Victimological studies in the Soviet Union have been carried out mainly in the context of criminal behavior and its relationship to personality characteristics of both offender and victim. Studies have also examined the interaction between personality and the situation in which the crime was committed. Soviet legislation contains special provisions to protect the rights of youth. These laws, however, are not always enforced, and juveniles often perceive they have no legal protection. In Soviet studies of juvenile victimization, consideration is given to the changing personality of the victim. Educational shortcomings are regarded by Soviet criminologists as an important reason for the emergence of negative personality factors. The following deficiencies in family upbringing are also viewed as victimogenic: excessive parental supervision and control, suppression of a child's personality by parental and adult authority, inculcation of unquestioning obedience, and failure to teach autonomy and decisionmaking skills. Negative factors in an individual's daily surroundings may additionally contribute to the formation of an antisocial and victimizable personality. The fundamental position of Soviet criminologists regarding juvenile victimization is based on the premise that the decisive factor in realizing a youth's heightened victimizability is the crime situation. The crime situation involves complex interaction between circumstances of the criminal act, the offender's personality, and the victim's personality. 16 notes