Any form of assistance to a foreign power in carrying out activities that could harm the external security of the Russian Federation is treason. The Criminal Code punishes this offense under article 275. What is fraught with participation in such activities? What punishment can the guilty person suffer? And what areas affect such acts?
The meaning of the term
Concepts such as high treason and espionage have existed for millennia. Their history is, in fact, connected with the history of wars. In particular, in a declaration adopted in Brussels in 1897, it is said that a spy is a person who is fraudulently or secretly collecting information in favor of another state.
However, there are characteristic differences between concepts such as “spy” and “traitor”. The first obtains information in a foreign country. The second is in the country of which he is a citizen. As a rule, he is allowed to carry out a criminal plan by a position in which he, on completely legitimate and logical grounds, has information of national importance. High treason can also include the transition of a person to the side of the enemy in wartime. Therefore, the term referred to in this article is synonymous with the word “betrayal”.
History
The concept considered in this article was interpreted differently at different times and in different countries. So, in England during the Renaissance, it was understood as any kind of violation of special royal decrees. Today, high treason is very narrow in this country. By it is understood an encroachment on a royal person. In the United States, citizens are accused of such an act for waging war against the state, joining enemy organizations, as well as assisting them. It is worth noting that in this country not a single person was convicted of high treason without the presence of testimonies of at least two citizens. Moreover, in the second half of the 20th century, only one person was charged with this crime.
High treason in the USSR
Almost a hundred years ago in our country, this term was understood to mean any actions that do not correspond to class ideology. Since 1934, various acts, as well as penalties for them, were introduced into the article on counter-revolutionary activity. Among them was a betrayal of the motherland. The punishment for such a crime not only in the Soviet Union, but also in other countries was always very severe. For many years it was punished, as a rule, by the death penalty.
In the Criminal Code of the RSFSR, the concept of "Motherland" was a synonym for the word "state." There was no separate article for this crime. At the end of the thirties of the last century, an unjustly large number of Soviet citizens were convicted on the basis of a charge of such an act. A similar situation was observed in Germany of that period. Since 1960, significant adjustments have been made to the Soviet Criminal Code. Since then, a separate 64th article has been set aside for treasonous actions.
In Russia
For actions against the state, a citizen of the Russian Federation is responsible. Article 275 is devoted to this crime. Punishment - imprisonment for twelve years or more. The maximum term is twenty years. In 2012, the Duma adopted amendments to the article, according to which even those citizens who provided material, financial or advisory assistance to a foreign organization are facing criminal liability. Such acts are characterized by formal uncertainty. Therefore, the new amendments caused a wave of criticism.
Subject of crime
Article 275 includes significant notes. High treason is a crime from which the guilty person can be released if he could prevent the further possible damage to the Russian Federation in time. That is, if a person voluntarily reported the deed to the authorities, he is exempted from criminal liability.
High treason is an act whose object is the country's external security. As the subject can be considered any information constituting a state secret. The victim is the Russian Federation.
And what exactly is meant by such a crime as high treason? Such acts include, first and foremost, espionage. The issuance of state secrets and any other means of assisting a foreign organization, the use of which entails adverse consequences for the security of Russia, also speaks of the fact of committing a crime prescribed in Art. 275 of the Criminal Code.
Espionage
Such activity is the collection, transfer, theft and storage of classified information - however, not every such act falls under the definition of high treason. The difference from espionage of treason to the motherland lies in the subject of the crime. What are you talking about? High treason can be committed only by a citizen of a specific country, in our case, Russia. Only foreign citizens are accused of espionage.
As already mentioned, the subject of a crime under art. 275 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation may serve any information that is not subject to disclosure. What areas does this information relate to? High treason is an act that involves the issuance of information related to the military, economic, scientific, foreign policy and intelligence activities of the Russian Federation. The dissemination of information of a similar nature can cause significant damage to state security. Therefore, documents whose transfer is treated as high treason (Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) are marked “classified” or belong to a special category. If such information is transmitted to the representatives of his state by a foreign citizen, then we are talking about espionage - a crime, which is described in more detail in Art. 176 of the Criminal Code. The punishment for such an act is imprisonment for a term of ten to twenty years.
