Editing Hanging (section)

===Russia===
{{Main|Capital punishment in Russia}}
Hanging was commonly practised in the [[Russian Empire]] during the rule of the [[Romanov dynasty]] as an alternative to [[impalement]], which was used in the 15th and 16th centuries.

Hanging was abolished in 1868 by [[Alexander II of Russia|Alexander II]] after [[serfdom]],{{clarify|date=February 2020}} but was restored by the time of his death and his assassins were hanged. While those sentenced to death for murder were usually pardoned and sentences commuted to life imprisonment, those guilty of high treason were usually executed. This also included the [[Grand Duchy of Finland]] and [[Congress Poland|Kingdom of Poland]] under the Russian crown. [[Taavetti Lukkarinen]] became the last Finn to be executed this way. He was hanged for espionage and high treason in 1916.

The hanging was usually performed by short drop in public. The gallows were usually either a stout nearby tree branch, as in the case of Lukkarinen, or a makeshift gallows constructed for the purpose.

After the [[October Revolution]] in 1917, capital punishment was, on paper, abolished, but continued to be used unabated against people perceived to be enemies of the regime. Under the Bolsheviks, most executions were performed by shooting, either by firing squad or by a single firearm. In 1943, hanging was restored primarily for German servicemen and native collaborators for atrocities committed against Soviet POWs and civilians. The last to be hanged were [[Andrey Vlasov]] and his companions in 1946.