robbery, objects that are not actually weapons can be used as weapons, but to constitute banditry, it is necessary to have weapons in the literal sense of the word, i.e., objects socially intended to defeat a living target;

- the composition of banditry is complete from the moment the gang is created, while robbery is considered complete from the moment of an attack with the aim of stealing someone else’s property, committed with the use of violence dangerous to life or health, or with the threat of such violence.

from the organization of an illegal armed group or participation in it in terms of goals and focus of activity. An illegal armed group does not pursue the goal of attacking citizens or organizations. The goals of this formation are either the protection of individuals and objects, or the military-sports training of people for future use in political, social, national or religious conflicts.

from extortion committed by an organized group with the infliction of grievous harm to the health of the victim (clauses “a” and “c” of Part 3 of Article 163 of the Criminal Code) by the presence of weapons.

From theft?

Both robbery and theft are forms of theft. Based on this, the following similar features can be identified:

  • the subject of the crime is someone else's property;
  • the subject is an individual who has reached the age of 14;
  • selfish goal, that is, the desire of a person to enrich either himself or other people at the expense of stolen property.

However, the compositions also have significant differences:

  1. Method of execution.

In the event of a theft, a person tries to steal property unnoticed by the owner or other persons, that is, he believes that he is acting secretly. In other words, when stealing, the culprit avoids contact with other people in every possible way so as not to be detected.

So, for example, if A., unbeknownst to B., takes out a mobile phone from his bag, then his actions should be qualified as theft.

Important! Robbery is a two-objective crime, that is, in addition to an attack on property relations, it also affects a person’s personality (his life / health).

That is, in order for a person’s actions to be qualified under Art. 162 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, it is necessary that a person, in addition to the goal of stealing property, use such a method of seizure as an attack on the victim with the use of violence against the latter, dangerous to health or life, or a threat to use such violence.

If A. attacks B. from behind and, threatening him with a knife, demands to give up his mobile phone, then A.’s actions will be considered robbery.

Let's imagine another situation:

A., based on personal hostility, attacks B. and beats him. However, after B. falls and loses consciousness, A. decides to take his mobile phone.

In this case, A.’s actions do not fall under robbery, since he does not use violence to steal a mobile phone.

In this situation, A. will be subject to criminal liability for theft, as well as for causing harm to B.’s health (depending on the severity of the harm).

  1. The moment of ending.

The theft is considered completed when the stolen property is confiscated and the person has the opportunity to dispose of it as he wishes. The moment of the end of the robbery has been moved to an earlier stage - the attack, that is, the robbery is considered completed regardless of whether the seizure of someone else's property has occurred or not.

  1. The severity of the crime.

The crime under Part 1 of Art. 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (theft), is a crime of minor gravity. Robbery (Part 1 of Article 162 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) is a serious crime. The categorization of criminal acts affects the definition of punishment, as well as its type and amount.

Distinguishing between robbery and banditry

 In the article, the authors briefly highlight the history of the development of norms on criminal liability for robbery. This article presents certain aspects of distinguishing banditry from robbery. The opinions of scientists on this issue are given. The authors come to the conclusion about the importance of distinguishing the elements of these crimes in law enforcement practice.

Key words: robbery, gang, weapons, distinguishing robbery from banditry.

In the article, the authors briefly cover the history of the development of norms on criminal responsibility for robbery. This article presents some aspects of the delimitation of banditry from robbery. The opinions of scientists on this issue. The authors come to the conclusion that it is important to distinguish between the composition of these crimes in the law enforcement park.

Keywords: robbery, gang, weapon, delimitation of robbery from banditry.

The relevance of the topic of the article is due to the fact that among crimes against property, robbery is the most socially dangerous. Therefore, the correct qualification of the act under Article 162 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation is important.

Robbery was first mentioned in the Pskov Judgment Charter (XIV-XV centuries) and in other early monuments of Russian legislation. The term “robbery” itself was formed by the 15th century. and denoted one of the forms of taking possession of property through the use of violence.

In the Code of Laws of the Russian Empire (1832), robbery was understood as penetration “into any place, residence, village, yard, or any building to take possession of property, carried out by open force and with obvious danger to the person himself, threatened with violence "[7].

From the second half of the 17th century. robbery moved into a more serious category than theft. For example, the Code of Criminal and Correctional Punishments of 1845 (the first Criminal Code in the history of Russia) first introduced the phrase “theft of someone else’s property” into the concept of robbery. In addition, the legislator has tightened the sanctions provided for by the Code. If a person committed robbery, he was deprived of all rights of fortune and sent to hard labor in fortresses, factories, mines for various terms or for life2.

Robbery became close in meaning to the modern understanding in accordance with the Criminal Code of the RSFSR of 1922, according to which the violent theft of someone else’s property, which is dangerous to the life and health of the person who was attacked, was classified as robbery [2].

The Criminal Code of the RSFSR of 1960 gave the following definition of robbery: “an attack with the aim of stealing someone else’s property, combined with violence dangerous to the life and health of the victim, or with the threat of using such violence (robbery)” [3].

The definition of “robbery” is contained in Article 162 of the current Criminal Code of the Russian Federation [1] and is interpreted as “an attack for the purpose of stealing someone else’s property, committed with the use of violence dangerous to life or health, or with the threat of such violence.”

Despite the long history of criminal liability for robbery, problems of classifying socially dangerous acts under Article 162 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation still exist today. When qualifying robbery, it is important to distinguish it from other crimes. While much attention is paid to the distinction between robbery and robbery in the scientific literature, the issue of distinguishing between robbery and banditry has not been sufficiently studied.

