Annotation

This article examines the characteristics of diversion, revealing the significant doctrinal and legislative characteristics of this destructive phenomenon, which have methodological significance in the field of countering crimes associated with diversionary activities. These characteristics include intent, socially dangerous nature, actions aimed at destruction or damage, and a specific purpose. The analysis conducted made it possible to propose the following concept of diversion — it is an intentional, socially dangerous, damaging impact on critically significant objects of infrastructure, transport, communications, energy and other spheres of life support, aimed at removing such objects from the normal mode of functioning by means of explosion, arson or other destructive actions and committed with the purpose of undermining the economic security and (or) defense capability of the Russian Federation. The paper conducts a consistent lexical and etymological analysis of the category diversion (from German diversion, Latin diversio) and the related category of sabotage (from French sabotage), demonstrating their fundamental difference in the method of causing harm, the type of outcome and their original social nature. The conclusion is substantiated that the concept of sabotage, which does not have the status of a legal criminal-law category, cannot replace the concept of diversion. The weaknesses of the approaches to defining diversion proposed in Russian legal literature are identified: excessive redundancy and “circular reference” to the provision of Article 281 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, inaccurate identification of distinguishing features, dissolution of the systemic effect of diversion in the description of physical impact, and the risk of methodological displacement of the object of protection. The need to distinguish between the de jure and de facto dimensions in criminological analysis is emphasized. The conclusions formulated create a methodological basis for further research on the problems of countering crimes associated with diversionary activities.