Parole and commutation

Getting someone out earlier: parole under Article 79, commutation under Article 80

For a family whose relative is already serving a sentence in Russia, this is usually the question that matters more than any further appeal. Both routes are decided by a court, both depend heavily on documents assembled long in advance, and both are refused far more often for poor preparation than for poor merits.

Calculation of the exact date eligibility arises
Assembly of the evidence file: conduct record, work, education, incentives, medical
Resolution of outstanding civil claims and fines, which are decisive in practice
A structured application rather than the facility's standard form
Representation at the hearing before the court supervising the facility
A second application prepared against the reasons for the first refusal

Two different things, often confused

Parole — conditional early release, Article 79 of the Criminal Code. The remainder of the sentence is not served, subject to conditions and supervision. Breach of the conditions can send the person back.

Commutation — replacement of the unserved part with a milder punishment, Article 80. The person still has a sentence, but a less severe one: forced labour or corrective labour rather than imprisonment. It becomes available earlier than parole for the same offence, and it is often the realistic first step. In many of our cases the sequence is commutation first, then release.

Once part of the sentence is served, release becomes a question of preparation rather than argument about guilt.

When eligibility arises

Article 79 sets the fractions of the sentence that must be served before parole can be applied for:

one third for offences of minor and medium gravity;
one half for grave offences;
two thirds for especially grave offences, and for anyone whose earlier parole was revoked;
three quarters for a list that includes serious drug trafficking offences under Article 228.1 and Article 229.1, and offences against the sexual inviolability of minors;
four fifths for sexual offences against children under fourteen.

In every case at least six months must actually have been served. Article 80 uses a parallel but lower set of fractions, which is why it opens earlier. The exact date depends on how time in pre-trial detention was credited under Article 72, and that calculation is worth checking independently — we find errors in it regularly.

What the court actually looks at

The statutory test is whether the person no longer needs to serve the full sentence to achieve their correction. In practice courts decide on a documented picture:

the conduct record throughout the sentence, not just recently — a disciplinary sanction from three years ago still appears;
incentives received, work performed, education or vocational training completed;
attitude to the offence as recorded by the facility administration;
whether civil claims from the victim have been paid, which in our experience is the single most decisive factor, and the one families most often do not realise they can act on;
the position of the facility administration, and the position of the prosecutor;
where the person will live and what they will do on release.

The specific problem for foreign nationals

Courts frequently refuse parole to foreign nationals on the reasoning that there is no established place of residence in Russia and no way to supervise them. It is a real obstacle and it has to be answered rather than ignored.

What answers it: documentation of the intended place of residence, whether in Russia or abroad; confirmation of the position on removal from the country, since where deportation follows release the supervision objection largely dissolves; evidence of family or employer support; and confirmation that identity and travel documents are in order. Where commutation under Article 80 is sought instead, the objection is weaker still, because the person remains within the penal system.

After a refusal

A refusal is not final. A fresh application may be made after six months. The refusal decision states its reasons, and those reasons are a checklist: if the claim was unpaid, pay it; if the conduct record showed a sanction, let it be lifted and time pass; if the residence question was unanswered, answer it with documents.

Most of the successful applications in our practice are second applications, prepared specifically against the reasoning of the first refusal.

Frequently asked

Can the family apply, or must the prisoner do it?

The application is made by the convicted person or by their lawyer. Relatives cannot file it themselves — but they can do the work that decides it: paying outstanding claims, gathering guarantees, arranging the place of residence, obtaining documents.

Does an unpaid civil claim block parole outright?

It is not an absolute bar in law, but it is close to one in practice unless there is a documented reason the person could not pay. If there is a claim outstanding, dealing with it is the highest-value thing a family can do.

What happens immediately after release for a foreign national?

Typically administrative removal from Russia and a re-entry ban of several years. That is a separate administrative process with its own procedure and its own deadlines, and it should be prepared for before release rather than discovered at the gate.

How far in advance should preparation start?

Six months to a year before eligibility. The conduct record, the incentives, the work history and the settlement of claims are all things that take time to build and cannot be created in the month before the hearing.