The article emphasizes the importance of the legal status of the victim as set out in the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation. The authors stress that the UK victims have no special status in the criminal justice system. Comparative analysis of some legal rights of the victim in Russia and Germany is aimed at further improving the legal status of victims of crime in Russia. The authors of the article emphasize the main comparative characteristics of the legal status of victims in Russia and Germany, the protection of the interests of victims, in our opinion, being more effective in the latter. It is seemed that legislation providing for the participation of defense counsel for the victims of grave and especially grave crimes when filing a suit at the public expense as it is the case in German legislation will be aimed at the victims’ increased rights to effective remedy and legitimate interests in criminal proceedings in Russia.