The article explores the phenomenon of crime from its essential side and focuses on the victimological component as a complex trait observed in the subjects of relations, including not only the victim of a crime, but also the perpetrator. The article examines some approaches to optimizing the preventive potential of repressive measures, pays attention to “victimization” as the “reverse side” of the guilt of the person who committed the crime, and “guilt” as the “reverse side” of the victim of the crime; analyzes the criminological effect of “self-criminalization”; the phenomenon of “imaginary” crime as a legal factor of victimization; and some issues of victimological prevention in crime prevention policy.
A clear understanding by the world community of the need to prevent terrorist acts, both on the territory of one state and on an international scale, explains the urgency of harmonization of the norms of conventional criminal legislation on the level of all countries or various unions and groups. Without this, effective counteraction to terrorism is impossible. In turn, the logically corresponding aspect of this problem inevitably becomes the need to unify criminal law norms about liability for various forms of terrorist activity both at national and international levels, including by legislative formulation of the concepts of internal and external terrorism. A solving of these complex problems is impossible without multilateral cooperation of states in this sphere. This article examines the doctrinal and normative levels of formulating a meaningful definition of the category “terrorist act.” National and transnational legislation is analyzed. The authors conclude that a consistent interpretation of terrorism across all states has yet to be formulated. A significant shortcoming is the lack of systematic coordination of joint efforts to develop and implement legislative and law enforcement tools to ensure effective counterterrorism.
The article examines the formation of robot and artificial intelligence victimology - a new interdisciplinary area studying the reasons, mechanisms, and consequences of harm inflicted upon autonomous digital agents, as well as the foundations of their legal, ethical, and technical protection. The author analyzes the historical context of changes in public perceptions regarding robots, starting from traditional views where they were seen solely as tools, up to possible acknowledgment of their subjectivity and ability to become victims of illegal acts. The work highlights philosophical and technological grounds for these transformations, including developments in theories of consciousness applied to artificial intelligence, advancements in biogrid technologies, and cultural-artistic depictions of robots as suffering beings. Special attention is given to the growing societal willingness to perceive robots as subjects capable of experiencing pain and fear. Furthermore, it explores legal prospects related to changing the status of robots by endowing them with attributes of legal capacity, addressing issues of criminal responsibility for causing harm to autonomous digital agents. The author concludes that recognizing robots and artificial intelligence as crime victims represents a promising direction for scientific and legal development, although its successful implementation will depend on technological progress, adjustments to legislative norms, and societal preparedness to embrace new conceptions about the nature of relationships between humans and technology.
With societal transformation and the introduction of digital technologies into many areas of social relations, the issue of protection against criminal threats is becoming increasingly important. Against the backdrop of a steady decline in crime rates in the country, a shift in the vector of criminal activity in cyberspace is emerging, creating new factors of victimization in society. The now-traditional scientific conference on “Protecting Crime Victims in Modern Society” was held on March 5-6, 2026, at a new venue, the Ural State Law University named after V. F. Yakovlev. Timed to coincide with the International Day in Support of Victims of Crime, the scientific event brought together over 100 participants, leading criminologists and victimologists, practitioners, and lawyers from Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Armenia, and Serbia. The key scientific papers by leading scholars are available in our journal “Victimology,” and the papers presented by all participants are planned for publication in a separate collection of conference materials. The next conference “Protecting Victims of Crime in Modern Society (PVCMS 2027)” will be held in March 2027.
The article focuses on the crime risks assessment for the prevention purposes. The authors propose a mathematical model in the form of an integral equation to describe the danger of the criminal’s personality. The authors try to solve the problem by applying it to the behavior of persons who receive conditional sentence. The article determines the values of personality dangerousness function for two offenders who have committed crimes. From the obtained data it can be seen that the danger function of the studied individuals increases dynamically during the last period of their lives. And in the year they committed crimes, it reaches a critical level for these individuals, taking into account the gravity of the crime. It seems evident that an increase in the individual characteristics established for the criminals under study may lead to possible relapses. The obtained characteristics can be used to prevent relapses.
