The article analyzes the modern condition of the institution of judicial protection of the crime victim's right to participate in criminal prosecution. The author notes the declarative nature of the provisions of Art. 22 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation. The reasons for the current situation include the imperfection of the legal regulation of the procedure for considering a crime report by an inquirer and an investigator, their incorrect prioritization and their predominant focus on protecting the rights and interests of a suspect/accused person to the detriment of the rights and interests of the crime victim; the untimely recognition of a person harmed by the crime as a victim; and the insufficient procedural autonomy of the investigator in making decisions to terminate a criminal case/criminal prosecution on non-rehabilitating grounds. The author points out that the meanings of the concepts of "pre-trial proceedings" enshrined in the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation and "judicial control" used in the criminal procedure law theory do not conform to their actual content. To ensure the optimal exercise of the crime victim's right to participate in criminal prosecution, it is proposed to restore the prosecutor's lost authority to initiate criminal cases; to separate judicial activity at the initial stage of criminal proceedings (when considering a crime report and investigating a criminal case) from other types of judicial activity; to amend the existing procedure for compensating victims in criminal cases terminated on non-rehabilitating grounds; and to change the assessment of the performance indicators in the departmental statistical reporting of pre-trial investigation bodies.