On 2 August 1743, Empress Elizabeth of Russia signed a decree on the abolition of the death penalty in the Empire. During her reign, execution (as a measure of punishment and intimidation) was never used. Elizabeth’s successor, Empress Catherine II, revived the death penalty in 1775, beheading Yemelyan Pugachev for the peasant revolt he raised.
Igor Dzhokhadze. Criminal chronicle of mankind.
Translated by Elizaveta O. Ovchinnikova