Let us conduct a comparative analysis of banditry and robbery committed by an organized group using weapons.

Firstly, in theory, mixing these crimes is impossible, since they encroach on different objects. The crime provided for in Article 209 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation encroaches on public safety, health and life, robbery of property, life and health. The main objects of crime differ.

In practice, many problems arise. The delimitation of Part 1 of Article 209 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation from robbery does not raise any questions, since the objective side of the first crime is the creation of a gang necessarily for the purpose of attacking citizens or organizations, as well as the leadership of such a group (gang). And in the second element of the crime, provided for in paragraph “a” of part 4 of Article 162 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, a stable group commits an attack with the aim of taking possession of someone else’s property.

The main problem is that both an organized group during robbery and a gang are distinguished by signs of stability, and also both robbery and banditry are crimes associated with an attack as an aggressive, violent influence that is unexpected for the victim. If the specified qualifying characteristics coincide when committing robbery, significant problems inevitably arise in investigative and judicial practice.

Secondly, as O. Popova correctly notes, banditry requires gang members to have weapons in the narrow sense, i.e., objects structurally designed to destroy a living or other target, explosives or explosive devices, and in robbery, a sign of armament can form items used as weapons, i.e. items for household or other purposes. In addition, imitation weapons can be used during robbery. The offense of robbery can constitute an attack with the use of an unsuitable weapon, while the offense of banditry cannot constitute an attack with an unsuitable weapon for use [8]. This conclusion can be reached by analyzing Articles 162 and 209 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. These conclusions seem to be correct, since the disposition of Article 209 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation directly indicates the sign of a gang - armament, which presupposes the presence of weapons in the literal sense provided by law.

A mandatory feature of a gang is armament, which the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation defines as the presence of firearms or bladed weapons, including throwing weapons, both factory-made and homemade, various explosive devices, as well as gas and pneumatic weapons. The use of weapons or mock-ups of weapons unsuitable for the intended use by attack participants cannot be considered as a sign of their armament [4].

Part 2 of Article 162 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for the use of not only weapons, but also objects used as weapons.

Thirdly, banditry requires gang members to have weapons, and robbery requires the actual use of weapons, and not just their presence.

Fourthly, R. Galiakbarov distinguishes between robbery and banditry on such a basis as the moment of the end of the crimes. Banditry is considered to be over from the moment the gang is created, while robbery is over from the moment the attack begins for the purpose of stealing someone else’s property, committed with the use of violence dangerous to life or health, or with the threat of such violence [5]. This difference obviously follows from the disposition of Articles 162 and 209 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation [6, p.130].

Currently, in accordance with Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated January 17, 1997 N 1 “On the practice of application by courts of legislation on liability for banditry,” when a gang commits robbery, additional qualifications are required under Article 162 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation [4]. This is indicated by paragraph. 2 of paragraph 7 of the said resolution, according to which the creation of an armed gang is in accordance with Part 1 of Art. 209 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation as a completed crime, regardless of whether the crimes planned by it were committed.

The problems of distinguishing the elements under study are also associated with the use of the term attack in the disposition of Articles 162 and 209 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The legislative consolidation of this concept is given in the resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated January 17, 1997 No. 1 in paragraph 6, which states that “an attack should be understood as actions aimed at achieving a criminal result by using violence against the victim or creating a real threats of its immediate use."

The concept of attack, in this case, is a constructive element of banditry, since the legislator specifically defines the purpose of the gang, namely, an attack on citizens or organizations.

In order to improve the norms of Article 162 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which will contribute to the uniformity of judicial practice in terms of distinguishing between robbery and banditry, Part 1 of Article 162 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation should be stated as follows: robbery, that is, the use of violence dangerous to life or health, or with the threat of use such violence committed for the purpose of stealing someone else's property. These changes will eliminate one of the reasons for mixing the studied compounds.

Thus, distinguishing robbery from banditry has important theoretical and practical significance, since the correctness of sentencing to the guilty person directly depends on the correct classification of these crimes.

Literature:

  1. “Criminal Code of the Russian Federation” dated June 13, 1996 No. 63-FZ (as amended on December 19, 2016)// SZ RF. 1996. No. 25. Art. 2954.
  2. Resolution of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of 06/01/1922 (as amended on 08/25/1924) “On the implementation of the Criminal Code of the R.S.F.S.R.” (together with the “Criminal Code of the R.S.F.S.R.”) // “SU RSFSR”, 1922, N 15, art. 153.
  3. “Criminal Code of the RSFSR” (approved by the Supreme Court of the RSFSR on October 27, 1960) (as amended on July 30, 1996) // “Code of Laws of the RSFSR”, vol. 8, p. 497.
  4. Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated January 17, 1997 N 1 “On the practice of courts’ application of legislation on liability for banditry” // “Bulletin of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation”, N 3, 1997.
  5. Galiakbarov, R. Distinction between robbery and banditry. An error in theory breaks judicial practice // Russian justice. - 2001. - No. 7. - P. 3–7.
  6. Galiakbarov R.R. Criminal law. A common part. Krasnodar. 2016. 320 p.
  7. Kopyryulin S.V. History of the development of criminal legislation on robbery // Young scientist. - 2022. - No. 25. - P. 205–207.
  8. Popova, O. Qualification of banditry /O. Popova // Russian justice. - 2003. - No. 1. - P. 43–45. 4. 5. 6.
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