The article is devoted to a comparative legal analysis of general and special rules for the imposition of penalties according to the criminal legislation of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Abkhazia. The study analyzes the normative provisions regulating the imposition of penalties, particularly Articles 60, 62-65, and 68-70 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (CC RF) and the corresponding Articles 55, 57-59, and 62-64 of the Criminal Code of Abkhazia (CC RA). The mentioned provisions are compared with each other. Special attention is paid to identifying discrepancies in the approaches of the two normative legal acts that share a common Soviet and post-Soviet heritage. The research covers not only textual differences in the criminal codes but also their influence on legislative technique and law enforcement practice, including the degree of judicial discretion, the formalization of rules, the limits of penalties in the form of imprisonment, as well as the specifics of imposing penalties for multiple crimes and multiple sentences. Additionally, the differences in the lists of aggravating circumstances and approaches to prohibiting the reduction of penalties for certain types of crimes are examined. The methodological basis of the study consists of comparative legal analysis, formal-legal method, as well as systemic and structural interpretation of criminal law norms regulating general and special rules for the imposition of penalties. The scientific novelty lies in the fact that for the first time at the current stage, a comprehensive comparative legal analysis of the general and special rules for the imposition of penalties in the Republic of Abkhazia and the Russian Federation has been conducted, revealing technical inaccuracies and differences in legislative models. The author has established that the Russian model is oriented towards flexibility, broad judicial discretion, and differentiation (consideration of the crime's stage, an expanded list of aggravating circumstances, high upper limits of imprisonment – up to 30-35 years), while the Abkhaz model focuses on formalization, predictability, and restriction of judicial discretion (an absolute limit of 20-25 years, a closed list of aggravating circumstances). The need for adjustments to the CC RA concerning the regulation of categories of crimes is justified. It is concluded that there are different priorities in the criminal policy of the two states.
Astanda Alekseevna Salakaya (Fri,) studied this question.