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MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti political commentator...
the existence of the death penalty as such does not reflect society"s level of civilization and culture. During the last 300 years, there were long periods in Russian history when it was not applied.Empress Elizabeth imposed a full moratorium on executions, and Catherine the Great violated it only once because of Yemelyan Pugachev"s insurgency. After five Decembrists were hanged, Nicholas I refrained from executions. Under Alexander II (the Liberator), the gallows again started being used on a large scale.
Capital punishment was introduced by the Provisional Government and cancelled by the All-Russian Congress of Soviets in 1917, though for a very short span of time.
After the Great Patriotic War, even Stalin showed a scintilla of humanity, and nobody was executed in the U.S.S.R. starting from 1947. Nevertheless, Nikita Khrushchev reimposed it retroactively (which was against basic laws), and a group of currency dealers was shot.