Article 58 of the Russian SFSR Penal Code was put in force on February 25, 1927 to arrest those suspected of counter-revolutionary activities. It was revised several times. In particular, its Article 58-1 was updated by the listed sub-articles and put in force on June 8, 1934. State motto: Russian: Пролетарии всех стран, соединяйтесь! Translation: Workers of the world, unite! Capital Moscow Official language Russian Established In the USSR:  - Since  - Until November 7, 1917 November 7, 1917 December 12, 1991 (dissolution) Area  - Total  - Water (%) Ranked 1st in the USSR 17,075,200 km² 13% Population  - Total   - Density Ranked 1st in the... is the 56th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1927 (MCMXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 159th day of the year (160th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display full 1934 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

This article introduced the formal notion of the enemy of workers: those subject to articles 58-2 — 58-13 (those under 58-1 were "traitors", 58-14 were "saboteurs"). For the play by Henrik Ibsen, see An Enemy of the People. ...

Penal codes of other republics of Soviet Union also had articles of similar nature. Soviet Union administrative divisions, 1989 In its final decades of its existence, the Soviet Union consisted of 15 Soviet Socialist Republics (SSR), often called simply Soviet republics. ...

Summary

Note: In this section, the phraseology of article 58 is given in quotes.

The article covered the following offenses.

• 58-1: Definition of counterrevolutionary activity:

"A counterrevolutionary action is any action aimed at overthrowing, undermining or weakening of the power of workers' and peasants' Soviets... and governments of the USSR and Soviet and autonomous republics, or at the undermining or weakening of the external security of the USSR and main economical, political and national achievements of the proletarial revolution"

It was not limited to anti-Soviet acts: by "international solidarity of workers", any other "worker's state" was protected by this article. A counterrevolutionary is anyone who opposes a revolution, particularly those who act after a revolution to try to overturn or reverse it, in full or in part. ... A soviet (Russian: , IPA: , council[1]) originally was a workers local council in late Imperial Russia. ... A soviet republic is a system of government in which the whole state power belongs to the Soviets - councils of employees. ... An autonomous (subnational) entity is a subnational entity that has a certain amount of autonomy. ...

• • 58-1а. Treason: death sentence or 10 years of prison, both cases with property confiscation.
  • 58-1б. Treason by military personnel: death sentence with property confiscation.
  • 58-1в. In the case of flight of the offender in treason subject to 58-1б (military personnel only), his relatives were subject to 5-10 years of imprisonment with confiscation or 5 years of Siberia exile, depending on the circumstances: either they helped or knew and didn't report or simply lived with the offender.
  • 58-1г. Non-reporting of a treason by a military man: 10 years of imprisonment. Non-reporting by others: offense by Article 58-12.

• 58-2. Armed uprising or intervention with the goal to seize the power: up to death with confiscation, including formal recognition as "enemy of workers".
• 58-3. Contacts with foreigners "with counter-revolutionary purposes" (as defined by 58-1) are subject to Article 58-2.
• 58-4. Any kind of help to "international bourgeoisie" which, not recognizing the equality of communist political system, strives to overthrow it: punishment similar to 58-2.
• 58-5. Urging any foreign entity to declaration of war, military intervention, blockade, capture of state property, breaking diplomatic relations, breaking international treaties, and other aggressive actions against USSR: similar to 58-2.
• 58-6. Espionage. Punishment: similar to 58-2.
• 58-7. Undermining of state industry, transport, monetary circulation or credit system, as well as of cooperative societies and organizations, with counter-revolutionary purpose (as defined by 58-1) by means of the corresponding usage of the state institutions, as well as by opposing their normal functioning: same as 58-2. Note: the offense according to this article was known as wrecking and the offenders were called "wreckers".
• 58-8. Terrorist acts against representatives of Soviet power or of workers and peasants organisations: same as 58-2.
• 58-9. Damage of transport, communication, water supply, warehouses and other buildings or state and communal property with counter-revolutionary purpose: same as 58-2.
• 58-10. Anti-Soviet and counter-revolutionary propaganda and agitation: up to 6 months of imprisonment. In the conditions of unrest or war: same as 58.2.
• 58-11. Any kind of organisational or support actions related to the preparation or execution of the above crimes is equated to the corresponding offenses and persecuted by the corresponding articles.
• 58-12. Non-reporting of a "counter-revolutionary activity": at least 6 months of imprisonment.
• 58-13. Active struggle against revolutionary movement of tsarist personnel and members of "counter-revolutionary governments" during the civil war, same as 58-2.
• 58-14 (added on June 6th, 1937) "Counter-revolutionary sabotage", i.e., conscious non-execution or deliberately careless execution of "defined duties", aimed at the weakening of the power of the government and of the functioning of the state apparatus is subject to at least one year of freedom deprivation, and under especially aggravating circumstances, up to the highest measure of social protection: execution by shooting with confiscation of property.

