The article examines the issues of formation of the criminal policy of the Russian state in the context of the international legal framework to combat crime in the second half of XIX - early XX centuries. Given the legal analysis of the implementation in the Russian legislation norms of the international conventions and international legal institutions in the field of protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms. It is noted that, despite the wide integration of the legal system of the Russian Federation with various international institutions, an important principle of Russia's criminal law policy remains its sovereignty and the supremacy of the Russian Constitution, the essence of which is the inadmissibility of the execution of legal decisions that do not comply with the constitutional foundations of the state.