The purpose of the article is to study the issues of the formation and development of the Russian penitentiary system in the context of ensuring the rights and legitimate interests of those sentenced to imprisonment. In this aspect, the main stages of the development of Russia's penal enforcement policy are considered. It is concluded that if, before the beginning of the 18th century, restrictions on the rights of convicts were left to the administrative discretion of penitentiary institutions, their regulatory regulation began in the second half of the 18th century. At the same time, the main task of penitentiary institutions was the social re-education of the person who violated the law.