Russian Supreme Court changes labour sentence for defendant without a job

Russia’s Supreme Court changed the sentence of a defendant from Sverdlovsk region who had been given corrective labour despite having no principal place of employment. Six months of corrective labour were replaced with 360 hours of compulsory community work, RIA Novosti reported, citing the ruling.

A lower court had imposed corrective labour with 10% of wages deducted for the state for threatening violence against a detention facility employee. However, the case materials and judgment recorded that the defendant had no principal job.

The higher court said the courts had overlooked amendments to Article 50 of the Criminal Code made in July 2025. The current provision permits corrective labour for a convicted person with a principal place of employment, where the sentence is served.

The Supreme Court changed the decisions concerning the punishment. Compulsory community work is unpaid and performed in free time, while corrective labour involves work at the principal job and deductions from earnings.

In December 2025, the Supreme Court’s plenary also clarified that foreign nationals may receive corrective labour sentences if they have a principal job. Employment is therefore a condition for imposing this form of punishment.