Рассматриваются вопросы законодательной регламентации и применения штрафа как основного вида уголовного наказания, связанные с его соотношением с аналогичными мерами в других отраслях права и с иными наказаниями в рамках уголовного права. Отмечается нарушение структуры системы наказаний в связи с фактической утратой штрафом статуса наименее строгого вида наказания, а также указывается на потенциальное противоречие порядка назначения штрафа уголовно-правовым принципам равенства граждан перед законом и справедливости.
The article analyses the regulation and specificity of imposing fines as the main type of criminal punishment in the Russian Federation. The authors consider the problems related to the correlation of the fine with similar sanctions in other branches of law and with other criminal law sanctions. They point out an inconsistency in the delimitation of administrative and criminal liability when establishing the amount of fines and the confusion of terminology in relation to various types of fines. Special attention is paid to the lack of proportion between the amount of the fine and other types of punishments in the current criminal law, which results in the arbitrariness of establishing sanctions and the im-possiblity to replace the fine with other types of penalties. Having analysed the problem of the fine as the only alternative to imprisonment in a number of sanctions, some of which provide for liability for committing grave and especially grave crimes, the authors emphasise the inconsistency of such practice with the criminal law principles of equality of citizens before the law and justice.