Russia’s judicial system now hands down guilty verdicts at a rate 20 times higher than Stalin’s Soviet Union, and 30 times higher than military tribunals during World War II, according to Boris Zolotukhin, a lawyer from the Belgorod Region Bar Association.
This news was based on data shared with Nezavisimaya Gazeta by Boris Zolotukhin, a lawyer for the Belgorod Region Bar Association and adviser to the Federal Bar Association.
Conviction Rates Higher Than Stalin’s Purges
In modern Russia, courts acquit only about 0.3% of defendants in criminal cases.
By comparison, in 1937, during one of the harshest years of Stalinist repression, courts acquitted 7% of defendants. Even during World War II (1941–1944), Soviet military tribunals had an acquittal rate of 10–12%—far higher than what is seen in Russia today.
According to Zolotukhin, this trend reflects not just bias from individual judges, but an entire system built around securing guilty verdicts.
Despite official claims that the high conviction rate is due to thorough investigations preventing weak cases from reaching trial, jury trials tell a different story. Statistics show that juries acquit 20–25% of defendants, even in cases investigated by Russia’s Investigative Committee, which is supposed to uphold the highest standards of legal scrutiny.
The Justice System Rarely Lets Anyone Go Free
In 2023, Russian courts convicted 589,011 people, the highest number in 10 years. At the same time, the acquittal rate fell from 0.26% to 0.25%, meaning that for every acquittal, 400 people were convicted.
To put that in perspective, the odds of being acquitted in a Russian court are 10 times lower than winning at roulette, where your chances are 1 in 36 (2.7%).
Many had hoped that Soviet-style trials were a thing of the past, but Russian judges still see themselves as servants of the state, Zolotukhin explains. Their mindset is that “the state cannot make mistakes”, so nearly everyone put on trial is found guilty.
Judges Ignore Legal Violations
According to Dmitry Taraborin, a lawyer from Karpov, Taraborin & Partners, Russia’s legal system is now barely functioning. He says that criminal procedure laws are treated as mere "recommendations" that courts can ignore, allowing judges to overlook serious legal violations—especially when handing down guilty verdicts.
Lawyer Ekaterina Tyutyunnikova describes the process as a “conveyor belt”, where investigators request, prosecutors approve, and judges comply. Confessions are treated as the ultimate proof of guilt, while defendants who refuse to confess are seen as simply trying to escape punishment.
Putin Sees No Issue With Conviction Rates
Despite these shocking numbers, President Vladimir Putin doesn’t see a problem. In December 2023, when asked about increasing the use of jury trials, he said that court rulings should reflect the “real situation” in the country.
"We will definitely move in this direction, but only when our society is ready," Putin said, suggesting that jury trials would only expand when the government decides the time is right.