This article does not cite any references or sources. ... “Siberian” redirects here. ... For the play by Henrik Ibsen, see An Enemy of the People. ... Wrecking, or vreditelstvo (вредительство), was a crime specified in the criminal code of the Soviet Union in the Stalin era. ... Anti-Soviet agitation and propaganda (ASA) (Антисоветская агитация и пропаганда (АСА)) was a criminal offence in Soviet Union. ... Imperial Russia is the term used to cover the period of history from the expansion of Russia under Peter the Great, through the expansion of the Russian Empire from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific Ocean, to the deposal of Nicholas II of Russia, the last tsar, at the start... The Russian Civil War (1917-1922) began immediately after the collapse of the Russian provisional government and the Bolshevik takeover of Petrograd, rapidly intensifying after the dissolution of the Russian Constituent Assembly and signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. ... Year 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... World War I firing squad Execution by shooting is a form of capital punishment whereby an executed person is shot by a firearm or firearms. ...

Application

The article led to the imprisonment of many prominent people, see Category:Victims of Soviet repressions, as well as multitudes of nonnotable innocents.

Sentences were long, up to 25 years, and frequently extended indefinitely without trial or consultation. Inmates under Article 58 were known as "politichesky" (полити́ческий), as opposed to common criminals, "ugolovnik" (уголо́вник). Upon release, the prisoner would typically be sent into an exile within Russia without the right to settle closer than 100 km from large cities. (Redirected from 101st km) Upon the release from the Gulag, the former inmates rights would typically still be restricted for a long period of time. ...

Section 10 of Article 58 made "propaganda and agitation against the Soviet Union" a triable offence, whilst section 12 allowed for onlookers to be prosecuted for not reporting instances of section 10. In effect, Article 58 was carte blanche for the secret police to arrest and imprison anyone deemed suspicious, making for its use as a political weapon. A person could be framed: The latter would arrange an "anti-Soviet" incident in the person's presence and then try the person for it. If the person pleaded innocence, not having reported the incident would also make them liable to imprisonment. Diners Club International, originally founded as Diners Club, was formed in 1950 by Frank X. McNamara, Ralph Schneider and Alfred Bloomingdale. ... List of Soviet secret police agencies, the Soviet secret police agencies and their different names are as follows chronologically. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

During and after World War II, Article 58 was used to imprison many returned Soviet prisoners of war on the grounds that their capture and detainment by the Axis Powers during the war was proof that they did not fight to the death and were therefore anti-Soviet. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Geneva Convention definition A prisoner of war (POW) is a soldier, sailor, airman, or marine who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Evolution

After the denunciation of Stalinism by Nikita Khrushchev the code was significantly rewritten. For architecture, see Stalinist architecture. ... Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (Russian: , Nikita Sergeevič Chruščiov; IPA: , in English, , or , occasionally ); surname more accurately romanized as Khrushchyov[1]; April 17 [O.S. April 5] 1894[2]–September 11, 1971) was the chief director of the Soviet Union after the death of Joseph Stalin. ...

See also

• NKVD Troika
• Gulag
• 101 km
• Politics of the Soviet Union
• Soviet law
• White-, a label on those considered anti-Soviet (almost exclusively in the context of the Russian civil war 1918-1922)

What does it mean? The Russian word troika (threesome, triumvirate) denoted commissions of three persons as an additional instrument of extrajudicial punishment (внесудебная расправа, внесудебное преследование) introduced to supplement the legal system with a means for quick punishment of anti-Soviet elements. ... Gulag ( , Russian: ) was the government body responsible for administering prison camps across the former Soviet Union. ... (Redirected from 101 km) Upon the release from the Gulag, the former inmates rights would typically still be restricted for a long period of time. ... The political system of the Soviet Union was characterized by the superior role of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, the only party permitted by Constitution. ... The Law of the Soviet Union—also known as Soviet Law, or Socialist Law—was the law that developed in the Soviet Union following the Russian October Revolution of 1917; modified versions of it were adopted by many Communist states (see below) following the Second World War. ... White- (бело-), a prefix used by Bolsheviks to designate their real and alleged enemies of all sorts, by analogy with the White Army. ... The Russian Civil War (1917-1922) began immediately after the collapse of the Russian provisional government and the Bolshevik takeover of Petrograd, rapidly intensifying after the dissolution of the Russian Constituent Assembly and signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. ...

External links

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Article 58 of the RSFSR Penal Code, Special Part (in Russian)

• Extracts from Article 58 (in English)