The book examines the application of the death penalty as well as the renunciation of its application in foreign countries and then analyses criminal and criminal-executory legislation in force in Russia and its application. Attention is given to Russian sociological studies of the personality of persons sentenced to the death penalty. Arguments for and against the abolition of the death penalty are considered, and proposals are offered for the further limitation of its application. The author discusses the prospects for the abolition of the death penalty in Russia. According to current Russian legislation, the death penalty is provided for five types of crimes, and they are all linked with homicide under aggravating circumstances. The four constituent elements of a crime are infringement on the life of a state or public figure, infringement on the life of a person administering justice or preliminary investigation, infringement on the life of a law enforcement officer, and genocide. The Russian Constitution suggests that over the long-term the death penalty will be abolished; the Constitution specifies that this punishment shall operate until "its abolition." Such abolition depends on a series of factors. Many of them are linked with economic and political conditions, which bear upon the crime rate and public attitudes toward crime and punishment. 8 tables and 10 figures