On the issue of criminal professionalism development in the activities of fraudsters in pre-revolutionary Russia

By the beginning of the 20th century, a cohesive and monolithic “caste” of professional criminals had formed in Russia. Their activities were distinguished by their particular danger, stability in time and space, as well as constancy, uncontrollability of development, diversity of forms of criminal “trades” and a high degree of protection from social and legal control. The aim of the study is to analyze the problem of the development of criminal professionalism in the activities of pre-revolutionary fraudsters in Russia. It is determined that the emergence of domestic professional fraud occurred in the 18th century. During this period, the legal structure of the basic elements of fraud, close to the modern concept, was first formally established in Russian legislation, and certain characteristic features of committing fraudulent acts on a professional basis were discovered in the activities of well-known professional criminals. It is proven that the final criminal community of professional swindlers was formed in Russia in the 19th – early 20th century. At this time, the main signs of criminal professionalism were revealed in the activities of fraudsters. By the beginning of the 20th century, professional fraudsters occupy an “honorable” place in the criminal hierarchy, acquire narrow specializations and the corresponding qualifications necessary to commit crimes and ensure their own safety, invulnerability from criminal prosecution, and also significantly strengthen their connections in the criminal world, including actively supporting and increasing the values of the criminal subculture.