Five controversial articles of the USSR under which they were imprisoned

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

The Soviet court is the fairest and most humane in the world. This is what was constantly instilled in the population of the USSR. He was the guarantor of the safety and protection of those who built communism, a bright future from those harmful elements that could well have caused the fall of utopia. But in reality, in the communist totalitarian regime, everything looked different. The Criminal Code of the Soviet Union broke a huge number of destinies.

For what was considered normal in other countries (America and Europe), a Soviet person could end up in prison for a decent period. After the Soviet Union collapsed, these articles were canceled. Today they are all perceived as absolute nonsense. Five simple and completely innocent things for our time could become the reason for imprisonment for several years in the USSR.

1. Learning karate

In 1981, the youth of the country without exception was carried away by karate. It was then that the article of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR appeared. Training in this martial Japanese art was punishable by up to five years in prison. Only one person was convicted of it - Valery Gusev, a famous trainer who teaches his students underground in forest parks for a fee. The trial was a showcase.

It is worth noting that a couple of years before this event, in 1979, an action movie entitled "Pirates of the XX century" was released at the official level. Spectators could witness some of the techniques of this martial art with their own eyes. But after a short time, the concept of government was completely changed. Karate has come to be seen as a struggle that cultivates violence and brutality. The media began to regularly publish articles about how traumatic this sport is.

It is believed that the authorities were frightened of the alleged repercussions. Students in sports clubs that cultivate devotion and reverence for teachers can become out of control. And this is the organization of gangs in the streets, protests and rebellion. Paid-type sections were not welcomed for another reason - teachers (trainers) received a source of unearned income. There is information that in Poland in 1981 it was the karateka who took part in the Solidarity strikes.

This ban did not last long. It was filmed in 1989, at the very beginning of Perestroika.

2. Parasitism

Every Soviet citizen was obliged to live and work for the good and development of the state. Lazy people and lazy people who shied away from useful social labor or lived on illegal income were severely punished under Article 209 of the RSFSR Criminal Code (imprisonment).

This category included not only alcoholics, but also decent people of creative professions - musicians, poets, artists. Builders working on covens, gardeners and truck farmers, taxi drivers working privately also got here. Under Andropov, real raids were carried out in shops and other public places during working hours in order to identify such loafers.

It is interesting!Viktor Tsoi - the idol of the 80s, a popular performer, was officially employed in the boiler room. So he could protect himself and what he was doing.

This article was also used in relation to those who were not politically pleasing. It was for her that Joseph Brodsky (poet) was attracted. It was canceled only in 1991.

3. Speculation

In the USSR, unearned income was considered the main principle of entrepreneurial activity, market relations, which consisted in "bought low - sold high."Consequently, it was regarded as one of the types of crime.

We remember that in the Soviet Union, a total deficit was extended to all groups of goods, from food to clothing, dishes, books, perfumery. Even vinyl records were in short supply. Therefore, imported goods were in price and were in great demand. In this regard, a number of citizens took risks. Using the mediation of diplomats, business travelers, sailors, they gradually traded in scarce goods. Moreover, the population was not averse to paying twice as much. The main thing is to stand out from the crowd. It was impossible to get such things in our department stores.

Despite the veiled meetings and conspiracy, the black-marketeers were sometimes tracked down, detained and tried under Article 154 of the RSFSR Criminal Code. The punishment was imprisonment for up to seven years.

Those who were engaged in foreign exchange transactions fell into a special risk zone. Even those people who had this very currency in their hands could be convicted under Art. 88. For this type of speculation, one could get, as in the case of the Rokotov case, the highest measure. In this way, the USSR fought against prostitutes in Intourists, buyers of goods from foreigners, dudes.

The penalty for speculation was abolished in 1991, and the legalization of foreign exchange transactions three years later - in 1994.

4. Same sex love

Since the 1930s, Article 121 has been in effect in the USSR Criminal Code. According to it, supporters of same-sex relationships were punished with imprisonment for up to five years. Only men were condemned for it. Women of gay orientation were sent to psychiatric hospitals for compulsory treatment.

In the 70s, over 1000 people were tried under this article every year. Most of them were famous representatives of the creative professions - pianists, singers, directors. To avoid persecution at home, many fled to the West.

There were cases when dissidents who did not agree with political convictions and dogmas were tried under the article. One of the most famous can be called Sergei Parajanov. Moreover, the KGB kept lists of gay people. The information was used to blackmail people. The police also supported, though tacitly, gangster attacks on the "gay".

Nevertheless, in most of the socialist countries, for example, in Czechoslovakia and Poland, such relations were not included in the category of criminal ones. Only in 1993 this article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation was canceled.

5. Watching films for adults

In the Soviet Union at the very beginning of the eighties, video tape recorders appeared, as well as products of the foreign film industry on videocassettes. But not all films were allowed to be watched. For violation, an ordinary person could go to jail for three years (Article 228 of the RSFSR Criminal Code). Experts of the USSR recognized the films "Hot Chewing Gum", "Greek Fig Tree", "Night Porter" obscene and banned their viewing. They were believed to corrupt the youth.

Many remember the night raids organized at night by police officers in tandem with militiamen. Groups with a list of prohibited video products identified in which house and apartment the blue light flickered at night, cut off the electricity at the entrance on the shield and broke into the room. The goal is to remove a cassette stuck in a VCR. This was direct evidence.

Thousands of teachers, gynecologists, engineers, WWII veterans were punished for such views by the mid-eighties. In 1988, the article was no longer applied. But the most interesting thing is that then, as "The Godfather" began to be shown in cinemas, there were those who continued to sit behind bars for watching this film.