Abstract: The subject of the study within the framework of the designated topic is the judicial decisions of Russian and foreign law enforcement officers in order to determine the correctness of understanding the essential content of the provisions on the reasonableness of the duration of the criminal proceedings. The statistical data of appeals to the European Court of Human Rights in the period from 1959 to 2020 by Russian citizens is analyzed. The peak period was 2013, when two complaints about the length of the trial in a criminal case in Russia really found their confirmation. At the same time, Russian courts annually consider about 100 complaints about "procrastination" or "red tape". Such complaints and relevant decisions have become the subject of this article. The authors came to the conclusion that out of a significant number of applicants' complaints about the violation of international rules on the reasonableness of the terms of the criminal process, only a few were real. This, on the one hand, indicates the absence in Russian judicial practice of a clear understanding of the consistency of the provisions of article 6 of the Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. On the other hand, it allows us to draw a conclusion about the independent position of the Russian courts when considering criminal cases on the merits and the impossibility of imposing European standards for the application of Russian law. At the same time, the authors have identified the main elements of the realization of the right to a reasonable period of criminal proceedings based on the analysis of the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights recognized by Russia, which can contribute to the optimization of Russian judicial practice and serve as a promise for improving legislative techniques in the field of criminal jurisdiction.