The image of emperor Alexander III in criminal case materials concerning offenses against the imperial family

Relevance. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, amidst growing public unrest and political mobilization, the Russian imperial authorities sought to strengthen control over the public sphere. Criminal cases concerning offenses against the imperial family became a key legal and ideological instrument. However, the specific representation of Emperor Alexander III in such cases has not been the subject of comprehensive academic analysis.Purpose. This study aims to identify the mechanisms through which a sacralized image of Emperor Alexander III was constructed and protected via legal practices in the Russian Empire.Objectives: to define the specific application of Article 1035 of the Criminal Procedure Charter in cases involving offenses against the imperial family; to analyze how legal prosecution contributed to constructing an ideologically appropriate image of the monarch.Methodology. The study employs historical-legal analysis, content analysis of archival documents, and thematic interpretation of selected criminal cases from Fund No. 124 of the State Archive of the Russian Federation.Results. The research reveals that Article 1035 of the Criminal Procedure Charter served not only for criminal investigation but also as a flexible instrument of preventive control and political neutralization. It demonstrates how rumors, agitation, and actions targeting imperial symbols were legally interpreted as threats to the state and prosecuted accordingly.Conclusion. The enforcement of laws concerning insults to Alexander III illustrates the transformation of criminal law into a tool of ideological control. The sacralization of the emperor’s image was upheld not only through official propaganda but also through judicial practices, reflecting the heightened political sensitivity to symbolic forms of dissent in late imperial Russia.