Social-Structural Correlates of Homicide in Late-Tsarist Russia

• NCJ Number: 217159
• Journal: British Journal of Criminology Volume: 47 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2007 Pages: 80-99
• Author(s): Andrew Stickley; William Alex Pridemore
• Date Published: January 2007
• Length: 20 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Historical Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom

Annotation

Using historical data, this study statistically examined the association between social-structural factors and homicide rates in early 20th century tsarist Russia.

Abstract

One of the fundamental features of Russian society during the earlier period of the 20th century was a movement which was occurring in Russian popular culture between modernity and tradition. The tension in this movement was very visible in the way in which the forces of modernity and tradition were exerting contradictory influences on homicide at this time. While the spread of literacy was working to reduce homicide rates, alcohol consumption, the continuing overwhelming rural nature of society, and a regional history of violence were all working to exert an influence on the opposite direction. The high rural homicide rates seen in both tsarist Russia and at the end of the Soviet period might indicate that the criminological transition that may have occurred in other Western countries during the course of the 20th century could have taken a different form or have been delayed in Russia. By the end of the 1980s, freedom reforms occurred in Russia which aided in the release of criminal justice and vital statistics data on homicide. These new data have made it possible to study factors which help to explain the variation of homicide rates in contemporary Russia, including alcohol, social-structural factors, such as poverty and family stability, individual-level factors, such as education and marriage, and the changing nature of homicide in contemporary Russia. Using the socio-economic and vital statistics data from the end of the tsarist period, this study built upon and extended previous investigations of homicide in early 20th century Europe. It examined social-structural factors associated with the variation in homicide rates among the 50 provinces of European Russia in 1910. References