New Journal of European Criminal Law, Vol. 3, Issue 2, 2012 175 LEGAL ASPECTS OF ESCAPE FROM CRIMINAL LIABILITY FOR CARTELISTS IN RUSSIA “Te person that hides his sins shall not prosper, but those who confess and forsake them shall have mercy.” Te Holy Bible Elena A. Kremyanskaya* ABSTRACT Te article is based on the conference speech made by the author during the “Per Se Cartel Ofences – Legitimacy and Utility of Criminal Sanctions?” conference, organized by the University of Luxembourg on the 23 rd and 24 th March 2012 and covers current cartel regulations in Russia, administrative and criminal liability for cartelists and aspects of escape from criminal liability. Keywords: cartel regulations in Russia; criminal liability for cartels; escape from criminal liability for cartelists; Russian competition law 1. BACKGROUND Participation in cartels is a serious criminal violation in Russia. Tis story goes back to the middle of the 19 th century, when imprisonment as a criminal punishment for the collusion, deal or other agreement of sellers on price increases was adopted in law. A defnition of “cartel” appeared in Russian law only at the very end of 2011, with new amendments to the set of competition laws. Looking into the modern period of life in Russia, in 1996 a new article appeared in the Criminal Code providing for the punishment of coordinated activity, however for almost 8–10 years it was a “sleeping clause” due to some historical peculiarities of the development of the Russian economy, which throughout the Soviet period was a planned economy, with the State as sole coordinator of the activities of * PhD in Law, Associate Professor, Moscow State Institute for International Relations (University).