Historical Stages in the Formation and Evolution of the Russian Regulatory Framework on the Use and Protection of Fauna

Introduction . The legislation on the use and protection of fauna is an integral part of the environmental policy of any state, since it provides a legal framework for preservation of biodiversity, sustainable use of natural resources and environmental protection. The aim of the study is to analyse the historical stages in the formation and evolution of the faunaregulating legislation in Russia, its state-of-the-art, and to identify the leading trends and directions for enhancement of legal regulation in this field. Materials and Methods . The research materials consisted of the scientific and historical sources on the formation of the fauna-regulating laws in Russia, as well as the acting national regulatory framework. The research methods included: historical and legal analysis, comparative legal method, interpretive approach aimed at identifying trends in the development of legislation, problem-chronological approach to systematisation of information. Results . A comprehensive study of the approaches to regulation of fauna protection and use existing in Russia in different historical periods made it possible to trace the way the attitude of society towards this issue changed, the kind of legal mechanisms were used to protect fauna, and the way these mechanisms adapted to the changing conditions. Thus, in the pre-revolutionary period, fauna-regulating legislation was based on the local norms and traditions, there were no systemic legal acts, and nature preservation was often limited to protection of the hunting grounds of nobles, regulation of hunting and support of the local ecosystems without taking into account global environmental consequences. During the Soviet period, a system of legal acts aimed at protecting the environment, regulating hunting, fishery and game reserves’ activity was created in the country. That made it possible to achieve a certain balance between the development of economy and preservation of biodiversity, which, indeed, had greatly affected the formation of modern Russian legislation on the use and protection of fauna. The proposals and recommendations formulated by the authors refer to further improvement of the legal relationships in the field of environmental protection. Discussion and Conclusion . The evolution of fauna-regulating legislation reflects across-the-centuries transformation of the state policy, scientific approaches and attitude of society to the nature. During further optimisation of the national legal framework on environmental protection, it is vital to take into account the positive examples from the past, and adapt them to the modern environmental protection needs and conditions.