Law and the Russian State: Russia's Legal Evolution from Peter the Great to Vladimir Putin

by William E. Pomeranz, Michael S. Melancon (Editor), Ian D. Thatcher (Editor), Jonathan Smele (Editor)

Overview

Russia is often portrayed as a regressive, even lawless country, and yet the Russian state has played a major role in shaping and experimenting with law as an instrument of power. In Law and the Russian State, William E. Pomeranz examines Russia's legal evolution from Peter the Great to Vladimir Putin, addressing the continuities and disruptions of Russian law during the imperial, Soviet, and post-Soviet. The book covers key themes, including:

* Law and empire
* Law and modernization
* The politicization of law
* The role of intellectuals and dissidents in mobilizing the law
* The evolution of Russian legal institutions
* The struggle for human rights
* The rule-of-law
* The quest to establish the law-based state

It also analyzes legal culture and how Russians understand and use the law. With a detailed bibliography, this is an important text for anyone seeking a sophisticated understanding of how Russian society and the Russian state have developed in the last 350 years.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781350170537
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	06/25/2020
Series:	The Bloomsbury History of Modern Russia Series
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

William E. Pomeranz is the Deputy Director of the Kennan Institute for Advanced Russian Studies of the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, D.C., USA. In addition, Dr Pomeranz teaches Russian law at the Center for Eurasian, Russian, and East European Studies, Georgetown University, USA. He has written numerous journal articles on post-Soviet legal developments, including Russian foreign investment laws, judicial review, federalism, and corruption. He is also a frequent commentator on developments in Russia, with appearances on C-Span, Sky News, CNN, NPR, VOA, Bloomberg, and several other media networks. His editorials have appeared with Reuters, the National Interest, and CNN International.

Michael S. Melancon is Professor Emeritus at Auburn University, USA. He is a co-editor of the Wildman Series, a monograph series issued by Slavica Publishers (Indiana University, USA) that focuses on the revolutionary experience in Russia. Michael is the author of The Socialist Revolutionaries and the Russian Anti-War Movement, July 1914 Through February 1917 (1990) and The Lena Goldfields Massacre and the Crisis of Late Tsarist Society (2005). He is also the co-editor of New Labor History: Russian Workers' Experiences and Discourses, 1800-1917 (2002; with Alice Pate), Russia in the European Context, 1789-1917: A Member of the Family (2005; with Susan P. Mccaffray), Russia's Century of Revolutions: Parties, People, Places (2012; with Donald J. Raleigh). Michael also serves on the editorial board for the journal, Revolutionary Russia.

Ian D. Thatcher is Professor of History at Ulster University, UK. He is the author of Trotsky (2003) and the editor of Late Imperial Russia: Problems and prospects (2005).

Jonathan D. Smele is Senior Lecturer in Modern European History at Queen Mary, University of London. For a decade (2002-2012) he was editor of Revolutionary Russia, the journal of the Study Group on the Russian Revolution and is the author of The 'Russian' Civil Wars 1916-1926:Ten Years That Shook the World (2016), Historical Dictionary of the Russian Civil Wars, 1916-1926 (2016; 2 vols.) and Civil War in Siberia: The Anti-Bolshevik Government of Admiral Kolchak, 1918–1920 (1997). He is also the co-editor, along with Anthony J. Heywood, of The Russian Revolution of 1905: Centenary Perspectives (2005) and compiled The Russian Revolution and Civil War, 1917-1921: An Annotated Bibliography (2003).

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. Law and Empire under Peter the Great
2. The Expansion of Russian Legality
3. The Judicial Reforms of 1864 and the Modernization of Russian Law
4. Law, Politics, and Revolution
5. Filling in the Blanks: The Creation of Socialist Law
6. Socialist Legality and Illegality
7. Russia's Long Constitutional Crisis: 1985-1993
8. The 1993 Constitution and Russia's Liberal Experiment
9. Vladimir Putin and the Restoration of State and Law
Conclusion
Bibliography

Editorial Reviews

This is what all Russia scholars need to know about Russian law … This is an outstanding piece of work. It is concise at 169 pages of text, with good international and Russian references and delightful quotes. It offers an even treatment of three centuries and an uncommonly nuanced analysis with a good eye for what is formal and what is real.” —Slavic Review

“William Pomeranz, Deputy Director of the Kennan Institute, has written a masterful history of Russia through a legal lens … Readers whose primary interests lie well outside the field of Russian law will find important insights here into Russia's political, social, and economic development … Revealing with unusual clarity the conservative vs. modernizing strands of Russia's legal development, Law and the Russian State provides a superb introduction to the field of Russian law.” —The Russian Review

“Pomeranz's book is a treat for anyone interested in learning about the fundamental changes and continuities of Russian law ... , Pomeranz's book is highly recommendable. It does what good legal history sometimes succeeds in doing: it helps us to understand the contemporary world.” —Comparative Legal History

“It is no small feat to encapsulate major points of 350 years of legal history into 169 pages of text, and this is done fluently, with good balance among the salient subjects. . . This is a volume well worthy of adoption for advanced undergraduate courses on Russian affairs and an excellent addition to a promising series.” —Slavonic and East European Review

“Pomeranz is at his best when covering the period since formation of the Russian Federation. Nonetheless, by harking back to Peter the Great's reign, he provides just enough historical context to demonstrate continuity and change within a country that has both followed and curiously departed from the West's legal trajectory. All of which makes Law and the Russian State a valuable addition to the literature. It is recommended for undergraduate and graduate students of history and law, and for experts in these fields.” —Ab Imperio

“A lively and engaging account of law and legal development in Russia, past and present. It is unique in its emphasis on how law throughout Russian history has served the state.” —Peter H. Solomon, Jr., Professor Emeritus, University of Toronto, Canada

“Most Westerners consider the Russian state lawless, but William Pomeranz shows the great importance Russians attribute to law. This is a scholarly and thoughtful guide to law, a little understood but crucial aspect of Russia's long history. It should become the standard work on its subject.” —Geoffrey Hosking, Emeritus Professor of Russian History, University College London, UK

From the Publisher