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Chairman of the Investigative Committee Alexander Bastrykin has met today with law students of the Lomonosov State University of Moscow. The meeting became a unique one because Mr. Bastrykin has been professor of the criminalistics department of the faculty of law at the University since 2017.

Mr. Bastrykin delivered a lecture on the history of investigative bodies in Russia and steps being taken by the Russian Investigative Committee to fight crime in modern time.

The Chairman reminded the students of major investigative offices established by Emperor Peter the Great and which made up an integral system which became a separate part in the Russian state. Those investigative authorities specialized solely in looking into the most dangerous crimes against state interests. They were directly subordinate to the head of the state and their independence from other supreme state authorities made them impartial and unbiased. The court reform of 2007 created the Investigative Committee under the RF Prosecutor’s Office more clearly dividing functions of public prosecution and investigation. The independent Investigative Committee has been operating since 15 January 2011. This way, historical experience determined the character and direction of the today’s Investigative Committee to a large extent.

Speaking about the activity of the Investigative Committee, Mr. Bastrykin said that the main thing in being an investigator is to ensure supremacy of law, stability of legal relationship, to support public trust to law and to help the law to be the main way of settling all social issues. He added that investigative job is extremely hard, but interesting and an investigator has to not only have extensive knowledge, but high moral qualities, power of will and stress resistance.

Describing the investigative job, the Chairman produced some statistical data on high percentage of solved personal crimes. “In some regions we solve 100% of such crimes, while across the country the rate reaches 90%,” Mr. Bastrykin said. He also told the students about development of criminalistics in the Investigative Committee, adoption of latest methods and technical means allowing reaching such high results.

During the lecture, Mr. Bastrykin also spoke about influence of different kinds of movements on young people and called on the students to use legal ways of expressing and defending their opinion instead of joining various unauthorized mass events.

Mr. Bastrykin answered a lot of questions of the students related to not only investigation of high-profile cases. Requirements to candidates for a job in the Investigative Committee; improvement of laws, Investigative Committee’s bills on criminal liability of legal entities and objective truth, but to Mr. Bastrykin’s beliefs and personal views on pressing issues in different areas.

In conclusion, the Chairman thanked the students for their attention and awarded dean of the faculty of law A. Golichenkov, head of criminalistics department I. Aleksandrov, head of criminal procedure, justice and public prosecution department L. Golovko and professor of criminalistics department N. Yablokov.

Spokesperson for the Investigative Committee                                                                                                S. Petrenko