One of the goals of the corrections system reform in Russia is to increase civil participation in its activities as well as establishing public control over its institutions. However, little is known about citizens perceptions of punishment in Russia. The goal of this paper is to search for determinants of punitive attitudes of young citizens and their calls for harsh treatment of the offenders. The results show that being male, religious and sharing the view of crime as a product of unequal social conditions are positively related to punitiveness. Future policemen are also more punitive. Prior victimization experience as well as the belief that the crime rate is increasing did not show to be statistically related to views about harshness of punishment.