A Discussion about the Abolition of Capital Punishment in the State Duma of the Russian Empire

The article considers the discussion of the bill on the abolition of the death penalty in the State Duma and the State Council of the Russian Empire during the First Russian Revolution. The author analyzes speeches by supporters and opponents of capital punishment in the Russian Parliament, which expressed different views on methods of combating political crime and the ideological basis for reforming the criminal justice system. The described subject is a key milestone in the history of the Russian lawyers’ movement for the abolition of the death penalty at the beginning of the 20th century.