The development of the criminal law doctrine in Russia was a complex process. In the early historical stages, it was seriously hindered by the low level of scientific knowledge about complex criminal law phenomena. However, it was during this period that the iconic code formula for combating crime emerged, expressed in the traditional pair of categories: "crime" and "punishment." The main idea was that a "crime" was committed first, and then, as a legal consequence, a "punishment" was imposed.
In the twenties of the XX century, a new, fundamental paired category was introduced into the criminal law of the RSFSR ("socially dangerous act" – "criminal liability"). These concepts reflected a materialistic approach to the perception and assessment of harmful criminal acts and the development of effective measures to counter them. Thus, an important historical step was taken, laying the objective prerequisites for a truly revolutionary transformation of the theory and practice of combating crime.
However, the fundamental concepts introduced in the first criminal codes of the RSFSR were not further developed. There was a significant negative backlash against the breakthrough solutions that had been achieved earlier. The modern criminal law doctrine and criminal law have adopted a controversial and illogical code formula for the concepts of "crime" and "criminal liability." This has led to doubts about the validity and viability of the doctrine and law in question. Therefore, as a real basis for their optimal transformation, a universal code legal formula for combating crime is proposed below, consisting of traditional and new paired categories.