On the legitimacy of singling out the principles of the criminal procedure of Ancient Russia

The article is devoted to a critical analysis of the judgments widespread in the legal literature that the criminal process of Ancient Russia was based on a number of principles. Attention is paid to the fact that, studying the same sources, researchers formulate extremely diverse conclusions about the principles on which the order of criminal proceedings was built at the earliest stages of formation of the Russian statehood. The discovery of prescriptions in the legislation of any historical period that are remotely similar to the formulations of modern principles cannot serve as a sufficient basis for the assertion that a particular principle is inherent in the criminal process.