Another difference between high treason and espionage is that in the first case, the accused submitted, for example, blueprints, diagrams, diagrams or any plan, having such documents legally. A foreign citizen has no right to store this kind of information. Therefore, in order to take possession of it and subsequently make it the property of his state, he carries out theft.
Other ways to help a foreign country
High treason (Criminal Code, Art. 275) is a crime that involves not only the transfer of information under the heading “top secret”. This action may include other actions that contribute to the achievement of the goal of a foreign organization that engages in activities dangerous to Russia. The content of such assistance can be very diverse.
A citizen of the Russian Federation, who does not take an active part in the activities of a spy organization, but provides financial support to her, can theoretically play the role of a suspect in treason.
Who is threatened by article 275?
High treason is a crime in which people of the Russian Federation who recruit agents for foreign intelligence services, select safe houses for the same organizations, and assist in hiring employees of such services can be accused. If in the implementation of all these illegal actions other acts of a political and general criminal nature are also committed, then they must be considered independently.
From the foregoing, the following conclusion can be drawn: the objective side of high treason is characterized by such actions as espionage, the issuance of state secrets and other ways of assisting foreign organizations whose activities diverge from the interests of the Russian Federation.
It is worth saying that the law on high treason has undergone some amendments in recent years. The actions described above were not always a crime. High treason or espionage not so long ago was only the transfer of classified information.
Motives
The subjective side of this crime is direct intent. Treasonous actions have political or selfish motives. In judicial practice, there are cases when the incitement to such an act as treason (article 275 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) served as a desire to obtain foreign citizenship.
As an example, we can consider the following hypothetical situation. Suppose that the general director of one of the enterprises that manufacture parts for the rocket and construction field, acting for personal gain (in addition to material rewards for such "cooperation", a foreign organization promised to assist the traitor in obtaining citizenship), transferred secret information abroad. Frequent departures of the director abroad became interested in public services. However, the reason for the initiation of the case was the statement of one of the employees. The acts committed by the head have signs of a crime under Article 275, according to which he will be convicted.
Who can commit treasonous acts?
The subject of this crime is exclusively a Russian who has reached sixteen years of age. Foreign citizens or stateless persons are never charged under the criminal article discussed here. They also cannot appear in the trial as accused of incitement. This is the specificity that the article of the Criminal Code possesses. High treason is an act for which only a citizen of the Russian Federation can be punished. As well as, say, under article 106 (“Murder by a mother of a newborn”), the court condemns only the mother of the child and no other person. Thus, high treason and espionage are strictly personalized crimes. As already mentioned, espionage is capable of being carried out only by a foreigner.
Disagreement among lawyers
Specialists argue about who can be accused of high treason: the one who possessed information by virtue of his official duties, or the one who received the information by embezzlement. Some theorists and practitioners believe that the subject may be a person who has been entrusted with documents representing state secrets. However, such an understanding is absent in the criminal article under consideration. Therefore, the charge of treason can be made to anyone who divulged secret information.
Exemption conditions
Criminal liability for treason is in some cases removed from the offender. This is also indicated in Art. 275. But in order to be released from punishment, the following conditions must be met:
- Voluntary and timely communication to authorities of complete, comprehensive information. Such actions help prevent negative consequences for the country's foreign policy, and therefore remove responsibility. But you should be aware that it is voluntariness and timeliness that are important indicators in recognition.
- The absence of a different offense not related to treason.
If one of the conditions is satisfied, but only partially, this can be taken into account in the consideration of the case as extenuating circumstances.
Arbitrage practice
Almost every law enforcement official has information that is not subject to disclosure. If a citizen, occupying a significant position in the police or other state structure, transfers information obtained by him as a result of his professional activity to foreign organizations, he faces a very severe criminal punishment.
As in other similar crimes, motive can serve exclusively mercenary considerations. The result of a trial of such criminal acts is the lengthy imprisonment of a traitor.
Mitigating circumstances undoubtedly play a role in sentencing. After taking actions that caused significant damage to the Russian economy and foreign policy, the initiator of unlawful activities, being a citizen of the Russian Federation, can hardly hope for a significant relaxation of the punishment. A person convicted of high treason is deprived of liberty for a term of at least twelve years.