The article is devoted to topical issues and prospects for the development of the modern Russian criminal Procedure. Considering that an active court is the most important condition for issuing a lawful, reasonable and fair sentence, the author advocates strengthening the guarantees of the independence of the court and reducing the scope of application of the special procedure for court proceedings. Referring to the problems of pretrial proceedings, the author critically assesses the assignment of the investigator to the prosecution and raises such controversial issues as the creation of a united investigative body in Russia and the emergence of a “judicial investigator” figure. Special attention is paid to the humanization of the criminal process and the strengthening of the right of the accused to the defense, which will contribute to the abolition of the use of "cells" in the courtroom.