Fundamentals of law - the foundation on which the majority of existing relations and interactions between members of society, countries and organizations are built. They are the main indicators of civilization in which life is subject to certain laws. By and large, the basics of law are
a measure that determines the maturity and viability of the state, society as a whole. They appeared at the dawn of history and became an integral characteristic that determines the measure of responsibility and the degree of human freedom.
In our state throughout the history of its existence, the foundations of law have experienced a series of metamorphoses. Initially, in Russia, as, indeed, in any other state, they were guided by the traditions of the clan community. Not considered savagery, for example, blood feud or the murder of a commoner. The foundations of the criminal law of the Russian state are first spelled out in the so-called “Russian Truth” dating from the middle of the 11th-12th centuries. There was no difference between a criminal or civil crime in it, and any crime was referred to as “insult”, from which we can conclude that the punishment was assessed more at the level of emotional than legal.
With the development of statehood and the change of society, more advanced documents appeared, including the Code of Laws of the mid-15th and early 16th centuries, the
Cathedral Code of the mid-17th century, as well as the Petrovsky Article of Voinsky, which can be considered the first criminal code. In this document, crimes were divided into a number of categories, the concept of unintentional crime was introduced, criminal actions against the individual and against the state as a whole were differentiated. It is for the first time that it speaks of the need to find out the causes of death and to trace cause-effect relationships.
The foundations of family law in our country have also come a very long way. Pre-Christian Russia was guided by ancient traditions. The foundations of law in this area are reflected in the “Helmsman Book” - a translation of the texts of the Byzantine princes. The church wedding was adopted in the XI century and, unlike the Catholic branch of Christianity, Orthodox Russia allowed the possibility of divorce.
Marriages of a different faith were banned. Surprisingly, in ancient Russia a woman could be the owner of property. As for the relations of fathers and children, during this period of time the lawfulness of the child’s origin did not matter much, unlike the later rules of the mid-17th century, when the illegitimate child was not recognized even if the parents entered into marriage after his birth.
Like the foundations of criminal law, family relations were streamlined in the era of Peter. It was during this period that the role of secular canons intensified, which were reflected in the Code of Laws of the Russian Empire. A significant role is given to voluntary marriage. The Orthodox could start a family with representatives of other areas of Christianity, the age bracket is increasing, after which it was possible to become a husband or wife. If earlier it was possible to marry girls at the age of 13 years and boys from 15 years old, then the Code already speaks of 16 and 18 years old, respectively. The unlimited power of men takes on more civilized forms. Since the mid-11th century, the physical punishment of a wife and children has been prohibited.