Criminal Legal Means of Environmental Protection

The problem of environmental protection is one of the global problems facing the international community in the modern world. The previous year in Russia was declared the year of Ecology, the main purpose of which was to improve the overall environmental indicators of Russia. However, according to the statistics of interior ministry for the period of 2017, 2.9% more environmental crimes were registered than in 2016. Because they have the greatest negative impact on nature, the fight against them must be carried out with the toughest measures, which are means of criminal legal protection. But the statistics show that these measures are not perfect. In this research the author presents historical-legal analysis of the Russian criminal legislation, reveals the features, advantages and disadvantages of modern criminal legislation of Russia and foreign countries in the field of study. The criminal-legal characteristic of ecological crimes is given; the opinion on their classification is expressed. The author also reveals the existing problems of the legal institution of both legislative and law enforcement character. It is proposed to introduce collective criminal responsibility, to change the structure of a Special part of the Criminal code, taking into account the degree of environmental crimes danger, to toughen penalties for their commission, to define all the terms used and to link similar criminal and administrative environmental offences.