The Enlightening Ethos of Russian Defence Attorneys and Russian Society, 1860s-1870s

This study is devoted to the enlightening ethos of Russian defence attorneys and Russian society in the 1860s-the 1870s. Drawing in translations of legal literature and manuals from German, French and English, textbooks written by Russian lawyers and periodicals on the issues of the enlightening activities of attorneys themselves and the perception of Russian society towards them in the early stages of their establishment in Russia. The advocacy in Russia, which originated in 1864, was able to incorporate features from the French, German, and English bar systems. When the independent institute of advocacy was established in Russia in the mid-1860s, a whole debate arose in society, primarily among lawyers, about what a real attorney should be, what principles he should follow and what qualities he should possess. The first sworn attorneys began to broadcast to society such values of the advocacy as justice, honesty, responsibility, independence, and loyalty to the law. Thanks to the enlightment through the study of Western models of advocacy and their ideals, professional consciousness and competence have increased in Russia. As a result, a highly professional advocacy emerged, which by the mid-1870s established itself as a corporation dedicated to protecting and expanding human rights in the Russian Empire. However, the conflict between advocates and Russian society led to fears and mistrust of advocacy. At the beginning of the sworn attorney estate, the myth of advocates being motivated only by their desire to enrich themselves arose. This myth, which did not disappear but rather firmly entrenched itself in Russian society by the late 19th and early 20th centuries due to lawyers' involvement in political trials, continues to this day.