Half of Russians who Commit Crimes can Count on Avoiding Being Caught, Official Statistics Show

 Paul Goble

            Staunton, Aug. 3 – Only 50 percent of the perpetrators of the nearly two million crimes reported by the Russian authorities in 2022 were identified and brought to justice, a figure that criminals count on to avoid having to take responsibility but one that further corrodes popular faith in the ability of the powers that be to defend them against crime.

            Moreover, officials say, only 27 percent of those convicted of crimes and thus only about one in eight of those who commit them were imprisoned, a figure that further reduces popular faith in the ability of the Russian justice system to protect them from the actions of criminals (mk.ru/social/2023/08/02/za-chto-v-rossii-sazhayut-chashhe-vsego.html).

            This pattern may help to explain why some Russians look back fondly to the more draconian policies of Stalin with regard to prisoners and why Vladimir Putin can count on popular support for more repressive actions as long as he casts them as necessary to protect the Russian people from criminals.