Abstract: the main purpose of this study is to analyze the development of the theory of the principle of separation of powers. Theories of the separation of powers, which consist of two and three branches of state power, are explored. The works of foreign scientists: theologians, philosophers and jurists are analyzed, works devoted to the problem of the evolution of this theory. The works of ancient authors are considered: Aristotle and Polybius offering their theories of state building. Writings of the Middle Ages authors, with ideas about limiting the power of the absolute (monarch) and on the separation of church and state are analyzed.
The works of the fathers of the theory of separation of powers are being studied – S. Montesquieu and J. Locke. Some ideas and political constructions that led to the formation of this theory are analyzed and also attempts to implement this theory in life. In particular, there is a hard way to implement this theory on the territory of Abkhazia (as a state entering into political entities that did not recognize the theory of separation of powers – the Russian Empire and the USSR).
Keywords: power, the principle of separation of powers, Aristotle, Polybius, Padua, Luther, Calvin, Montesquieu, Locke