Russian Legislation of XI-XVIII Centuries on the Criminal Responsibility of Minors

The problem of juvenile criminal responsibility / liability, minimum age, and measures of influence for juvenile offenders is relevant and often becomes the subject of public discussion. However, very little is known about the history of criminal law attitudes towards minors in Russia. The purpose of the article is to analyze the development of this relationship from the beginning of Russian statehood to the 18th century. It is shown that at the initial stage in the practice of applying the criminal law to children and adolescents, the traditions of Roman law were traced, however, there was practically no legislative differentiation of adult and juvenile offenders. The turning point was the 18th century, at the beginning of which the need for such differentiation became apparent, and at the end it was implemented along with certain humanistic tendencies that reflected the ideas of the Enlightenment in Europe, including the creation of special courts to consider juvenile crimes.