Попечение над детьми: исторические и современные этюды

The historical, legal and modern trends in the development of the institution of guardianship and guardianship are considered as one of the universal (in a historical context) and priority forms of caring for children left without parental care. It is emphasized that the Russian imperial guardianship legislation was very constructive for that time. Modern legislation is critically assessed, first of all in terms of its proposed special law system, which destroyed the unity of the institution of custody and guardianship of children, and turned the relevant section of the Family Code of the Russian Federation, unlike the previous codified act, into a somewhat fragmented entity. The article offers examples of law enforcement practice in recent years, which interprets the interests of wards, constructions of the pre-emptive right of relatives (including relatives) when appointing a guardian to a child.