Analysis of the formation and development of the forest protection institute in Russia

Illegal logging is a global problem that cannot be addressed unambiguously and in all cases. Given that criminal acts about wood are not a new type of violation, but, having appeared long before the current century, remain one of the most common negative social phenomena, the author analyzed the process of formation and development of forest protection in Russia. The first conservation certificates, «green» forests, as well as the restrictions on forest management introduced by Peter I, caused by the need to form a new model of state defense, were the basis for the formation of legal protection of forests. At the same time, the author notes that the established regimes were interconnected and interdependent from a number of legal factors, the key of which was the form of ownership of the territory in which the trees grew. The study contains an analysis of the transformation of the institution of «forest guardians,» the rights, obligations and requirements for employees, the number of units, as well as their social security. The content of the article is divided into several blocks, which is due to the political system that prevailed at a certain time in the development of society: feudal grand-ducal power, the Russian state, the Russian Empire, the RSFSR, the Russian Federation. A brief analysis of law enforcement and judicial practice, a study of regulatory documents, coupled with reporting and archival documents based on the results of the activities of forest protection units, made it possible to conclude that it was impossible to exercise control over forest resources without the formation of specialized units, the functioning of which may be temporary.

protection of forest resources, illegal logging, forestry, forest police